O  PRINCETON.    N.    J.  "CO 


Presented  by  Mr   Samuel  Agnew  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Agnrcv  Coll.  on  Baptism,  No. 
V»  3 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/baptistlibraryre03so 


Baptist  library: 


REPUBLICATION     OF 


TANDARD    BAPTIST    WORKS. 


EDITED  BY 

REV.  OIIARLKS  O.  SOMMERS,  Pa.^lor  of  the  South  Baptist  Church,  New  York. 
REV.  WILLIAM  R.  WII,LTAMS,  P(ixtor  of  thf.  Amity  Street  Baptist  Church,  New  York. 
REV.  LEVI  L.  HILL,  Piuslor  uf  the  Westkill  Baptist  Church,  Lexington,  Greene  Co.,  N.  Y. 


VOLUME    III. 


STEREOTYPE    EDITION. 


PUBLISHED    BY    ROBERT    H.    HILL- 

rR.VTTSVILLi:,    GRF.KNF,    CO.,    N.    Y. 
18  4  3. 


Enf<>reJ  accorUing  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  ISO,  by  ROBERT  II.  HILL,  Lu  the  Clerk's  Otfice  of  tlio 
Southern  DUlrict  of  New  York. 


■  Rrr 

CONTENTS  OF    VOLUME  III. 


FOSTER'S  ESSAY  ON  DECISION 
OF  CHARACTER.  By  John  Fos- 
ter,       - 1 

LETTER  I. 

Examples  of  the  Distress  and  Humiliation  inci- 
dent to  an  irresohuo  Mind.  Such  a  Mind  can- 
not be  said  to  belong  to  itself.  Manner  in 
which  a  Man  of  decisive  Spirit  deliberates,  and 
passes  into  action.  Cffisar.  Such  a  Spirit  pre- 
vents the  Fretting  away,  in  harrassing  Alterca- 
tions of  Will,  of  the  animated  Feelings  required 
for  sustaining  the  vigor  of  action.  Averts  im- 
pertinent interference.  Acquires,  if  free  from 
Harshness  of  manner,  an  undisputed  and  bene- 
ficial Ascendency  over  Associates.  Its  last  re- 
course inflexible  Pertinacity.  Instance  in  a  Man 
on  a  Jury,       ------         i 

LETTER  II. 

Brief  inquiry  into  the  Constituents  of  this  com- 
manding Quality.  Corporeal  Constitution.  Pos- 
sibility, nevertheless,  of  a  firm  Mind  in  a  feeble 
Body.  Confidence  in  a  Man's  own  Judgment. 
This  is  an  uncommon  Distinction.  Picture  of  a 
Man  who  wants  it.  This  Confidence  distinguish- 
ed from  Obstinacy.  Partly  founded  on  Experi- 
ence. Takes  a  high  Tone  of  Independence  in 
devising  Schemes.     Distressing  Dilemmas         4 

LETTER  IIL 

Energy  of  Feeling  as  necessary  as  Confidence  of 
Opinion.  Conduct  that  results  from  their  combi- 
nation. Eflcct  and  Value  of  a  Ruling  Passion. 
Groat  Decision  of  Character  invests  even  wick- 
ed Beings  with  something  which  we  are  tempted 
to  admire.  Satan.  Zanga.  A  Spanish  Assas 
sin.  Remarkable  Example  of  this  Quality  in  a 
man  who  was  a  Prodigal  and  became  poor,  but 
turned  Mi^er  and  bet-ame  rich.  Howard.  White 
field.     Christian  Missionaries,  -         -         7 

LETTER  IV. 

Courage  a  chief  Constituent  of  the  Character. 
Effect  of  this  in  encountering  Censure  and  Rid 
icule.  Almagro.  Pizarro,  and  De  Luques.  De^ 
fiance  of  Danger.  Luther.  Daniel.  Another 
indispensable  Requisite  to  Decision  is  the  full 
Agreement  of  all  the  Powers  of  the  Mind.  La- 
dy Macbeth.  Richard  IIL  Cromwell.  AF 
ther  who  bad  the  opportunity  of  saving  one  of 
two  Sons  tl-om  Death,      -         -         r         -       1] 

LETTER  V. 

Formidable  Power  of  !\Tischicf  wliich  this  high 
Quality   gives  to  bad   Men.     Care  required  to 


prevent  its  rendering  good  Men  unconciliating 
and  overbcciring.  Independence  and  overruling 
Manner  in  Consultation.  Lord  Chatham.  De- 
cision cf  Character  not  incompatible  with  Sen- 
sibility and  mild  Manners.  13 ut  probably  the 
majority  of  the  most  eminent  Examples  of  it 
deficient  in  the  kinder  Affections.  King  of 
Prussia.  Situations  in  which  it  may  be  an  abso- 
lute Duty  to  act  in  Opposition  to  the  Promptings 
of  those  Affections,  -         -         -         -       14 

LETTER  VL 

Circumstances  tending  to  consolidate  this  Char- 
acter. Opposition.  Desertion.  Marius.  Sa- 
tan. Charles  de  Moor.  Success  has  the  same 
Tendency.  Caesar.  Habit  of  associating  with 
Inferiors.  Voluntary  means  of  forming  or  con- 
firming this  Character.  The  Acquisition  of  per- 
fect Knowledge  in  the  Department  in  which  we 
are  to  act.  The  cultivation  of  a  connected  and 
conclusive  Manner  of  reasoning.  The  resolute 
commencement  of  Action,  in  a  Manner  to  com- 
mit ourselves  irretrievably.  Ledyard.  The 
choice  of  a  dignified  Order  of  Concerns.  The 
approbation  of  Conscience.  Yet  melancholy  to 
consider  how  many  of  the  most  distinguished  Pos- 
sessors of  the  Quality  have  been  wicked    -       IG 

ORIGIN  OF  INFANT  BAPTISM  AND 
COMMUNION.  By  Dj?.  Chapin     -     21 

THE  TRAVELS  OF  TRUE  GODLI- 
NESS.    By  Benjaiviin  Keach,      -    22 

CHAPTER  L 

What  True  Godliness  is.  His  Origin  and  Anti- 
quity,       22 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  chief  Enemies  of  Godliness,  -         -      25 

CHAPTER  III. 

Godliness,  having  received  a  Commission  to  travel, 
and  visit  the  Children  of  Men,  comes  to  a  certain 
Town  on  the  Confines  of  Babylon,  where  Riches 
dwelt.      His  Usage  and  Treatment  there,        26 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Godliness,  in  his  Travels,  came  to  a  Cottage,  where 
dwelt  one  called  Poverty,  with  whom  he  ear- 
nestly desired  to  make  his  Abode,  but  was  de- 
nied Entertainment,         -         -         .         .       33 

CHAPTER  V. 
Godliness  applies  to  Youth,  who  pleads  various 


IV 


CONTENTS     OF    VOLUME    III, 


Excuses,  and  nt  last  utterly  declines  receiving 
him  at  present,         -----       37 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Godliness  at  the  Door  of  Olu-Age;  the  Reasons 
why  he  refused  to  entertain  him.      -         -       39 

CHAPTER  VII. 

True  Godliness,  after  this,  travelled  towards  the 
city  Jerusalem,  near  to  which  was  a  small  vil- 
lage called  Religion,  in  which  dwelt  Mr.  Legal- 
ist, at  whose  door  he  knocked.  The  cause  why 
he  did  not  entertain  him,  -         -         -       41 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Godliness  encounters  a  Man  of  strange  Counte- 
nance, who  it  appears  was  an  Antinomian,      43 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Godliness  came  to  Mr.  Formalist's  door,  who  bid 
him  very  welcome  ;  but  he  suspecting  his  integ- 
rity, and  that  he  harbored  divers  grand  enemies 
of  his,  particularly  one  Hypocrisy,  hesitated  to 
go  in.  How  Hypocrisy  came  to  be  discovered. 
Formalist  at  last  refused  to  entertain  True  God- 
liness,      43 

CHAPTER  X. 

Godliness,  travelling  farther  into  the  Town  (called 
Religion,)  saw  many  People  who  had  been  great 
professors,  retiring  from  the  town  as  fast  as  they 
could.  In  the  discourse  he  had  with  one  of  them 
the  nature  and  danger  of  Apostacy  is  descri- 
bed,         46 

CHAPTER  XI. 

iGodliness,  coming  to  Thoughtful's  house  found 
there  his  friend  Consideration,  whom  he  had  a 
long  time  sought  for.  The  great  opposition 
Consideration  met  with,  -         -         -       48 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Thoughtful,  though  he  had  embraced  Considera- 
tion, and  was  resolved  to  receive  Godliness  into 
hus  house,  is  hindered  by  Old-Man,  Wilful-Will, 
Carnal  Alieclions,  and  Apollyon.  He  is  aided 
by  Laborious,  but  had  not  prevailed,  had  it  not 
been  for  another  who  came  in  to  his  assist- 
ance,       54 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Thoughtful,  meeting  with  his  Friend  Contentment, 
and  finding  now  nothing  wanting  in  ord(>r  to  the 
making  of  his  l^ife  sweet  and  comfortable,  sung 
Hallelujahs,  Hymns  of  Praise  and  Thanksgiv- 
ing to  God  and  the  Lamb,        -         -         -       58 


PART    I. 

DOCTRINAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
CHAPTER  L 

The  Deitv  of  Chi-ist,  .... 


CI 


CHAPTER  IL 

DilTiculiics  concerning  the  Love  of  God,       -       CO 

CHAPTER  III. 


The  Doctrine  of  Election, 


70 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Union  to  Christ,  -----       74 

CHAPTER  V. 
Relation  to  God, 77 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Doctrine  of  Atonement,        -         -         -       79 

PART    II. 

EXPERIMENTAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

CHAPTER  L 

A  Sinner's  Warrant  to  apply  to  Christ,        -      84 

CHAPTER  IL 

Concerning  the  New  Birth,  -         -  -     PO 

CHAPTER  III. 

Concerning  Spiritual  Joys,  -         -         -       91 

CHAPTER  IV. 


Experience  of  Indwelling  Sin,     - 

CHAPTER  V. 

Erroneous  Views  of  Christian  Doctrines, 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Mysteries  of  Providence,     -         -         - 


92 


93 


97 


HELP    TO   ZION'S   TRAVELLERS: 

BEING  AN  ATTEMPT  TO  REMOVE  VARIOUS 
STITMBUNG-BLOCKS  OUT  OF  THE  WAY  RE- 
LATING TO  DOCTRINAL,  EXPERIMENTAL 
AND    PRACTICAL   RELIGION.      By   RoBEKT 

Hall, GO 

Introduction,      -         -        .        .        , 


PART    III. 

PRACTICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
CHAPTER  1. 

Sins  of  Professors,      -         -         -         .         - 

CHAPTER  n. 

Enmity  of  the  AVorld,  -         .         .         . 

CHAPTER  III. 
CO  1  El  rors  of  False  Rcligionigts,       -        .        - 


100 


100 


103 


CONTENTS     OF     VOLUME    III. 


THE  DEATH  OF  LEGAL  HOPE.    By 
Abraham  Booth,    -        -        -        -  118 

Introduction,       .-.--•     118 

SECTION  I. 

What  law  is  it  to  which  the  apostle  was  dead,     119 

SECTION  IL 

Unregenerate  Sinners  alive  to  the  Law,  as  a  Cov- 
enant,      120 

SECTION  III. 

Believers  dead  to   the  law,  considered  as  a  cove- 
124 


134 


nant,        ..-.-- 

SECTION  IV. 

Of  the  law,  as  dead  to  believers, 

SECTION  V. 

Believers  dead  to  the  law,  that  they  might  live  to 
God, 137 


SECTION  VI. 

We  must  be  dead  to  the  law  as  a  covenant,  be- 
fore we  can  live  to  God  in  holy  and  acceptable 
obedience,       -----         -     141 

SECTION  VII. 

Of  the  law  as  a  rule  of  conduct  to  believers     144 

COME  AND  Vi^ELCOME,  TO  JESUS 
CHRIST  ;  OR,  a  plain  and  profitable 

DISCOURSE  ON  JOHN  VI.  37:  SHOWING 
THE  CAUSE,  TRUTH,  AND  MANNER,  OF  THE 
COMING  OF  A  SINNER  TO  JESUS  CHRIST  ; 
WITH  HIS  HAPPY  RECEPTION,  AND  BLES- 
SED ENTERTAINMENT.  By  JoHN  BuN- 
YAN,  ------    150 

DR.  GRIFFIN'S  LETTER  ON  COM- 
MUNION. A  LETTER  ON  COMMUNION 
AT  THE  lord's  TABLE :  ADDRESSED  TO  A 
MEMBER    OF    THE     BAPTIST    CHURCH.      By 

THE  Rev.  Edward  D.  Griffin,  D.  D., 

PRESIDENT  OF  WILLIAM's  COLLEGE,    -   211 

PROFESSOR  RIPLEY'S  REVIEW 
OF  Dr.  Griffin's  letter  on  commun- 
ion, ..--.-.  213 

A  MEMOIR  OF  THE  REV.  ROBERT 
HALL,  A.  M.  By  O.  Gregory,  L.  L.  D. 
F.  R.  A.  S. 225 

STRICTURES  ON  SANDEMANIAN- 
ISM,  in  twelve  letters  to  a  friend. 
By  Rev.  Andrew  Fuller.      -        -  279 


LETTER    n. 

A  general  view  of  the  system,  with  its  leading 
paints  of  difference  from  the  systems  which  it 
opposes,  ......    283 

LETTER    m. 

A  more  Particular  Inquiry  into  the  Consequen-- 
ces  of  I\Ir.  Sandeman's  Notion  of  Justifying 
Faith, 290 

LETTER    IV. 

On  the  faith  of  devils  and  nominal  Christians,  205 

LETTER  V. 

On  the  connection  between  repentance  toward  God 
and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  -     299 

LETTER  VL 

On  tho  connection  between  knowledge  and  dispo- 
sition,    -------     305 

LETTER  VII. 

An  inquirv  whether,  if  believing  be  a  spiritual  act 
of  the  mind,  it  does  not  presuppose  the  subject 
of  it  to  be  spiritual,  -  -         -     312 

LETTER  VIII. 

An  Inquiry  whether  the  Principles  here  defended 
affect  the  Doctrine  of  Free  Justification  bv  faith 


LETTER    L 


Introduction, 


279 


in  the  Righteousness  of  Christ,         -         -     317 

LETTER  IX. 

On  certain  New  Testament  practices,  -     324 

LETTER  X. 

An  inquirs'  into  the  principles  on  which  the  apos- 
tles proceeded  in  forming  and  organizing  Chris- 
tian churches,  .....     328 

LETTER  XI. 

On  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  ...     333 

LETTER  XIL 

The  spirit  of  the  systein  compared  witli  that  of 
])rimtiive  Christianity,     ....     33(5 

MEMOIRS  OF  THE  LATE  REV. 
SAMUEL  PEARCE,  A.  M.,  with  ex- 
tracts from  some  of  his  most  in- 
teresting LETTERS.  Compiled  By 
Andrew  Fuller,  D.  D.  -        -  311 


Introduction, 


541 


CHAPTER  I. 


His  Parentage,  Conversion,  Call  to  the  Ministry, 
and  Settlement  at  Birmingham,        -         -     341 

CHAPTER  II. 

His  laborious  exertions  in  promoting  Missions  to 
the  Heathen,  and  ofiering  himself  to  become  a 
^Iissionary,     ......     347 


Vl 


CONTENTS    OF     VOLUME    III. 


CHAPTER  III. 

His  exercises  and  labors,  from  the  time  of  his  giv- 
ing up  llio  idea  of  goins  .ihroad,  to  '.he  cnin- 
nienceinent  of  his  last  aflhction.         -         -  357 

CHAPTER  IV. 

An  Account  of  his  last  Adliction,  and  the  lioly  and 
happy  Exercises  of  liis  Mind  under  it,       -    369 


CHAPTER  V. 

General  Outlines  of  liis  Character, 


331 


THE  COVENANT  OP  CIRCUMCIS- 
ION, NO  JUST  PLEA  FOR  IN- 
FANT BAPTISM.  By  W.  T.  Brant- 
LY. -        -  398 

A  DISCOURSE,  DELIVEHED  AT  THi;  OR- 
GANIZATION OF  THE  BIBLE  SOCIETY  FOR 
ALBANY  COUNTY  AND  ITS  VICINITY.  By 
A.  L.  COVELL.  -  -  -  -  405 


TERMS  OF  COMMUNION. 
Cone,  D.  D.    - 


By  S.  H. 

-  412 


AN     ESSAY 


DECISION    OF    CHlRACTEiTf'^^ 


By  JOHN  FOSTER. 


,> 


Vf:i 


LETTER    I. 

Examples  of  the  Distress  and  Humiliation 
incident  to  an  irresolute  Mind.  Such  a 
Mind  cannot  be  said  to  belong  to  itself. 
Manner  in  which  a  Man  of  decisive  Spir- 
it deliberates,  and  passes  into  action. 
CcEsar.  Such  a  Spirit  prevents  the  Fret- 
ting awaij,  in  harrctssing  Altercations  of 
Will,  of  the  animated  Feelings  required 
for  sustaining  the  vigor  of  Action.  Averts 
impertinent  Interference.  Acquires,  if 
free  from  Harshness  of  Manner,  an  un- 
disputed and  beneficial  Ascendency  over 
Associates.  Its  last  resource  inflexible 
Pertinacity.  Instance  in  a  Man  on  a 
Jury. 

My  Dear  Friend — We  have  several 
times  talked  of  this  bold  quality,  and  ac- 
knowledged its  great  importance.  Without 
it,  a  human  being,  with  powers  atbestbutfee- 
ble,  and  surrounded  by  innumerable  things 
tending  to  perplex,  to  divert,  or  to  oppress 
their  operations,  is,  indeed,  a  pitable  atom, 
the  sport  of  diverse  and  casual  impulses.  It 
is  a  poor  and  disgraceful  thing,  not  to  be 
able  to  reply,  with  some  degree  of  certainty, 
10  the  simple  questions.  What  will  you  be  ? 
What  will  you  do  1 

A  little  acquaintance  -with  mankind  will 
supply  numberless  illustrations  of  the  im- 
portance of  tills  character.     You  will  often 


NOTE.— The  Review  of  this  work,  by  Robert  Hall, 
was  inserted,  in  our  Second  volume,  through  mistake, 
in  place  of  the  original  work.  We  now  present  to  our 
Readers  the  bonajide  ESSAY,  than  which,  a  more  mas. 
terly  work,  on  this  subject,  never  appeared  in  prini- 
The  Review,  however,  is  no  ordinary  production  ;  and 
will,  we  doubt  not,  be  regarded  as  enhancing  the  value 
of  the  Library.  We  design  to  obviate  all  errors  of  tliis 
kind  ;  but  we  are  glad  that,  in  this  instance,  our  blunder 
is  the  Readers'  !:^in.~PiMiti/icr. 

Vol.  3.— a. 


see  a  person  anxiously  hesitating  a  long 
time  between  different,  or  opposite  determi- 
nations, though  impatient  of  the  pain  of  such 
a  state,  and  ashamed  of  its  debility.  A  faint 
impulse  of  preference  alternates  towards  the 
one  and  toward  the  other ;  and  the  mind,  while 
thusheldina'trembhngbalance,  isvexed  that 
it  cannot  get  some  new  thought,  or  feeling, 
or  motive,  that  it  has  not  more  sense,  more 
resolution,  more  of  any  thing  that  would 
save  it  from  envying  even  the  decisive  in- 
stinct of  brutes.  It  wishes  that  any  circum- 
stance might  happen,  or  any  person  might 
appear,that  could  deliver  it  from  the  miser- 
able suspense. 

In  many  instances,  when  a  determination 
is  adopted,  it  is  frustrated  by  this  indecision. 
A  man,  for  example,  resolves  to  make  a 
journey  to-morrow,  which  he  is  not  under 
an  absolute  necessity  to  make,  but  the  in- 
ducements appear,  this  evening  so  strong, 
that  he  does  not  think  it  possible  he  can  hes- 
itate in  the  morning.  In  the  morning,  how- 
ever, these  inducements  have  unaccounta- 
bly lost  much  of  their  force.  Like  the  sun 
that  is  rising  at  the  same  time,  they  appear 
dim  through  a  mist ;  and  the  sky  lowers,  or 
he  fancies  that  it  lowers ;  recollections  of 
toils  and  fatigues  ill  repaid  in  past  expedi- 
tions rise  and  pass  into  anticipation ;  and  he 
lingers  uncertain,  till  an  advanced  hour 
determines  the  question  for  him,  by  the  cer- 
tainty that  it  is  now  too  late  to  go. 

Perhaps  a  man  has  conclusive  reasons 
for  wishing  to  remove  to  another  place  of 
residence.  But  when  he  is  going  to  take 
the  first  actual  step  towards  executing  his 
purpose,  he  is  met  by  a  new  train  of  ideas, 
presenting  the  possible,  and  magnifying  the 
unquestionable,  disadvantages  anil  uncer- 
tainties of  a  new  situation,  awakening  the  nat- 
ural reluctance  to  quit  a  place  to  which  hab- 
it has  accommodated  his  feelings,  and  which 
has  grown  warm  to  him,  if  I  may  so  express 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION. 


it,  by  his  having  been  in  it  so  long ;  giving 
new  strength  to  his  alFection  for  the  friends 
whom  he  must  leave,  and  so  detaining  him 
still  lingering,  long  after  his  serious  judg- 
ment may  have  dictated  to  him  to  be  gone. 

A  man  may  think  of  some  desirable  alter- 
ation in  his  plan  of  life ;  perhaps  in  the  ar- 
rangements of  his  I'amily,  or  in  the  mode 
of  his  intercourse  with  society.  Would  it 
be  a  good  thing  7  He  thinks  it  would  be  a 
good  thing.  It  certainly  would  be  a  very 
good  thing.  He  wishes  it  were  done.  He 
will  attempt  it  almost  immediately.  The 
following  day  he  doubts  whetlier  it  would 
be  quite  prudent.  Many  things  are  to  be 
considered.  May  there  not  be  in  the  change 
some  evil  of  which  he  is  not  aware  ?  Is  this 
a  proper  time  ?  What  will  the  people  say  ? 
And  thus,  though  he  does  not  formally  re- 
nounce his  purpose,  he  shrinks  out  of  it,  with 
a  wish  that  he  could  be  fully  satisfied  of  the 
propriety  of  renouncing  it.  Perhaps  he 
wishes  that  the  thought  had  never  occurred 
to  him,  since  it  has  diminished  his  self-com- 
placency, without  promoting  his  virtue. 
But  the  next  day,  his  conviction  of  the  wis- 
dom and  advantage  of  such  a  reform  comes 
again  with  great  force.  Then,  Is  it  so  prac- 
ticable, as  I  was  at  first  willing  to  imagine  ? 
Why  not?  Other  men  have  done  much 
greater  things;  a  resolute  mind  is  omnipo- 
tent ;  difficulty  is  a  stimulus  and  a  triumph  to 
a  strong  spirit;  "the  joys  of  conquest  are  the 
joys  of  man."  What  need  I  care  about  peo- 
ple's opinion  7  It  shall  be  done.  He  makes 
the  first  attempt.  But  some  miexpected  ob- 
stacle presents  itself;  he  feels  the  awkward- 
ness of  attempting  an  unaccustomed  man- 
ner of  acting ;  the  questions  or  the  ridicule 
of  his  friends  disconcert  him;  his  ardor 
abates  and  expires.  He  again  begins  to 
question,  whether  it  be  wise,  whether  it  be 
necessary,  whether  it  be  possible;  and  at  last 
surrenders  his  purpose,  to  be,  perhaps,  re- 
sumed when  the  same  feelings  return,  and  to 
be  in  the  same  manner  again  relinquished. 

While  animated  by  some  magnanimous 
sentiments  which  he  has  heard  or  read,  or 
while  musing  on  some  great  example,  a 
man  may  conceive  the  design,  and  partly 
sketch  the  plan,  of  a  generous  enterprize ; 
and  his  imagination  revels  in  the  felicity 
that  would  follow,  to  others  and  to  himself 
from  its  accomplishment.  The  splendid  re- 
presentation always  centres  in  himself,  as 
the  hero  that  is  to  realize  it. 

Yet  a  certain  consciousness  in  his  mind 
doubtfully  asks.  Is  this  any  thing  more  than 
a  dream  ;  or  am  I  really  destined  to  achieve 
such  an  enterprize?  Destined  ! — and  why 
is  not  this  conviction  oi"  its  excellence,  this 
conscious  duty  of  performing  the  noblest 
things  that  are  pospiUle,  and  this  passionate 
ardor,  enough  to  secure  that  I  shall  effect 
it?    He  feels  indignant  at  that  failing  part 


of  his  nature  which  puts  him  so  far  below 
his  own  conceptions,  and  below  the  exam- 
ples which  he  is  admiring ;  and  this  feeling 
assists  him  to  resolve,  tliat  lie  will  undertake 
this  enterprize,  that  he  certainly  will,  though 
the  Alps  or  the  Ocean  lie  between  him  and 
the  object.  Again  his  ardor  slackens  ;  dis- 
trustful of  himself,  he  wishes  to  know  how 
the  design  would  appear  to  other  tninds ; 
and  when  he  speaks  of  it  to  hi.s  associates, 
one  of  them  wonders,  another  laughs,  and 
another  frowns.  His  pride  attempts,  wjiile 
with  them,  a  manful  defence ;  but  his  mind 
is  gradually  descending  toward  their  level, 
he  becomes  ashamed  to  entertain  a  vi.sion- 
ary  project,  which,  therefore,  like  a  rejected 
friend,  desists  from  intruding  on  him  or  fol- 
lowing him,  and  he  subsides,  at  last,  into 
what  he  labors  to  believe  a  man  too  rational 
for  the  schemes  of  ill-calculating  enthusiasm. 
And  it  were  strange  if  the  elFort  to  make 
out  this  favorable  estimate  of  himself  did 
not  succeed,  while  it  is  so  much  more  pleas- 
ant to  attribute  one's  defect  of  enterprize 
to  wisdom,  which  on  maturer  thought  dis- 
approves of  it,  than  to  imbecility  which 
shrinks  from  it. 

A  person  of  undecisive  character  wonders 
how  all  the  embarrassments  in  the  world 
happened  to  meet  exactly  in  his  way,  to 
place  him  just  in  that  one  situation  for  which 
he  is  peculiarly  unadapted,  and  in  which 
he  is  also  willing  to  think  no  other  man 
could  have  acted  with  much  facility  or  con- 
fidence. Incapable  of  setting  up  a  firm  pur- 
pose on  the  basis  of  things  as  they  arc,  he 
is  often  employed  in  vain  speculations  on 
some  different  supposable  state  of  things, 
which  would  have  saved  him  from  all  this 
perplexity  and  irresolution.  He  thinks  what 
a  detennined  course  he  could  have  pursued, 
ly  his  talents,  his  health,  his  age,  had  been 
different ;  if  he  had  been  acquainted  with 
some  one  person  sooner ;  if  his  friends  were 
in  this  or  the  other  point,  different  from  Avhat 
they  are :  or  if  fortune  had  showered  her 
favors  on  him.  And  he  gives  himself  as 
much  license  to  complain  as  if  all  tliese  ad- 
vantages had  been  among  tlie  rights  of  his 
nativity,  but  refused,  by  a  malignant  or  ca- 
pricious fate,  to  his  life.  Thus  he  is  occu- 
pied, instead  of  catching  with  a  vigilant  eye, 
and  f^eizing  with  a  strong  hand,  all  the  pos- 
sibilities of  his  actual  situation. 

A  man  without  decision  can  never  be  said 
to  belong  to  himself;  since,  if  he  dared  to 
assert  that  he  did,  tlie  puny  force  of  some 
cause,  about  as  powerful,  you  would  have 
supposed,  as  a  spider,  may  make  a  capture 
of  the  hapless  boaster  the  very  next  mo- 
ment, and  trium})hantly  exhibit  the  futility 
of  the  determinations  by  which  he  Avas  to 
have  proved  tlie  independence  of  his  under- 
standing and  his  will.  He  belongs  to  what- 
ever can  seize  him :  and  innumerable  things 


FOSTER    ON     DECISION. 


3 


do  actually  verify  their  claim  on  him,  and 
arrest  him  as  he  tries  to  go  along ;  as  twigs 
and  chips,  floating  near  the  edge  of  a  river, 
are  intercepted  by  every  weed,  and  whirled 
in  every  little  eddy.  Having  concluded  on 
a  design,  he  may  pledge  himself  to  accom- 
plish it,  if  the  hundred  diversities  of  feeling 
which  may  come  within  the  week,  will  let 
him.  As  his  character  precludes  all  fore- 
sight of  his  conduct,  he  may  sit  and  wonder 
what  form  and  direction  his  views  and  ac- 
tions are  destined  to  take  to-morrow ;  as  a 
farmer  has  often  to  acknowledge  the  next 
day's  proceedings  are  at  the  disposal  of  its 
winds  and  clouds. 

This  man's  opinions  and  determinations 
always  depend  very  much  on  other  human 
beings;  and  what  chance  for  consistency 
and  stability,  while  the  persons  with  whom 
he  may  converse,  or  transact,  are  so  vari- 
ous ?  This  very  evening,  he  may  talk  with 
a  man  whose  sentiments  will  melt  away  the 
present  form  and  outline  of  his  purposes, 
however  firm  and  defined  he  may  have  fan- 
cied tliem  to  be.  A  succession  of  persons 
whose  faculties  were  stronger  than  his  own 
might,  in  spite  of  his  irresolute  reaction, 
take  him  and  dispose  of  him  as  they  pleased. 
An  infirm  character  practically  confesses 
itself  made  for  subjection,  and  the.  man  so 
constituted  passes,  like  a  slave,  from  owner 
10  owner.  Sometimes  indeed  it  happens, 
that  a  person  of  this  sort  falls  into  the  train, 
and  under  the  permanent  ascendency,  of 
some  one  stronger  character,  which  thus 
becomes  through  life  the  oracle  and  guide, 
and  gives  the  inferior  a  steady  will  and  plan. 
This,  when  the  leading  character  is  virtu- 
ous, is  a  fortunate  relief  to  the  feeling,  and 
an  advantageous  point  gained  to  the  utility, 
of  the  subordinate  appended  mmd. 

It  is  inevitable,  that  the  regulation  of  ev- 
ery man's  plan  must  greatly  depend  on  the 
course  of  events,  which  come  in  an  order 
not  to  be  foreseen  or  prevented.  But  in  ac- 
commodating the  plans  of  conduct  to  the  train 
of  events,  the  difference  between  two  men 
may  be  no  less  than  that,  in  the  one  instance, 
the  man  is  subservient  to  the  events,  and  in 
the  other,  the  events  are  made  subservient 
to  the  man.  Some  men  seem  to  have  been 
taken  along  by  a  succession  of  events,  and, 
as  it  were,  handed  forward  in  quiet  passive- 
ness  from  one  to  another ;  without  any  de- 
termined principle  in  their  own  characters,  by 
which  they  could  constrain  those  events  to 
serve  a  design  formed  antecedently  to  them, 
or  apparently  in  defiance  of  them.  The  events 
seized  them  as  a  neutral  material,  not  they  the 
events.  Others,  advancing  through  life  with 
an  internal  invincible  determination  of  mind, 
have  seemed  to  make  the  train  of  circumstan- 
ces, whatever  they  were,  conduce  as  much 
to  their  chief  design,  as  if  they  had  taken 
place  on  purpose.  It  is  wonderful  how  even 
the  apparent  casualties  of  life  aeera  to  bow' 


to  a  spirit  that  will  not  bow  to  them,  and 
yield  to  assist  a  design,  after  having  in  vain 
attempted  to  frustrate  it. 

You  may  have  seen  such  examples,  though 
they  are,  comparatively,  not  numerous.  You 
may  have  seen  a  man  of  this  strong  charac- 
ter in  a  state  of  indecision  concerning  some 
afl'air,  in  which  it  was  requisite  for  him  to 
determime,  because  it  was  requisite  for  him 
to  act.  But,  in  this  case,  his  manner  would 
assure  you  that  he  would  not  remain  long 
undecided  ;  you  would  wonder  if  you  found 
him  still  at  a  loss  the  next  day.  If  he  ex- 
plained his  thoughts,  you  would  perceive 
that  their  clear  process,  evidently  at  each 
effort  approaching  nearer  to  the  result,  must 
certainly  reach  it  ere  long.  The  delibera- 
tion of  such  a  mind  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  the  fluctuation  of  the  otlier.  To  know 
hoiv  to  obtain  a  determination,  is  one  of  the  first 
symptoms  of  a  rationally  decisive  character. 

Wlien  the  decision  was  formed,  and  the 
purpose  fixed,  you  would  feel  an  entire  as- 
surance that  something  would  absolutely 
be  done.  It  is  characteristic  of  such  a  mind, 
to  think  for  effect ;  and  the  pleasure  of  es- 
caping from  temporary  doubt,  gives  an  ad- 
ditional impulse  to  the  force  with  which  it 
is  carried  into  action.  Such  a  man  will  not 
re-examine  his  conclusions  with  endless  re- 
petition, and  he  will  not  be  delayed  long  by 
consulting  other  persons,  after  he  has  ceas- 
ed to  consult  himself.  He  cannot  bear  to 
sit  still  among  unexecuted  decisions,  and 
unattempted  projects.  We  wait  to  hear  of 
his  achievements,  and  are  confident  we  shall 
not  wait  long.  The  possibility  or  the  means 
may  not  be  obvious  to  us,  but  we  know  that 
every  thing  will  be  attempted,  and  that  such 
a  mind  is  like  a  river,  which,  in  whatever 
manner  it  is  obstructed,  will  make  its  way 
somewhere.  It  must  have  cost  Caesar  ma- 
ny anxious  hours  of  deliberation,  before  he 
decided  to  pass  the  Rubicon ;  but  it  is  prob- 
able he  suffered  but  few  to  elapse  after  his 
decision,  before  he  did  pass  it.  And  any 
one  of  his  friends,  who  should  have  been  ap- 
prized of  this  determination,  and  understood 
his  character,  would  have  smiled  contempt- 
uously to  hear  it  insinuated  that  though  Cre- 
sar  had  resolved,  Caesar  would  not  dare ;  or 
that,  though  he  might  cross  the  Rubicon, 
whose  opposite  bank  presented  to  him  no 
hostile  legions,  he  might  come  to  other  riv- 
ers, which  he  would  not  cross  ;  or  that  either 
rivers,  or  any  other  obstacle,  would  deter 
him  from  prosecuting  the  determination 
from  tills  ominous  commencement  to  its  very 
last  consequence. 

One  signal  advantage  possessed  by  a 
mind  of  tSs  character  is,  that  its  passions 
are  not  wasted.  The  whole  measure  of 
passion  of  which  any  mind,  with  important 
transactions  before  it,  is  capable,  is  not  more 
than  enough  to  supply  interest  and  energy 
to  its  practical  exertions ;  and  therefore  as 


FOSTER     ON    DECISION 


little  as  possible  of  this  sacred  fire-should  be 
expended  in  a  way  that  does  not  augment 
the  Ibrce  of  action.  But  nothing  can  lees 
contribute  to  vigor  of  action,  than  protract- 
ed anxious  fluctuation,  intermixed  with  res- 
olutions decided  and  revoked,  while  yet 
nothing  causes  a  greater  expense  of  feeling. 
The  heart  is  fretted  and  exhausted  by  being 
subjected  to  an  alternation  of  contrary  ex- 
citements, with  the  ultimate  mortifying  con- 
sciousness of  their  contributing  to  no  end. 
The  long-wavering  deliberation,  whether  to 
perform  some  bold  action  of  difficult  virtue, 
has  often  cost  more  to  feeling  than  the  action 
itself,  or  a  series  of  such  actions,  would  have 
cost ;  witli  the  great  disadvantage,  too,  of 
being  relieved  by  none  of  that  invigoration, 
which,  to  the  man  in  action,  would  have 
sprung  from  the  spirit  of  the  action  itseli", 
and  have  renovated  the  ardor  which  it  was 
expending.  A  person  of  decisive  character, 
by  consuming  as  little  passion  as  possible  in 
dubious  musings,  and  abortive  resolutions, 
can  secure  its  utmost  value  and  use,  by 
tlirowing  it  all  into  effective  operation. 

Another  advantage  of  this  charac-ter,  is, 
that  it  exempts  from  a  great  deal  of  inter- 
ference and  persecution,  to  which  an  irres- 
olute man  is  subjected.  Weakness  in  every 
form,  tempts  arrogance ;  and  a  man  may 
be  allowed  to  wish  for  a  kind  of  character 
with  which  stupidity  and  impertinence  may 
not  make  so  free.  When  a  firm  decisive 
spirit  is  recognized,  it  is  curious  to  see  how 
the  space  clears  around  a  man,  and  leaves 
him  room  and  freedom.  The  disposition  to 
interrogate,  dictate,  or  banter,  preserves  a 
respectful  and  politic  distpnce,  judging  it  not 
unwise  to  keep  the  peace  with  a  person  of 
BO  much  energy.  A  conviction  that  he  un 
derstands  and  that  he  wills  with  extraordi 
nary  force,  silences  the  conceit  that  intended 
to  perplex  or  instruct  him,  and  intimidates 
.  the  malice  tliat  was  disposed  to  attack  him 
There  is  a  I'eeling,  as  in  respect  to  Fate, 
that  the  decrees  of  so  inflexible  a  spirit  viust 
be  right,  or  tliat,  at  least,  they  will  be  ac 
comphshed. 

But  not  only  will  he  secure  the  freedom 
of  acting  for  himself,  he  will  obtain  also  by 
degrees  the  coincidence  of  those  in  whose 
company  he  is  to  transact  the  business  of 
hfe.  If  the  manners  of  such  a  man  are  free 
from  arrogance,  and  he  can  qualify  his  firm 
ness  Avith  a  moderate  degree  of  insinuation ; 
and  if  his  measures  have  partly  lost  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  the  dictates  of  his  will, 
under  the  wider  and  softer  sanction  of  some 
experience  that  they  are  reasonable  ;  both 
competition  and  fear  will  be  laid  to  sleep, 
and  his  will  may  acquire  an  unresisted  as- 
cendency over  many  who  will  be  pleased  to 
fall  into  the  mechanism  of  a  system,  which 
they  find  makes  them  more  successful  and 
happy  than  they  could  have  been  amidst 


the  anxiety  of  adjusting  plans  and  expedi- 
ents of  their  own,  and  the  consequences  of 
often  adjusting  them  ill.  I  have  known  sev- 
eral parents,  both  fathers  and  mothers, 
whose  management  of  their  families  has 
answered  this  description  ;  and  has  display- 
ed a  striking  example  of  the  facile  compla- 
cency with  which  a  number  of  persons,  of 
different  ages  and  dispositions,  will  yield  to 
the  decisions  of  a  firm  mind,  acting  on  an 
equitable  and  .enlightened  system. 

The  last  resource  of  this  character  is, 
hard  inflexible  pertinacity,  on  which  it  may 
be  allowed  to  rest  its  strfcngth,  after  finding 
it  can  be  efiectual  in  none  of  its  milder  forms. 
I  remember  admiring  an  instance  of  this 
kind,  in  a  firm,  sagacious,  and  very  estima- 
ble old  man,  Avhom  I  well  knew,  and  who 
is  now  dead.  Being  on  a  jury,  in  a  trial  of 
life  and  death,  he  Avas  completely  satisfied 
of  the  innocence  of  the  prisoner ;  the  other 
eleven  were  of  the  opposite  opinion.  But 
he  was  resolved  the  man  should  not  be  con- 
demned ;  and  as  the  first  effort  lor  prevent- 
ing it,  very  properly  made  application  to 
the  minds  of  his  associates,  spending  seve- 
ral hours  in  laboring  to  convince  them.  But 
he  found  he  made  no  impression,  while  he 
was  exhausting  the  strength  which  was  to 
be  reserved  lor  another  mode  of  operation. 
He  then  calmly  told  them,  it  should  now  be 
a  trial  who  could  endure  confinement  and 
famine  the  longest,  and  that  they  might  be 
quite  assured  he  would  sooner  die  than  re- 
lease them  at  the  expense  of  the  prisoner's 
hfe.  In  this  situation,  they  spent  about 
twentj^-four  hours ;  when,  at  length,  all  ac- 
ceded to  his  verdict  of  acquittal. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  amplify  on  the  in- 
dispensable importance  of  this  quality,  in 
order  to  the  accomplishment  of  any  thing 
eminently  good.  We  instantly  see  that  ev- 
ery path  to  signal  excellence  is  so  obstruct- 
ed and  beset,  that  none  but  a  spirit  so  qual- 
ified can  pass.  But  it  is  time  to  examine 
what  are  the  elements  which  compose  the 
character. 


LETTER    II. 

Brief  inquiry  into  the  Constituents  of  this 
commanding  Quality.  Corpoi'eal  Con- 
stitution.  Possibili/y,  nevertheless.,  of  a 
firm  Mind  in  a  feeble  Body.  Confidence 
in  a  Man^s  own  Judgment.  Hiis  is  an 
uncommon  Distinction.  Picture  of  a  Man 
who  wants  it.  This  Confidence  distin- 
guished from  Obstinacy.  Partly  found- 
ed on  E.iyperience.  Takes  a  high  Tone 
of  Independence  in  devising  Schemes. 
Distressing  Dilemmas. 

Perhap.s  the  best  mode  would  be  to  bring 
into  our  thoughts,  in  succession,  the  most 


FOSTER    ON     DECISION. 


5 


remarkable  examples  of  this  character  that 
we  have  known  in  real  life,  or  that  we  have 
read  of  in  history,  or  even  in  fiction,  and  at- 
tentively to  observe,  in  their  conversations, 
manners,  and  actions,  what  principles  ap- 
pear to  produce,  or  to  constitute  this  com- 
manding distinction.  You  will  easily  pur- 
sue this  investigation  yourself.  I  lately 
made  a  partial  attempt,  and  shall  offer  you 
a  number  of  suggestions. 

As  a  previous  observation,  it  is  beyond 
all  doubt  that  very  much  depends  on  the 
constitution  of  the  body.  It  would  be  for 
physiologists  to  explain,  if  it  were  explica- 
ble, the  via7i7ier  in  which  corporeal  organ- 
ization affects  the  mind;  I  only  assume  it  as  a 
fact,  that  there  is,  in  the  material  construction 
of  some  persons,  much  more  than  of  others, 
some  quality  which  augments,  if  it  does  not 
create,  both  the  stability  of  their  resolution, 
and  the  energy  of  their  active  tendencies. 
There  is  something  that,  like  the  ligatures 
which  one  class  of  the  Olympic  combatants 
bound  on  their  hands  and  wrists,  braces 
round,  if  I  may  so  describe  it,  and  compress- 
es the  powers  of  the  mind,  giving  them  a 
steady  forcible  spring  and  re-action,  which 
they  would  presently  lose  if  they  could  be 
transferred  into  a  constitution  of  soft,  yield- 
ing, treacherous  debility.  The  action  of 
strong  character  seems  to  demand  some- 
tliing  firm  in  its  corporeal  basis,  as  massive 
engines  require,  for  their  weight  and  for 
their  working,  to  be  fixed  on  a  solid  founda- 
tion. Accordingly  I  believe  it  would  be 
found,  that  a  majority  of  the  persons  most 
remarkable  for  decisive  character,  have  pos- 
sessed great  constitutional  firmness.  I  do 
not  mean  an  exemption  from  disease  and 
pain,  nor  any  certain  measure  of  mechani- 
cal strength,  but  a  tone  of  vigor,  the  oppo- 
site to  lassitude,  and  adapted  to  great  exer- 
tion and  endurance.  This  is  clearly  evinced 
in  respect  to  many  of  them,  by  the  prodig- 
ious labors  and  deprivations  which  they 
have  borne  in  prosecuting  their  designs. 
The  physical  nature  has  seemed  a  proud 
ally  of  the  moral  one,  and  with  a  hardness 
that  would  never  shrink,  has  sustained  the 
energy  that  could  never  remit. 

A  view  of  the  disparities  between  the  dif- 
ferent races  of  animals  inferior  to  man,  will 
show  the  effect  of  organization  on  disposi- 
tion. Compare,  for  instance,  a  lion  with 
the  common  beasts  of  our  fields,  many  of 
them  composed  of  a  larger  bulk  of  animated 
substance.  What  a  vast  superiority  of 
courage  impetuous  movement,  and  determin- 
ed action ;  and  we  attribute  tliis  difference 
to  some  great  dissimilarity  of  modification 
in  tlie  composition  of  the  animated  materi- 
al. Now  it  is  probable  that  a  difference 
somewhat  analagous  subsists  between  some 
human  bodies  and  others,  and  tliat  tJiis  is 
no  small  part  of  the  cause  of  the  striking  in 


equalities  in  respect  to  decisive  character. 
A  very  decisive  man  has  probably  more  of 
the  physical  quality  of  a  lion  in  his  compo- 
sition than  other  men. 

It  is  observable  that  women  in  general 
have  less  inflexibihty  of  character  than  men ; 
and  though  many  moral  influences  contrib- 
ute to  this  difference,  the  principal  cause 
may  probably  be  something  less  firm  in 
the  corporeal  texture.  Now  that  physical 
quality,  whatever  it  is,  from  the  existence 
of  a  smaller  measure  of  which  in  the  con- 
stitution of  the  frame,  women  have  less 
firmness  than  men,  may  be  possessed  by 
one  man  more  than  by  men  in  general,  in 
a  greater  degree  of  difference  than  that  by 
which  men  in  general  exceed  women. 

If  there  have  been  found  some  resolute 
spirits  powerfully  asserting  themselves  in 
feeble  vehicles,  it  is  so  much  the  better; 
since  this  would  authorize  a  hope,  that  if 
all  the  other  grand  requisites  can  be  com- 
bined, they  may  form  a  strong  character,  in 
spite  of  the  counteraction  of  an  unadapted 
constitution.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  no 
constitutional  hardness  will  form  the  true 
character,  without  those  grand  principles ; 
though  it  may  produce  that  false  and  con- 
temptible kind  of  decision  which  we  term 
obstinacy  ;  a  stubbornness  of  temper,  which 
can  assign  no  reasons  but  mere  will,  for  a 
constancy  which  acts  in  the  nature  of  dead 
weight  rather  than  of  strength ;  resembling 
less  the  re-action  of  a  powerful  spring,  than 
the  gravitation  of  a  big  stone. 

The  first  prominent  mental  characteristic 
of  the  person  whom  I  describe  is,  a  com- 
plete confidence  in  his  own  judgment.  It 
will  perhaps  be  said,  that  this  is  not  so  un- 
common a  qualification.  I  however  think  it 
is  uncommon.  It  is  indeed  obvious  enough, 
that  almost  all  men  have  a  flattering  esti- 
mate of  their  own  understanding,  and  that 
so  long  as  this  understanding  has  no  hard- 
er task  than  to  form  opinions  which  are  not 
to  be  tried  in  action,  they  have  a  most  self- 
complacent  assurance  of  being  right.  This 
assurance  extends  to  the  judgments  which 
they  pass  on  the  proceedings  of  others. 
But  let  them  be  brought  into  the  necessity 
of  adopting  actual  measures  in  an  untried 
proceeding,  where,  miassisted  by  any  pre- 
vious example  or  practice,  they  are  redu- 
ced to  depend  on  the  resources  of  pure 
judgment  alone,  and  you  will  see,  in  many 
cases,  this  confidence  of  opinion  vanish 
away.  The  mind  seems  all  at  once  placed 
in  a  misty  vacuity,  where  it  reaches  round 
on  all  sides,  but  can  find  nothing  to  take 
hold  of  Or  if  not  lost  in  vacuity,  it  is  over- 
whelmed by  confusion  ;  and  feels  as  if  its 
faculties  were  annihilated  as  soon  as  it  be- 
gins to  think  of  schemes  and  calculations 
among  the  possibilities,  chances,  and  haz- 
ards, which  overspread  a  wide,  untrodden 


FOSTER    OiN     DECISION, 


field  ;  and  tliis  conscious  imbecility  becomes 
severe  distress,  when  it  is  believed  that  con- 
sequences, of  serious  or  unknown  good  or 
evil,  are  depending  on  the  decisions  which 
are  to  be  formed  amidst  so  mudi  uncertain- 
ty. The  thought  painfully  recurs  at  each 
step  and  turn,  I  may  be  right,  but  it  is  more 
probable  I  am  wrong.  It  is  like  tlie  case 
of  a  rustic,  walking  in  London,  who,  hav- 
ing no  certain  direction  through  the  vast 
confusion  of  streets  to  the  place  where  he 
wishes  to  be,  advances,  and  hesitates,  and 
turns,  and  inquires,  and  becomes,  at  each 
corner,  still  more  inextricably  perplexed.* 
A  man  in  tliis  situation  feels  he  shall  be  very 
unfortunate  if  he  cannot  accomplish  more 
than  he  can  understand.  Is  not  this  ire- 
quently,  when  brought  to  the  practical  test, 
the  stiite  of  a  mind  not  much  disposed,  in 
general,  to  undervalue  its  own  judgment? 

In  cases  where  judgment  is  not  so  com- 
pletely bewildered,  you  will  yet  perceive  a 
great  practical  distrust  oi'  it.  A  man  has 
perhaps  advanced  a  considerable  way 
towards  a  decision,  but  then  lingers  at  a 
small  distance  from  it,  till  necessity,  with 
a  stronger  hand  than  conviction,  impels  him 
upon  it.  He  cannot  see  the  whole  length 
of  the  question,  and  suspects  the  part  be- 
yond his  sight  to  be  the  most  important, 
because  it  is  beyond.  He  fears  that  cer- 
tain possible  consequences,  if  they  should 
follow,  would  cause  him  to  reproach  him- 
self for  his  present  determination.  He  won- 
ders how  this  or  tlie  other  person  would 
have  acted  in  the  same  circumstances; 
eagerly  catches  at  any  thing  like  a  respect- 
able precedent ;  and  looks  anxiously  round 
to  know  what  each  person  thinks  on  the 
subject;  while  the  various  and  opposite 
opinions  to  which  he  listens,  perhaps  only 
serve  to  confound  his  perception  of  the 
track  of  thought  by  which  he  had  hoped  to 
reach  his  conclusion.  Even  when  that  con- 
clusion is  obtained,  there  are  not  many 
minds  that  might  not  be  brought  a  few  de- 
grees back  into  dubious  hesitation,  by  a 
man  of  respected  understanding  saying,  in 
a  confident  tone,  Your  plan  is  injudicious ; 
your  selection  is  unfortunate;  the  event 
will  disappoint  you. 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  I  am  main- 
taining such  an  absurdity  as  that  a  man's 
complete  reliance  on  his  own  judgment  is 
necessarily  a  proof  of  that  judgment  be- 
ing correct  and  strong.  Intense  stupidity 
may  be  in  this  point  the  rival  of  clear-sight- 
ed wisdom.  I  had  once  some  knowledge 
of  a  person,,  whom  no  mortal,  not  even 


'  "Why  does  not  the  man  call  a  hackney-coach  1"  a 
gay  reader,  I  am  aware,  will  say  of  a  person  so  beinaz- 
ed  in  a  great  town.  So  he  migtit,  certainly  ;  and  the  gay 
reader  and  I  have  only  to  deplore  that  there  is  no  paral- 
lel crmvenionco  for  the  ase;iitance  of  perplexed  under- 
istaiidings. 


Cromwell,  could  have  excelled  in  the  arti- 
cle of  confidence  in  his  judgment,  and  con- 
sequent inflexibility  of  conduct;  v^^hile  at 
the  same  time  his  successive  schemes  were 
ill-judged  to  a  degree  that  made  his  disap- 
pointments ridiculous  rather  than  pitiable. 
He  was  not  an  example  of  that  simple  ob- 
stinacy which  I  have  mentioned  before ; 
for  he  considered  his  measures,  and  did 
not  want  for  reasons  which  satisfied  him- 
self beyond  a  doubt  of  their  being  most  ju- 
dicious. This  confidence  of  opinion  may 
be  pos.sessed  by  a  person  in  whom  it  will  be 
contemptible  or  mischievous ;  but  its  prop- 
er place  is  in  a  very  different  character,  and 
without  it  there  can  be  no  dignified  actors 
in  human  affairs. 

If,  after  observing  how  foolish  this  confi- 
dence appears  as  a  feature  in  a  weak  char- 
acter, it  be  inquired  what  it  is  in  a  justly  de- 
cisive person's  manner  of  thinking,  which 
authorizes  him  in  this  firm  assurtxnce  tliat 
his  view  of  the  concerns  before  him  is  com- 
prehensive and  accurate ;  he  may,  in  an- 
swer, justify  his  confidence  upon  euch 
grounds  as  these :  that  he  is  conscious  that 
objects  are  presented  to  his  mind  with  an 
exceedingly  distinct  and  perspicuous  aspect, 
not  like  the  shapes  of  moonlight,  or  like 
Ossian's  ghosts,  dim  forms  of  uncircumscrib- 
ed  shade ;  that  he  sees  the  different  parts 
of  the  subject  in  an  arranged  order,  not  in 
dispersed  fragments ;  that  in  each  delibera- 
tion the  main  object  keeps  its  clear  pre-em- 
inence, and  he  perceives  tlie  bearings  wliich 
the  subordinate  and  conducive  ones  have 
on  it ;  that  perhaps  several  dissimilar  trains 
of  thought  lead  him  to  the  same  conclu- 
sion ;  and  that  he  finds  his  judgment  does 
not  vary  according  to  tlie  moods  of  his 
feelings. 

It  may  be  presumed  that  a  high  degree 
of  this  character  is  not  attained  without  a 
considerable  measure  of  that  kind  of  cer- 
tainty, with  respect  to  the  relations  of  things, 
which  can  be  acquired  only  from  experi- 
ence and  observation ;  though  an  extreme 
vigilance  in  the  exercise  of  observation,  and 
a  strong  and  strongly  exerted  power  of 
generalizing  on  experience,  may  have  made 
a  comparatively  short  time  enough  to  sup- 
ply a  large  share  of  the  wisdom  derivable 
from  these  sources ;  so  that  a  mtm  may  be 
rich  in  the  benefits  of  experience,  and  there- 
fore may  have  all  the  decision  of  judgment 
legitimately  (bunded  on  that  accomplish- 
ment, long  before  he  is  old.  Tlais  experi- 
mental knowledge  he  will  be  able  to  apply 
in  a  direct  and  immediate  mannner,  and 
without  refining  it  into  general  principles, 
to  some  situations  of  affairs,  so  as  to  antici- 
pate the  consequences  of  certain  actions  in 
those  situations  as  confidently  and  ration- 
ally as  the  kind  of  fruit  to  be  produced  by 
a  given  kind  of  tree.     Thus  far  the   facts 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION. 


of  his  experience  will  serve  him  as  prece- 
dents. At  the  next  step,  he  will  be  able  to 
apply  this  knowledge,  now  converted  into 
general  principles,  to  a  multitude  of  cases 
bearing  but  a  partial  resemblance  to  any- 
thing he  has  actually  witnessed.  And  then, 
in  looking  forward  to  the  possible  occur- 
rence of  altogether  new  combinations  of 
circumstances,  he  can  trust  to  the  I'csources 
which  he  is  persuaded  his  intellect  will  open 
to  him,  or  is  humbly  confident,  if  he  is  a 
devout  man,  that  the  Supreme  Intelligence 
will  not  suti'er  to  be  wanting  to  him,  when 
the  occasion  arrives.  In  proportion  as  his 
views  include,  at  all  events,  more  certain- 
ties than  those  of  other  men,  he  is  less  fear- 
ful of  contingencies.  And  if,  in  the  course 
of  executing  his  design,  unexpected  disas- 
trous events  should  befal,  but  which  are 
not  owing  to  any  thing  wrong  in  the  plan 
and  principles  of  that  design,  but  to  for- 
eign causes ;  it  will  be  characteristic  of 
a  strong  mind  to  attribute  these  events  dis- 
criminately  to  their  own  causes,  and  not  to 
the  plan,  which,  therefore,  instead  of  being 
disliked  and  rehnquished,  will  be  still  as 
much  approved  as  before,  and  the  man 
will  proceed  calmly  to  the  sequel  of  it 
without  any  change  of  arrangement ;  un- 
less indeed  these  sinister  events  should  be 
such  as  to  alter  the  whole  state  of  things 
to  which  the  plan  was  correctly  adapted, 
and  so  to  create  a  necessity  on  this  account 
for  an  entirely  new  one  to  be  formed. 

Without  absolutely  despising  the  under- 
standings of  other  men,  he  will  perceive 
their  dimensions  compared  with  his  own, 
which  will  preserve  its  independence  through 
every  communication  and  encounter.  It  is 
however  a  part  of  this  very  independence, 
that  he  will  hold  himself  at  liberty  to  alter 
his  opinion,  if  the  information  which  may 
be  communicated  to  him,  shall  give  suffi- 
cient reason.  And  as  no  one  is  so  sensible 
of  the  importance  of  a  complete  acquaint- 
ance with  a  subject  as  the  man  wlio  is  al- 
ways endeavoring  to  think  conclusively,  he 
will  listen  with  the  utmost  attention  to  the 
inforynaiion,  which  may  be  received  some- 
times from  persons  for  whose  judgment  he 
has  no  great  respect.  The  information 
which  they  may  afford  to  him  is  not  all  the 
less  valuable  for  the  circumstance,  that  his 
practical  inferences  from  it  may  be  quite 
dirterent  from  theirs.  Counsel  will  in  gen- 
eral have  only  so  much  weight  with  him  as 
it  supplies  knowledge  wliich  may  assist  his 
judgment ;  he  will  yield  nothing  to  it  as 
authority;  but  he  may  hear  it  with  more 
candor  and  good  temper,  from  being  con- 
scious of  this  independence  of  his  judg- 
ment, than  the  man  who  is  afraid  lest  the 
first  person  that  begins  to  persuade  him, 
should  confound  his  determination.  He 
feels  it  entirely  a  work  of  his  own  to  delibe- 


rate and  to  resolve,  amidst  all  the  advice 
which  may  be  attempting  to  control  him. 
If,  with  an  assurance  of  his  intellect  being 
of  the  highest  order,  he  also  holds  a  com- 
manding station,  he  will  feel  it  gratuitous 
to  consult  with  any  one,  excepting  merely 
to  receive  statements  of  facts.  This  ap- 
pears to  be  exemplified  in  the  man,  who 
has  lately  shown  the  nations  of  Europe 
how  large  a  portion  of  the  world  may,  when 
Heaven  permits,  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  sol- 
itary workings  of  an  individual  mind. 

The  strongest  trial  of  this  determined 
style  of  judgment  is  in  those  cases  of  ur- 
gency where  something  must  immediately 
be  done,  and  where  the  consequences  of 
deciding  right  or  wrong  are  of  great  impor- 
tance ;  as  in  the  office  of  a  medical  man  in 
treating  a  patient  whose  situation,  while  it 
renders  some  hazardous  means  indispensa- 
ble, also  renders  it  extremely  doubtful 
which  ought  to  be  selected.  A  still  strong- 
er illustration  is  the  case  of  a  general,  who 
is  compelled,  in  the  very  instant,  to  make 
dispositions  on  which  the  event  of  a  battle, 
the  lives  of  thousands  of  his  men,  or  per- 
haps almost  the  fate  of  a  nation  may  de- 
pend. He  may  even  be  reduced  to  an  al- 
ternative which  appears  equally  dreadful 
on  both  sides.  Such  a  dilemma  is  describ- 
ed in  Denon's  account  of  one  of  the  san- 
guinary confficts  between  the  French  and 
the  Mamelukes,  as  having  for  a  while  held 
General  Desaix,  though  a  very  decisive 
commander,  in  a  state  of  anguish. 


LETTER    III. 

Energy  of  Feeling  as  neccssai'y  as  Confi- 
dence of  Opinion.  Conduct  that  results 
from,  their  combination.  Effect  and 
Value  of  a  Ruling  Passion.  Great 
Decision  of  Character  invests  even  icick- 
ed  Beings  with  something  which  we  are 
tempted  to  admire.  Satan.  Zanga. 
A  Spanish  Assassin.  Remarkable  Ex- 
ample of  this  Quality  in  a  man  who  was 
a  Prodigal  and  became  poor,  but  turned 
Miser andbecamerich.  Howard.  White- 
field.     Christian  Missionaries. 

This  indispensable  basis,  confidence  of 
opinion,  is  however,  not  enough  to  consti- 
tute the  character  in  question.  For  many 
persons,  who  have  been  conscious  and 
proud  of  a  much  stronger  grasp  of  thought 
than  ordinary  men,  and  have  held  the  most 
decided  opinions  on  important  things  to  be 
done,  have  yet  exhibited,  in  the  hstlessness 
or  inconstancy  of  their  actions,  a  contrast 
and  a  disgrace  to  tlie  operations  of  tJieir 
understandings.  For  Avant  of  some  cogent 
feeling  impelling  them  to  carry  every  inter- 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION. 


nal  decision  into  action,  they  have  been 
still  left  where  they  were ;  and  a  dignified 
judgment  has  been  seen  in  the  hapless 
plight  of  having  no  effective  forces  to  exe- 
cute its  decrees. 

It  is  evident  then,  (and  I  perceive  I  have 
partly  anticipated  this  article  in  the  first 
letter,)  that  another  essential  principle  of 
the  character  is,  a  total  incapability  of  sur- 
rendering to  indifference  or  delay  the  seri- 
ous determinations  of  the  mind.  A  stren- 
uous icill  must  accompany  the  conclusions 
of  thought,  and  constantly  incite  the  utmost 
efforts  for  their  practical  accomplishment. 
The  intellect  must  be  invested,  if  I  may  so 
describe  it,  witli  a  glowmg  atmosphere  of 
passion,  under  the  influence  of  which,  the 
cold  dictates  of  reason  take  fire,  and  spring 
into  active  powers. 

Revert  once  more  in  your  thoughts  to 
the  persons  most  remarkably  distinguished 
by  tills  decision.  You  will  perceive,  that 
instead  of  allowing  themselves  to  sit  down 
dehghted  after  the  labor  of  successful  think- 
ing, as  if  they  had  completed  some  great 
thing,  they  regard  this  labor  but  as  a  cir- 
cumstance of  preparation,  and  the  conclu- 
sions resulting  from  it  as  of  no  more  value, 
till  applied  to  the  greater  labor  which  is  to 
follow,  than  tne  entombed  lamps  of  the 
Rosicrucians.  They  are  not  disposed  to  be 
content  in  a  region  of  mere  ideas,  while 
they  ought  to  be  advancing  into  the  field  of 
corresponding  realities ;  they  retire  to  that 
region  sometimes,  as  ambitious  adventurers 
anciently  went  to  Delphi,  to  consult,  but 
not  to  reside.  You  will  therefore  find  tliem 
almost  uniformly  in  determined  pursuit  of 
some  object,  on  which  tliey  fix  a  keen  and 
steady  look,  and  which  they  never  lose 
sight  of,  while  they  follow  it  through  the 
confused  multitude  of  other  things. 

A  person  actuated  by  such  a  spirit,  seems 
by  his  manner  to  say,  Do  you  think  that  I 
would  not  disdain  to  adopt  a  purpose  which 
I  would  not  devote  my  utmost  force  to  ef- 
fect ;  or  that  having  thus  devoted  my  ex- 
ertions, I  will  intermit  or  withdraw  them, 
through  indolence,  debility,  or  caprice ;  or 
that  I  will  surrender  my  object  to  any  inter- 
ference except  the  uncontrollable  dispensa- 
tions of  Providence  ?  No,  I  am  linked  to 
my  determination  with  iron  bands ;  it  clings 
to  me  with  the  tenacity  of  my  fate,  of  the 
accomplishment  of  which,  the  frustration  of 
my  purpose  may  indeed  be  doomed  as  a 
part,  but  is  doomed  so  only  through  calami- 
ty or  death. 

This  display  of  systematic  energy  seems 
to  indicate  a  constitution  of  mind  in  which 
the  passions  are  commensurate  with  the  in- 
tellectual part,  and  ai  the  same  time  hold 
an  inseparable  correspondence  with  it,  like 
the  faitnful  sympathy  of  the  tides  with  the 
phases  of  the  moon.    There  is  such  an 


equality  and  connection,  that  subjects  of 
the  decisions  of  judgment  become  propor- 
tionably  and  of  course  the  objects  of  pas- 
sion. When  the  judgment  decides  with  a 
very  strong  preference,  that  same  strength 
of  preference,  actuating  also  the  passions, 
devotes  them  with  energy  to  the  object, 
so  long  as  it  is  thus  approved ;  and  this 
will  produce  such  a  conduct  as  I  have  des- 
cribed. When  therefore  a  firm,  self-confi- 
ding, and  unaltering  judgment  fails  to 
make  a  decisive  character,  it  is  evident 
either  that  the  passions  in  that  mind  are 
too  languid  to  be  capable  of  a  strong  and 
unremitting  excitement,  which  defects  make 
an  indolent  or  irresolute  man ;  or  that  they 
perversely  sometimes  coincide  with  judg- 
ment and  sometimes  clash  with  it,  which 
makes  an  inconsistent  or  versatile  man. 

There  is  no  man  so  irresolute  as  not  to 
act  with  determination  in  many  single  ca- 
ses, where  the  motive  is  powerful  and  sim- 
ple, and  where  there  is  no  need  of  plan 
and  perseverance ;  but  this  gives  no  claim 
to  the  term  character,  which  expresses  the 
habitual  tenor  of  a  man's  active  being. 
The  character  may  be  displayed  in  the 
successive  unconnected  undertakings,  which 
are  each  of  limited  extent,  and  end  with  the 
attainment  of  their  particular  objects.  But 
it  is  seen  to  the  greatest  advantage  in  those 
grand  schemes  of  action,  which  have  no 
necessary  point  of  conclusion,  which  con- 
tinue on  tlirough  successive  years,  and  ex- 
tend even  to  that  dark  period  when  the 
agent  himself  is  withdrawn  from  human 
sight. 

I  have  repeatedly  remarked  to  you,  in 
conversation,  the  effect  of  what  has  been 
called  a  Ruhng  Passion.  When  its  object 
is  noble,  and  an  enhghtened  understanding 
directs  its  movements,  it  appears  to  me  a 
great  felicity;  but  whether  its  object  be 
noble  or  not,  it  infallibly  creates,  where  it 
exists  in  great  force,  tlmt  active,  ardent  con- 
stancy, which  I  describe  as  a  capital  feat- 
ure of  the  decisive  character.  The  Sub- 
ject of  such  a  commanding  passion  won- 
ders, if  indeed  he  were  at  leisure  to  won- 
der, at  the  persons  who  pretend  to  attach 
importance  to  an  object  which  they  make 
none  but  the  most  languid  efforts  to  secure. 
The  utmost  powers  of  the  man  are  con- 
strained into  the  service  of  the  favorite 
Cause  by  this  passion,  which  sweeps  away, 
as  it  advances,  all  the  trivial  objections  and 
little  opposing  motives,  and  seems  almost 
to  open  a  way  tlirough  impossibilities.  This 
spirit  comes  on  him  in  the  morning  as  soon 
as  he  recovers  his  consciousness,  and  com- 
mands and  impels  him  through  the  day, 
with  a  power  from  which  he  could  not 
emancipate  himself  if  he  would.  When 
the  force  of  habit  is  added,  the  determina- 
tion becomes  invincible,  and  seems  to  as- 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION. 


sume  rank  with  the  great  laws  of  nature, 
making  it  nearly  as  certain  that  such  a 
man  will  persist  in  his  course  as  that  in 
the  morning  the  sun  will  rise. 

A  persisting,  untameable  efficacy  of  soul 
gives  a  seductive  and  pernicious  dignity 
even  to  a  character  and  a  course  which 
every  moral  principle  ibrbids  us  to  approve. 
Often  in  the  narrations  of  history  and  fic- 
tion, an  agent  of  the  most  dreadful  designs 
compels  a  sentiment  of  deep  respect  for 
the  unconquerable  mind  displayed  in  their 
execution.  While  we  shudder  at  his  activ- 
ity, we  say  witli  regret,  mingled  with  an 
admiration  which  borders  on  partiality, 
What  a  noble  being  this  would  have  been, 
if  goodness,  had  been  his  destiny!  The 
partiality  is  evinced  in  the  very  selection  of 
terms,  by  which  we  show  that  we  are  tempt- 
ed to  refer  his  atrocity  rather  to  his  destiny 
than  to  his  choice.  I  wonder  whether  an 
•emotion  like  this,  has  not  been  experienced 
by  each  reader  of  Paradise  Lost,  relative  to 
the  Leader  of  the  infernal  spirits ;  a  proof, 
if  sucli  were  the  fact,  that  a  very  serious 
error  has  been  committed  by  the  greatest 
poet.  In  some  of  the  Iiigh  examples  of  am- 
bition, we  almost  revere  tlie  force  of  mind 
which  impelled  them  forward  through  the 
longest  series  of  action,  superior  to  doubt 
and  fluctuation,  and  disdainful  of  ease,  of 
pleasures,  of  opposition,  and  of  danger. 
We  bow  to  the  ambitious  spirit  which  reach- 
ed the  true  subhme  in  the  reply  of  Pompey 
to  his  friends,  who  dissuaded  him  from  haz- 
arding his  life  on  a  tempestuous  sea  in  or- 
der to  be  at  Rome  on  an  imporant  occasion : 
"  It  is  necessary  for  me  to  go  ;  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary for  me  to  live." 

Revenge  lias  produced  wonderful  exam- 
ples of  this  unremitting  constancy  to  a  pur- 
pose. Zanga  is  a  well-supported  illustra- 
lion.  And  you  may  have  read  a  real  in- 
.stance  of  a  Spaniard,  wlio,  being  injured 
by  another  inhabitant  of  the  same  town, 
resolved  to  destroy  him :  the  other  was  ap- 
prised of  this,  and  removed  with  the  ut- 
most secrecy,  as  he  thought,  to  another 
town  at  a  considerable  distance,  where  how- 
ever he  had  not  been  more  than  a  day  or 
two,  before  he  found  that  his  enemy  was 
arrived  there.  He  removed  in  the  same 
manner  to  several  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
remote  from  each  other  ;  but  in  every  place 
quickly  perceived  that  his  deadly  pursuer 
was  near  him.  At  last  he  went  to  South 
America,  where  he  had  enjoyed  his  secu- 
rity but  a  very  short  time,  before  his  unre- 
lenting enemy  came  up  with  him,  and  ac- 
complished his  purpose. 

You  may  recollect  the  mention,  in  one  of 
our  conversations,  of  a  young  man  who 
vvasted  in  two  or  three  years,  a  large  pat- 
rimony in  profligate  revels  with  a  number 
of  worthless  associates  who  called  them-, 

Vol.  3.— B. 


selves  his  friends,  and  who,  when  his  last 
means  were  exhausted,  treated  him  of 
course  with  neglect  or  contempt.  Reduced 
to  absolute  want,  he  one  day  went  out  of 
the  house  with  an  intention  to  put  an  end  to 
his  life  ;  but  wandering  a  while  almost  un- 
consciously, he  came  to  the  brow  of  an  em- 
inence which  overlooked  what  were  lately 
his  estates.  Here  he  sat  down,  and  re- 
mained fixed  in  thought  a  number  of  hours, 
at  the  end  of  wliich  he  sprang  from  the 
ground  with  a  vehement,  exulting  emotion. 
He  had  formed  iiis  resolution,  whicli  was, 
that  all  these  estates  should  be  his  again ;  he 
had  formed  his  plan  too,  which  he  instantly 
began  to  execute.  He  walked  hastily  for- 
ward, determined  to  seize  the  very  first 
opportunity,  of  however  humble  a  kind,  to 
gain  any  money,  though  it  Avere  ever  so 
despicable  a  trifle,  and  resolved  absolutely 
not  to  spend,  if  he  could  help  it  a  farthing  of 
whatever  he  might  obtain.  TJie  first  thing 
that  drew  his  attention  was  a  heap  of  coals 
shot  out  of  carts  on  the  pavement  before  a 
house.  He  offered  himself  to  shovel  or 
wheel  them  into  the  place  where  they  were 
to  be  laid,  and  was  employed.  He  receiv- 
ed a  few  pence  for  the  labor  ;  and  then,  in 
pursuance  of  the  saving  part  of  his  plan, 
requested  some  small  gratuity  of  meat  and 
drink,  which  was  given  him.  He  then 
looked  ovtt  for  the  next  thing  that  might 
chance  to  offer ;  and  went,  with  indefatiga- 
ble industry,  through  a  succession  of  ser- 
vile employments,  in  different  places,  of 
longer  and  shorter  duration,  still  scrupu- 
lously avoiding,  as  far  as  possible,  the  ex- 
pense of  a  penny.  He  promptly  seized 
every  opportunity  which  could  advance  his 
design,  without  regarding  the  meanness  of 
occupation  or  appearance.  By  this  meth- 
od he  had  gained  after  a  considerable  time, 
money  enough  to  purchase  in  order  to  sell 
again  a  few  cattle,  of  which  he  had  taken 
pains  to  understand  the  value.  He  speedily 
but  cautiously  turned  his  first  gains  into 
second  advantages ;  retained  without  a  sin- 
gle deviation  his  extreme  parsimony ;  and 
thus  advanced  by  degrees  into  larger  trans- 
actions and  hicipient  wealth.  I  did  not 
hear,  or  have  forgotten,  the  continued 
course  of  his  life;  but  the  final  result  was, 
that  he  more  than  recovered  his  lost  pos- 
sessions, and  died  an  inveterate  miser,  worth 
sixty  thousand  pounds.  I  have  always 
recollected  this  as  a  signal  instance,  though 
in  an  unfortunate  and  ignoble  direction,  of 
decisive  character,  and  of  the  extraordinary 
effect,  which  according  to  general  laws,  be- 
longs to  the  strongest  form  of  such  a  char- 
acter. 

But  not  less  decision  has  been  displayed 
by  men  of  virtue.  In  this  distinction  no 
man  ever  exceeded,  for  instance,  or  ever 
will  exceed,  the  late  illustrious  Howard. 


10 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION. 


The  energy  of  his  determination  was  so 
great,  that  if,  instead  of  being  habitual,  it 
had  been  shown  only  for  a  short  time  on 
particular  occasions,  it  would  have  appeared 
a  vehement  impetuosity ;  but  by  being  un- 
intermitted,  it  had  an  equability  of  man- 
ner which  scarcely  appeared  to  exceed  the 
tone  of  a  calm  constancy,  it  was  so  totally 
the  reverse  of  any  thing  like  turbulence  or 
agitation.  It  was  the  cahnness  of  an  inten- 
sity kept  uniform  by  the  nature  of  the  hu- 
man mind  forbidding  it  to  be  more,  and  by 
tlie  character  of  the  individual  forbidding 
ittobeless.  The  habitual  passion  of  the  mind 
was  a  measure  of  feehng  almost  equal  to 
the  temporary  extremes  and  paroxysms  of 
common  minds :  as  a  great  river,  in  its 
customary  state,  is  equal  to  a  small  or 
moderate  one  when  swollen  to  a  torrent. 

The  moment  of  finishing  his  plans  in  de- 
liberation, and  commencing  them  in  action 
was  the  same.  I  wonder  what  must  have 
been  the  amount  of  that  bribe,  in  emolu- 
ment or  pleasure,  that  would  have  detained 
him  a  week  inactive  after  their  final  adjust- 
ment. The  law  which  carries  water  down 
a  declivity,  was  not  more  unconquerable 
and  invariable  than  the  determination  of 
his  feelings  towards  the  main  object.  The 
importance  of  this  object  held  his  faculties 
in  a  state  of  excitement  which  was  too 
rigid  to  be  effected  by  lighter  interests,  and 
on  which  therefore  the  beauties  of  nature 
and  of  art  had  no  power.  He  had  no  leis- 
ure feeling  which  he  could  spare  to  be  di- 
verted among  the  innumerable  varieties  of 
the  extensive  scene  which  he  traversed ;  all 
his  subordinate  feeUngs  lost  their  separate 
existence  and  operation,  by  falling  into  the 
grand  one.  There  have  not  been  wanting 
trivial  minds,  to  mark  this  as  a  fault  in  his 
character.  But  the  mere  men  of  taste 
ought  to  be  silent  respecting  such  a  man 
.  as  Howard ;  he  is  above  their  sphere  of 
judgment.  The  invisible  spirits,  who  ful- 
fil their  commission  of  philanthropy  among 
mortals,  do  not  care  about  pictures,  statues, 
and  sumptuous  buildings  ;  and  no  more  did 
he,  when  the  time  in  which  he  must  have 
inspected  and  admired  them,  would  have 
been  taken  from  the  work  to  which  he  had 
consecrated  his  life.  The  curiosity  which 
he  might  feel,  was  reduced  to  wait  till  the  hour 
should  arrive,  when  its  gratification  should 
be  presented  by  conscience,  which  kept  a 
scrupulous  charge  of  all  his  time,  as  the 
most  sacred  duty  of  that  hour.  If  he  was 
still  at  every  hour,  when  it  came,  fated  to 
to  feel  the  attractions  of  the  fine  arts  but 


the  second  claim,  they  might  be  sure  of 
their  revenge ;  for  no  other  man  will  ever 
visit  Rome  under  such  a  despotic  conscious- 
ness of  duty,  as  to  refuse  himself  time  for 
surveying  the  magnificence  of  its  ruins. 
Such  a  sin  against  taste  is  very  far  beyond 
the  reach  of  common  saintship  to  commit. 
It  implied  an  inconceivable  severity  of  con- 
viction, that  he  had  one  thing  to  dn,  and 
that  he  who  would  do  some  great  thing  in 
this  short  life,  must  apply  himself  to  the 
work  with  such  a  concentration  of  his  forces, 
as,  to  idle  spectators  who  live  only  to  amuse 
themselves,  looks  like  insanity. 

His  attention  was  so  strongly  and  tena- 
ciously fixed  on  his  object,  that  even  at  the 
greatest  distance,  as  the  Egyptian  pyramids 
to  travellers,  it  appeared  to  him  with  a  lu- 
minous distinctness  as  if  it  had  been  nij^h, 
and  beguiled  the  toilsome  length  of  labor 
and  enterprise  by  which  he  was  to  reach  it. 
It  was  so  conspicuous  before  him,  that  not 
a  step  deviated  from  the  direction,  and 
every  movement  and  every  day  was  an  ap- 
proximation. As  his  method  referred  every 
thing  he  did  and  thought  to  the  end.  and 
as  his  exertion  did  not  relax  for  a  moment, 
he  made  the  trial,  so  seldom  made,  what  is 
the  utmost  effect  which  may  be  granted  to 
the  last  possible  efforts  of  a  human  agent : 
and  therefore  what  he  did  not  accomplish, 
he  might  conclude  to  be  placed  beyond  the 
sphere  of  moral  activity,  and  calmly  leave 
to  the  immediate  disposal  of  Providence. 

Unless  the  eternal  happiness  of  mankind 
be  an  insignificant  concern,  and  the  passion 
to  promote  it  an  inglorious  distinction,  I  may 
cite  George  Whitefield  as  a  noble  instance 
of  this  attribute  of  the  decisive  character, 
this  intense  necessity  of  action.  The  great 
Cause  which  was  so  languid  a  thing  in  the 
hands  of  many  of  its  advocates,  assumed  in 
his  administrations  an  unmitigable  urgen- 
cy- 
Many  of  the  Christian  missionaries  among 
the  heathens,  such  as  Brainerd,  Elliot,  and 
Schwartz,  have  displayed  memorable  ex- 
amples of  this  dedication  of  their  whole 
being  to  their  office,  this  abjuration  of  all 
the  quiescent  feelings. 

This  would  be  the  proper  place  for  in- 
troducing (if  I  did  not  hesitate  to  introduce 
in  any  connection  with  merely  human  in- 
stances) the  example  of  him  who  said,  "  I 
must  be  about  my  Father's  business.  My 
meat  and  drink  is  to  do  the  will  of  him  that 
sent  me,  and  to  finish  his  work.  I  have  a 
baptism  to  be  baptized  with,  and  how  am 
I  straitened  till  it  be  accomplished." 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION. 


11 


LETTER    IV. 

Courage  a  chief  Coiistilueiii  of  the  Charac- 
ter. Effect  of  this  in  encountering  Censure 
and  Ridicule.  Almagro.  Pizarro,  and 
Be  Lttques.  Defiance  of  Danger.  Lu- 
ther. Daniel.  Aivother  indispemable 
Requisite  to  Decision  is  the  full  Agree- 
ment of  all  the  Powers  of  the  Mind.  La- 
dy Macbeth.  Richard  III.  Cromwell. 
A  Father  who  had  the  opportunity  of  sav- 
ing one  of  two  Sons  from  Death. 

After  the  illustration  on  the  last  arti- 
cle, it  will  seem  but  a  very  slight  transition 
when  I  proceed  to  specify  Courage,  as  an 
essential  part  of  the  decisive  character. 
An  intelligent  man,  adventurous  only  in 
thought,  may  sketch  the  most  excellent 
scheme,  and  after  duly  admiring  it,  and 
himself  as  its  author,  may  be  reduced  to 
say.  What  a  noble  spirit  that  would  be  which 
should  dare  to  realize  this !  A  noble  spirit ! 
is  it  I  ?  And  his  heart  may  answer  in  the 
negative,  while  he  glances  a  mortified 
thought  of  inquiry  round  to  recollect  per- 
sons who  would  venture  what  he  dares  not, 
and  almost  hopes  not  to  find  them.  Or  if 
by  extreme  effort  he  has  brought  himself  to 
a'resolution  of  braving  the  difficulty,  he  is 
compelled  to  execrate  the  timid  fingerings 
that  still  keep  him  back  from  the  trial.  A 
man  endowed  with  the  complete  character, 
might  say,  with  a  sober  consciousness  as 
remote  from  the  spirit  of  bravado  as  it  is 
from  timidity,  Thus,  and  thus,  is  my  con- 
viction and  my  determination  ;  now  tor  tlie 
phantoms  of  lear  ;  let  me  look  them  in  the 
face  ;  they  will  find  I  am  not  made  of  trem- 
bling materials :  "  I  dare  do  all  that  may 
become  a  man.  I  shall  firmly  confront 
every  thing  that  threatens  me  in  the  prose- 
cuting of  my  purpose,  and  I  am  prepared  to 
meet  the  consequences  of  it  when  it  is  accom- 
plished. I  should  despise  a  being,  though 
it  were  myself,  whose  agency  could  be  held 
enslaved  by  the  gloomy  shapes  of  imagi- 
nation, by  the  haunting  recollections  of  a 
dream,  by  the  whistling  or  the  howling  of 
winds,  by  the  shriek  of  owls,  by  the  shades 
of  midnight,  or  by  the  threats  or  frowns  of 
man.  I  should  be  indignant  to  feel  that,  in 
the  commencement  of  an  adventure,  I  could 
think  of  nothing  but  the  deep  pit  by  the 
side  of  the  way  where  I  must  walk,  into 
which  I  may  slide,  the  mad  animal  which 
it  is  not  impossible  that  I  may  meet,  or  the 
assassin  who  may  lurk  in  a  thicket  of  yon- 
der wood.  And  I  disdain  to  compromise 
the  interests  that  rouse  me  to  action,  for  the 
privilege  of  a  disgraceful  security. 

As  the  conduct  of  a  decisive  man  is  al- 
ways individual,  and  often  singular,  he  may 
expect  some  serious  trials  of  courage.     For 


one  thing  he  may  be  encountered  by  the 
strongest  disapprobation  of  many  of  his 
connections,  and  the  censure  of  the  great- 
er part  of  the  society  where  he  is  known. 
In  this  case,  it  is  not  a  man  of  common 
spirit  that  can  show  himself  just  as  at  other 
times,  and  meet  their  anger  in  the  same 
undisturbed  manner  as  he  would  meet  some 
ordinary  inclemency  of  the  weather ;  that 
can,  without  harshness  or  violence,  contin- 
ue to  effect  every  moment  some  part  of  his 
design  coolly  replying  to  each  ungracious 
look  and  indignant  voice,  I  am  sorry  to  op- 
pose you :  I  am  not  unfriendly  to  you,  while 
thus  persisting  in  what  excite  your  dis- 
pleasure ;  it  would  please  me  to  have  your 
approbation  and  concurrence,  and  I  think  I 
should  have  them  if  you  would  seriously 
consider  my  reasons ;  but  meanwhile,  I  am 
superior  to  opinion,  I  am  not  to  be  intimi- 
dated by  reproaches,  nor  would  your  favor 
and  applause  be  any  reward  for  the  sacri- 
fice of  my  object.  As  you  can  do  without 
my  approbation,  I  can  certainly  do  without 
yours ;  it  is  enough  that  I  can  approve  my- 
self, it  is  enough  that  I  can  appeal  to  the  last 
authority  in  the  creation.  Amuse  your- 
selves, as  you  may,  by  continuing  to  cen- 
sure or  to  rail ;  /  must  continue  to  act. 

The  attack  of  contempt  and  ridicule  is 
perhaps  a  still  greater  trial  of  courage. 
It  is  felt  by  all  to  be  an  admirable  thing, 
when  it  can  in  no  degree  be  ascribed  to  the 
hardness  of  either  stupidity  or  confirmed 
depravity,  to  sustain  for  a  considerable  time, 
or  in  numerous  instances,  the  looks  of  scorn, 
or  an  unrestrained  shower  of  taunts  and 
jeers,  with  a  perfect  composure,  which  shall 
immediately  after,  or  even  at  the  time,  pro- 
ceed on  the  business  that  provokes  all  this 
ridicule.  This  invincibility  of  temper  will 
often  make  even  the  scoffers  themselves 
tired  of  the  sport ;  they  begin  to  feel  that 
against  such  a  man  it  is  a  poor  sort  of  hos- 
tility to  laugh.  There  is  nothing  that  peo- 
ple are  more  mortified  to  spend  in  vain  than 
their  scorn.  Till,  however,  a  man  becomes 
a  veteran,  he  must  reckon  on  sometimes 
meeting  this  trial ;  and  I  instantly  know, 
if  I  hear  him  anxiously  reply,  to  an  impor- 
tant suggestion  of  any  measure  to  be  adopt- 
ed. But  will  they  not  laugh  at  me  ?  I  know 
that  he  is  not  the  person  whom  this  essay 
attempts  to  describe.  A  man  of  the  right 
kind  would  say.  They  will  smile,  they  will 
laugh,  will  they  ?  Much  good  may  it  do 
them.  I  have  something  else  to  do  than  to 
trouble  myself  about  their  mirtli.  I  do  not 
care  if  the  whole  neighborhood  were  to 
laugh  in  a  chorus.  I  should  indeed  be  sor- 
ry to  see  or  hear  such  a  number  of  fools, 
but  pleased  enough  to  find  that  they  did 
not  consider  me  as  one  of  their  stamp. 
The  good  to  result  from  my  project  will  not 
be  less,  because  vain  and  shallow  minds 


12 


FOSTER    ON     DECISION 


ihat  cannot  understand  it,  are  diverted  at 
it  and  at  me.  What  should  I  think  of  my 
pursuits,  if  every  trivial,  tlioughtless  being 
could  comprehend  or  would  applaud  them  ; 
and  of  myself,  if  my  courage  needed  levity 
and  ignorance  for  their  allies,  or  could 
shrink  at  their  sneers? 

I  remember,  tliat  on  reading  the  account 
of  the  project  of  conquering  Peru,  formed 
by  Almagro,  Pizarro,  and  De  Luques, 
while  abhorring  the  principle  and  the  de- 
sign of  the  men,  I  could  not  help  admiring 
the  hardihood  of  mind,  which  made  them 
regardless  of  scorn.  These  three  individ- 
uals, before  they  had  obtained  any  associ- 
ates, or  arms,  or  soldiers,  or  a  complete 
knowledge  of  the  power  of  the  kingdom 
they  were  to  conquer,  celebrated  a  solemn 
mass  in  one  of  the  great  churches,  as  a 
pledge  and  a  commencement  of  the  enter- 
prise, amidst  the  astonishment  and  contempt 
expressed  by  a  multitude  of  people  for  what 
was  deemed  a  monstrous  project.  They 
hoAvever  proceeded  through  the  service, 
and  afterwards  to  their  respective  depart- 
ments of  preparation,  with  an  apparently 
entire  insensibility  to  all  this  triumphant 
scorn ;  and  thus  gave  the  first  proof  of  pos- 
sessing that  invincible  firmness  with  which 
they  afterward.-^  prosecuted  their  design, 
till  they  attained  a  success,  the  destructive 
process  and  many  of  the  results  of  which 
humanity  will  forever  deplore. 

Milton's  Abdiel  is  a  noble  illustration  of 
the  courage  that  defies  scorn. 

But  in  some  of  the  situations  where  de- 
cision of  character  is  to  be  evinced,  a  man 
will  be  threatened  by  evils  of  a  darker  as- 
pect than  disapprobation  or  contempt.  He 
may  apprehend  serious  sufferings;  and 
very  often,  to  dare  as  far  as  conscience  or 
a  great  cause  required,  has  been  to  dare  to 
die.  In  almost  all  plans  of  great  enterprise 
a  man  must  systematically  dismiss,  at  the 
entrance,  every  wish  to  stipulate  for  safety 
with  his  destiny.  He  voluntarily  treads 
witliin  the  precincts  of  danger ;  and  though 
it  is  possible  that  he  may  escape,  he  ought 
to  be  prepared  with  the  Ibrtitude  of  a  self- 
devoted  victim.  This  is  the  inevitable  con 
dition  on  which  heroes,  travellers  or  mis- 
fiionaries  among  savage  nations,  and  re- 
formers on  a  grand  scale,  must  commence 
their  career.  Either  they  must  allay  their 
fire  of  enterprise,  or  tliey  must  hold  them 
Bclves  in  readiness  to  be  exploded  by  it 
from  the  world. 

The  last  decisive  energy  of  a  rational 
courage,  which  confides  in  the  Supreme 
Power,  is  very  sublime.  It  makes  a  man, 
who  intrepidly  dares  every  thing  that  can 
oppose  or  attack  him  within  the  whole 
sphere  of  mortality  ;  who  would  retain  his 
purpose  unshaken  amidst  the  ruins  of  the 


world ;  Avho  will  still  press  toward  his  ob- 
ject while  death  is  impending  over  him. 

It  was  in  the  true  elevation  of  this  char- 
acter that  Lutiier,  when  cited  to  appear  at 
the  Diet  of  Worms,  under  a  very  questiona- 
ble assurance  of  safety  from  high  authority, 
said  to  his  friends,  who  conjured  him  not  to 
go,  and  justly  brougiit  the  example  of  John 
Huss,  who,  in  a  similar  situation,  and  with 
the  same  pledge  of  protection,  had  notwith- 
standing been  burnt  filive,  "  I  am  called  in 
the  name  of  God  to  go,  and  I  would  go, 
though  I  were  certain  to  meet  as  many 
devils  in  Worms  as  there  are  tiles  on  the 
hovises." 

A  reader  of  the  Bible  will  not  forget 
Daniel,  braving  in  calm  devotion  the  de- 
cree which  virtually  consigned  him  to  the 
den  of  lions;  Shadracli,  Meshach  and  Abed- 
nego,  saying  to  the  tyrant,  "  We  are  not 
careful  to  answer  tliee  in  this  matter,"  when 
the  furnace  was  in  sight. 

The  combination  of  these  several  essen- 
tial principles  constitutes  that  state  of  mind 
which  is  the  grand  requisite  to  decision  of 
character,  and  perhaps  its  most  striking  dis- 
tinction, that  is,  the  full  agreement  of  the 
mind  with  itself,  tlie  co-operation  of  all  its 
powers  and  all  its  dispositions. 

What  an  unfortunate  task  it  would  be  for  a 
charioteer,  who  hadharnessed  a  set  of  horses 
however  strong,  if  he  could  not  make  thenv 
draw  together ;  if,  while  one  of  them  would 
go  forward,  another  was  restive,  another 
struggled  backward,  another  started  aside. 
If  even  one  of  the  four  were  immanagea- 
bly  perverse,  while  the  three  were  obedient, 
an  aged  beggar  Avith  his  crutch  might  leave 
Phaeton  behind.  So  in  a  human  being, 
unless  the  chief  forces  act  consentaneously, 
there  can  be  no  inflexible  vigor,  either  of  will 
or  of  execution.  One  dissentient  principle 
in  the  mind  not  only  deducts  so  much  from 
the  strength  and  mass  of  its  agency,  but 
counteracts  and  embarrasses  all  the  rest.  li' 
the  judgment  holds  in  low  estimation  that 
which  yet  the  passions  incline  a  man  to  pur- 
sue, his  pursuit  will  be  irregular  and  incon- 
stant, though  it  may  have  occasional  fits  of 
animation,  when  those  passions  happen  to 
be  highly  stimulated.  If  tliere  is  an  oppo- 
sition between  judgment  and  habit,  though 
the  man  will  probably  continue  to  act  main- 
ly under  tlie  direction  of  habit  in  spite  of 
his  opinions,  yet  sometimes  the  intrusion  of 
tliose  opinions  will  have  for  the  moment  an 
effect  like  that  of  Prospero's  wand  on  the 
limbs  of  Ferdinand ;  and  to  be  alternately 
impelled  by  habit,  and  checked  by  opinion, 
will  be  a  state  of  vexatious  debility.  If  two 
principal  passions  are  opposite  to  each 
other,  they  will  utterly  distract  any  mind, 
whatever  might  be  the  force  of  its  faculties, 
when  acting  without  cmbarassment.     The 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION. 


13 


one  passion  may  be  somewhat  stronger 
than  the  other,  and  therefore  just  prevail 
barely  enough  to  give  a  feeble  impulse  to 
the  conduct  of  the  man ;  but  no  powerful 
impulse  can  be  given ;  till  the  disparity  of 
these  two  rivals  becomes  greater,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  gradual  weight  ol'  habit,  or 
the  reinforcement  supplied  by  some  new 
impressions,  being  added  to  the  preponder- 
ating passion.  The  disparity  must  be  no 
less  than  an  absolute  predominance  of  the 
one  and  subjection  of  the  other,  before  the 
prevailing  passion  will  have  at  liberty  from 
the  intestine  conflict  any  large  measure  of 
its  force  to  throw  activity  into  the  system  of 
conduct.  If,  for  instance,  a  man  feels  at 
once  the  love  of  fame  which  is  to  be  gained 
only  by  arduous  exertions,  and  an  equal  de- 
gree of  the  love  of  pleasure  which  pre- 
cludes those  exertions ;  if  he  is  eager  to 
show  off  in  splendor,  and  yet  anxious  to  save 
money ;  if  he  has  the  curiosity  of  adven- 
ture, and  yet  that  sohciiude  for  his  safety, 
which  forbids  him  to  climb  a  precipice, 
descend  into  a  cavern,  or  explore  a  dan- 
gerous wild ;  if  he  has  the  stern  will  of  a 
tyrant,  and  yet  the  relentings  of  a  man ; 
if  he  has  the  ambition  which  would  subdue 
his  fellow-mortals,  counteracted  by  the  hu- 
manity which  would  not  hurt  them ;  we 
can  easily  anticipate  the  irresolute,  con- 
tradictory tenor  of  his  actions.  Especially 
if  conscience,  that  great  troubler  of  the  hu- 
man breast,  loudly  declares  against  a  man's 
wishes  or  projects,  it  will  be  a  fatal  enemy 
to  decision,  till  it  either  reclaim  the  delin- 
quent passions,  or  be  debauched  or  mur- 
dered by  them. 

Lady  Macbeth  may  be  cited  as  a  harmo- 
nious character,  though  the  epithet  seems 
strangely  applied.  She  had  capacity,  am- 
bition, and  courage;  and  she  willed  the  death 
of  the  king.  Macbeth  had  still  more  capa- 
city, ambition,  and  courage;  and  he  also 
willed  the  murder  of  the  king.  But  he  had, 
besides,  humanity,  generosity,  conscience, 
and  some  measure  of  what  forms  the  power 
of  conscience,  the  fear  of  a  Superior  Being. 
Consequently,  when  the  dreadful  moment 
approached,  he  felt  an  insupportable  con- 
flict between  these  opposite  principles,  and 
when  it  was  arrived,  his  utmost  courage  be- 
gan to  fail.  The  worse  part  of  his  nature 
fell  prostrate  under  the  power  of  the  better; 
the  angel  of  goodness  arrested  the  demon 
that  grasped  the  dagger ;  and  would  have 
taken  the  dagger  away,  if  the  pure  demo- 
niac firmness  of  his  wife,  who  had  none  of 
these  counteracting  principles,  had  not 
shamed,  and  hardened  him  to  the  deed. 

The  poets  delineation  of  Richard  III, 
gives  a  dreadful  specimen  of  this  indivisibil- 
ity of  mental  impulse.  After  his  determi- 
nation was  fixed,  his  whole  mind,  with  the 
compactest  fidelity  supported  him  in  pros- 


ecuting it.  Securely  privileged  from  all 
interference  of  doubt  that  could  linger,  or 
humanity  that  could  soften,  or  timidity  that 
could  shrink,  he  advanced  with  a  grim,  con- 
centrated constancy  through  scene  after 
scene  of  atrocity,  still  fulfilling  his  vow  to 
"  cut  his  way  through  with  a  bloody  axe." 
He  did  not  waver  while  he  pursued  hi.s 
object,  nor  relent  when  he  seized  it. 

Cromwell,  (whom  I  mention  as  a  parallel, 
not  to  Richard's  depravity,  but  to  his  in- 
flexible vigor,)  lost  his  mental  consistency 
in  the  latter  end  of  a  career  distinguished 
by  as  much  decision  as  the  world  ever  saw. 
It  appears  that  the  wish  to  be  a  king,  at 
last  arose  in  a  mind  which  had  execrated 
royalty,  and  battled  it  from  the  land.  As 
far  as  he  really  had  any  republican  princi- 
ples and  partialities,  this  new  desire  must 
have  been  a  very  uncomplacent  associate 
for  them,  and  must  have  produced  a  schism 
in  the  breast  where  all  the  strong  forces  of 
thought  and  passion  had  acted  till  then  in 
concord.  The  new  form  of  ambition  be- 
came just  predominant  enough  to  carry  him, 
by  slow  degrees,  through  the  embarrass- 
ment and  the  shame  of  this  incongruity, 
into  an  irresolute  determination  to  assume 
the  crown;  so  irresolute,  that  he  was  re- 
duced again  to  a  mortifying  indecision  by 
the  remonstrances  of  some  of  his  friends, 
which  he  could  have  slighted,  and  by  an 
apprehension  of  the  public  disapprobation, 
which  he  could  have  braved,  if  some  of  the 
principles  of  his  own  mind  had  not  shrunk 
or  revolted  from  the  design.  When  at  last 
the  motives  for  relinquishing  this  design 
prevailed,  it  was  by  so  small  a  degree  of 
preponderance,  that  his  reluctant  refusal  of 
the  offered  crown  was  the  voice  only  of 
half  his  soul. 

Not  only  two  distinct  counteracting  pas- 
sions, but  one  passion  interested  for  two 
objects,  both  equally  desirable,  but  of  which 
the  one  must  be  sacrificed,  may  annihilate 
in  that  instance  the  possibility  of  determin- 
ed conduct.  I  recollect  reading  in  an  old 
divine,  a  story  from  an  older  historian,  ap- 
plicable to  this  remark.  A  father  went  to 
the  agents  of  a  tyrant,  to  endeavor  to  re- 
deem his  two  sons,  miUtary  men,  who  with 
some  other  captives  of  war  were  condemn- 
ed to  die.  He  offered,  as  a  ransom,  to  sur- 
render his  own  life  and  a  large  sum  of 
money.  The  tyrant's  agents  who  had 
them  in  charge,  informed  him  that  this 
equivalent  would  be  accepted  for  one  of  his 
sons,  and  for  one  only,  because  they  should 
be  accountable  for  the  execution  of  two 
persons  ;  he  might  therefore  choose  which 
lie  would  redeem.  Anxious  to  save  even 
one  of  them  thus  at  the  expense  of  his  own 
life,  he  yet  was  unable  to  decide  which 
should  die,  by  choosing  the  other  to  live, 
and  remained  in  the  agony  of  this  dilemma 


14 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION. 


so  long  that  they  were  both  irreversibly 
ordered  for  execution. 


LETTER    V. 

Formidable  Power  of  Mischief  which  this 
high  Quality  gives  to  bad  Men.  Care 
required  to  prevent  its  rendering  good 
Men  unconciliating  and  overbearing. 
Independence  and  overruling  Manner  in 
Consultation.  Lord  Chatham.  Decision 
of  Character  not  incompatible  with  Sen- 
sibility and  mild  Manners.  But  proba- 
bly the  Majority  of  the  most  eminent 
E.ramples  of  it  deficient  in  the  kinder 
Affections.  King  of  Prussia.  Situa- 
tions in  which  it  may  bean  absolute  Duty 
to  act  in  Opposition  to  the  Promptings  of 
those  Affections. 

It  were  absurd  to  suppose  that  any  hu- 
man being  can  attain  a  state  of  mind  capa- 
ble of  acting  in  all  instances  invariably  with 
the  full  power  of  determination ;  but  it  is 
obvious  that  many  have  possessed  a  habit- 
ual and  very  commanding  measure  of  it ; 
and  I  thinlc  the  preceding  remarks  have 
taken  account  of  its  chief  characteristics 
and  constituent  principles.  A  number  of 
additional  observations  remain. 

The  slightest  view  of  human  affairs 
shows  what  fatal  and  ample  mischief  may 
be  caused  by  men  of  tliis  character,  when 
misled  or  wicked.  You  have  but  to  recol 
lect  the  conquerors,  despots,  bigots,  unjust 
conspirators,  and  signal  villains  of  every 
class,  who  have  blasted  society  by  the  re- 
lentless vigor  which  could  act  consistently 
and  heroically  wrong.  Till  therefore  the 
virtue  of  mankind  be  greater,  there  is  rea- 
son to  be  pleased  that  so  few  of  them  are 
endowed  with  extraordinary  decision. 
■  When  this  character  is  dignified  by  wis- 
dom and  principle,  great  care  is  yet  requir- 
ed in  the  possessors  of  it  to  prevent  it  from 
becoming  unamiable.  As  it  involves  much 
practical  assertion  of  superiority  over  other 
human  beings,  the  manner  ought  to  be  as 
mild  and  conciliating  as  possible ;  else  pride 
will  feel  provoked,  affection  hurt,  and  weak- 
ness oppressed.  But  this  manner  is  not  the 
one  which  will  be  most  natural  to  such  a 
man;  rather  it  will  be  that  of  sternness, 
rejserve,  and  incompliance.  He  will  have 
the  appearance  of  keeping  himself  always 
at  a  distance  from  social  equality ;  and  his 
friends  will  feel  as  if  their  friendship  were 
continually  sliding  into  subserviency ;  while 
his  intimate  connections  will  think  he  does 
not  attach  the  due  importance  either  to  their 
opinions  or  to  their  regard.  His  manner, 
when  they  differ  from  him.  or  complain, 
will  be  in  danger  of  giving  the  impression 


of  careless  inattention,  and  sometimes  of 
disdain. 

When  he  can  accomplish  a  design  in  his 
own  person  alone,  he  may  separate  himself 
to  tlie  work  with  the  cold,  self-inclosed  indi- 
viduality on  Avhich  no  one  has  any  hold, 
which  seems  to  recognise  no  kindred  being 
in  the  world,  which  takes  little  account  of 
good  wishes  and  kind  concern,  any  more 
than  it  cares  lor  opposition ;  which  seeks 
neither  aid  nor  sympathy,  and  which  seems 
to  say,  I  do  |iot  want  any  of  you,  and  I  am 
glad  that  I  do  not ;  leave  me  alone  to  suc- 
ceed or  die.  This  has  a  very  repellant 
effect  on  the  friends  who  wished  to  feel 
themselves  of  some  importance,  in  some 
way  or  other,  to  a  person  whom  they  are 
constrained  to  respect.  When  assistance 
is  indispensable  to  his  imdertakings,  his 
mode  of  signifying  it  will  seem  rather  to 
command  the  co-operation,  than  to  invite  it. 

In  consultation,  his  manner  will  indicate 
that  when  he  is  equally  with  the  rest  in 
possession  of  the  circumstances  of  the  case, 
he  does  not  at  all  expect  to  hear  any  opin- 
ions that  shall  correct  his  own ;  but  is  satis- 
fied that  either  his  present  conception  of  the 
subject  is  the  just  one,  or  that  his  own  mind 
must  originate  that  which  shall  be  so.  This 
striking  difference  Avill  be  apparent  between 
him  and  his  associates,  that  their  manner  of 
receiving  his  opinions  is  that  of  agreement 
or  dissent ;  his  manner  of  receiving  theirs 
is  that  of  sanction  or  rejection.  He  has  tlie 
tone  of  authoritatively  deciding  on  what 
they  say,  but  never  of  submitting  to  decision 
of  what  himself  says.  Their  coincidence 
with  his  views  does  not  give  him  a  firmer 
assurance  of  his  being  right,  nor  their  dis- 
sent any  other  impression  than  that  of  their 
incapacity  to  judge.  If  his  feeling  took 
the  distinct  form  of  a  reflection,  it  would 
be,  Mine  is  the  business  of  comprehending 
and  devising,  and  I  am  here  to  rule  this 
company,  and  not  to  consult  them ;  I  want 
their  docility  and  not  their  arguments ;  I 
am  come,  not  to  seek  their  co-operation  in 
thinking,  but  to  determine  their  concurrence 
in  executing  what  is  already  thought  for 
them.  Of  course,  many  suggestions  and 
reasons  which  appear  important  to  those 
from  whom  they  come,  will  be  disposed  of 
by  him  with  a  transient  attention,  or  a  light 
facility,  that  will  seem  very  disrespectful  to 
persons  who  possibly  hesitate  to  admit  that 
he  is  a  demigod,  and  that  they  are  but 
idiots.  Lord  Chatham,  in  going  out  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  just  as  one  of  the 
speakers  against  him  concluded  his  speech 
by  emphatically  urging  what  he  perhaps 
riglitly  thought  the  unanswerable  question, 
"  Where  can  wo  find  means  to  support  such 
a  Avar?"  turned  round  a  moment,  and  gaily 
replied,  "  Gentle  shepherd,  tell  me  where." 
Even  the  assenting  convictions,  and  prac- 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION, 


15 


tical  compliances,  yielded  by  degrees  to  this 
decisive  man,  may  be  somewhat  under 
valued,  as  they  will  appear  to  him  no  more 
than  simply  coming,  and  that  perhaps  very 
slowly,  to  a  right  apprehension ;  whereas 
himself  understood  and  decided  justly  from 
the  first,  and  has  been  right  all  this  while. 

He  will  be  in  danger  of  extending  but 
little  tolerance  to  the  prejudices,  hesitation, 
and  timidity,  of  those  with  whom  he  has  to 
act.  He  will  say  to  himself,  I  wish  there  were 
any  thing  like  manhood  among  the  beings 
called  men ;  and  that  they  could  have  the 
sense  and  spirit  not  to  let  themselves  be 
hampered  by  so  many  silly  notions  and 
childish  fears.  Why  cannot  they  either 
determine  with  some  promptitude,  or  let 
me,  that  can,  do  it  for  them  ?  Am  I  to  wait 
till  debility  become  strong,  and  folly  wise  ? 
If  full  scope  be  allowed  to  these  tendencies, 
tliey  will  make  even  a  man  of  elevated 
virtue  a  tyrant,  who,  in  the  consciousness  of 
the  right  intention,  and  the  assurance  of  the 
wise  contrivance,  of  his  designs,  will  hold 
himself  justified  in  being  regardless  of  every 
thing  but  the  accomplishment  of  them.  He 
will  forget  all  respect  for  the  feelings  and 
liberties  of  beings  who  are  to  be  regarded 
as  but  a  subordinate  machinery,  to  be  actu- 
ated, or  to  be  thrown  aside  when  not  actu- 
ated, by  the  spring  of  his  commanding 
spirit. 

I  have  before  asserted  that  this  strong 
character  may  be  exhibited  with  a  mildness 
of  maimer,  and  that  generally,  it  will  thus 
best  secure  its  efficacy.  But  this  mildness 
must  often  be  at  the  cost  of  great  effort 
and  how  much  considerate  policy  or  benev- 
olent forbearance  it  will  require,  for  a  man 
to  exert  his  utmost  vigor  in  the  very  task, 
as  it  will  appear  to  him  at  the  time,  of 
cramping  that  vigor !  Lycurgus  appears 
to  have  been  a  high  example  of  mild  pa- 
tience in  the  firm  prosecution  of  designs 
which  were  to  be  effected  among  a  perverse 
multitude. 

It  is  probable  that  the  men  most  distin- 
guished for  decision,  have  not,  in  general, 
possessed  a  large  share  of  tenderness ;  and 
it  is  easy  to  imagine  that  the  laws  of  our 
nature  will  with  great  difficulty  allow  the 
combination  of  the  refined  sensibilities  with 
a  hardy,  never-shrinking,  never-yielding 
constancy.  Is  it  not  almost  of  the  essence 
of  this  constancy  to  be  free  from  even  the 
perception  of  such  impressions  as  cause  a 
mind,  weak  through  susceptibility,  to  relax 
or  waver ;  just  as  the  skin  of  the  elephant, 
or  the  armor  of  the  rhinoceros,  would  be 
but  indistinctly  sensible  to  the  application 
of  a  force  by  which  a  small  animal,  with  a 
skin  of  thin  and  delicate  texture,  would  be 
pierced  or  lacerated  to  death  ?  No  doubt, 
this  firmness  consists  partly  in  overcoming 
feelings,  but  it  may  consist  partly  too  in  not 


having  them.  To  be  tremblingly  alive  to 
gentle  impressions,  and  yet  to  be  able  to 
preserve,  when  the  prosecution  of  a  design 
requires  it,  an  immoveable  heart,  amidst 
the  most  imperious  causes  of  subduing 
emotion,  is  perhaps  not  an  impossible  con- 
stitution of  mind,  but  it  must  be  the  rarest 
endowment  of  humanity. 

If  you  take  a  view  of  the  first  rank  of 
decisive  men,  you  will  observe  that  their 
faculties  have  been  too  much  bent  to  ardu- 
ous effort,  their  souls  have  been  kept  in  too 
military  an  attitude,  they  have  been  begirt 
with  too  much  iron,  for  the  melting  move- 
ments of  the  heart.  Their  whole  being 
appears  too  much  arrogated  and  occupied 
by  the  spirit  of  severe  design,  compelling 
them  to  work  systematically  toward  some 
defined  end,  to  be  sufficiently  at  ease  for 
the  indolent  complacency,  the  soft  lassitude, 
of  gentle  affections,  which  love  to  surrender 
themselves  to  the  present  felicities,  forgetful 
of  all  "  enterprises  of  great  pith  and  mo- 
ment." The  man  seems  rigorously  intent 
still  on  his  own  affairs,  as  he  walks,  or  re- 
gales, or  mingles  with  domestic  society ; 
and  appears  to  despise  all  the  feelings  that 
will  not  take  rank  with  the  grave  labors  and 
decisions  of  intellect,  or  coalesce  with  the 
unremitting  passion  which  is  his  spring  of 
action:  he  values  not  feelings  which  he 
cannot  employ  either  as  weapons  or  as 
engines.  He  loves  to  be  actuated  by  a 
passion  so  strong  as  to  compel  into  exercise 
the  utmost  force  of  his  being,  and  fix  him 
in  a  tone,  compared  with  which,  the  gentle 
affections,  if  he  had  felt  them,  would  be 
accounted  tameness,  and  their  exciting 
causes,  insipidity. 

Yet  we  cannot  willingly  allow  that  ten- 
derness is  totally  incompatible  with  the  most 
impregnable  inflexibility ;  nor  can  we  help 
believing  that  such  men  as  Timoleon,  Al- 
fred, and  Gustavus  Adolphus,  must  have 
been  very  fascinating  domestic  associates, 
whenever  the  urgency  of  their  affairs  would 
allow  them  to  withdraw  from  the  interests 
of  statesmen  and  warriors,  to  indulge  the 
affections  of  men ;  most  fascinating,  for, 
with  a  relative  or  friend  who  had  any  right 
perceptions,  all  the  value  of  their  stronger 
character  would  be  recognized  in  the  gen- 
tler one ;  the  man  whom  nothing  could  sub- 
due, would  exalt  the  quality  of  the  tender- 
ness which  softened  him  to  recline. 

But  it  were  much  easier  to  enumerate  a 
long  train  of  ancient  and  modern  names  of 
men,  who  have  had  the  decision  witliout  the 
softness.  Perhaps  indeed  they  have  yield- 
ed sometim.es  to  some  species  of  love,  as  a 
mode  of  amusing  their  passions  for  an  in- 
terval, till  greater  engagements  have  sum- 
moned them  into  tJieir  proper  element; 
when  they  have  shown  how  little  the  senti- 
ment ever  belonged  to  the  heart,  by  the  case 


16 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION. 


with  which  they  could  relinquish  the  tern 
porary  favorite.  In  other  cai«cs,  where 
tliore  have  not  been  the  selfish  inducements, 
whicli  this  passion  supplies,  to  the  cxliibi 
fion  of  something  like  softness,  and  where 
they  have  been  left,  to  the  pure  sympathies 
of  iunuanity  alone,  no  rock  on  the  face  of 
the  earth  could  be  harder. 

The  celebrated  King  of  Prussia  occurs 
to  nie,  as  a  capital  instance  of  the  decisive 
character ;  and  there  occurs  to  me,  at  the 
same  time,  one  of  the  anecdotes  of  his  life.* 
Intending  to  make,  in  the  night,  an  impor- 
tant movement  in  his  camp,  which  was  in 
sight  of  tlie  enemy,  he  gave  orders  that  by 
eight  o'clock  all  the  lights  in  the  camp 
should  be  put  out,  on  pain  of  death.  The 
Kiomcnt  (hat  the  time  was  past,  he  walked 
out  himself  to  see  whether  all  were  dark. 
He  found  a  light  in  the  tent  of  a  Captain 
Zietern,  which  he  entered  just  as  the  officer 
was  folding  up  a  letter.  Zietern  loiew  him, 
and  instantly  fell  on  his  knees  to  entreat  his 
mercy.  The  King  asked  to  whom  he  had 
been  Avriting ;  he  said  it  was  a  letter  to  his 
wife,  which  he  had  retained  the  candle  these 
few  minutes  beyond  the  time  in  order  to 
finish.  The  King  coolly  ordered  him  to 
rise,  and  write  one  line  more  which  he 
should  dictate.  This  line  was  to  inform  his 
wife,  without  any  explanation,  that  by  such 
an  hour  the  next  day,  he  should  be  a  dead 
man.  The  letter  was  then  sealed,  and  de- 
spatched as  it  had  been  intended ;  and,  the 
next  day,  the  Captain  was  executed.  I  say 
nothing  of  the  justice  of  the  punishment 
itself;  but  this  cool  barbarity  to  the  affec- 
tion both  of  the  officer  and  his  wife,  was 
enough  to  brand  the  character  indelibly. 
It  proved  how  little  the  decisive  hero  and 
pretended  philosopher  was  susceptible  of 
such  an  affection,  or  capable  of  sympathiz- 
ing with  its  pains. 

At  the  same  time,  it  is  proper  to  observe, 
that  the  case  may  easily  occur,  in  which  a 
man  must  be  resolute  to  act  in  a  manner 
which  may  make  him  appear  to  want  the 
finer  feelings.  He  must  do  what  he  knows 
will  cause  pain  to  persons  who  will  feel  it 
severely.  He  may  be  obliged  to  resist 
affectionate  wishes,  expostulations,  entreat- 
ies, and  tears.  Take  this  same  instance. 
If  the  wife  of  Zietern  had  come  to  suppli- 
cate for  him,  not  only  the  remission  of  the 
punishment  of  death,  but  an  exemption 


■  The  .lutlienticity  of  this  anecdote,  which  I  road  in 
some  Iriding  fiigitivc  publication  many  years  since. 
has  been  questioned.  Possibly  enough  it  inistit  be 
one  of  the  many  bul  lialf-true  stories  which  could  iml 
fail  to  go  abroad  concerning  a  man  who  made,  in  his 
day,  so  great  a  figure.  Hut  as  it  does  not  nt  all  misrejire- 
sent  the  general  character  of  his  mind,  since  there  are 
many  incontrovertible  facts  proving  against  him  a.s 
creat  a  degree  of  deliberate  cruelty  .as  this  anecdote 
would  charge  on  him,  the  want  of  means  to  prove  (his 
one  fact  doe.s  not  seem  to  impose  any  necessity  for 
omitting  the  illustration. 


from  any  other  severe  punishment,  which 
was  perhaps  justly  due  to  the  violation  of 
such  an  order,  on  so  important  an  occasion, 
it  had  then  probably  been  the  duty  and  the 
virtue  of  the  commander  to  deny  the  most 
interesting  suppliant,  and  to  resist  the  most 
pathetic  appeals  which  could  have  been 
made  to  his  leelmgs. 


LETTER    VI. 

Circumstances  tending  to  consolidate  this 
Character.  Opposition.  Desertion.  Ma- 
rius.  Satan.  Charles  de  Moor.  Suc- 
cess has  the  same  Tendency.  Ccesar. 
Habit  of  associating  wilfi,  Inferiors. 
Voluntanj  means  of  forming  or  confrm- 
ing  this  Character.  The  Acquisition  of 
perfect  Knowledge  in  the  Department  in 
which  roe  are  to  act.  The  cultivation  of 
a  connected  and  conclusive  Manner  of 
reasoning.  The  resolute  commencement 
of  Action,  in  a  Manner  to  commit  our- 
selves irretrievably.  Ledyard.  The 
choice  of  a  dignified  Order  of  Concerns. 
The  Approbation  of  Conscience.  Yet 
melancholy  to  consider  how  many  of  the 
most  distinguished  Possessors  of  the 
Quality  have  been  wicked. 

Various  assignable  circumstances  may 
contribute  much  to  confirm  the  character  in 
question.     I  shall  just  notice  two  or  three. 

And  first,  opposition.  The  passions  which 
inspirit  men  to  resistance,  and  sustain  them 
in  it,  such  as  anger,  indignation,  and  re- 
sentment, are  evidently  far  stronger  than 
those  which  have  reference  to  friendly  ob- 
jects ;  and  if  any  of  these  strong  passions 
are  frequently  excited  by  opposition,  they 
infuse  a  certain  quality  into  the  general 
temperament  of  the  mind,  which  remains 
after  the  immediate  excitement  is  past. 
They  continually  strengthen  the  principle 
of  rc-action ;  they  put  the  mind  in  the  ha- 
bitual array  of  defence  and  self-afesertion, 
and  often  give  it  the  aspect  and  the  posture 
of  a  gladiator,  when  there  appears  no  con- 
fronting condiatant.  When  these  passions 
are  felt  by  the  man  whom  I  describe,  it  is 
probable  that  each  excitement  is  folloAvcd 
by  a  greater  increase  of  tJiis  principle  of 
re-action  than  in  other  men,  because  this 
result  is  so  congenial  with  his  naturally 
resolute  disposition.  Let  him  be  opposed 
then,  through  the  whole  course  of  an  ex- 
tended design,  or  in  the  general  tenor  of  his 
actions  ;  and  this  constant  opposition  would 
render  him  the  service  of  an  ally  by  cor- 
roborating his  inflexibility.  An  irresolute 
mind  indeed  might  be  quelled,  and  subju- 
gated by  a  formidable  kind  of  opposition ; 
but  the  strong  wind  which  blows  out  a  ta- 


t'OSTER    ON    DECISION. 


17 


per,  augments  a  powerful  fire,  if  there  is 
fuel  enough,  to  an  indefinite  intensity. 

I  beheve  you  will  find  in  fact  that  many 
of  the  individuals  most  eminently  decisive 
in  conduct,  have  made  their  way  through 
opposition  and  contest ;  in  which  they  have 
acquired  both  a  prompt  acuteness  of  faculty, 
and  an  inflexibility  of  temper,  which  even 
strong  minds  could  never  have  attained  in 
the  tame  security  of  facile,  friendly  coinci- 
dence. Very  often,  however,  it  is  granted, 
the  firmness  matured  by  such  discipline  is 
accompanied,  in  a  man  of  virtue,  with  a 
Catonic  severity,  and  in  a  mere  man  of  the 
world,  with  an  unhumanized,  repulsive 
hardness. 

Desertion  is  another  cause  which  may 
•conduce  to  consolidate  this  chararcter.  A 
Itind,  mutually  reclining  dependence,  is  cer- 
tainly the  happiest  state  of  human  beings ; 
but  this  necessarily  prevents  the  develop- 
ment of  some  great  individual  powers  which 
would  be  forced  into  action  by  a  state  of 
desertion.  I  lately  happened  to  notice, 
with  some  surprise,  an  ivy,  which  being 
presented  from  attaching  itself  to  the  rock 
beyond  a  certain  point,  had  shot  off'  into  a 
bold,  elastic  stem,  with  an  air  of  as  much 
independence  as  any  branch  of  oak  in  the 
vicinity.  So  a  human  being,  thrown,  wheth- 
er by  cruelty,  justice,  or  accident,  from  all 
social  support  and  kindness,  if  he  has  any 
vigor  of  spirit,  and  is  not  in  the  bodily  de- 
bility of  either  childhood  or  age,  will  in- 
stantly begin  to  act  for  himself  with  a  reso- 
lution which  will  appear  like  a  new  faculty. 
And  the  most  absolute  inflexibility  is  likely 
to  characterize  the  resolution  of  an  individ- 
ual who  is  obliged  to  deliberate  without 
consultation,  and  execute  without  assistance. 
He  will  disdain  to  concede  to  beings  that 
have  rejected  him,  or  to  forego  a  single 
particle  of  his  designs  or  advantages,  tor 
the  sake  of  the  opinions  or  the  will  of  all 
the  world.  Himself,  his  pursuits,  and  his 
interests,  are  emphatically  his  own.  "  The 
world  is  not  his  friend,  nor  the  world's  law," 
and  therefore  he  becomes  regardless  of 
every  thing  but  its  power,  of  which  his 
policy  carefully  takes  the  measure,  in  order 
to  ascertain  his  own  means  of  action  and 
impunity,  as  set  against  the  world's  means 
of  annoyance,  prevention,  and  retaUation. 

If  this  person  has  but  Httle  humanity  or 
principle,  he  will  become  a  misanthrope,  or 
perhaps  a  villain,  that  will  resemble  a  soli- 
tary wild  beast  of  the  night,  which  makes 
prey  of  every  thing  it  can  overpower,  and 
cares  for  nothing  but  fire.  If  he  is  capable 
of  grand  conception  and  enterprise,  he  may, 
like  Spartacus,  make  a  daring  attempt 
against  the  whole  social  order  of  the  state 
where  he  heis  been  oppressed.  If  he  has 
great  humanity  and  principle,  he  may  be- 
come one  of  the  noblest  of  mankind,  and 

Vol.  3.— C. 


display  a  generous  virtue  to  which  society 
had  no  claim,  and  which  it  is  not  worthy  to 
reward,  if  it  should  at  last  become  inclined. 
No,  he  will  say,  give  your  rewards  to 
another ;  as  it  has  been  no  part  of  my  ob- 
ject to  gain  them,  they  are  not  necessary  to 
my  satisfaction.  I  have  done  good,  without 
expecting  your  gratitude,  and  without  car- 
ing for  your  approbation.  If  conscience 
and  my  Creator  had  not  been  more  auspi- 
cious than  you,  none  of  these  virtues  would 
ever  have  opened  to  the  day.  When  I 
ought  to  have  been  an  object  of  your  com- 
passion, I  might  have  perished ;  now,  when 
you  find  I  can  serve  your  interests,  you  will 
affect  to  acknowledge  me  and  reward  me ; 
I  will  not  accept  your  rewards.  In  either 
case,  virtuous  or  wicked,  the  man  who  has 
been  compelled  to  do  without  assistance, 
will  spurn  interference. 

Common  life  would  supply  illustrations  of 
the  effect  of  desertion.  Some  of  the  most 
resolute  men  have  become  such,  partly  from 
being  left  friendless  in  early  life.  The  case 
has  also  sometimes  happened,  that  a  wife 
and  motlier,  remarkable  perhaps  for  gentle- 
ness and  acquiescence  before,  has  been 
compelled,  after  the  death  of  her  husband 
on  whom  she  depended,  and  when  she  has 
met  with  nothing  but  neglect  or  unkindness 
from  relatives  and  those  who  had  been 
deemed  friends,  to  adopt  a  plan  of  her  own, 
and  has  executed  it  with  a  resolution  which 
has  astonished  even  herself 

One  regrets  that  the  signal  examples,  real 
or  fictitious,  that  most  readily  present  them- 
selves, are  still  of  the  depraved  order.  I 
fancy  myself  to  see  Marius  sitting  on  the 
ruins  of  Carthage,  where  no  arch  or  column 
that  remained  unshaken  amidst  the  desola- 
tion, could  present  a  stronger  image  of  a 
firmness  beyond  the  power  of  calamitous 
events  to  subdue.  The  rigid  constancy 
which  had  before  distinguished  his  charac- 
ter, would  be  aggravated  by  his  finding 
himself  thus  an  outcast  from  all  human 
society;  and  he  would  proudly  shake  off" 
every  sentiment  that  had  ever  for  an  instant 
checked  his  designs  by  reminding  him  of 
social  obligations.  The  lonely  individual 
was  placed  in  the  alternative  of  becoming 
tlie  victim  or  the  antagonist  of  the  power 
of  the  empire.  While,  with  a  spirit  capa- 
ble of  confronting  that  power,  he  resolved, 
amidst  those  ruins,  on  a  great  experiment, 
he  would  enjoy  a  kind  of  sullen  luxury  in 
surveying  the  dreary  situation,  and  recol- 
lecting the  circumstances  of  his  expulsion ; 
since  they  would  seem  to  him  to  sanction 
an  unlimited  vengeance;  to  present  what 
had  been  his  country  as  the  pure  legitimate 
prize  for  desperate  achievement;  and  to 
give  him  a  proud  consequence  in  being  re- 
duced to  maintain  singly  a  quarrel  against 
the  bulk  of  mankind.    He  would  exult  that 


18 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION. 


his  desolate  condition  gave  him  a  proof  of 
liis  possessing  a  mind  which  no  misfortunes 
could  repress  or  intimidate,  and  that  it  kin- 
dled an  animosity  intense  enough  to  force 
that  mind  from  firm  endurance  into  impetu- 
ous action.  He  would  feel  as  if  he  became 
stronger  for  enterprise,  in  proportion  as  he 
became  more  inexorable ;  and  the  senti- 
ment with  wiiich  he  quitted  his  solitude 
would  be,  Rome  expelled  her  patriot,  let 
her  receive  her  evil  genius. 

The  decision  of  Satan,  in  Paradise  Lost, 
is  represented  as  consolidated  by  his  reflec- 
tions on  his  hopeless  banishment  from  heav- 
en, which  oppress  him  with  sadness  for  a 
moment,  but  he  soon  resumes  his  invincible 
spirit,  and  utters  the  impious  but  sublime 
sentiment, 

"  What  matter  where,  if  /be  still  the  same." 

You  remember  how  this  effect  of  deser- 
tion is  represented  in  Charles  de  Moor, 
lither's  supposed  cruel  rejection  con 


Hi 

signed  him  irretrievably  to  the  career  of 
atrocious  enterprise,  in  which,  notwith 
standing  the  most  interesting  emotions  oi' 
humanity  and  tenderness,  he  persisted  witli 
heroic  determination  till  he  considered  his 
destiny  as  accomphshed 

Success  tends  considerably  to  reinforce 
this  cliaracter.  It  is  true  that  a  man  pos- 
sessing it  in  a  high  degree  will  not  lose  it 
by  occasional  failure  :  for  if  the  failure  was 
caused  by  something  entirely  beyond  the 
reach  of  all  human  knowledge  and  ability, 
he  will  remember  that  fortitude  is  the  virtue 
required  in  meeting  unl'avoral)le  events 
which  in  no  sense  depended  on  him  ;  if  by 
something  which  might  have  been  known 
and  prevented,  he  will  feel  that  even  the 
experience  of  failure  completes  his  compe- 
tence, by  admonishing  his  prudence,  and 
enlarging  his  understanding.  But  as  all 
schemes  and  measures  ol  action  have  refer- 
ence to  some  end,  and  if  wise,  are  correctly 
adapted  to  attain  that  end,  continual  failure 
would  .show  something  essentially  wrong  in 
a  man's  system,  and  either  destroy  his  con- 
fidence, or  prove  it  to  be  mere  absurdity  or 
obstinacy.  On  the  contrary,  when  a  man 
has  ascertained  by  experiment  the  justness 
of  his  calculations  and  the  extent  of  his 
powers,  when  he  has  metisured  his  force 
with  various  persons,  when  he  has  braved 
;md  conquered  difficulty,  and  partly  seized 
the  prize,  he  will  advance  with  increasing 
assurance  to  the  trials  which  still  await  him 

In  some  men  whose  lives  htive  been 
spent  in  constant  perils,  continued  success 
lias  produced  a  confidence  beyond  its  ra- 
tional effect,  by  inspiring  a  persuasion  that 
the  common  laws  of  human  afftiirs  were, 
in  their  case,  superseded  by  the  decrees  of 
a  peculiar  destiny,  securing  them  from 
almost  the  possibility  of  disaster ;  and  this 


superstitious  feeling,  though  it  has  displa- 
ced the  unconquerable  resolution  from  its 
rational  basis,  has  yet  often  produced  the 
most  wonderful  effects.  Tiiia  persuasion 
dictated  Caesar's  expression  to  the  mariner 
who  was  terrified  at  the  storm  and  billows, 
"  What  art  thou  afraid  of?  Thy  vessef 
carries  Ctpsar."  This  id«a  had  some  in- 
fluence among  the  intrepid  men  in  tlie  time 
of  the  English  Commonwealth. 

The  wilfulness  of  an  obstinate  person  is 
sometimes  fortified  by  some  single  instance 
of  remarkable  success  in  his  undertakings, 
which  is  promptly  recalled  in  every  case 
where  his  decisions  are  questioned  or  op- 
posed, as  a  proof  that  he  must  in  this  in- 
stance too  be  right ;  especially  if  that  one 
success  happened  contrary  to  your  predic- 
tions. 

I  shall  only  add,  and  without  illustration, 
that  the  habit  of  associating  with  inferiors, 
among  whom  a  man  can  always,  and  there- 
fore does  always,  take  the  lead,  is  very  con- 
ducive to  a  subordinate  kind  oi"  decision  of 
character.  You  may  see  this  exemphfied 
any  day  in  an  ignorant  countr)'^  'squire 
among  his  vassals  ;  especially  if  he  wears 
the  superadded  majesty  of  Justice  of  the 
Peace. 

In  viewing  the  characters  and  actions  of 
the  men  who  have  possessed  the  supreme 
degree  of  the  quality  which  I  have  attempt- 
ed to  describe,  one  cannot  but  wish  it  were 
possible  to  know  how  much  of  tliis  aston- 
ishing superiority  was  created  by  the  cir 
cumstances  in  which  they  were  placed  ; 
but  it  seems  inevitable  to  believe  that  there 
was  some  vast  difference  from  ordinary 
men  in  the  very  strvicture  of  the  mind.  In 
observing  lately  a  man  who  appeared  too 
vacant  almost  to  think  of  a  purpose,  too 
indifferent  to  resolve  upon  it,  and  too  slug- 
gish to  execute  it  if  he  had  resolved.  I 
was  distinctly  struck  with  the  idea  of  the 
difference  between  him  and  Marius,  of 
whom  I  happened  to  have  been  thinlcing ; 
and  I  felt  it  utterly  beyond  my  power  to 
believe  tliat  any  circumstances  on  earth, 
though  ever  so  perfectly  combined  and 
adapted,  would  have  produced  in  this  man, 
if  placed  under  their  fullest  influence  from 
his  childhood,  any  resemblance  (beyond 
perhaps  a  diminutive  kmd  of  revenge  and 
cruelty)  of  the  formidtible  Roman. 

It  is  needless  to  discuss  whether  a  person 
who  is  practically  evinced,  at  the  iige  of 
m;iturit>%  to  want  ihe  stamina  of  this  char- 
acter, can,  by  any  process,  acquire  it.  In- 
deed such  a  person  cannot  have  sufficient 
force  of  will  to  make  the  complete  experi- 
ment. If  there  is  the  unconquerable  will 
that  would  persist  to  seize  all  possible  means, 
and  apply  them  in  order  to  attain  such  an 
erid,  it  would  prove  tiie  existence  already 
of  a  high  degree  of  tlie  character  sought ; 


FOSTER    ON    DECISION. 


19 


and  if  there  is  not  this  will,  how  tlien  is  the 
Supposed  attainment  possible  ? 

Yet  though  it  is  improbable  that  a  very 
irresolute  man  can  never  become  a  habit- 
ually decisive  one,  it  should  be  observed, 
tliat  since  there  are  many  degrees  of  deter- 
mined character,  and  since  the  essential 
Srinciples  of  it,  partially  existing  in  those 
egrees,  cannot  be  supposed  subject  to  an 
absolute  and  ultimate  limitation,  like  the 
dimension  of  the  bodily  stature,  it  might 
"be  possible  to  apply  a  discipline  which 
should  advance  a  man  from  the  first  degree 
to  the  second,  and  from  that  to  the  third, 
and  how  much  further — it  will  be  well  worth 
his  trying,  after  he  shall  have  made  this 
first  progress.  I  have  but  a  very  imper- 
fect conception  of  the  discipline;  butwill 
suggest  a  hint  or  two. 

And  in  the  first  place,  the  indispensable 
necessity  of  a  clear  and  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  concerns  before  us,  seems 
too  obvious  for  remark  5  and  yet  no  man 
has  been  sufficiently  sensible  of  it,  till  he 
has  been  placed  in  circumstances  which 
forced  him  to  act  before  he  had  time,  or 
after  he  had  made  ineffectual  efforts,  to  ob- 
tain the  needful  information.  The  pain  of 
having  brought  things  to  an  unfortunate 
issue,  is  hardly  greater  than  that  of  pro- 
ceeding in  the  conscious  ignorance  which 
continually  threatens  such  an  issue.  While 
thus  proceeding  without  plan  or  guide,  be- 
cause he  positively  cannot  be  permitted  to 
remain  in  inaction,  a  man  looks  round  for 
information  as  eagerly  as  a  benighted  wan- 
derer would  for  t!ie  light  of  a  human  dwell- 
ing. He  perhaps  labors  to  recal  what  he 
■thinks  he  once  heard  or  read  in  relation  to 
a  similar  situation,  without  dreaming  at  the 
time  he  heard  or  read  it,  that  such  nistruc- 
•tion  could  ever  be  of  importance  to  him ; 
and  is  distressed  to  find  that  he  cannot  ac- 
curately recollect  it.  He  would  give  a  con- 
siderable sum,  if  some  particular  book  could 
be  brought  to  him  at  the  instant ;  or  a  cer- 
tain document  which  he  believes  to  be  in 
existence ;  or  the  detail  of  a  process,  the 
term.s  of  a  prescription,  or  the  model  of  an 
implement.  He  thinks  how  many  people 
know,  without  its  being  of  any  present  use 
to  them,  exactly  what  could  be  of  such  im- 
portant service  to  him,  if  he  could  know  it. 
In  some  cases,  a  line,  a  sentence,  a  mono- 
syllable of  affirming  or  denying,  or  a  mo- 
jnentary  sight  of  an  object,  would  be  inex- 
pressibly valuable  and  welcome.  And  he 
resolves  that  if  he  can  once  happily  escape 
from  the  present  difficulty,  he  will  apply 
liimself  day  and  night  to  obtain  laiowledge, 
rather  than  be  so  involved  and  harrassed 
again.  It  might  even  be  of  service  to  have 
been  occasionally  forced  to  act  under  the 
disadvantage  of  conscious  ignorance,  if  tlie 
affair  wtib  not  very  important,  nor  the  con- 


sequence very  injurious,  as  an  effectual  les- 
son on  the  necessity  of  knowledge  in  order 
to  decision  either  of  plan  or  execution.  It 
is  indeed  an  extreme  case  that  will  compel 
a  considerate  man  to  act  without  knowl- 
edge ;  yet  he  may  often  be  necessitated  to 
proceed  to  action,  when  he  is  sensible  his 
information  does  not  extend  to  the  whole  of 
the  concern  in  which  he  is  going  to  commit 
himself  And  in  this  case,  he  will  feel  no 
little  uneasiness,  while  transacting  that  part 
of  it  in  which  his  knowledge  is  competent, 
when  he  looks  forward  to  the  point  where 
tliat  knowedge  terminates ;  luiless  he  is  con- 
scious of  a  very  prompt  faculty  of  catching 
information  at  the  moment  that  he  wants  it 
for  use  ;  as  Indians  set  out  on  a  long  jour- 
ney with  but  a  small  stock  of  provision,  be- 
cause they  are  certain  that  their  bows  or 
guns  will  procure  it  by  the  way.  It  is  one 
of  the  nicest  points  of  wisdom  to  decide 
how  much  less  than  complete  knowledge, 
in  any  question  of  practical  interest,  will 
warrant  a  man  to  venture  on  an  undertak- 
ing, in  the  presumption  that  the  deficiency 
will  be  supplied  in  time  to  prevent  either 
perplexity  or  disaster. 

A  tlaousand  familiar  instances  show  the 
efi'ect  of  perfect  knowledge  on  determina- 
tion. An  artizan  may  be  said  to  be  deci- 
sive as  to  the  mode  of  working  a  piece  of 
iron  or  wood,  because  he  is  certain  of  the 
proper  process  and  the  effect.  A  man  per- 
fectly acquainted  with  the  intricate  paths 
of  a  district,  takes  the  right  one  without  a 
moment's  hesitation ;  while  a  stranger  who 
has  only  some  very  vague  information, 
is  lost  in  perplexity.  It  is  easy  to  imagine 
what  a  number  of  circumstances  may  oc- 
cur in  the  course  of  a  life  or  even  of  a  year, 
in  which  a  man  cannot  thus  readily  deter- 
mine, and  thus  confidently  proceed,  without 
an  extent  and  exactness  of  knowledge  which 
few  persons  have  application  enough  to  ac- 
quire. 

In  connection  with  the  necessity  of  knowl- 
edge, I  would  suggest  the  importance  of 
cultivating,  witli  the  utmost  industry,  a  con- 
clusive manner  of  reasoning.  In  the  first 
place,  let  the  general  course  of  thinking  be 
reasoning;  for  it  should  be  remembered 
that  this  name  does  not  belong  to  a  series 
of  thoughts  and  fancies  which  follow  one 
another  without  deduction  or  dependence, 
and  which  can  therefore  no  more  bring  a 
subject  to  a  proper  issue,  than  a  number  of 
separate  links  will  answer  the  mechanical 
purpose  of  a  chain.  The  conclusion  which 
terminates  such  a  series,  does  not  deserve 
the  name  of  result,  since  it  has  little  more 
than  a  casual  connection  with  what  went 
before ;  the  conclusion  might  as  well  have 
taken  place  at  an  earlier  point  of  the  train, 
or  have  been  deferred  till  that  train  had 
been  extended  much  further.     Instead  of 


20 


POSTER    ON    DECISION. 


having  been  busily  employed  in  this  kind 
of  thinking,  for  perhaps  many  hours,  a  man 
might  as  well  have  been  sleeping  all  the 
time ;  since  the  single  thought  which  is  now 
to  determine  his  conduct,  might  have  hap- 
pened to  be  the  first  thought  that  occurred 
to  him  on  awaking.  It  only  happetis  to  oc- 
cur to  him  now;  it  does  not  follow  from 
what  he  has  been  thinking  all  these  hours ; 
at  least,  he  cannot  prove  that  some  other 
thought  might  not  just  as  properly  have 
come  in  its  place,  at  the  end  of  this  long 
series.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  feeble  that 
determination  is  likely  to  be,  which  is  form- 
ed on  so  narrow  a  ground  as  the  last  acci- 
dental idea  that  comes  into  the  mind,  or  on 
80  loose  a  ground  as  this  crude  uncombined 
assemblage  of  ideas.  Indeed  it  is  difficult 
to  form  a  determination  at  all  on  such  slight 
ground.  A  man  delays,  and  waits  for  some 
more  satisfactory  thought  to  occur  to  him ; 
and  perhaps  he  has  not  waited  long,  before 
an  idea  arises  in  his  mind  of  a  quite  con- 
trary tendency  to  the  last.  As  this  addi- 
tional idea  is  not,  more  than  that  which  pre- 
ceded it,  the  result  of  any  process  of  reason- 
ing, nor  brings  with  it  any  arguments,  it  is 
likely  to  give  place  soon  to  another,  and 
still  another ;  and  tliey  are  all  in  succession 
of  equal  authority,  that  is,  of  none.  If  at 
last  an  idea  occurs  to  him  which  seems  of 
considerable  authority,  he  may  here  make 
a  stand,  and  adopt  his  resolution,  with  firm- 
ness, as  he  thinks,  and  commence  the  exe- 
cution. But  still,  as  he  cannot  verify  the 
authority  of  the  principle  which  has  deter- 
mined him,  his  resolution  is  likely  to  prove 
treacherous  and  evanescent  in  any  serious 
trial.  A  principle  so  little  defined  and  es- 
tablished by  sound  reasoning,  is  not  terra 
firma  for  a  man  to  trust  himself  upon ;  it  is 
only  as  a  slight  incrustation  on  a  yielding 
element ;  it  is  like  the  sand  on  the  surface 
of  the  lake  Serbonis,  which  broke  away 
under  the  unfortunate  army  which  had  be- 
gun to  advance  on  it,  mistaking  it  for  solid 
ground. — These  remarks  may  seem  to  re- 
fer only  io^  single  instance  of  deliberation  ; 
but  they  are  equally  applicable  to  all  the 
deliberations  and  undertakings  of  a  man's 
life :  the  same  closely  connected  manner 
of  thinking,  which  is  so  necessary  to  give 
firmness  of  determination  and  of  conduct 
in  a  particular  instance,  will  if  habitual, 
greatly  contribute  to  form  a  decisive  char- 
acter. 

Not  only  should  thinking  be  thus  reduced 
by  a  rigid  discipline,  to  a  train,  in  which  all 
the  parts  at  once  depend  upon  and  support 
one  another,  but  also  this  train  should  be 
followed  on  to  a  full  conclusion.  It  should 
be  held  as  an  absolute  law,  that  the  ques- 
tion must  be  disposed  of  before  it  is  let 
alone.    The  mind  may  carry  on  this  accu 


rate  process  to  some  length,  and  then  stop 
through  indolence,  or  divert  tlirough  levity ; 
but  it  can  never  possess  that  rational  con- 
fidence in  its  opinions  which  is  requisite  to 
the  character  in  question,  till  it  is  conscious 
of  acquiring  them  from  trains  of  reasoning 
which  are  followed  on  to  their  result.  The 
habit  of  thinking  thus  completely  is  indis- 
pensable to  the  character  in  general ;  and  in 
any  particular  instance,  it  is  found  that  short 
pieces  of  trains  of  reasoning,  though  correct 
as  far  as  they  go,  are  inadequate  to  qualify 
a  man  for  the  immediate  concern.  They 
are  besides  of  little  value  for  the  assistance 
of  future  thinking ;  because  from  being  left 
thus  incomplete,  they  are  but  slightly  re- 
tained by  the  mind,  and  soon  sink  away; 
in  the  same  manner  as  walls  left  unfinished 
speedily  moulder. 

After  these  remarks,  I  should  take  occa- 
sion to  observe,  that  a  vigorous  exercise  of 
thought  may  sometimes  for  a  while  seem 
to  increase  the  difficulty  of  decision,  by  dis- 
covering a  great  number  of  unthought-of 
reasons  for  a  measure  and  against  it,  so 
that  even  a  discriminating  mind  may,  dur- 
ing a  short  space,  find  itself  in  the  state  of 
the  magnetic  needle  under  the  equator. 
But  no  case  in  the  world  can  really  have 
this  perfect  equality  of  opposite  reasons ; 
nor  will  it  long  appear  to  have  it,  in  the  es- 
timate of  a  clear  and  strongly  exerted  in- 
tellect, which  after  some  time  will  ascertain, 
though  the  difference  is  small,  Avhich  side  of 
the  question  has  twenty,  and  which  haa 
but  nineteen. 

Another  thing  that  would  powerfully  as- 
sist toward  complete  decision,  both  in  the 
particular  instance,  and  in  the  general  spirit 
of  the  character,  is  for  a  man  to  place  him- 
self in  a  situation  like  that  in  which  Cajsar 
placed  his  soldiers,  when  he  burnt  the  ships 
which  brought  them  to  land.  If  hi.s  judg- 
ment is  really  decided,  let  him  commit  him- 
self irretrievably  by  doing  something  which 
shall  compel  him  to  do  more,  which  shall 
necessitate  him  to  do  all.  If  a  man  re- 
solves as  a  general  intention  to  be  a  phi- 
lanthropist, I  would  say  to  him.  Form  some 
actual  plan  of  philanthropy,  and  begin  the 
execution  of  it  to-morrow,  (perhaps  I  should 
say  to-day,)  so  explicitly,  that  you  cannot 
relinquish  it  without  becoming  despicable 
even  in  your  own  estimation.  If  a  man 
would  be  a  hero,  let  him,  if  it  is  possible  to 
find  a  good  cause  in  arms,  go  instantly  to 
the  camp.  If  a  man  would  be  a  traveller 
through  distant  countries,  let  him  actually 
prepare  to  set  off.  Let  him  not  still  dwell, 
in  imagination,  on  mountains,  rivers,  and 
temples ;  but  give  directions  about  his  re- 
mittances, his  clothes,  or  the  carriage,  or 
the  vessel,  in  which  he  is  to  go.  Ledyard 
surprised  the  official  person  who  asked  him 


ORIGIN    OF    INFANT    BAPTISM    AND    COMMUNION,      gj 


how  soon  he  could  be  ready  to  set  off  for 
the  interior  of  Africa,  by  replying  promptly 
and  firmly,  "  To-morrow." 

Again,  it  is  highly  conducive  to  a  manly 
firmness,  that  the  interests  in  which  it  is  ex- 
erted, should  be  of  a  dignified  order,  so  as 
to  give  tlie  passions  an  ample  scope,  and 
a  noble  object.  The  degradation  that 
should  devote  these  passions  to  mean  and 
trivial  pursuits,  would  in  general,  I  should 
think,  likewise  debilitate  their  energy, 
and  therefore  preclude  strength  of  charac- 
ter. 

And  finally,  if  I  would  repeat  that  one 
should  think  a  man's  own  conscientious  ap- 
probation of  his  conduct  must  be  of  vast 
importance  to  his  decision  in  the  outset,  and 
his  persevering  constancy,  I  must  at  the 
same  time  acknowledge  that  it  is  astonish- 
ing to  observe  how  many  of  the  eminent 
examples  have  been  very  wicked  men. 
These  must  certainly  be  deemed  also  ex- 
amples of  the  original  want,  or  the  depra- 


vation,  or  the  destruction,   of  the  moral 
sense. 

I  am  sorry,  and  I  attribute  it  to  the  de- 
fect of  memory,  that  a  greater  proportion 
of  the  illustrations  introduced  in  this  essay, 
are  not  as  conspicuous  for  goodness  as  for 
power.  It  is  melancholy  to  contemplate 
beings,  whom  our  imagination  represents 
as  capable,  (when  they  possessed  great  ex- 
ternal means  in  addition  to  the  force  of 
their  minds,)  of  the  grandest  utility,  capa- 
ble of  vindicating  each  good  cause  which 
has  languished  in  a  world  adverse  to  all 
goodness,  and  capable  of  intimidating  the 
collective  vices  of  a  nation  or  an  age — be- 
coming themselves  the  very  centres  and 
volcanoes  of  those  vices  ;  and  it  is  melan- 
choly to  follow  them  in  serious  thought, 
from  this  region,  of  which  not  all  the  pow- 
ers and  diificulties  and  inhabitants  togeth- 
er could  have  subdued  their  adamantine  res- 
olution, to  the  Supreme  Tribunal  where  that 
resolution  must  tremble  and  melt  away. 


fitC.  AfKjft^/ 

ORIGIN    OF  'V'^:^SOL.Ogj0^ 

INFANT  BAPTISM  AND  COMMUNIONt;*^^ 


In  the  third  century  there  is  clear  evi- 
dence of  infant  baptism  and  infant  commun- 
ion. In  ecclesiastical  history,  these  two 
practices  may  be  traced  to  the  same  origin, 
and  they  are  both  supported  by  tlie  same 
arguments.  In  proof  of  this  we  will  cite 
some  authorities. 

Says  St.  Austin,  "  No  one  who  professes 
himself  a  Christian  of  the  catholic  faith  denies 
or  doubts,  that  children,  without  receiving 
the  grace  of  regeneration  in  Christ,  and 
without  eating  his  flesh  and  drinking  his 
blood,  (i.  e.  without  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
supper)  have  not  life  in  them,  and  there- 
fore are  liable  to  everlasting  punishment." 
Would  Austin,  do  we  think,  ever  talk  after 
this  rate,  unless  he  knew  it  to  have  been  the 
practice  of  the  eastern  as  well  as  the  west- 
ern churches  to  give  the  Lord's  supper  to 
children  ?  and  very  remarkable  is  another 
passage  of  St.  Austin,  which  Dr.  Wall  has 
taken  notice  of,  and  thus  translated — "  The 
Christians  of  Airica  do  Avell  call  baptism 
itself  one's  salvation ;  and  the  sacrament  of 
Christ's  body  one's  life.  From  whence  is 
this,  but,  as  I  suppose,  from  that  ancient 
and    apoetolical    tradition,  by  which   the 


churches  of  Christ  do  naturally  hold  that 
without  baptism  and  partaking  of  the  Lord's 
table,  none  can  come,  either  to  the  kingdom 
of  God,  or  to  salvation  and  eternal  life  ? 
For  the  scripture,  as  I  showed  before,  says 
the  same."  This  is  without  doubt,  clear 
evidence  that  St.  Austin  was  satisfied  that 
infant  communion  was  as  necessary  and  as 
much  apostolic  as  inl'ant  baptism.  All 
agree  that  the  false  construction  of  the  pas- 
sage in  the  6th  chap,  of  John,  53d  verse, 
"except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man, 
and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you," 
was  the  erroneous  ground  on  which  they 
placed  the  necessity  of  infant  communion. 
On  a  similar  perversion  of  certain  texts, 
which  speak  of  baptism,  they  ground  the 
necessity  of  imposing  this  rite  on  infants. 
History  traces  both  these  ceremonies  to  one 
common  origin,  namely,  necessity  ;  and  sup- 
ports both  by  the  same  process  of  argu- 
ment. 

It  seems  then  impossible  to  invalidate  the 
the  historic  argimients  for  infant  commun- 
ion, without  ruining  to  the  same  extent 
the  arguments  in  favor  of  infant  baptism. — 
Dr.  Giapin^s  Letters. 


THE 


TRAVELS 


TRUE    GODLINESS. 


By  benjamin  KEACH. 


C  H  AP  T  E  R  I. 

IVhat  True  Godliness  is.    His  Origin  and 
Antiquity. 

True  Godliness  being  a  great  stranger 
to  most  men,  and  indeed  known  but  by  few, 
I  shall,  in  the  first  place,  before  I  treat  of 
his  travels,  and  of  the  entertainment  he 
meets  with,  give  you  a  description  of  him  ; 
because  many  persons  are  subject  to  so 
great  an  error,  as  to  take  Morality  for  him : 
some  also  take  Counterfeit  Godliness  for 
him  ;  and  others,  out  of  ignorance,  (to  say 
no  worse,)  rail,  and  ignominiously  call  him 
Singularity.  Stubbornness,  Pride  and  lie- 
hellion,  as  if  he  were  not  fit  to  live,  he  be- 
ing considered  a  seditious  disturber  of  king- 
doms, cities,  towns  and  villages,  wherever 
he  comes ;  yea,  such  a  factious  and  quar- 
relsome companion,  that  he  is  indeed  the 
cause  of  all  those  unhappy  differences,  di- 
visions, troubles,  and  miseries,  that  are  in 
the  world.  I  conclude,  therefore,  nothing 
is  more  necessary,  than  to  take  off  that 
mask  which  his  implacable  enemies  have 
put  upon  him,  and  clear  him  of  all  unjust 
slanders,  and  reproaches  of  the  sons  of 
Belial ;  so  that  he  may  appear  in  his  own 
original  and  spotless  innocency,  that  none 
may  be  afraid  of  him,  or  be  unwilling  to 
entertain  him,  nor  ashamed  to  own  him,  and 
make  him  their  bosom  companion. 

Know,  therefore,  in  the  first  place,  that 
Godliness  consists  in  the  right  knowledge 
of  divine  truths,  or  fundamental  principles 
of  the  Gospel,  which  all  raeo  ought  to  know, 


and  be  established  in,  that  would  be  saved. 
Without  controversy,  "  great  is  the  myste- 
tery  of  godliness.  God  manifested  in  the 
flesh,  justified  in  the  spirit,  seen  of  angels, 
preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in 
the  world,  and  received  up  to  glory."  1  Tim. 
iii.  16.  These  great  trutlis  of  the  Cliristian 
religion,  are  called  Godliness. 

Now,  should  any  demand  farther  to  hear 
more  particularly  what  those  principles  of 
divine  truth,  or  fundamentals  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith  be,  which  are  the  essentials  of 
True  Godliness,  I  answer, 

1.  That  there  is  one  eternal,  infinite, 
most  holy,  most  wise,  just,  good  and  gra- 
cious God,  or  glorious  Deity,  subsisting  in 
three  distinct  persons — the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  these  are  one — 
that  is,  one  in  essence. 

2.  That  this  God,  out  of  his  great  love 
and  goodness,  hath  given  us  one  sure,  and 
infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  viz.  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  by  which  we  may  know, 
not  only  that  there  is  a  God  and  Creator^ 
but  the  manner  of  the  creation  of  the  world^ 
and  of  all  things,  in  six  days ;  together  with, 
the  design,  or  reason,  wheretbre  he  made 
all  things ;  and  also  to  show  us  how  sin 
came  into  the  world,  and  what  righteous- 
ness it  is  which  God's  holy  nature  requires, 
to  our  justification,  or  discharge  from  the 
guilt  of  sin,  &c.  viz :  by  a  Redeemer — his 
own  Son,  whom  he  sent  into  the  world ; 
and  that  there  is  no  other  rule  or  way  to 
know  these  things,  so  as  for  men  to  be  sav- 
ed, but  by  revelation,  or  the  sacred  records 
of  the  holy  Scriptures.  And  that  the  mys- 
ter)'  of  salvation  lies  above  human  reason. 


TRAVELS  OF  TRUE  GODLINESS. 


23 


and  cannot  be  known  by  the  natural  light  in 
men. 

3.  That  our  Redeemer,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  is  the  surety  of  the  new  cove- 
nant, and  only  Mediator  between  God  and 
man,  is  truly  God  of  the  essence  of  the 
Father,  and  truly  man  of  the  substance  of 
the  virgin  Mary,  consisting  of  these  two 
natures  in  one  person ;  and  that  redemp- 
tion, peace,  and  reconciliation,  are  by  this 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  alone. 

4.  That  justification  and  pardon  of  sin  is 
alone  by  that  lull  satisfaction  which  Christ 
made  to  God's  justice ;  and  tliat  is  appre- 
hended by  faith  alone,  through  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

5.  That  all  men  who  are,  or  can  be  sav- 
ed, must  be  renewed,  regenerated,  and  sanc- 
tified by  tlie  Holy  Spirit. 

6.  That  there  will  be  a  resurrection  of 
the  bodies  of  all  men  at  the  last  day. 

7.  That  there  will  be  an  eternal  judg 
ment,  that  is,  all  shall  be  brought  to  the 
tribunal  of  Jesus  Clirist  in  the  great  day, 
and  give  an  account  for  all  tilings  done  in 
the  body ;  and  that  there  will  be  a  future 
state  of  glory  and  eternal  happiness  of  all 
true  believers,  and  of  etei-nal  torment  and 
.misery  of  all  unbelievers  and  ungodly  per- 
sons, who  live  and  die  in  their  sins. 

Now,  I  say,  in  the  true  knowledge  and 
belief  of  these  principles  (wJiich  compre- 
hend the  fundamentals  ef  true  rehgion,  or 
tlie  Christian  faith)  does  True  Godliness 
consist,  as  to  his  essential  part. 

Secondly,  Godliness^  as  to  his  inward 
parts,  is  a  holy  conformity  to  these  sacred 
and  divine  principles,  which  natural  men 
understand  not.  True  Godliness  consists 
in  the  light  of  supernatural  truths  and  life 
oi'  grace,  God  manifesting  himself  in  the 
light  of  those  glorious  principles,  and  work- 
ing the  life  of  supernatural  grace  in  the 
soul  by  the  Holy  Ghost  It  consists  in  the 
■saving  and  experimental  knowledge  of  God 
and  Jesus  Christ  5  in  having  the  evil  quali- 
ties of  the  soul  removed,  and  heavenly  hab- 
its infused  in  their  room ;  or  in  a  gracious 
conformity,  disposition,  and  affection  of  the 
heart  to  God,  cleaving  to  all  truths  made 
"known  to  us,  finding  the  powerful  influences 
of  the  gospel  and  spirit  of  Christ  upon  us, 
whereby  our  souls  are  brought  into  the  im- 
age and  hkeness  of  his  deatli  and  resurrec- 
tion. This  is  True  Godliness.  Not  a  bare 
livmg  up  to  the  natural  principles  of  moral- 
ity nor  an  historical,  notional,  or  dogmati- 
cal knowledge  of  the  sacred  gospel,  and  its 
precepts,  but  in  a  laithful  living  up  to  the 
principles  of  the  gospel,  discharging  our 
duties  with  as  much  readiness  and  faithful 
ness  towards  God  as  towards  man,  so  that 
our  conscience  may  be  kept  void  of  offence 
towards  both.     Acts  xxiv.  16. 

It  consists  in  forsaking  every  sin,  and 


loathing  it  as  the  greatest  evil,  and  cleav- 
ing to  God  in  sincerity  of  heart,  valuing  him 
above  all ;  and,  from  a  principle  of  divine 
love,  being  willingly  subject  to  all  his  laws 
and  appointments.  Godliness  makes  a  man 
say  with  the  Psalmist,  "  Whom  have  I  in 
heaven  but  thee?"  &c.  Psal.  Ixxiii.  25. 
St.  Austin  saith,  "  He  loves  not  Christ  at 
all,  that  loves  him  not  above  all."  He  that 
entertains  True  Godliness,  is  as  zealous  lor 
the  work  of  religion,  as  for  the  wages  of  re- 
ligion. Some  there  be,  v/ho  serve  God, 
that  they  may  serve  themselves  upon  God. 
But  a  true  Christian  desires  grace,  not  on- 
ly that  God  would  glorify  him  in  heaven, 
but  that  he  may  glorify  God  on  earth.  He 
cries,  "  Lord,  rather  let  me  have  a  good 
heart,  than  a  great  estate."  Though  he 
loves  many  things  beside  God,  yet  he  loves 
nothing  above  God.  This  man  fears  sin 
more  than  suffering,  and  therefore  he  will 
suffer  rather  than  sin. 

Thirdly,  That  you  may  have  a  complete 
and  perfect  knowledge  of  him,  it  may  not 
be  amiss  if  I  describe  his  form,  together 
with  the  very  habiliments  he  continually 
wears. 

The  external  parts  of  True  Godliness  are 
very  beautiful ;  and  no  wonder  that  they 
are  so,  seeing  he  was  fashioned  by  the  wis- 
dom of  the  only  wise  God  our  Saviour,  the 
works  of  whose  hands  are  all  glorious. 
But  this,  viz.  the  formation  of  Godliness, 
being  one  of  the  highest,  and  most  admircy 
ble  contrivances  of  his  eternal  wisdom, 
must  of  necessity  excel  in  glory  and  amia- 
bleness.  His  form  and  external  beauty, 
therefore,  are  such,  that  he  needs  no  hu- 
man artifice  to  paint  or  adorn  him,  or  to  il- 
lustrate or  set  off  his  comeliness  of  coun- 
tenance ;  for  there  is  nothing  defective  as 
to  his  evangelical  and  apostohcal  form,  as 
he  came  out  of  his  great  Creator's  hands. 
And  as  there  is  noticing  from  head  to  foot 
that  is  superfluous,  so  every  line  and  linea- 
ment, vein,  nerve  and  sinew  of  him,  are  in 
such  an  exact  and  admirable  order  placed, 
that  to  his  beauty  there  can  be  no  addition. 
Every  one,  therefore,  that  adds  too,  or  alters 
any  thing,  touching  the  form  of  True  God- 
liness, mars  and  defiles  instead  of  beautify- 
ing. Besides,  God  hath  strictly  forbidden 
any  thing  of  tliis  nature  to  be  done.  "  Add 
thou  not  unto  his  word,  lest  he  reprove  thee, 
and  thou  be  found  a  liar,"  (Prov.  xxx.  6,) 
by  ascribing  that  to  God  which  is  none  of 
his.  Do  not  the  Papists  call  those  super- 
stitious and  vain  ceremonies  used  in  their 
church,  by  the  name  of  God's  worship? 
And  what  is  this  less  than  putting  a  lie 
upon  him?  Besides,  it  reflects  vipon  the 
wisdom  of  God,  to  attempt  to  change  or 
alter  any  thing  in  the  form  of  Godliness,  as 
if  he  did  not  know  best  how  he  himself 
would  be  worshipped;  but  must  be  indebt- 


24 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


ed  to  man  for  his  help,  wisdom,  and  con- 
trivances, touching  many  things  that  are 
called  decent  and  necessary.  And  does  it 
not  reflect  upon  the  care  and  faithfulness 
of  God,  to  suppose  that  he  should  not  him- 
self take  care  to  lay  down  in  his  blessed 
word,  things  which  are  all  necessary  to  the 
form  of  Godliness,  without  weak  man's  care 
and  wisdom,  to  supply  what  he  should 
omit? 

All,  therefore,  may  perceive,  that  True 
Godliness  never  changes  his  countenance : 
he  is  the  very  same,  and  not  altered  in  the 
least  from  the  aspect  he  bore  in  primitive 
times;  nay,  and  there  is  indeed  nothing 
more  foreign  to  him  than  those  pompous 
garbs,  superstitious  vestments,  images,  cross- 
ings, salt,  oil,  holy  water,  and  other  cere- 
monies, which  are  by  many  thought  neces- 
sary to  his  existence.  Therefore  take  heed 
you  do  not  mistake  the  counterfeit  form  of 
Godliness  for  the  true  one.  It  is  only  ne- 
cessary to  note  one  thing  more,  viz.  you 
must  be  sure  to  receive  the  power  of  God- 
liness with  his  form ;  for  his  form,  without 
his  inward  life  and  power,  will  do  you  no 
good :  it  is  but  as  the  body  without  the  soul, 
or  the  shell  without  the  kernel,  or  the  cab- 
inet without  the  jewel.  Neither  ought  any 
to  slight  his  i'orm,  for^you  may  remember 
what  the  apostle  speaks  of  "  the  form  of 
doctrine,"  Rom.  vi.  17,  and  of"  the  form  of 
sound  words,"  2  Tim.  i.  13,  for  as  the  true 
faith  must  be  held  fast,  so  must  the  profess- 
ion of  it  also.  You  may,  it  is  true,  meet 
with  a  shell  without  the  kernel ;  but  it  is 
rare  to  meet  the  kernel  without  the  shell ! 

Having  thus  briefly  given  you  the  des- 
cription both  of  the  inside  and  outside  pow- 
er and  form  of  Ti'ue  Godliness,  we  shall 
proceed  to  show  you  whose  offspring  he  is. 
By  his  name,  (roii-Iiness,  or  G'orf-likeness, 
we  may  discover  from  whence  he  descends, 
and  learn  of  what  noble  parentage  he  is. 
He  is  indeed  high-born,  the  great  and  glo- 
rious offsjiring  of  the  Lord  Jehovah,  the 
Almighty  Prince  of  heaven  and  earth,  the 
King  of  kings,  the  Lord  of  lords,  the  uni- 
versal monarch  of  the  world,  whose  king- 
dom rulcth  over  all.  And  as  this  is  his  no- 
ble extract,  so  likewise  he  is  always  in  high 
favor  with  his  prince  ;  for  there  is  not  one 
in  heaven  or  earth,  whom  he  loves  more, 
or  in  whom  he  takes  more  delight,  than  in 
True  Godliness ;  nor  is  there  any  indeed 
more  like  him,  or  that  more  represents  him 
in  all  the  earth  for  he  bears  his  express  and 
heavenly  image ;  yea,  and  such  a  venera- 
ble respect  and  gracious  esteem  hath  he 
of  him,  that  those  who  love  him,  he  loves ; 
those  who  hate  him,  he  hates ;  those  who 
receive  him,  he  receives,  and  those  who  re- 
ject him,  he  rejects;  where  he  comes  to 
dwell,  there  God,  Christ,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  dwell. 


Godliness  is  of  great  antiquity:  nay,  ac- 
cording to  the  description  we  gave  you  of 
him,  in  the  first  place,  we  may  well  say,  he 
is  without  beginning  of  days,  for  Truth, 
(sometimes  he  bears  that  name,)  dwelt  in 
God  from  everlasting.  But  if  we  speak  of 
his  antiquity,  in  respect  of  his  dwelling  here 
below,  the  first  man  that  knew  him  was 
Adam ;  who,  whilst  he  stood  in  the  state 
of  innocency,  enjoyed  his  company,  but  by 
the  malice  of  a  great  and  potent  enemy  he 
was  abused,  and  his  image  so  defaced  and 
marred,  that  he  forsook  his  habitation,  which 
was  the  ruin  of  our  first  parents,  and  their 
whole  posterity ;  and  had  not  the  King  of 
heaven  and  eartli,  through  his  infinite  wis- 
dom, provided  a  way  to  recover  man  from 
his  lost  estate,  Godliness  had  made  his 
abode  no  longer  in  this  world ;  for  by  means 
of  corruption  of  nature,  there  was  brought 
forth  a  monster  whose  name  was  Vice,  oth- 
erwise Ltist,  who  found  so  much  favor 
with  Adam's  children,  that  Godliness  was 
utterly  discountenanced.  Though  he  was 
the  offspring  of  Heaven,  and  the  only  de- 
light of  Jehovah,  and  unto  man  the  great- 
est friend  and  benefactor,  striving  to  enrich 
him,  cheer  his  heart,  and  make  him  truly 
noble  and  renowned  on  earth,  and  bring 
him  back  into  his  primitive  glory,  and  there- 
by at  last  make  him  eternally  happy  in 
heaven,  yet  he  was  so  lamentably  slighted, 
that  but  one  of  Adam's  oflTspring  cared  for 
him  at  that  time.  And  he,  for  entertaining 
him  with  that  just  and  good  respect  he  de- 
served was  by  his  brother,  whose  name 
was  Cain,  basely  murdered.  Godliness, 
by  this,  perceived  very  early  with  what 
kind  of  usage  and  entertainment  amongst 
the  children  of  men  he  was  likely  to  meet. 
And  truly  never  was  there  any  one  so  no- 
bly descended,  and  of  such  an  excellent, 
peaceable,  a  nature  and  behaviour,  so  dealt 
with  as  Godliness  hath  been,  from  the  be- 
gimiing  to  this  day,  except  the  Prince  of 
Godliness  himself  Yet  he  found  some 
friends  at'ter  Abel  was  slain,  who  enter- 
tained him  kindly :  and  though  they  were 
reproached,  hated,  and  persecuted  for  show- 
ing favor  to  him,  yet  they  never  lost  by  him, 
but  were  infinite  gainers ;  nay,  so  great  a 
friend  was  he  to  the  next  man  who  emi- 
nently embraced  him,  that  he  saved  him 
from  the  grave;  he  sent  him  to  heaven 
without  calling  at  the  gate  of  death.  It  is 
impossible  to  describe  what  sweet  and  heav- 
enly communion,  true  joy  and  felicity,  this 
good  man  had  with  Godliness,  for  the  space 
of  three  hundred  years ;  for  so  long  they 
abode  together  on  earth,  and  now  dwell  to- 
gether with  the  Father  of  Ti'ue  Godliness, 
and  his  only  begotten  Son  in  heaven.  Some 
time  after  this  great  Prince  (for  so  they  are 
all  made  who  entertain  True  Godliness,) 
was  carried  to  heaven,  the  dominion  of  Vice 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


25 


became  so  complete,  and  the  gtiilt  of  men 
grew  to  such  an  awful  magnitude  that  Je- 
hovah was  constrained  to  destroy  them  from 
off  the  earth,  by  a  fearful  and  amazing  flood 
of  water.  There  was,  at  this  time,  but  one 
man  on  earth,(viz.  Noah,)  who  was  an  em- 
inent lover  of  Godliness,  though  it  is  not  to 
be  doubted  but  his  wife  and  sons  especial- 
ly two  of  them,  were  likewise  in  some 
measure  friends  to  him.  Noah  was  com- 
missioned to  advocate  the  cause  of  virtue 
and  the  character  of  True  Godliness  by 
public  preaching  for  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty years ;  but  we  are  not  informed  of  the 
least  impression  being  on  any  heart,  so  dom- 
inant was  sin. 

But  to  proceed  in  this  brief  account  of 
the  antiquity  of  Godliness,  it  will  not  be 
amiss  if  we  speak  of  the  next  renowned 
man  after  Noah,  Avho  entertained  him,  and 
how  he  was  blessed  in  so  doing :  his  name 
at  first  was  Abram,  but  afterwards  Abra- 
ham. This  man  lived  for  sometime  amongst 
a  blind  and  idolatrous  people,  and  was  ig- 
norant of  True  Godliness;  but  when  he 
became  acquainted  with  him,  (ew  men  ever 
loved  him  better.  He  made  him  his  bosom 
companion,  and  chief  delight  (and  so  in- 
deed must  every  one  that  entertains  him  ;) 
and  hereby  he  became  great,  and  his  glory 
and  renown  were  spread  abroad.  Indeed, 
because  he  cherished  True  Godliness,  he 
was  called  the  "  friend  of  God,"  and  the 
father  of  all  true  lovers  of  Godliness :  and 
besides  the  outward  blessings  this  faithful 
man  reaped  as  the  fruit  or  reward  of  God- 
li^iess,  which  were  many,  for  he  had  much 
cattle,  men-servants,  sheep,  camels  and 
asses  ;  he  was  blessed  also  with  all  spiritu 
al  blessings,  viz.  he  had  sweet  fellowship 
and  communion  with  God,  and  abounded 
in  faith,  love,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

I  might  proceed  further,  and  show  you 
who  they  were  that  entertained  Godliness 
in  the  succeeding  ages,  for  the  space  of  more 
than  two  thousand  year.?,  what  great  bless- 
ings he  brought  them,  and  what  they  suf- 
fered for  his  sake ;  but  I  can  give  you  a 
brief  hint  or  two  upon  this  account.  Lot 
was  saved  by  him  from  the  fire  of  Sodom, 
for  the  angel  could  do  nothing  till  Lot  was 
gone  forth.  Josepli  suffered  ibr  him  by  his 
envious  brethren,  but  Godliness  advanced 
him  for  his  integrity  at  last.  David,  for  the 
love  he  bare  to  him,  was  for  many  years 
together,  greatly  persecuted,  but  ailerwards 
Godliness  raised  him  to  great  honor,  made 
him  rich,  and  set  a  crown  upon  his  head. 

I  might  show  how  in  ancient  days,  he 
was  very  much  hated  and  persecuted  :  some 
of  his  true  friends  cast  into  a  fiery  furnace, 
and  another  into  a  lion's  den;  yet  they 
never  lost  any  thing  by  him,  nor  did  they 
ever  repent  the  eniertaiument  they  gave 
him.     If  we  come   into   the   times"  of  the' 

Vol.  3.— D. 


Gospel,  it  is  well  known  what  usage  he  meit 
with  in  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
and  his  blessed  apostles.  Afterwards,  by 
the  heathen  Emperors,  he  was  most  cruelly 
hated  and  persecuted ;  and  those  who  en- 
tertained him  were  put  to  all  manner  of 
deaths  and  torments  imaginable.  Lastly, 
we  might  show  you  what  hard  usage  he 
met  with  by  Counterfeit  Godliness,  I  mean 
papistry,  for  near  twelve  hundred  years ; 
and  how  many  of  his  dear  children  and 
servants  have,  for  the  sake  of  him,  been 
burnt  to  death,  and  otherwise  tormented,  in 
most  nations  in  Europe.  But  what  has 
been  said  is  sufiicient  in  relation  to  the  an- 
tiquity of  True  Godliness,  and  his  various 
treatment  in  former  days. 


CHAPTER     11. 

The  chief  Enemies  of  Godliness. 

Having  given  you  a  brief  account  of  the 
antiquity  of  True  Godliness,  and  some  of 
those  great  abuses  he  met  with  in  ancient 
times,  it  may  not  be  amiss,  before  I  come  to 
treat  of  his  Travels  and  entertainment  in 
these  latter  days,  to  give  a  description  of 
some  of  his  chief  adversaries,  that  true  lov- 
ers of  Godliness  may  be  aware  of  them ; 
and  those  who  have  a  mind  to  be  acquaint- 
ed with  him,  and  are  hindered  from  receiv- 
ing him  into  their  houses,  may  know  the 
cause  and  reason  of  it. 

1.  One  of  the  chief  enemies  of  thi«  great 
favorite  of  heaven,  is  the  Devil ;  nor  is  there 
any  one  that  hates  him  more. 

2.  Sin,  or  Vice,  and  as  it  is  sometimes 
termed.  Lust. 

3.  The  Flesh. 

4.  The  World. 

But  this  general  description  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  discover  the  great  danger  men  are 
in,  by  certain  emissaries  and  servants  of 
those  grand  adversaries  which  many  are 
ready  to  entertain  as  friends,  not  suspecting 
their  fatal  danger.  I  shall,  therefore,  give 
you  an  account  of  a  few  of  tliem,  and  tell  you 
their  names.  1.  Unbelief.  2.  Pride.  3. 
Vain-Glory.  4.  Formality.  5.  Hypocrisy. 
6.  Opposition.  7.  Heresy.  8.  Supersti- 
tion. 9.  Idolatry.  10.  Prosperity.  11. 
Persecution.  12.  Ignorance.  13.  Blimt, 
Zeal.  14.  Vain-Hope.  15.  Sloth,  or  Idle- 
ness. 16.  Covet eousness.  17.  Old-Custom. 
18.  Evil-Example.  19.  Self  Righteous- 
ness. 20.  Presumption.  21.  Despair.  22. 
Slavish^Fear.  23.  Sensual- Pleasiire.  24. 
Apostacy :  with  many  others  of  like  qual- 
ity, too  tedious  here  to  reckon  up ;  but  by 
mentioning  the  names  of  these,  you  may 
easily  discern  who  and  what  the  others  are,- 
who  with  their  attendants  are  all  implaca*- 


26 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS, 


ble  enemies  to  True  Godliness,  and  en- 
deavor to  hinder  his  being  entertained 
where  he  comes,  as  you  will  find  in  tlie  en- 
suing history  of  his  Travels. 


CHAPTER    III. 

Godliness,  having  received  a  Commission 
to  travel,  and  visit  the  Children  of  Men, 
comes  to  a  certain  Town  on  the  Conjines 
of  Babylon,  where  Riches  dwelt.  His 
Usage  and  Treatment  there. 

The  great  Jehovah,  Father  of  True 
Grace  or  Godliness,  out  of  his  infinite  good- 
ness to  mankind,  was  graciously  pleased  to 
send  them  a  Saviour,  even  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  is  "  able  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most all  that  come  to  God  by  him."  Heb. 
vii.  25.  But  in  his  eternal  wisdom  hath  so 
ordained,  that  no  man  should  have  any  sav- 
ing benefit  by  this  glorious  Saviour,  but  he 
who  doth  receive,  entertain,  and  embrace 
True  Godliness.  I  now,  therefore,  resume 
my  allegorical  narrative,  by  considering 
Godliness  as  having  received  a  commission 
from  the  King  of  heaven  and  earth,  to 
travel  and  ascertain  who  would  embrace 
and  entertain  him.  His  commission  was 
very  large :  not  hmited  to  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, but  embracing  all  nations,  coimtries, 
and  kingdoms.  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20.  Mark 
xvi.  15.  And  to  visit  the  rich  and  the 
poor,  the  old  and  young;  as  well  the 
king  on  the  throne  as  the  beggar  on  the 
dunghill ;  even  all,  bond  and  free,  male  and 
female.  Nor  was  he  sent  to  travel  alone, 
but  had  a  very  rich  and  glorious  retinue  al- 
ways with  him;  neither  did  he  come  to  any 
man's  house  empty  handed,  but  brought  with 
him  most  rich  and  glorious  presents  of  the 
choicest  things  of  heaven,  the  Avorth  of 
which  is  infinitely  beyond  our  computation. 
I  first  saw  him  draw  near  a  city  in  which 
Riches  dwelt ;  a  man  to  whom  great  defer- 
ence was  paid  by  the  inhabitants,  and  into 
whose  noble  mansion  I  hoped  he  would  be 
readily  welcomed. 

Godliness  knocked,  however,  very  hard 
and  often,  before  any  within  would  give 
an  answer.  Riches  being  full  of  busi- 
ness, either  telling  his  money,  or  casting  up 
his  accounts,  to  see  what  his  neighbors 
oived  him,  or  consulting  new  projects  to  in- 
crease his  store ;  for  he  is  a  person  never 
satisfied.  Besides,  the  times  being  very 
perilous,  his  mind  was  filled  with  perplex- 
ing and  vexatious  thoughts,  how  to  save 
and  keep  what  he  had  already  gotten ;  so 
that  he  nad  no  leisure  to  listen  to  the  con- 
tinual knocking  of  True  Godliness  at  his 
door,  he  was  therefore  forced  to  wait  a  long 
time.    But  that  which  grieved  this  high 


born  prince  most  all  was  this,  viz  :  he  per- 
ceived that  no  sooner  did  some  other  guest* 
come  to  his  door,  who  were  much  inferior, 
as  to  birth  and  quality,  (and  indeed  not 
worthy  of  the  least  regard,  not  having  bu- 
siness of  that  great  weight  and  moment  with 
him  which  he  had)  than  he  opened  his  door 
immediately  to  them;  yet  before  this  re- 
nowned personage  could  get  in.  Riches  had 
so  many  base  and  ill-bred  servants  in  his 
house,  that  ihey  shut  the  door,  so  tliat  he 
could  not  get  so  much  as  one  foot  in.  The 
guests  he  so  readily  opened  to,  were  "  the 
Lust  of  the  Flesh,  the  Lust  of  the  Eyes, 
and  the  Pride  of  Life,"  1  John  ii.  16.  These 
he  took  much  delight  in,  and  kept  company 
with  continually ;  sometimes  they  conduct- 
ed him  to  the  tavern,  sometimes  to  the  play- 
house, and  sometimes  amused  him  at  bowls, 
cards,  and  dice,  and  divers  other  sensual 
sports  and  pleasures.  But  at  last  he  was 
taken  veiy  sick,  and  Godliness  still  waited  at 
his  door.  At  this  time  one  was  in  his  house, 
who  forced  him  to  listen  to  this  earnest  and 
continual  knocking.  His  name  was  Mr. 
Fearful.  He  is  one  that  Riches  doth  not 
at  all  love,  but  when  sickness  comes  he  is 
grievously  troubled  with  him ;  and  he  made 
him  at  this  season  cry  out,  Who  is  there  1 
Who  is  at  my  door  ? 

Godli.  I  am  here,  and  have  a  long  time 
waited  at  your  door. 

Riches.  What  is  your  name  ? 

Godli.  My  name  is  True  Godliness,  one 
that  you  have  little  reason  to  slight,  neglect, 
and  condemn  as  you  have  done ;  for  there 
is  none  you  stand  more  in  need  of,  nor  can 
do  you  that  good  which  I  can  and  will  do 
you,  if  you  but  open  your  door  and  receive 
me. 

Riches.  Sir,  I  am  troubled  that  I  have 
not  regarded  you  all  this  while,  for  I  have 
a  great  reverence  and  respect  for  Godliness; 
God  forbid  I  sliould  keep  you  out  any  long- 
er I 

Upon  this  the  whole  house  was  in  an 
uproar,  for  he  had  (as  I  told  you  before) 
divers  loose,  ill-bred,  or  rather  hell-bred  ser- 
vants, all  bitter  enemies  to  True  Godli- 
ness ;  their  names  were,  Presumption, 
Pride,  Unbelief  Ignorance,  Malice,  Vain- 
Hope,  Cotetoiitiucss,  and  several  other  base 
persons,  whom  he  had  brought  up,  and  a 
long  time  cherished  in  his  house.  These 
seemed  greatly  concerned,  that  the  least 
heed  or  attention  should  be  given  to  True 
Godliness.  Tiiey  also  inquired  who  was 
the  cau.se  of  the  proposal  to  admit  Godli- 
ness. At  last,  understanding  it  was  Mr. 
Fearful,  they  presently  joined  together  to 
fall  upon  him,  and  expel  him  from  the 
house.  Presumption  struck  the  first  blow, 
and  spoke  to  this  ])urpose : 

Presump.  Are  not  yovi  a  base  fellow,  so- 
to  disturb  my  master,  as  to  cause  him  t^ 


TRAVELS  OF  TRUE  GODLINESS, 


2'; 


doubt  of  the  sufficiency  of  his  strong  and 
impregnable  fortification,  wherein  he  hath 
long  and  satisfactorily  placed  his  confidence, 
and  now  to  force  him  to  incline  to  open  to 
True  Godliness^  who  is  our  utter  enemy? 
Is  not  our  master  an  honest  man  ?  What 
can  you  charge  him  with  ?  What  cause  or 
ground  is  there  for  this  disturbance  ?  Hath 
he  not  done  much  good  in  the  parish  where 
he  lives,  and  given  many  a  piece  of  bread 
at  his  door?  I  engage  it  will  go  well  with 
him.     Fearful,  what  do  you  say  ? 

Fearful.  Truly,  Sir,  seeing  him  very 
sick,  I  thought  he  might  die  in  his  sins. 

Presump.  Thou  fool !  what  if  he  should, 
did  not  Jesus  Christ  die  for  sinners  ?  God 
is  merciful,  and  \vill  forgive  men  their  sins 
at  any  time,  even  at  the  last  hour,  if  they 
do  but  call  upon  him.  Besides,  Fearful, 
are  you  mad,  to  give  way,  much  more  to 
force  him  to  incline  to  open  to  True  Godli- 
ness? for  if  once  he  is  admitted  to  the 
house,  you  will  be  immediately  turned  out 
and  hardly,  if  ever,  have  the  least  counte- 
nance. 

Fearful.  Truly,  Presumption,  the  fault 
was  not  principally  mine ;  I  was  partly 
forced  to  do  what  I  did. 

Presump.  Forced  !  by  whom  ?  who  forc- 
ed you  ? 

Fearful.  It  was  the  steward  of  the  house, 
who  keeps  the  records,  or  an  account  of  all 
that  is  done,  whose  name  is  Conscience. 
He,  finding  much  guilt  lying  upon  him 
through  his  cruelty,  hard-heartedness,  and 
debauched  life,  stirred  me  up  to  do  what  I 
have  done:  nay,  Conscience  told  him  he 
had  been  so  vile  and  graceless,  that  if  he 
died,  he  would  go  immediately  to  hell ; 
therefore  you  cannot  censure  me  for  disqui- 
eting him. 

Pride.  Hearken  to  me  a  little :  Is  it  not 
below  such  a  brave  and  heroic  spirit  as  al- 
ways attends  Riches,  to  be  troubled  about 
sin,  or  to  give  way  to  a  clamorous  Con- 
science, and  this  ill-bred  Fearful  ?  I  hate 
the  thoughts  of  it ;  this  is  the  way  to  bring 
him  to  reproach  and  shame  amongst  his 
neighbors,  and  to  make  men  of  distinction, 
who  have  been  his  companions,  laugh  at 
him,  and  contemn  him.  My  great  prince 
Lucifer  sent  me  into  his  service,  and  I  will 
not  betray  my  trust,  ever  to  consent  that 
this  unwelcome  and  hateful  traveller,  should 
be  admitted,  who  would  beguile  my  prince 
of  his  right. 

Unbelief.  Dear  Sirs,  there  is  no  danger 
I  agree  with  my  friend  and  brother  Pre- 
sumption, that  his  condition  is  good  enough, 
let  Conscience  say  what  he  will.  If  there 
be  a  hell,  (though  I  much  question  it,)  yet 
he  will  go,  should  he  die,  I  will  assure  you, 
to  heaven. 

Ignor.  What  a  tumult  is  here !  If  our 
master  were  poor,  there  might  be  some 


ground  for  this  base  Fearful,  to  disqmet 
him.  I  can  give  as  good  counsel  as  any  of^ 
you :  "  Money  answers  all  things ;"  he  may 
"make  him  friends  with  the  mammon  of 
unrighteousnesss ;"  let  him  give  a  little 
more  than  usual  to  the  poor,  and  tliat  will 
merit  Grod's  favor.  Who  would  not  part 
with  a  little  money,  to  get  peace  of  con- 
science, and  purchase  a  place  in  heaven  ? 
Charity  is  more  than  all  your  new  notions 
of  religion :  Charity  covers  a  mviltitude  of 
sins.  Though  I  know  but  little,  yet  I  am 
not  such  an  ignoramus  as  some  think. 

Vain-Hope.  I  am  of  the  mind  with  my 
brother,  Unbeliefs  and  it  was  I  also,  you 
know,  who  have  kept  up  his  spirits  all 
along,  and  did  what  I  could  to  stop  stew- 
ard Conscieiice  from  giving  way  to  Mr. 
Fearful  to  open  the  door :  let  him  there- 
fore put  his  trust  in  me,  and  he  will  fear 
nothing. 

Presump.  Come,  cease  this  noise :  all  is 
well  yet ;  Godliness  is  not  let  in,  and  our 
master  is  much  better  than  he  was ;  and 
though  Conscience  inclines  to  embrace  this 
our  enemy,  yet  you  will  find  he  will  not  be 
regarded  in  a  little  while.  Let  us  all  agree, 
at  present,  to  stir  up  Riches''  eldest  son, 
whose  name  is  Hojwr,  the  father's  favorite, 
and  the  hopes  of  all  the  family,  to  see  what 
he  can  effect,  in  order  to  keep  our  enemy 
Godliness  out.  Now  our  friend  Pride  is  the 
fittest  to  be  employed  in  this  work ;  for  he 
is  much  in  favor  with  our  master's  eldest 
son. 

A  fter  a  short  time  it  resulted  thus :  Rich- 
es being  recovered,  he  consulted  with 
Worldly-Honor,  a  great  enemy  to  True 
Godliness,  which  was  one  reason  why  the 
Almighty  said  a  great  while  ago,  "How 
can  you  believe  that  receive  honor  one  of 
another,  and  seek  not'the  honor  that  cometh 
from  God  only?"  John  v.  44.  Now  Pride, 
Ambition  and  Hcnior,  being  all  three  the 
natural  offspring  of  Riches,  so  much  pos- 
sessed his  affection,  that  Godliness  was 
kept  out,  (making  good  that  word,  "  The 
wicked,  through  the  pride  of  his  counte- 
nance, will  not  seek  after  God — God  is  not 
in  aU  his  thoughts :")  and  Conscience  being 
at  this  time  almost  stifled,  Fearful  was 
forced  to  fly  and  conceal  himself  till  anoth- 
er season.  But  Godliness  remained  at  his 
door  for  a  long  time — even  till  he  waxed  old; 
and  Conscience,  having  recovered  a  little 
strength  by  reason  of  his  going  now  and 
then  to  hear  a  sermon,  stirred  up  Mr.  Fear- 
ful again  to  open  the  door,  and  had  almost 
prevailed,  had  not  a  base  servant  of  Riches, 
(who,  I  take  it,  was  his  Purse-bearer,)  be- 
stirred himself.  His  name  was  Covetous- 
ness,  an  implacable  enemy  to  Tme  Godli- 
ness. He  perceiving  that  Godliness  was 
like  to  meet  with  some  entertainment,  spoke 
to  Riches  after  this  sort; 


23 


TRAVELS  OF  TRUE  GODLINESS, 


Covet.  Sir,  will  you  be  so  unwise  now  in 
your  old  age,  as  to  open  your  door  to  this 
stranger  ?  It  will  be  to  your  great  injury, 
I  assure  you :  and  besides,  I,  who  have  been 
a  drudge  to  you  all  along,  and  the  means  by 
which  you  have  gained  the  most  of  your  es- 
tate, shall,  at  the  very  instant  you  receive 
him  into  your  house,  be  turned  out ;  nay, 
and  not  only  so,  but  be  also  brought  under 
a  severe  sentence,  and  be  condemned  to  die 
for  idolatry.  And  then  your  treasures  will 
fly;  lor  you  AviU  find  him  a  chargeable 
gentleman,  teaching  a  doctrine  that  I  am 
sure  you  hale ;  and  I  cannot  blame  you, 
for  it  is  very  destructive  to  your  interest. 

Riches.  What  doctrine  is  that  ?  Prithee, 
inform  me,  for  I  have  a  very  great  esteem 
for  thee ;  and  in  truth,  for  a  long  time  have 
been  sensible  of  the  service  thou  hast  done 
me ;  for  when  I  kept  my  old  servant 
Prodigality  for  a  purse  keeper,  I  could 
never  thrive ;  but  since  I  met  with  thee,  I 
have  increased  my  substance  exceedingly. 

Covet.  Why,  Sir,  then  I  will  tell  you ;  he 
teaches  Riches  to  be  what  he  calls  rich  in 
good  works,  that  is,  generous  in  building  up 
religion  in  the  world,  and  to  follow  a  new 
master,  who  had  not  one  foot  of  land  in  all 
the  world,  nor  a  house  to  dwell  in ;  no,  nor 
one  penny  of  money ;  whose  disciples  were 
generally  poor,  illiterate  and  contemptible 
people.  Sir,  in  a  word,  if  you  open  to  God- 
liness, you  will  be  undone ;  for  though  you 
are  not  put  upon  selling  all  you  have  pres- 
ently, as  some  that  Avould  have  received 
liim  in  ancient  days  were  required  to  do, 
yet  you  will  be  forced  to  give  to  the  poor 
saints,  as  they  call  them,  not  merely  a  little, 
but  according  to  what  your  estate  and  their 
necessity  is.  Nay,  you  will  never  know 
when  you  have  done,  for  he  Avill  find  out 
for  you  every  day  new  objects  of  charity ; 
he  will  tell  you  there  are  so  many  poor 
heathen  without  Bibles  or  teachers,  and  so 
many  poor  and  desolate  churches,  so  many 
poor  widows,  and  so  many  neglected  chil- 
dren in  the  city,  and  nobody  knows  what 
other  objects  of  charity,  (as  he  calls  them,) 
for  whom  efforts  must  be  made ;  and  who 
should  do  it,  he  will  say,  but  Riches?  nay, 
it  is  a  thousand  to  one,  if  he  do  not  put  you 
to  build  an  hospital,  or  endow  some  profess- 
orship. Besides,  when  you  have  done  this, 
he  will  not  let  you  re.st,  but  will  tell  you, 
when-soever  Christ's  members  are  sick,  you 
must  visit  them ;  and  when  hungry,  feed 
them ;  when  naked,  cloth  them ;  and  when 
in  prison,  you  must  relieve  them.  And  then, 
if  times  of  persecution  for  the  sake  of  reli- 
gion should  come,  he  will  send  you  to  pris- 
on, to  see  if  Christ  be  not  there ;  I  mean 
some  of  his  poor  children,  who  lie  there  for 
liis  sake.  If  there  be  any,  though  they 
may  not  in  all  points  of  religion  agree  with 
you,  yet  he  will  tell  you,,  j'ou  m\ist  not  let 


them  want,  whilst  you  have  enough  to  sup- 
ply their  necessity ;  and  if  you  do,  he  will 
tell  you,  "  Go  ye  cursed,"  &c.  will  be  your 
portion  at  last.  Beside  all  this,  you  do  not 
think  what  an  amount  of  money  he  will  tell 
you  it  is  your  duty  to  give  to  Pastors  and 
Ministers  of  the  gospel,  who  are  his  great 
instruments  and  promoters  in  the  world ; 
nay.  Sir,  he  po.sitively  afflrms,  you  ought 
not  only  to  give  them  just  so  much  as  will 
supply  their  necessities,  but  that  it  is  your 
duty  to  give,  and  their  right  to  have,  a  plen- 
tiful allowance,  so  that  fhey  may  be  freed 
from  all  the  perplexing  cares  of  this  life ; 
and  may  have  as  much  out  of  your  estate, 
as  to  be  able  to  give  to  others  also,  that  so 
they  may  be  examples  of  charity ;  (and  in- 
deed I  cannot  deny  but  that  the  Scriptures 
do  say  they  ought  to  be  men  given  to  hos- 
pitality. Tit.  i.  8,)  and  many  of  them  are 
poor,  and  therefore  that  they  should  do  this 
Godliness  says  is  impossible,  unless  they 
are  capacitated  so  to  do  by  Riches.  More- 
over, this  Godliness  is  so  unhappy,  ard,  in 
truth,  hath  always  been,  that  he  hath  ma- 
ny great  and  potent  enemies  ;  so  that  they 
who  receive  and  entertain  him  have  been 
exposed  to  great  troubles  and  frequent  per- 
secutions. 

Riches.  I  must  confess  thou  hast  said 
enough  to  make  me  Ibrever  out  of  love  with 
Godliness ;  I  cannot  bear  the  thoughts  of 
entertainig  such  a  guest  as  this  in  my  house : 
but  what  shall  I  do  with  my  clamorous 
steward  Conscience  7  for  he  every  now  and 
then  tells  me  I  must  listen  to  him,  and  stira 
up  that  Fearfid,  a  fellow  that  I  certainly 
hate,  but  cannot  get  rid  of,  to  terrify  me 
with  the  thoughts  of  hell  and  damnation ; 
telling  me  that  "  without  holiness,  (I  must 
confess  I  have  so  read,)  no  man  shall  see 
the  Lord ;"  and  that  "  whoever  will  live 
godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecu- 
tion." 

Covet.  Why  truly,  Sir,  I  see  no  remedy 
but  you  must  resolve  to  keep  him  under. 
I  perceive  he  is  the  chief  cause  of  all  the 
disturbance  and  trouble  that  is  in  your 
house.  But  for  the  way  this  shall  be  done, 
I  must  refer  you  to  that  worthy  gentleman, 
and  understanding  servant  of  yours,  Dr. 
Self-love ;  for  in  this  case  I  am  not  quali- 
fied to  give  counsel,  being  not  brought  up 
in  learning ;  but  he  and  Sir  Worldly-  Wis- 
dom, being  both  able  divines,  will  be  sure 
to  find  out  a  ready  way  to  do  it,  so  that  you 
shall  not  be  troubled  with  him  any  more  ; 
and  this  I  will  assure  you,  if  I  can  be  help- 
ful to  them  in  the  business,  I  will  be  at  your 
command. 

Dr.  Self-love  and  Sir  Worldly-Wisdom, 
being  at  hand.  Riches  called  for  them,  to 
whom  he  addressed  himself  after  this  man- 
ner: 

Riches.     Gentlemen,  you  have  both  great 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS, 


29 


learning  and  experience  in  the  laAVs,  divine 
and  human.  Be  pleased  to  give  me  a  Ht- 
tle  of  your  counsel.  My  case  is  this :  there 
is  one  who  calls  himself  True  Godliness,  at 
my  door,  and  presses  hard  for  entertain- 
ment; but  by  means  of  a  description  I 
have  lately  had  of  his  manners  and  attend- 
ants, I  perceive  it  will  be  dangerous  at  this 
time  for  me  to  receive  him,  or  to  show  him 
kindness.  But  I  have  a  troublesome  stew- 
ard, whom  I  cannot  get  rid  of,  who  too 
much  favors  him,  and  is  ready  often  to  open 
the  door ;  so  that  by  his  means,  and  one 
Fearful,  a  timorous  fellow,  whom  he  stirs 
up,  I  have  of  late  had  but  very  htlle  quiet. 
Now,  what  will  you  advise  me  to  do  in  this 
sad  condition  7 

Dr.  Self-love.  You  must  not  give  way 
to  Conscience.  Sir,  if  you  follow  his  dic- 
tates, and  embrace  this  Godliness,  you  will 
be  undone,  and  your  wife  and  children  will 
soon  be  brought  to  a  piece  of  bread,  notwith- 
standing your  great  estate.  Sir,  your  great 
fault  hath  been  this,  (I  perceive  it  clearly,) 
you  have  read  too  much  of  late ;  why  should 
you  concern  yourself  with  the  Bible  ?  I 
think  it  had  been  well  if  it  had  never  been 
translated  into  our  mother  tongue ;  this 
hath  given  him  opportunity  to  disturb  your 
mind.  Come,  give  over  this  in  the  first 
place.  The  cause,  you  know,  of  a  distem- 
per must  be  first  removed,  or  no  radical 
cure  can  be  effected ;  it  is  enough  for  you 
to  mind  your  secular  affairs ;  things  of  reli- 
gion belong  to  religious  men ;  and  when 
Conscience  for  any  sin  distresses  you,  divert 
yourself  amongst  the  brave  heroes  you  used 
to  keep  company  with ;  go  to  the  tavern, 
or  to  some  play-house ;  but  at  no  time  read 
any  book  besides  your  books  of  accompts, 
and  romances.  What  this  traveller  saith, 
is  but  mysterious  nonsense,  enough  to  make 
men  mad  ;  I  do  not  say,  you  should  not  be 
religious  at  all:  no,  God  forbid  I  should 
give  you  such  counsel ;  but  let  it  be  liberal 
religion.  If  we  try  to  do  as  we  would  be 
done  by,  we  shall  fare  well  enough.  There 
is  no  need  to  entertain  strict  Godliness,  be- 
cause you  may  be  saved  without  it ;  else, 
what  will  become  of  the  greatest  part  of 
the  word !  Go  to  church  and  hear  prayers, 
but  be  sure  never  to  go  to  any  churches 
where  methodistical  preachers  endeavor  to 
reach  your  conscience.  Can  any  man  per- 
suade me  his  soul  cannot  be  saved,  unless 
he  "  sell  all  he  hath,  and  give  it  to  the  poor," 
and  so  "  become  a  fool,  that  he  may  be 
wise  ?" 

Sir  Worldly-wisdom.  Mr.  Riches,  the 
counsel  which  my  brother  hath  given  is 
very  good :  be  sure  you  are  never  led,  by 
the  dictates  of  your  fanatical  steward,  Con- 
science, to  expose  yourself  to  any  loss  or 
reproach  for  religion.  You  hear  you  may 
be,  nay,  ought  to  be  religious :  and  what  is 


religion,  but  to  live  an  honest  and  sober 
life ;  to  fear  God,  honor  our  rulers,  say  our 
prayers,  and  pay  our  debts  1  But  I  have 
just  now  thought  of  a  way  that  will  do. 
You  have  a  great  estate,  pray  get  another 
member  into  your  family — keep  a  chaplain; 
this  done,  you  will  find  all  will  be  well,  and 
you  will  hear  no  more  complaints  from  with- 
in or  without ;  for  you  will  be  taken  by  all 
your  servants,  and  others  too,  for  a  very 
godly  man ;  neither  believe  nor  regard 
what  such  babblers  say,  who  talk  of  things 
that  lie  above  all  human  reason,  as  Mr.  Self- 
Love  noted.  Can  three  be  one,  or  one  be 
three?  or,  can  a  man  be  that  God  who 
made  the  world  ?  or,  can  his  righteousness 
be  yours  1  or,  can  God  give  men  a  religion 
to  guide  them,  and  yet  have  mysteries  m 
it  ■?  No,  no,  your  own  deeds  must  justify 
you  :  this  Godliness  is  but  foolisliness  ;  re- 
gard him  not. 

Riches,  having  thanked  them  for  their 
good  counsel,  with  a  great  deal  of  joy,  re- 
tires himself,  being  very  well  satisfied  with 
the  advice  that  his  neighbors,  Doctor  Self- 
Love  and  Sir  Worldly-  Wisdom  had  given 
him. 

Riches  now  got  a  chaplain,  and  instead 
of  opening  to  True  Godliness,  he  introduc- 
ed Counterfeit  Godliness,  which  was  occa- 
sioned through  his  own  Ignorance,  and  the 
foolish  counsel  he  had  received.  Now,  this 
man,  as  it  appears,  proved  a  sad  fellow ; 
for  though  he  was  a  good  scholar,  being 
brought  up  in  a  university,  yet  his  religion 
consisted  merely  in  strict  forms  and  out- 
ward show.  There  was  indeed  not  one 
in  all  the  family  that  hated  True  Godliness 
more  than  he  ;  for  he  made  songs  of  him, 
and  scoffed,  jeered,  and  derided  him  contin- 
ually, calling  him  a  mysterious  and  non- 
sensical fellow,  talking  of  things  above  all 
human  reason,  and  above  all  belief  He 
also  stirred  up  all  the  neighborhood  to  find 
fault  anil  quarrel  with  those  who  were 
friends  of  True  Godliness,  while  he  affirm- 
ed that  he  himself  was  properly  entitled  to 
that  name.  Poor  Conscience  himself  was 
in  some  measure  deceived  and  appeased. 
He  saw  so  much  appearance  of  piety  in 
the  order  of  family  worship,  and  going 
to  meeting,  and  reading  the  prayer  book, 
that  he  seemed  to  think  his  hopes  of  his 
master's  reformation  were  now  realized. 

Godliness  now  perceived  he  was  like  to 
have  but  cool  entertainment  at  this  house; 
so  having  waited  at  Riches''  gate  till  all  his 
patience  was  almost  exhausted,  he  began 
to  think  of  a  removal,  and  to  travel  to  some 
other  place :  but  before  he  took  his  final 
farewell,  he  was  resolved  to  speak  his  mind 
freely  to  him,  thereby  to  leave  him  without 
excuse ;  and  therefore  addressed  him  af- 
ter this  manner,  being  at  the  door  ready  to 
depart : 


30 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS 


Godli.  Well,  Riches,  I  see  now  very 
clearly  you  did  but  flatter  me  when  you 
began  to  hearken  to  your  poor  steward, 
Conscience,  relative  to  my  reception  into 
your  house ;  for  it  is  very  plain,  you  are 
grown  far  worse  than  belure,  and  have 
blinded  his  eyes,  by  entertaining  another, 
who  calls  himself  by  my  name.  But  before 
I  depart,  I  will  show  you  the  great  danger 
you  are  in,  and  the  cause  of  it.  The  truth 
IS,  you  have  got  such  a  company  of  loose, 
base  and  deceitful  servants,  that  they  will 
utterly  undo  you,  and  bring  upon  you  the 
eternal  ruin  of  your  poor  soul,  which  I  de- 
signed, by  my  coming  to  you,  to  save,  and 
make  happy  forever.  There  was  never 
any  who  entertained  those  graceless  ene- 
mies of  God,  but  were  ruined  by  them  at 
last;  nay,  and  not  only  eternally  in  the 
world  to  come,  but  many  times  outwardly 
in  this  world ;  therefore  I  advise  and  en- 
treat you  to  get  rid  of  them,  and  promise  I 
will  help  you  to  far  better  servants  in  their 
stead.  For,  first  of  all,  can  you  think  it 
will  be  safe  for  you  to  keep  Presumption  in 
your  house,  since  there  is  scarce  a  more 
deceitful  and  dangerous  wretch  m  the  world? 
How  many  thousands  of  poor  souls  has  he 
destroyed  by  causing  them  to  presume  on 
the  mercy  of  God,  and  the  death  of  Christ, 
and  yet  live  in  sin,  pride,  and  covetousness, 
and  in  a  vile  manner  hating  and  contem- 
ning me?  Doth  not  God  say,  "  It  is  hard 
for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven ;"  and  yet  you  are  persuaded  by 
him  to  think  it  is  an  easy  thing.  And  doth 
not  the  Scripture  say,  "  Except  your  right- 
eousness exceed  the  righteousness  of  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  wise 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  ?"  Matt. 
V.  20 ;  and  yet  he  tells  you,  that  by  doing  a 
few  good  deeds,  or  by  giving  a  little  of 
your  abundance  to  the  poor,  your  state  is 
safe,  whereas  many  of  the  Pharisees,  as  to 
acts  of  chariry,  exceedingly  outdid  you: 
nay,  doth  not  St.  Paul  say,  "  Though  he 
gave  all  his  goods  to  the  poor,  and  his  body 
to  be  burned,  yet  without  charity  (that  is  to 
say,  true  love  to  God  and  Godliness)  he 
was  nothing  ?"  1  Cor.  xiii.  3 ;  and  yet  you 
though  you  slight  and  condemn  Godliness, 
are  taught  to  presume  on  God's  mercy, 
who  hath  notwithstanding  positively  said 
concerning  you,  and  such  as  you  are,  "  He 
that  made  them,  will  not  save  them ;  and 
lie  that  formed  them,  will  shew  them  no  fa- 
vor," Isaiah  xxvii.  11. 

As  touching  what  Self-love  saith,  it  is 
abominable.  Do  you  not  find  the  Lord 
Jesus  say,  that  "  Unless  a  man  deny  him- 
self, he  cannot  be  my  disciple?"  Matt. 
xvi.  24.  Now,  this  follow  is  one  of  the  rest 
there  meant,  even  Sclf-lnve  and  Self-right- 
eousness, as  well  as  Sinful-self  and  Natu- 


ral-self. Sir,  you  must  get  rid  of  them  all, 
or  perish  forever. 

And  then  as  to  Worldly- Wisdom,  he  is 
Satan's  Attorney-general,  that  ever  gives 
counsel  to  all  that  hearken  to  him  against 
God  and  Clirist,  and  all  revealed  religion. 
He  deceives  and  ruins  the  souls  of  men : 
ridicules  all  supernatural  discoveries  of  God, 
or  revealed  religion,  and  would  indeed  pa- 
ganize this  land  again.  Doth  not  Paul 
say,  "  The  world  by  wisdom  knew  not 
God?"  He  would  have  you  believe  noth- 
ing to  be  a  truth  or  principle  of  religion, 
that  lies  above  your  own  reason ;  and  there- 
fore he  says  that  there  is  nothing  mysteri- 
ous in  Christianity ;  by  which  he  gives  the 
Scripture  the  lie,  that  says,  "  Without  con- 
troversy, great  is  the  mystery  of  Godli- 
ness."    1  Tim.  iii.  16. 

He  will  not  suffer  those  that  hearken  to 
him  to  believe  the  Trinity  of  persons  in  the 
sacred  Godhead,  nor  that  Christ  is  the  most 
high  God,  and  yet  very  Man,  in  one  per- 
son, because  it  lies  above  man's  wisdom  or 
understanding  to  comprehend  it ;  nor  that 
sinnners  can  be  justified  by  the  active  Eind 
passive  obedience  of  Christ,  though  it  is 
positively  asserted  to  be  thus  by  the  Spirit 
of  God  in  his  word. 

This  Worldly-  Wisdom  and  Sir  Human- 
Reason  taught  the  Greeks  (in  the  apostles' 
time)  to  contemn  the  preaching  of  Christ 
crucified,  and  salvation  by  him,  as  a  foolish 
notion  or  idle  dream,  and  so  tliey  strive  to 
persuade  people  to  think  now,  and  thus  to 
trample  the  chief  principles  of  the  Christian 
faith  under  their  feet. 

Alas !  it  is  evident  that  there  are  many 
earthly  things,  or  things  in  nature,  which 
no  man  can  comprehend,  nor  give  a  reason 
for;  and  is  it  surprising  then,  that  the 
mysteries  of  the  gospel,  or  the  deep  things 
of  God,  are  above  human  reason  to  con- 
ceive, so  as  fully  to  comprehend  them  ? 

Yet,  tliough  these  mysteries  are  above 
human  reason,  it  is  not  against  reason  to 
believe  them.  Is  it  not  reasonable  that 
men  believe  what  the  God  of  Truth  af- 
firms ?  These  scorners  would  not  have  you 
"  sell  all  you  have  and  give  it  to  the  poor ;" 
yet  you  know  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  gave 
that  counsel  to  a  rich  man;  and  if  you 
do  not  part  with  all  in  your  love  and  af- 
fection, and  actually  when  God  calls  for 
it,  you  can  be  no  true  Christian,  because 
you  do  not  love  God  with  all  your  heart, 
nor  above  your  gold  and  silver,  or  earthly 
riches. 

Moreover,  if  you  will  not  choose  to  be- 
come a  fool  in  the  esteem  of  carnal  men, 
you  can  never  be  truly  wise.  See  1  Cor. 
iii.  18,  "  If  any  man  among  you  seemeth  to 
be  wise  in  this  world,  let  him  become  a  fool 
that  he  may  be  wise."    Let  worldly  wise 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


31 


men  account  you  a  fool ;  if  you  are  spirit- 
ually wise,  wise  unto  salvation,  it  matters 
not  how  you  are  called  and  censured  by 
such  whom  Satan  has  blinded.  Doth  not 
the  apostle  say,  "  That  the  world  by  wis- 
dom knew  not  God  ?" 

Your  servant  Unbelief,  is  a  wicked,  de- 
vouring monster,  that  hath  sent  millions  to 
hell,  by  hmdering  them  from  beheving 
what  God  hath  said  in  his  word.  He  will 
not  sufler  you  to  believe  nor  give  credit  to 
that  word,  "  If  any  man  loves  the  world,  the 
love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him,"  1  John.  i. 
15 ;  nor  to  that  word,  "  Except  a  man  be 
born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  John  iii.  3 ;  and  "  he  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned,"  Mark  xvi.  16 ;  and 
many  like  awakening  sentences.  And  thus 
he  teaches  you  to  make  God  a  liar  ;  for  he 
hath  said,  You  shall,  loithoiU  true  faith, 
perish  in  your  sItis  :  but  Unbelief  says.  Ye 
shall  be  saved  though  ye  live  in  yo^ir  sins. 

As  to  what  Ignorance  says.  That  you 
may  purchase  or  merit  peace  of  conscience 
by  giving  more  liberally  to  the  poor ;  and 
that  you  may  also  make  you  friends  of  the 
mammon  of  unrighteousness;  he  would 
make  you  think,  that  God  and  Jesus  Christ 
will  in  that  way  become  your  friends,  and 
save  your  soul  when  you  die. 

Sir,  if  you  gave  all  your  goods  to  feed 
the  poor,  (which  you  are  far  from  doing,) 
yet  you  would  be  miserable ;  nothing  that 
you  can  do  can  change  your  state,  or  pro- 
cure God's  acceptance  of  your  person  ;  no 
you  must  obtain  union  with  Christ,  and  re- 
ceive me,  or  perish  in  your  sins  forever. 

If  money  could  purchase  peace  of  con- 
science, or  giving  liberally  to  the  poor  merit 
heaven,  what  rich  man  need  to  fear  being 
damned  ?  And  then  also  it  might  be  very 
easy  "  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,"  which  the  Lord  Christ 
says  is  not  an  easy  thing.  Sir,  while  the 
world  is  in  your  heart,  in  your  love  and  af- 
fection, "  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in 
you,"  tliough  you  give  much  to  the  poor. 
As  the  young  man,  who  was  very  rich, 
wanted  one  thing,  so  do  you ;  that  is,  true 
fiiith  and  an  interest  in  Christ.  "  Yon 
must  be  born  again,  or  you  caimot  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven;"  and  tiiat 
you  can  never  be,  until  you  receive  tlie 
Holy  Spirit,  and  let  in  True  Godliness, 
Whosoever  receives  me,  receives  the  Spirit, 
and  true  and  right  principles ;  such  as  these, 
that "  all  your  own  righteousness  is  as  filthy 
rags ;"  and  that  all  works  before  grace, 
are  dead  works,  and  profit  men  nothing. 
Moreover,  That  Christ's  righteousness,  ex- 
clusive of  all  inherent  righteousness,  alone 
justifies  a  believing  sinner. 

As  concerning  Pride,  wliom  you  enter- 
tain, as  a  sweet  and  beloved  friend,  he  hath 
been  the  ruin  of  many  souls ;  nay,  and  not 


only  men,  but  angels  also ;  for  it  is  thought 
he  was  the  principal  one  who  wrought  their 
destruction,  and  from  heaven  cast  them 
down  to  hell,  and  of  angels  of  light,  made 
devils.  But,  Sir,  remember  that  word, 
"  Pride  goes  before  destruction,  and  a 
haughty  spirit  before  a  fall."  What  be- 
came of  the  great  king  of  Babylon,  Neb- 
uchadnezzar, for  entertaining  this  fellow? 
Was  it  not  Pride  that  brought  him  down, 
and  turned  him  a  grazing,  to  eat  straw  like 
oxen?  Dan.  iii.  4.  Moreover,  what  became 
of  Herod  the  Great,  who  was  fond  of  this 
companion  ?  Did  he  not  bring  God's  heavy 
wrath  upon  him  in  such  a  fearful  manner, 
that  a  blessed  angel  was  sent  to  smite  him 
with  death  immediately,  and  he  was  eaten 
of  worms?  Acts  xii.  23.  Have  you  not 
read,  that,  "the  day  cometh  which  shall 
burn  as  an  oven,  and  all  tlie  proud,  and  all 
that  do  wickedly,  shall  be  as  stubble  ?"  Hos. 
iv.  1.  This  haughty  Pride  is  one  of  those 
seven  things,  as  Solomon  shoAvs,  which 
God  hates,  Prov.  vi.  16.  If  you  will  not,  O 
Riches  be  persuaded  from  all  I  have  said, 
to  turn  him  out  of  your  house,  even  take 
what  will  follow. 

Vain-Hope,  I  know,  is  one  that  hath  kept 
up  your  spirits,  and  spoken  peace  to  you  all 
along ;  but  he  will  leave  you  like  a  false- 
hearted, and  treacherous  friend,  when  you 
come  into  distress.  You  hope  to  be  saved, 
(and  so  did  many  thousands  that  are  now 
in  outer  darkness ;)  but  alas !  what  ground 
have  you  to  build  your  hope  upon  ?  "  The 
hypocrite's  hope  shall  perish ;  whose  hope 
shall  be  cut  off,  and  whose  trust  shall  be  as 
a  spiders  web,"  Job  xviii.  13,  14.  Ah  !  Sir, 
what  will  your  hope  avail  you,  though  you 
have  gained  the  world,  when  God  taketh 
away  your  soul  ?"    Job  xxvii.  8. 

And  lastly,  as  to  your  chosen  friend  Cov- 
etmisness,  he  is  made  up  of  idolatry ;  and 
what  can  be  more  detestable  to  the  Lord  ? 
He  is  indeed  the  ringleader  to  almost  all 
manner  of  wickedness ;  nay,  there  is  scarce- 
ly a  viler  and  more  abominable  wretch 
breathing  on  earth,  therefore  justly  called, 
"  the  root  of  all  evil,"  1  Tim.  vi.  10.  He 
hath  taught  many  to  play  the  thief,  others 
to  commit  treason,  and  others  to  murder 
innocents  for  their  inheritance  ;  he  is  guilty 
of  bribery,  usury,  extortion  and  oppress- 
ion :  it  was  he  that  made  poor  Achan  lose 
his  life :  he  also  contrived  the  death  of  Na- 
both  and  his  sons ;  and,  more  than  all,  he 
tempted  Judas  to  sell,  and  basely  to  betray 
my  dear  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ, 
for  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  Do  not  blame 
me,  therefore,  if  I  bear  so  hard  against 
him.  Moreover,  I  can  seldom  get  one  foot 
into  any  rich  man's  house  through  his 
means;  it  is  he  and  his  companions  who 
keep  me  out:  he  liath,  tlirough  his  hard 
lieartedness,  almost  famished  all  die  poor, 


32 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLIx\ESS. 


both  in  city  and  country ;  and  hath  also  of 
late  very  near  betrayed  my  whole  interest 
that  I  have  in  the  world,  into  the  enemy's 
hands :  he  hath  also  grievously  corrupted 
many  who  profess  kindness  to  me,  by  en- 
cumbering their  minds  so  with  the  affairs 
of  this  life,  that  they  cannot  find  the  way 
to  the  church.  When  they  should  be  hear- 
ing God's  word,  he  forces  them  to  abide  in 
their  shops ;  nor  will  he  suffer  many  of 
them  to  take  a  little  time  to  pray  in  their 
families,  nor  in  their  closets.  He  has  also 
exposed  many  of  my  poor  ministers  to  ma- 
ny great  straits  and  necessities,  by  which 
means  their  heads  have  been  so  filled  with 
the  cares  of  this  life,  that  they  have  been 
incapacitated  to  preach  the  gospel  as  they 
ought  to  preach  it ;  nor  can  they  get  such 
helps  as  are  necessary,  and  all  because  of 
him.  Nay,  he  hath  almost  undone  every 
nation,  by  corrupting  the  law,  and  subvert- 
ing justice,  causing  judges  to  judge  for  re- 
ward, and  lawyers  to  plead  more  for  fees 
than  equity;  and  hath  spoiled  commerce, 
for  he  hath  monopolized  trades  and  com- 
modities, so  that  many  men  have  been  un- 
done by  him.  I  cannot.  Sir,  reckon  up  all 
his  horrible  crimes ;  and  is  this  he  you  so 
dearly  love?  And  must  I  be  slighted  and 
disregarded  by  you  through  the  love  you 
bear  to  him  ?  Alas !  Sir,  he  will  bring  your 
soul,  if  you  follow  him,  to  destruction.  Pray, 
what  became  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira, 
whom  he  forced  to  tell  a  lie  to  the  Holy 
Ghost?  Acts  V.  1—4.  Who  was  it  tliat 
caused  the  young  man  in  the  gospel  to  iall 
short  of  heaven,  and  to  go  away  from  Je- 
sus Christ  very  sorrowful,  and  Demas  to 
turn  apostate,  and  embrace  this  evil  world  ? 
Was  it  not  Coveioiisness  ?  Ah !  Sir,  take 
heed  of  this  miscreant;  for  though  some 
wicked  ones  of  the  earth  may  bless  you, 
yet  he  will  cause  God  to  hate  you.  See 
what  David  saith,  "  The  wicked  boasteth 
of  his  heart's  desire,  and  blesseth  the  cov- 
etous, whom  the  Lord  abhorreth."  Psl.  x. 
3.  Consider  these  things,  and  be  persuad- 
ed to  put  away  all  these  deceitful  compan- 
ions, which  you  have  a  long  time  nourish- 
ed in  your  house.  Oh !  that  you  would 
now  at  last,  before  I  leave  you,  hearken  to 
my  counsel,  and  receive  me  into  your  house, 
and  renounce  that  monster  you  have  lately 
embraced,  who  calls  himself  by  my  name  ! 
What  do  you  say.  Riches? 

Riches.  Do  you  think  I  shall  give  enter- 
tainment to  you,  and  lose  all  my  great  hon- 
or and  credit  amongst  men? 

Godli.  Is  not  that  honor  that  comes 
from  God  better  than  all  the  vain  honor 
poor  mortals  can  give  you  ?  You  have,  1 
am  sure,  a  rare  example  to  follow  in  this 
case :  remember  Moses ;  he  was  not  of  your 
mind.  Some  rich  and  noble  men  have,  for 
my  sake,  denied  themselves  all  the  glory  of 
this  world,  and  accounted  the  reproaches  of 


Christ  greater  riches  than  earthly  honors 
and  the  pleasures  of  sin,  which  are  but  for 
a  season. 

Riches.  If  others  were  such  fools  to  dis- 
grace themselves,  what  is  that  to  me  ? 

Godli.  Sir,  I  perceive  your  condition  is 
miserable,  for  you  seem  to  be  hardened ;  and 
whilst  you  have  had  gracious  means  alibrd- 
ed  you,  to  bring  you  to  repentance,  you  are 
grown  worse  and  worse  :  however,  let  me 
tell  you,  if  you  die  before  you  have  em- 
braced and  received  me  into  your  house, 
you  will  perish  in  your  sins,  and  hell  will  be 
your  portion  forever.  Those  who  reject 
me,  reject  God  and  Jesus  Christ  also  ;  and 
to  tell  you  the  truth,  all  this  time  I  have  been 
at  your  door,  the  Lord  Jesus  hath  stood 
waiting  Ukewise. 

Riches.  Leave  your  canting.  Do  you 
begin  to  threaten  me  ?  am  I  not  my  own 
master  ?  would  you  lord  it  over  me  ?  I  per- 
ceive what  you  aim  at :  you  would  have  me 
entertain  you  that  so  your  poor  despised 
offspring  may  take  advantage  of  me.  I 
could  find  in  my  heart  to  be  revenged  on 
you,  and  set  all  the  rabble  of  the  town  upon 
you.  Sirrah !  I  have  considered  the  busi- 
ness, and  have  had  advice  what  to  do  from 
two  able  counsellors,  Dr.  Self-Love  and  Sir 
Worldly-  Wisdom. 

Godli.  Sir,  St.  Paul  did  not  take  advice 
of  those  two  depraved,  degraded  counsel- 
lors ;  that  is,  "  he  consulted  not  with  flesh 
and  blood." 

Riches.  Will  you  not  leave  your  prating? 
You  are  called  Godliness,  but  that  is  not 
your  name:  you  are,  I  understand,  a  fac- 
tious ye/Zow,  and  your  name  is  Stubbornness, 
alias  Singidarity  ;  one  may  know  what  you 
are  by  the  many  names  you  go  by.  Know 
you,  therefore,  friend,  that  I  have  received 
the  Thnie  Godliness  already,  and  him  will  I 
keep.  He  is  indeed  an  honorable  person, 
one  whom  great  men  love,  and  is  in  favor 
with  the  princes  of  the  earth:  but  as  for 
you,  I  see  no  encouragement  for  any  one  to 
respect  you ;  for  as  most  people  in  all  na- 
tions speak  against  you,  and  hate  you,  so 
you  would,  I  know,  soon  spoil  all  my  joys, 
and  bring  nothing  but  sorrow  and  fear  along 
witla  you.  I  must  not  so  much  as  make  a 
false  statement  for  my  advantage,  but  you 
would  threaten  me  with  eternal  ruin ;  nor 
go  to  a  tavern,  and  by  chance  take  a  glass 
too  much,  and  let  now  and  then  an  oath 
slip,  but  you  would  stir  up  my  stCAvard, 
Conscience,  to  censure  me  unmercifully; 
but  I  shall  teach  him  his  place.  Beside,  if 
I  should  not  give  to  the  poor  according  to 
your  humor,  I  should  be  censured  and  con- 
demned by  you  as  a  wicked  person ;  yea, 
and  most  of  my  habitual  desires  you  would 
call  hurtful  lusts,  and  say  they  must  be 
mortified,  and  that  my  greatest  favorite 
must  not  be  spared.  1  perceive  what  a  fool 
you  would  make  me;  be  gone  fr'^'^  my 


TRAVELS  OF  TRUE  GODLINESS, 


33 


door,  or  I  will  call  one  of  my  servants,  who 
shall  drive  you  out  of  the  town. 

His  anger  now  rose  excessively,  and  he 
began  violently  to  thrust  Godliness  from  the 
door^  which  no  sooner  did  his  chaplain,  Mr. 
Redder^  perceive,  but  he  came  to  his  assist- 
ance, with  cruel  rage,  being  stirred  up  by 
Envy,  and  accused  Godliness  in  a  most  hase 
and  cruel  manner,  calling  him  all  the  vilest 
names  he  could  devise,  enough  to  make  any 
ignorant  and  unthinking  man  conclude  True 
Godliness  was  a  hateful  companion,  and 
before  all  things  to  be  avoided  and  discoun- 
tenanced. His  chaplain  also  warmly  chal- 
lenged him  to  dispute  with  him,  and  bois- 
terously urged  that  text,  "  Be  not  righteous 
over  much,  neither  make  thyself  over  wise ; 
why  shouldest  thou  destroy  thyself?"  Eccl. 
vii.  16.  He  thought  with  this  one  weapon  to 
have  knocked  True  Godliness  down,  and 
have  spoiled  his  traveUing  forever. 

But  he  soon  answered  and  said,  that  no 
man  could  be  truly  righteous  over  much, 
nor  have  too  much  of  that  pure  wisdom 
that  is  from  above ;  but  that  a  man  might, 
he  told  him,  under  pretence  of  righteous- 
ness, do  more  than  God  required  of  him, 
and  so  be  righteous  over  much,  (as  the  Pa- 
pists and  otliers  are,)  and  thereby  destroy 
himself,  since  will-worship  was  of  such  an 
abominable  nature ;  and  that  a  man  also 
might  be  over  wise  in  his  own  conceit. 

At  this  answer  the  dispute  ended:  and 
Riches  perceiving  his  chaplain  was  worsted, 
disliked  True  Godliness  much  more,  and 
raised  all  the  rabble  of  the  town  upon  him ; 
among  which  were  Pride,  Ignorance,  Wil- 
ful, Hate  Good,  Outside,  Riot,  Wastefid, 
Hard  Heart,  Giddy-Head,  Pick-Thank, 
Roh-Saint,  and  other  such  ill-bred  fellows. 
And  moreover  he  affirmed,  if  he  were  not 
gone  soon,  he  would  send  for  the  two  con- 
stables, Oppressimi  and  Cruelty,  to  put  him 
where  he  should  be  safe.  Upon  which. 
Godliness  was  forced  to  get  away  and  hide 
himself,  or  else  he  had  been  cruelly  beaten, 
or  basely  put  to  death :  but  he,  being  out 
of  their  reach,  by  the  providence  of  God 
escaped  without  injury. 

Godliness  being  thus  forced  to  leave 
Riches^  door,  Vice  and  Ungodliness  took  the 
full  possession  of  his  house,  and  Godliness 
went  on  his  way,  grieved  to  see  how  he  had 
hitherto  been  slighted  and  abused. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Godliness,  in  his  Travels,  came  to  a  Cot- 
tage, where  dwelt  one  called  Poverty,  with 
whom  he  earnestly  desired  to  make  his 
Abode,  but  was  denied  Entertainme'ivt. 

Godliness,  finding  how  basely  he  had 
Vol.  3.-E. 


been  served  by  Riches,  and  that  he  could 
not,  with  the  strongest  arguments  and  mo- 
tives imaginable,  get  entertainment  with 
him,  travelled  farther :  and  at  last  chanced 
to  come  to  a  small  village,  at  the  farthest 
end  of  which,  (upon  the  common,)  he  espied 
a  little  cottage  ;  a  poor  old  ruinous  building, 
the  windows  of  which  being  broken,  they 
had  crowded  into  the  holes  some  old  clothes, 
to  keep  out  the  cold ;  and,  by  its  being 
propped  up,  it  seemed  as  if  it  was  ready  to 
fall.  But,  however,  he  remembering  what 
his  blessed  Lord  and  Master  said,  "the 
poor  receive  the  gospel,"  resolved  to  go 
thither,  for  he  "  is  no  respecter  of  persons." 
He  is  as  willing  to  be  a  guest  to  the  poor 
as  to  the  rich,  and  to  dwell  with  the  peasant 
as  with  the  prince,  or  to  make  his  abode  in 
a  cottage  as  in  a  palace.  Being  come  up 
to  the  door,  he  understood  the  man's  name 
who  dwelt  there  was  Poverty.  Now  Godr 
liness  knocked  five  or  six  times  before  he 
had  any  answer :  but  at  last,  being  between 
sleeping  and  waking.  Poverty  asked,  (though 
very  faintly,)  Who  is  there  ?  Who  is  at  the 
door? 

Godli.  A  friend ;  my  name  is  Tnie  God- 
liness. 

Pov.  I  have  heard  of  your  name,  yet 
know  you  not:  and  moreover,  I  was  forbid 
formerly  to  entertain  one  who  goes  by  your 
name  ;  and  it  may  be  you  as  far  as  I  know. 
I  have  heard  that  many  thousands,  through 
your  means,  have  lost  their  lives  as  well  as 
their  estates.  And  though  I  have  not  much 
to  lose,  yet  my  life  is  as  dear  to  me  as  any 
man's. 

Godli.  I  will  do  thee  no  wrong,  my 
friend ;  but  contrary-wise,  if  you  open  the 
door  and  kindly  entertain  me,  you  shall  find 
me  the  best  friend  that  ever  you  met  with. 

Pov.  You  speak  well ;  but  what  is  it  you 
will  do  for  me  ?  Have  you  any  money  to 
impart,  to  procure  food  for  my  family,  or 
clothing  for  my  almost  naked  children  ? 

Godli.  I  cannot  at  present  assure  thee 
of  worldly  good  things :  I  do  not  proffer 
men  money,  or  hire  them  to  open  their 
doors  to  me :  if  I  am  not  freely  and  heartily 
received,  I  will  not  come  in  at  all.  Friend. 
I  do  not  trade  in  gold  and  silver ;  but  this  I 
will  promise,  if  thou  wilt  kindly  let  me  in, 
whatsoever  good  thing  the  Lord  sees  thou 
dost  need,  thou  shalt,  upon  the  word  of 
Christ  himself,  have  it.  "  Seek  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and 
all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 
Matt.  vi.  33.  You  complain  of  want; 
come  open  to  me :  do  you  not  remember 
that  word,  "They  that  fear  the  Lord  shall 
not  want  any  good  thing  ?"  Pel.  xjcxiv.  10. 
"  The  Lord  will  give  grace  and  glory,  and 
no  good  thing  will  he  withhold  from  them 
that  walk  uprightly."  Psl.  Ixxxiv.  11. 
What  dost  thou  say.  Poverty  ? 


34 


TRAVELS  OF  TRUE  GODLINESS 


Pov.  I  am  in  a  very  low  condition :  what 
you  mean  I  cannot  tell ;  but  this  I  know, 
my  head  and  heart  are  filled  about  other 
things.  Alas !  what  can  you  think  to  meet 
with,  or  expect  from  me  ?  Do  you  not  see 
what  a  number  of  poor,  hungry  and  ragged 
children  I  have  ?  It  is  enough  for  me  to 
get  bread  for  them :  I  must  leave  the  things 
which  you  talk  of  to  my  betters ;  I  mean 
such  who  have  more  time  to  mind  them, 
and  are  better  learned.  I  cannot  tell  what 
to  say  to  you. 

Truly,  Ave  poor  folks  in  the  country  think 
it  is  godliness  enough  for  us  to  bear  an 
honest  mind,  and  pay  truly  for  what  we 
have,  and  go  to  church  now  and  then,  to 
hear  some  good  prayers,  and  say  the  Creed, 
the  Ten  Commandments,  and  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  sometimes  at  home,  when  we  come 
from  work,  if  we  do  not  chance  to  fall  asleep 
first ;  but  if  I  thought  it  would  be  for  my 
profit,  I  would  open  to  you. 

Godli.  Poverty,  I  will  assure  thee  it  will 
be  infinitely  for  thy  advantage ;  hEist  thou 
not  read  — 

Pov.     I  cannot  read.  Sir. 

Godli.  But  have  you  not  heard  then  of 
that  word,  "  Godliness  is  profitable  unto  all 
things,  having  the  promise  of  the  life  that 
now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come,"  1 
Tim.  iv.  8 ;  and  that  word,  "  Godliness  with 
cententment  is  great  gain?"  And  now, 
because  I  see  you  are  weak,  I  will  tell  you 
of  some  of  those  great  blessings  you  will 
gain,  if  you  receive  me  in  truth.  Whereso- 
ever I  come,  I  bring  reconciliation  with  God, 
pardon  of  sin,  peace  of  conscience,  and  joy 
m  the  Holy  Ghost ;  I  teach  men  to  be  dili- 
gent and  frugal,  and  so  help  them  to  a  de- 
cent competency ;  nay,  I  raise  men  to  honor 
too  ;  I  will  make  thee  a  son  of  God,  an  heir 
of  heaven,  and  at  last  set  a  crown  of  endless 
glory  on  thy  head.  What  dost  thou  say. 
Poverty  ? 

Pov.  I  had  rather  have  better  clothes, 
and  good  provisions,  and  a  better  habita- 
tion ;  these  things  suit  my  present  necessi- 
ty ;  but  as  touching  those  things  you  talk 
of,  I  do  not  well  understand  what  they  are ; 
they  may  be  but  fancies.  Besides,  what 
work  will  you  set  me  about?  I  cannot  en- 
dure hard  labor. 

Godli.  But  stay,  Poverty.,  what  kind  of 
fellows  are  those  you  have  in  your  house  ? 

Pov.  What  is  that  to  you ;  why  do  you 
rtot  answer  my  questions  ? 

Godli.  Why  then  I  will  you ;  you  must 
believe  in  Christ,  and  very  fervently  read 
the  Holy  Bible,  and  every  Lord's-day,  with 
great  reverence  and  seriousness,  hear  God's 
blessed  word,  and  pray  at  least  twice  a  day  ; 
nay,  and  I  shall  teach  you  to  be  more  pain- 
ful and  laborious  in  your  trade  and  worldly 
business ;  but  this,  I  know,  cannot  be  done, 
unless  you  put  away  that  horde  of  loose 
fellows  in  your  house. 


Now  Poverty  had,  it  seems,  divers  base 
and  lazy  companions,  who  were  all  grand 
enemies  to  Tiue  Godliness ;  their  names 
were  Unbelief,  Ignorance,  Idleness,  Waste- 
ful, and  Fear-Man,  together  with  some 
others.  His  own  children,  viz :  Light-Fin- 
gers, Faint-Heart,  and  Carping-Care,  were 
no  better.  Now,  when  he  felt  disposed  to 
open  to  Godliness,  these  hindered  him. 

First,  Sloth  and  Idleness  would  not  let 
him  rise  to  call  upon  God,  nor  take  pains  to 
pull  up  the  briars  and  thorns  that  grew  in 
his  heart ;  by  which  means  his  field  lay  bar- 
ren and  untilled,  nothing  growing  therein, 
but  what  the  ground  brought  forth  natural- 
ly :  nay,  these  made  him  of  such  a  sluggish 
temper,  and  such  a  lover  of  rest,  that  he 
complained  sometimes  because  he  could  not 
go  without  motion ;  nay,  he  was  unwilling 
to  be  at  the  trouble  of  feeding  himself; 
therefore  would  wish  that  men  might  live 
as  trees  and  plants  do.  I  remember  a  very 
wise  man  told  me,  "  That  he  hides  his  hand 
in  his  bosom,  and  it  grieveth  him  to  bring 
it  again  to  his  mouth,"  Prov.  xxvi.  15,  by 
the  sad  influence  of  these  two  lazy  fellows, 
Sloth  and  Idleness. 

Unbelief  told  him  that  those  things  of 
which  Godliness  talked  were  mere  fictions ; 
being  unseen  things,  there  was  no  reality 
in  them ,  but  when  Poverty  questioned  the 
truth  of  what  Unbelief  spoke  upon  this 
account,  and  requested  some  explanations, 
then  the  wretch  told  him  they  were  things 
far  out  of  his  reach,  and  that  he  had  no  part 
or  lot  in  them :  neither  could  they  (if  it  were 
possible  to  obtain  them)  answer  his  present 
necessities. 

Light-Fingers  told  him,  he  had  been  for 
a  long  while  his  best  friend ;  and  if  it  had 
not  been  for  liim,  he  had  been  starved  long 
before  now. 

Distrust  agreed  to  the  discourse  of  his 
thieving  brother,  and  positively  said,  if  he 
turned  Light- Fingers  out  of  his  house,  (as 
he  knew  he  must  if  Godliness  came  in,)  he 
would  certainly  beg  from  door  to  door. 

Wasteful  told  him,  that  True  Godliness, 
if  entertained,  would  not  suffer  him  to  buy 
such  good  provisions  as  he  was  used  to  do, 
on  trust,  unless  he  knew  he  was  able  to  pay 
for  them  ;  and  that  he  would  not  suffer  him 
to  go  any  more  to  merry  meetings,  and  ca- 
rouse amongst  good  fellows  at  the  bar-room, 
nor  recreate  himself  at  cards,  bowls,  nine- 
pins, and  other  sports,  for  money,  on  holi- 
days ;  and  that  he  must  be  content  with  such 
things  as  he  had,  and  never  lose  a  day's 
work  to  gratify  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  and 
that  also  he  must  change  his  company; 
which  particularly  was  grievous  tor  Poverty 
to  hear. 

Carping- Care  filled  his  head  so  full  of 
distracting  thoughts,  that  he  had  not  time 
to  think  of  God,  Christ,  nor  his  own  soul, 
from  one  week  to  another;  but  his  orreat 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


35 


study  was  either  to  think  where  to  borrow 
money,  and  so  get  more  in  debt,  or  else  how 
to  pay  what  he  owed,  to  get  out  of  debt,  or 
how  he  should  obtain  employment.  By  this 
means  he  was  filled  with  sad  thoughts,  not 
knowing  how  he  should  procure  food  or 
clothing  for  the  future.  Besides,  it  could 
not  go  out  of  his  mind,  but  that  at  one  time 
or  other  he  should  be  arrested,  and  thrown 
into  a  jail,  having  many  times  fearfully 
broken  his  word. 

Faint-Heart  and  Fear-Man  represented 
to  him  the  danger  he  would  be  in  upon  many 
considerations,  if  True  Godliness  was  enter- 
tained. 

For,  first,  they  told  him  how  contemptible 
real  godliness  was  grown,  being  of  very 
little  credit  or  esteem  amongst  men  by  rea- 
son of  Vice,  which  was  never  more  rampant 
and  popular;  insomuch  that  True  Godli- 
ness was  likely  to  be  driven  out  of  the  world. 
Mr.  Riches,  who  is  lord  of  the  manor,  hath 
beat  him  away  from  his  door,  and  hateth 
him  with  a  perfect  hatred ;  now,  if  you  en- 
tertain him,  he  will  soon  hear  of  it,  and  so 
will  become  your  deadly  enemy,  and  will 
pull  down  your  cottage,  or  warn  you  out, 
or  be  sure  not  to  let  you  have  a  farthing  of 
the  poor's-money,  nor  ever  set  you  to  work 
any  more ;  and  what  will  become  then  of 
your  poor  wife  and  cliildren?  Nay,  said 
they,  we  will  tell  you  more;  do  you  not 
hear  what  cruel  edicts  have  been  made 
against  Tnie  Godliness  ?  And  how  many 
of  the  Protestant  churches  have  been  pulled 
down  and  utterly  demolished  ?  And  how 
he  is  persecuted  almost  every  where  1  A 
more  liberal  and  pleasing  form  of  religion 
is  now  becoming  popular,  and  will  in  a  lit- 
tle time  be  generally  embraced,  and  they 
who  entertain  T-ue  Godliness  must  expect 
to  be  reproached  and  reviled,  nay,  murder- 
ed. Besides,  do  you  not  hear  that  many 
who  have  for  a  long  time  entertained  him, 
have  lately  turned  him  out  of  doors  ?  they 
are  weary  of  him,  or  afraid  to  own  him ; 
and  is  this  a  time  for  you  to  think  of  em- 
bracing him?  Poverty  (said  they)  pity 
yourself,  and  have  more  wit ;  you  are  poor 
enough  already,  and  this  is  the  way  to  make 
yourself  more  miserable.  If  Riches  will 
not  entertain  him,  who  hath  many  advanta- 
ges to  relieve  and  help  himself  in  distressing 
times,  and  sad  exigencies,  over  what  Pov- 
erty hath,  or  can  promise  himself,  there  is 
no  ground  of  encouragement  for  you  to 
open  to  him. 

Upon  this  poor  Poverty  resolved  not  to 
let  Tnie  Godliness  have  a  lodging  in  his 
house,  but  rather,  instead  thereof,  to  put 
stronger  bolts  and  bars  on  his  door.  God- 
Imess  having  waited  to  hear  what  these 


Godli.  Well,  Poverty,  I  expected  but 
little  less  from  you  when  I  perceived  you 
were  resolved  to  hearken  to  those  graceless 
companions  and  wicked  children,  for  they 
would  do  their  worst  to  keep  me  out ;  but  I 
shall  now,  however,  to  undeceive  you,  an- 
swer them  all. 

As  to  those  lazy  companions,  Sloth  and 
Idleness,  who  would  not  wish  you  to  labor 
for  the  good  either  of  body  or  soul,  they 
have  in  part  brought  you  into  this  poor  and 
miserable  condition.  Oh  !  how  many  have 
they  brought  to  beg  their  bread  from  door 
to  door !  and  stirred  up  others  to  rob,  steal, 
and  commit  horrible  murders,  to  uphold 
them  in  their  loose,  lazy,  and  ungodly  lives ; 
by  which  means  they  have  brought,  and 
daily  do  bring,  a  number  of  men  and  wo- 
men to  the  gallows ;  but  the  greatest  mis- 
chief they  do,  is  to  the  souls  of  men ;  for 
they  cast  thousands  into  such  a  deep  sleep, 
that  they  will  never  awake  till  they  lift  up 
their  eyes  in  hell.  They  will  not  suffer 
them  to  labor  to  find  out  their  danger,  till  it 
is  too  late ;  and  others,  when  they  do  per- 
ceive their  woful  condition,  are  hindered  by 
them  from  endeavoring  timely,  and  in  a 
right  manner,  to  get  out ;  they  many  times 
cry,  "  Lord,  help  us !'  and  "  Lord,  have 
mercy  upon  us !"  but  never  strive  to  take 
hold  of  the  offers  of  his  grace  and  mercy, 
by  cleaving  to  Christ,  and  leaving  their 
abominable  wickedness.  It  is  the  idle  soul 
that  suffers  hunger,  who  shall  beg  at  har- 
vest, and  have  nothing;  though  there  is 
bread  enough  and  to  spare  in  God's  house, 
yet  they  will  not  suffer  you  to  seek  for  it ; 
but  cause  you  to  cry,  "  Yet  a  little  sleep, 
yet  a  little  slumber,  yet  a  little  folding  of 
the  hands  to  sleep."  Prov.  xxiv.  33.  Is  it 
not  sad,  notwithstanding  your  house  is  on 
fire,  you  cannot  through  Sloth  and  Idleness 
rise  up  ?  You  are  just  ready  to  drop  into 
ruin,  and  yet  will  not  endeavor  to  deliver 
your  own  soul.  O  remember  that  word ! 
"  Take  tlie  slothful  and  unprofitable  servant, 
and  bind  him  hand  and  foot,  and  cast  him 
into  outer  darkness ;  there  shall  be  weeping 
and  gnashing  of  teeth."  Matt.  xxv.  30. 
And  then. 

As  to  Light-Fingers,  he  is  a  thief,  and  if 
you  follow  his  dictates,  he  will  bring  you  to 
the  gibbet;  besides,  "No  thief  shall  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God."     1  Cor.  vi.  10. 

Wasteful,  his  brother,  is  almost  as  bad  as 
he.  It  was  this  vain  fellow  tJiat  brought  the 
poor  "Prodigal  to  eat  husks  with  the  swine," 
Luke  XV.  It  is  he  who  not  only  causes  you 
to  waste,  and  foolishly  spend  your  money, 
but  also  your  precious  time,  which  should 
be  improved  for  the  good  of  your  perishing 
soul.     Poverty,  can  it  do  you  any  harm  to 


eTiemiee  of  his  would  say,  and  perceiving! be  taught  to  become  a  better  husband,  and 
they  had  now  done,  he  broke  silence,  andjnot  to  consume  the  little  you  sometimes  get, 
began  to  speak  after  this  manner.  amongst  riotous  company,  which  might  be 


36 


TRAVELS     OF     TRUE    GODLINESS. 


a  great  comfort  to  your  poor  wife  and  chil-lthe  using?     And  as  they  are  corruptible, 
dren?     Let  me  now  appeal  to  my  neighbor  so  likewise  they  can  never  satisfy  nor  fill 


Morality^  whether  there  is  any  ground  for 
you  to  refuse  to  entertain  me,  because  I 
teach  you  to  be  content  with  mean  things, 
hard  fare,  and  put  you  upon  severe  labor, 
and  tell  you  not  to  run  into  debt,  unless  you 
know  how  to  pay  it. 

Ignorance  is  a  murderer;  and  hatli  de- 
stroyed millions  of  souls :  tliough  there  was 
a  time  indeed  when  God  seemed  to  wink  at 
him  ;  Acts,  xvii.  30  ;  that  is,  did  not  lay  (as 
it  were)  his  hands  immediately  upon  him  ; 
he  now  is  left  altogether  inexcusable,  be- 
cause God  hath  afforded  you  a  sufficiency 
of  light,  to  bring  you  to  the  true  knowledge 
of  salvation,  the  necessity  of  faith  and  true 
godliness,  if  you  would  escape  the  damna- 
tion of  hell. 

I  found  Unbelief  the  other  day  with 
Riches,  and  indeed  I  can  come  to  no  one's 
door,  but  I  find  him  within.  He  affirm 
that  all  my  promises  are  fictions ;  being  un- 
seen things,  they  have  no  reality  in  them, 
or  things  to  which  you  can  never  attain ; 
and  if  you  could,  yet  they  could  not  answer 
your  present  necessities.  If  you  would  give 
credit  to  such  a  notorious  liar,  murderer,  and 
blasphemer,  who  certainly,  in  a  sly  and 
treacherous  manner,  seeks  to  stab  you  at 
the  heart,  who  can  help  it  ?  Are  Christ's 
promises  of  grace  and  peace  here,  and 
glory  hereafter,  because  not  seen  with  ex- 
ternal eyes,  fictions  1  He  will  tell  you  also, 
ere  long,  if  you  will  believe  him,  that  there 
is  no  God  nor  Devil,  Heaven  nor  Hell,  be- 
cause not  visibly  seen  with  eyes  ;  he  may 
suggest  the  one  to  you,  as  well  as  the  other. 
Come,  Poverty,  thousands  of  my  children, 
by  blessed  experience,  have  found  my  prom- 
ises no  fictions  nor  idle  fancies,  but  things 
full  of  realit}^,  marrow  and  fatness :  "  O 
taste  and  see  how  good  the  Lord  is  ! "  And 
.  why  may  not  you  obtain  these  glorious  good 
things,  viz :  union  and  communion  with 
God,  pardon  of  sin,  peace  of  conscience 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  oth- 
ers? They  were  commonly  given  in  the 
time  of  the  gospel  to  tlie  poor.  Come, 
Poverty,  these  tilings  are  thine,  (as  sure  as 
God  is  in  heaven,)  if  thou  wilt  but  let  me 
in ;  poor  Lazarus  understood  them,  and 
experienced  the  sweetness  of  them,  and 
shall  through  eternity.  And  then,  lastly, 
have  you  nu  need  of  those  good  things  of 
mine,  because  they  may  not  so  directly  an- 
swer your  outward  necessity  ?  Are  not  the 
necessities  of  your  soul  more  to  be  minded 
than  to  get  store  of  meat,  drink,  clothes, 
silver,  and  gold  ?  Wiiat  are  all  these  things 
to  the  love  and  favor  of  God,  an  interest  in 
Christ,  and  a  right  to  the  kingdom  of  heav- 
en ?  How  soon,  alas !  may  your  life  be 
gone,  and  what  good  will  these  things  do 
you  then  ?    Do  you  not  see  they  perish  in 


the  desires  of  your  soul,  nor  do  they  suit 
the  necessities  thereof  Consider,  can  any 
of  these  things  make  thy  soul  happy  ?  Can 
gold  or  silver  enrich  it?  Or  the  rarest 
worldly  dainties  feed  it  ?  Or  wine  cheer  it? 
No,  Pocerty :  if  thou  hadst  the  things  of 
this  world  in  abundance,  yet  till  thou  lettest 
me  in,  and  makest  me  thy  chief  companion, 
thy  soul  will  be  miserable.  What  is  it  to 
have  plenty  of  all  good  things,  and  no  God, 
no  Christ,  no  pardon,  no  peace,  but  contra- 
ry-wise, the  curse  of  God,  horror  of  con- 
science, and  ruin  at  last?  Thou  wilt,  Pov- 
erty, become  more  happy  if  thou  dost  open 
thy  door  to  me,  and  thou  and  I  dwell  to- 
gether, than  the  proudest  monarch  of  the 
earth :  thy  comforts,  inward  peace,  and  joy, 
will  excel  theirs,  and  thy  riches  be  more 
abundant  in  quantity,  besides  the  rare  and 
excellent  quality  of  them ;  nay,  and  thy 
glory  will  be  far  more  transcendent;  and 
besides,  it  will  abide  with  thee  to  all  eter- 
nity. 

As  touching  Carping-Care,  he  hath  al- 
most broken  thy  heart  already :  he  will  not 
let  thee  sleep  in  the  night ;  but  by  telling 
thee  of  thy  wants  and  necessities,  sadly 
disturbs  thy  mind,  but  never  gave  thee  a 
farthing;  and  why  shouldst  thou  hearken 
to  him  any  longer  ?  He  is  thy  utter  enemy 
as  well  as  mine.  Turn  him  away,  and 
Christ  will  care  for  you. 

He  has  depressed  thy  very  spirits,  and 
weakened  thy  body,  marred  thy  senses,  es- 
pecially the  spiritual  senses  of  thy  soul ;  so 
that  thou  canst  not  think  one  serious  thought 
all  the  day ;  nay,  when  Sloth  and  Idleness 
will  let  thee  go  to  hear  God's  word,  he  fol- 
lows thee  thither  too ;  and  so  confounds  tliy 
mind  with  wandering  thoughts,  that  devo- 
tion is  spoiled,  and  you  can  profit  nothing  ; 
therefore,  I  beseech  you,  thrust  him  out. 

Distrust,  that  faithless  fellow,  sets  on  this 
base  Carping- Care,  to  perplex  thy  mind; 
and  this  is  not  all ;  for  he  tells  thee,  if  thou 
turnest  Ught-Fingers  out  of  doors,  thou 
wilt  certainly  go  a  begging.  Come,  P&iy 
erty,  they  are  a  pack  of  sad  villains,  set  on 
by  their  great  master  Apollyon,  to  bring 
thee  to  shame,  as  if  tlierc  was  no  way  to 
live,  but  by  breaking  God's  commandment, 
"  Thou  shalt  not  steal."  And  is  not  he  a 
wretch  that  sliall  call  into  question  the  care 
and  faithfulness  of  God,  whose  promises  are 
to  feed  and  clothe  thee,  and  to  supply  all 
thy  necessities  in  the  way  of  thy  duty,  so 
that  thou  shalt  "  want  no  good  thing"  (as 
I  stated  before,)  tiiough  thou  possibly  mayst 
think  that  good  for  thee,  which  God  knows 
is  not?     Isa.  xl.  11.     Psal.  xxiv.  9,  10. 

And  now,  in  the  last  place,  let  me  speak 
a  few  words  to  those  cowardly  fellows, 
Faint- Heart  and   Fear-man.    Isa.  li.   12. 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS, 


37 


They  would  have  you  fear  man  more  than 
God ;  and  yet  I  am  ready  to  believe  some 
of  their  words  take  as  much  place  upon  your 
heart  as  any  thing  you  heard  from  the  other. 

They  say  I  am  grown  here  of  late  very 
contemptible,  and  am  of  very  little  esteem 
or  credit  amongst  men,  Isa.  liii.  3,  and  that 
I  shall  ere  long  be  constrained  to  fly  into  a 
corner  to  hide  myself. 

To  this  I  answer,  I  never  had  much  es- 
teem amongst  great  men ;  nay,  in  every  age 
of  the  world  very  few  gave  credit  to  me ; 
and  now  being  come  almost  to  the  end  of 
my  travels  into  the  last  and  worst  age,  I 
expect  no  other  usage.  How  should  I  have 
many  to  admire  and  fall  in  love  with  me, 
when  the  Bible  positively  says,  "All  the 
world  wondered  after  the  beast,"  Rev.  xiii. 
3,  that  is,  they  were  in  love  with,  and  ad- 
mired Counterfeit  Godliness  ?  and  the  truth 
is,  I  marvel  not  at  it,  because  the  False 
Prophets  have  ever  been  more  readily  em- 
braced than  the  True,  and  their  words  gen- 
erally believed.  •'  If  another  comes  in  his 
own  name,"  saith  Jesus  Christ,  "him  you 
will  receive."  The  reason  is  easily  dis- 
cerned :  Because  they  soothe  the  people  in 
their  sins,  1  Kings  xxii.  13,  22.  Alas  !  do 
not  you  see  how  Counterfeit  Godliness  gives 
liberty  to  men  to  please  their  sensual  lusts, 
teaching  an  easier  way  to  Heaven  than  I 
ever  did  or  can  ?  for  I  always  taught,  as  at 
this  day,  the  doctrine  of  Self-denial,  Mark 
viii.  34,  the  necessity  of  faith  in  Christ,  re- 
generation, and  mortification  of  sin,  &c. 
John  iii.  5. 

They  say,  I  shall  ere  long  be  forced  to  fly 
into  some  corner ;  if  it  should  chance  so  to 
come  to  pass,  wo  be  to  you;  and  indeed 
you  had  the  more  need  with  all  speed  to 
receive  me  into  your  house,  lest  if  I  retire 
you  find  me  not,  and  so  perish  in  your  sins. 
John  viii.  22. 

Again,  What  though  Riches  hath  reject- 
ed me,  he  never  had  much  kindness  for  me, 
but  was  generally  my  enemy ;  and  where- 
as they  say,  he  will  be  displeased  with  you, 
and  warn  you  out  of  your  house,  if  you 
entertain  me,  what  then?  Christ  will  re- 
ceive you  into  his  house,  and  you  had  bet- 
ter possess  him  lor  a  friend,  than  any  prince 
upon  the  earth:  "When  my  father  and 
mother  forsake  me,"  saith  David,  "  the  Lord 
will  take  me  up."  Have  you  not  read  of 
that  poor  man  whom  the  Pharisees  excom- 
municated for  cleaving  to  me,  and  how  the 
Lord  Jesus  graciously  received  him  ?  John 
ix.  35.  Come,  Poverty,  do  not  fear  the 
worst  that  men  can  do  ;  God  will  help  you, 
and  he  is  above  them  all ;  and  it  will  be 
but  a  little  while  before  that  word  shall  be 
made  good,  "Your  brethren  that  hated 
you,  and  cast  you  out  for  my  name's  sake, 
said,  Let  the  Lord  be  glorified  ;  but  he  will 
appear  to  your  joy,  and  they  shall  be  asham- 


ed," Isa.  Ixvi.  5.  Alas !  man,  the  time  is  at 
hand  when  all  will  be  undone,  and  be  forced 
to  cry  out.  Wo,  wo,  wo,  that  ever  they 
were  born !  except  those  who  have  made 
me  the  joy  and  delight  of  their  hearts. 
Say  to  the  righteous,  "  it  shall  be  well  with 
him ;  wo  to  the  wicked,  it  shall  be  ill  with 
him,"  Isa.  iii.  10.  It  is  sad,  indeed,  to  see 
any  leave  me  in  my  adversity;  but  they 
were  false  friends,  and  let  them  go,  John 
vi.  66 ;  but  do  thou  but  kindly  embrace  me, 
and  I  will  keep  thee  from  falling ;  nay,  thou 
shalt  find  me  a  sure  refuge  and  defence  to 
thee  in  the  day  of  distress,  Psl.  ix.  9.  Yea, 
and  I  will  store  thee  with  such  good  things 
as  the  rich  have  not.  I  am  resolved  to 
feast  thy  soul  continually,  and  never  leave 
thee  nor  forsake  thee.  Isa.  xxv.  6.  Come, 
thou  and  I  shall  live  most  happily  together, 
notwithstandig  thou  art  poor,  if  we  can  but 
get  my  dear  friend  Content  to  dwell  with 
us.  1  Tim.  vi.  6.  What  dost  thou  say, 
Poverty 7     Shall  I  find  admittance? 

Notwithstanding  all  that  Godliness  could 
say.  Poverty  Avould  not  give  way  to  him, 
but  began  to  give  him  reviling  words,  say- 
ing, he  was  born  a  gentleman,  though  he 
was  fallen  to  decay ;  and  that  he  would  not 
suffer  such  tumults  at  his  door ;  for  it  seems 
while  Godliness  was  praying  and  pressing 
for  entertainment,  one  Persecution,  the  off- 
spring of  Adam's  eldest  son  Cain,  Gen.  iv. 
S,  had  collected  many  wicked  fellows  to- 
gether, to  drive  Godliness  away  from  Pov- 
erty''s  door :  so  by  the  opposition  within 
doors  and  without.  Godliness  found  no  lodg- 
ing there ;  yea,  and  finally  escaped  not  with- 
out many  bitter  threatnings,  and  blasphe- 
mous words.  Now,  one  reason  why  Riches 
and  Poverty  did  not  receive  Tme  Godli- 
ness, was,  because  Consideration  dwelt 
with  neither  of  them,  who,  being  a  grave 
counsellor,  might  possibly  have  given  them 
better  advice,  than  to  deny  entertainment 
to  so  estimable  a  friend.  Godliness,  after 
this,  began  to  be  at  a  stand  which  way  to 
travel  next;  but  hearing  of  one  Youth,  who 
hved  not  far  off",  he  resolved  to  see  whether 
he  might  not  get  a  dwelling  with  him,  be- 
cause he  was  one  that  his  commission  par- 
ticularly directed  him  to  visit. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Godliness  applies  to  Youth,  who  pleads  va- 
rious Excuses,  and  at  last  utterly  de- 
clines receiving  him  ai  present. 

Not  discouraged  with  the  mal-treatment 
from  which  he  had  just  escaped.  Godliness 
hastens  to  Youth,  whom  he  perceives  en- 
joying himself  in  the  shade  of  a  beautiful 
grove,  attended  by  his  companions. 


38 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


With  difficulty  could  he  obtain  any  no-| 
tice ;  and  when  he  did,  Youth  looked  on 
him  with  some  rudeness,  and  inquired,  with 
visible  resentment  at  tlie  intrusion,  who  he 
was. 

GodlL  Your  true  friend  and  well  wish- 
er, Godliness.  I  have  come  to  offer  my 
company  and  services,  and  am  ready  not 
only  to  teach  you  how  best  to  enjoy  this 
present  life,  but  the  only  method  of  es- 
caping the  awful  evils  of  the  world  to 
come. 

Youth.  Dear  Sir,  I  am  not  so  ignorant 
of  the  sources  of  deliglit  as  to  need  your 
counsel ;  and  as  to  the  future  dangers,  of 
which  you  spealc,  I  mean  to  guard  against 
them.  And  beside,  do  you  think  me  a 
wicked  reprobate?  I  mean  to  injure  no 
one  in  my  gaiety.  My  moral  character  is 
without  a  spot,  I  assure  you.  Go  to  the 
old  cruel  misers,  and  to  thieves,  and  such 
wicked  persons,  and  reform  them ;  as  tor 
me,  1  have  no  need  of  you  at  present. 

Godli.  Aye,  Sir,  but  you  need  my  Mas- 
ter's righteousness.  Rev.  iii.  17,  18,  and 
also  a  part  in  his  kingdom ;  and  these  are 
some  of  those  glorious  commodities  I  have 
to  bestow  upon  you,  il'  you  will  entertain 
me. 

Youth.  Aye,  there  it  is ;  I  perceive  I 
must  entertam  you,  if  I  would  have  them : 
but  I  tell  you  plainly,  your  company  does 
not  suit  my  age.  Sir,  you  will  spoil  all  my 
pleasures,  if  I  receive  you.  You  will  cause 
me  also  to  abandon  these  dear  friends  and 
companions  who  rejoice  my  heart  by  their 
delightful  society. 

Now,  those  he  called  friends  were  Pride, 
Waiiton,  Vain-Glory,  Love-Lust,  Ambition, 
Gay-Clothes,  Gamester,  Please- Friend, 
Time-Server,  Scornful,  Hate-Good,  and 
Scoffer. 

Godli.  Young  man,  believe  me,  those 
pleasures  and  delights  upon  which  your 
heart  is  so  much  set  are  very  hateful  to 
God.  and  also  abase  your  noble  soul,  which 
is  of  a  sublime  extraction.  Farthermore, 
hear  what  wise  Solomon  saith,  "  Rejoice, 
O  young  man,  in  the  days  of  thy  youth, 
and  walk  in  the  ways  of  thy  heart,  and  in 
the  sight  of  thine  eyes.  But  know,  that 
for  all  these  things,  God  will  bring  thee 
into  judgment."  You  will  pay  dear  at 
last  for  all  your  sensual  pleasures. 

Youth.  But  for  all  you  say,  wise  Solo- 
•mon  made  trial  of  all  the  delights  of  the 
children  of  man  before  he  condemned  them  ; 
and  so  will  I  too,  as  far  as  I  can. 

Godli.  It  is  true,  Solomon  did  so ;  and 
doth  he  not,  by  the  sad  experience  he  had 
of  them,  tell  you,  "  All  was  vanity  and 
vexation  of  spirit?"  Come,  Son,  you  had 
better  believe  the  poison  in  the  cup  is  dead- 
ly, than  taste  of  it. 

Youth.    Sir,  pray  speak  no  more ;  I  have 


not  yet  sowed  all  my  wild  oats ;  let  me 
alone.     In  due  time  I  shall  send  for  you, 

Godli.  Let  me  rather  persuade  you  to 
remember  that  "  he  that  soweth  to  the  flesh, 
shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption."  Gal. 
vi.  8.  You  had  better  sow  to  the  spirit. 
And  now  I  will  inform  you  what  kind  of 
crop  you  will  have  at  harvest  by  sowing  to 
the  flesh. 

Yoidh.  Why,  Sir,  what  crop  shall  I 
reap? 

Godli.  You  are  likely,  in  the  first  place, 
to  reap  in  this  world  a  crop  of  disappoint- 
ment and  regret,  as  the  fruit  of  your  folly 
and  irreligion.  Secondly,  you  will  reap  a 
crop  of  infamy  and  reproach ;  for  "  »in  is 
the  shame  of  any  people."  Prov.  xiv.  34. 
And  it  will  be  a  wonder  if  you  reap  not 
a  crop  of  want  and  beggary  too  in  the  end. 
Thirdly,  you  will  reap  a  crop  of  horrible 
and  unsupportable  guilt,  Prov.  xviii.  14,  by 
which  means  your  conscience  will  so  tor- 
ment you,  that  you  will  not  be  able  to  en- 
dure it,  unless  you  go  on  in  this  ungodly 
course  so  long,  that  it  is  seared  with  a  hot 
iron,  and  then  you  will  reap  a  crop  of  all 
manner  of  foul  and  detesUible  pollution ; 
yea,  such  corruption,  that  will  cause  God  to 
loath  your  soul.  Fourthly,  you  Avill  reap 
also  a' crop  of  all  the  fearful  plagues  and 
curses  that  are  in  the  book  of  God  pro- 
nounced against  wicked  and  presumptuous 
sinners,  Deut.  xxix.  19,  20,  21.  And  last- 
ly, at  the  great  and  terrible  day  of  judg- 
ment, you  will  reap  a  full  crop  of  God's 
eternal  wrath  and  vengeance  ;  a  crop  of 
endless  torments  in  hell-fire.  Matt.  xxv.  41. 
Now,  if  you  hke  to  gather  in  such  a  harvest, 
go  on  and  sow  your  wild  oats  plentifully. 

Youth.  Sir,  I  intend  to  sow  other  seed 
hereafter;  I  desire  only  a  little  liberty  in 
these  my  youthful  days:  if  you  should  call 
at  my  door  when  I  am  old,  I  shall  be  will- 
ing to  entertain  you  ;  nay.  Sir,  I  do  prom- 
ise you,  I  will  then  open  my  doors  to  yon. 

Godli.  Alas  !  my  young  friend,  present 
promises  to  open  hereafter  to  God  and  True 
Godliness,  seldom  end  in  real  performance : 
he  who  promised  to  go  and  work  in  his  mas- 
ter's vineyard,  went  not.  Matt.  xxi.  30. 
Such  who  put  me  off  with  promises  to  be- 
come godly  hereafter,  it  is  evident,  purpose  to 
be  wicked  for  the  present.  Besides,  do  you 
know  you  shall  live  to  be  old  ?  Or,  if  you 
should,  that  God  will  send  me  then  to  knock 
at  your  door  ?  Nay,  and  let  me  tell  you, 
if  I  should  then  visit  you,  I  fear  it  will  be 
to  no  purpose,  because.  Sir,  you  ripen  apace 
already  in  wickedness,  and  sin  isof  a  harden- 
ing nature.  Evil  habits  are  not  easily  chang- 
ed ;  the  Ethiopian  may  as  soon  change  his 
skin,  or  the  leopard  his  spots,  as  you  may  learn 
to  do  well,  Jer.  xiii.  23,  and  open  to  me, 
when  you  have  been  a  long  time  accustom- 
ed to  do  evil :  therefore  open   to  me  now. 


TRAVELS    OF     TRUE    GODLINESS, 


39 


Youth,  Sir,  you  will  raise  my  temper 
presently,  if  you  leave  not  off  your  canting. 
You  are,  I  am  sure,  a  gentleman  for  whom 
few  or  none  care.  Have  any  of  the  rulers 
and  nobles  of  the  nations  embraced  you  ? 
John  vii.  48.  Why  do  you  not  see  if  they 
will  entertain  you  ? 

Godli.  Nay,  pray  be  not  offended  with 
me ;  I  seek  your  profit ;  I  will  do  you  no 
wrong.  You  shall  not  lose  any  thing  in 
the  end  by  me,  though  possibly  you  may 
have  to  part  with  something  for  my  sake  ; 
but  if  you  do,  I  will  repay  you  again  an 
hundred-fold  in  this  world.  Matt.  xix.  29; 
and  in  the  world  to  come  you  shall  have 
life  everlasting.  And  what  though  not 
many  mighty,  and  not  many  noble  ones  do 
love  me,  or  will  entertain  me,  1  Cor.  i.  26, 
it  is  not  because  I  do  not  deserve  esteem 
from  them,  but  because  they  are  incensed 
against  me  by  the  devil,  and  are  so  in  love 
with  Vice^  my  mortal  enemy.  Sir,  I  am 
abused,  and  rendered  very  odious  by  wick- 
ed men,  as  if  I  were  factious,  restless,  and 
seditious.  Acts  xxiv.  25.  And  this  is  the 
reason  why  I  am  so  slighted  and  contemn- 
ed. 

Youth.  Aye,  and  to  speak  the  truth,  I 
cannot  believe  but  you  are  the  cause  of  all 
the  present  discord,  animosities,  and  confu- 
sions that  are  amongst  us ;  for  since  you 
came  into  this  country,  what  disputes,  con- 
tentions, and  distractions,  have  been  here  ? 

Godli.  I  and  ray  children  ever,  I  must 
confess,  were  thus  censured  and  falsely  ac- 
cused, though  never  so  stigm.atized  as  now 
of  late,  Isa.  viii.  18.  Jerusalem  of  old  was 
called  a  rebellious  and  bad  city,  because  I 
dwelt  in  it;  and  my  enemies  said  of  old 
time.  Sedition  had  been  there,  and  that  it 
was  a  great  enemy  to  kings  and  govern- 
ments, Ezra  iv.  12,  15.  But  it  is  no  mar- 
vel I  am  thus  abused,  considering  my  Lord 
and  Master  himself  was  loaded  with  like 
calumnies,  John  x.  20,  being  accused  with 
sedition,  and  called  an  enemy  to  Cgesar  like- 
wise. But  let  not  this  discourage  you  from 
receiving  me,  for  all  these  things  are  utter- 
ly contrary  to  my  nature,  and  abhorred  by 
me  and  all  my  good  friends. 

Youth.  It  will  not  be  for  my  honor  to 
give  you  a  reception;  I  shall  be  derided 
and  scoffed  at,  should  I  do  it,  and  be  look- 
ed upon  as  a  foolish  person :  therefore  pray 
depart. 

Godli.  What  if  you  lose  the  honor  of 
this  world  ? — I  will  raise  you  to  far  greater : 
"For  honor  and  riches  are  with  Christ; 
yea,  lasting  riches  and  righteousness." 
Prov.  viii.  18.  John  xii.  26.  They  that  re- 
ceive me,  and  serve  Christ,  God  will  honor. 

Youth.  Pray  let  me  alone  until  another 
time,  until  I  am  a  little  older. 

Godli.  Sir,  my  Master  commands  you 
to  "  remember  him  now  in  the  days  of  your 


youth,"  Eccles.  xii.  1,  and  to  remember 
him,  is  to  embrace  me :  and  let  me  tell  you, 
to  reject  me,  is  rebellion  against  him  who  is 
the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords,  John 
xii.  48.  Shall  not  what  he  requires  be 
done  ? 

Youth.  I  have  other  business  at  present 
of  greater  concern  than  to  attend  on  such 
a  guest ;  take  your  answer,  therefore,  and 
be  gone. 

Godli.  Do  not  mistake  yourself  To 
receive  me,  and  to  lead  a  godly  Hfe,  is  bu- 
siness of  the  greatest  concernment.  Were 
you  not  made  and  sent  hither  on  purpose 
to  serve  and  honor  your  Creator,  and  not 
to  live  like  an  irrational  being,  and  serve 
the  enemy  of  all  righteousness,  as  hereto- 
fore you  have  done?  Isa.  xliii.  21.  Acts 
xvi.  27.  If  you  do  persist  in  these  courses, 
be  asssured  you  will  perish  in  hell  at  last. 

Upon  this  the  young  gallant  was  in  a 
great  rage,  and  swore  he  would  be  reveng- 
ed on  him,  and  on  all  his  friends,  if  he  did 
not  keep  at  a  distance.  And  presently  all 
his  companions  and  attendants,  mentioned 
before,  stirred  him  up  to  fall  upon  Godliness 
immediately,  and  force  him  away.  Pride 
swelled;  Fam-G/or// vaunted  himself ;  and 
both  bid  him  disdain  the  proposal  Godli- 
ness had  made.  Tinie-Server  and  Please- 
Friends  bid  him  mind  what  was  the  cus- 
tom of  the  times,  and  do  as  other  youth 
did.  Scornful  looked  with  contempt  upon 
True  Godliness;  Gamester.,  set  him  to 
play  at  cards ;  Love-LvM  enticed  him  to 
the  abodes  of  infamy ;  Scoffer  and  Scorn- 
ful jeered  and  derided  him :  nay,  and  not 
only  so,  but  made  base  songs  of  him  ;  and 
Hate-  Good  commanded  them  all  to  fall  upon 
him,  and  banish  him  out  of  the  world.  And 
had  it  not  been  for  fear  of  some  neighbors, 
though  they  were  but  moral  people,  he  had 
doubtless  been  utterly  trodden  down  under 
their  feet.  But  happily  he  escaped  this 
time  also,  and  got  away,  leaving  the  poor 
deluded  YoiUh  to  himself,  resolved  to  grat- 
ify his  own  sensual  and  luxurious  appetite. 


CHAPTER  VL 

Godliness  at  the  Door  of  Old-Age ;    the 
Beasons  why  he  refused  to  entertain  him. 

Godliness,  being  rejected  both  by  Rich- 
es, Poverty,  and  Youth,  resolved  to  see 
whether  he  might  not  be  entertained  by  a 
certain  decrepit  and  feeble  person,  called 
Old- Age,  concluding  with  himself,  that  it 
was  very  probable  his  dear  friend.  Consid- 
eration, whom  he  had  a  long  time  souglit 
for,  might  lodge  in  his  house ;  for,  said  he, 
surely  Wisdom,  though  he  dwell  not  with 
Riche.t,  Poverty^  nor   YoiUh,  yet  doubtless 


40 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS 


he  doth  with  the  aged,  Job  xxxii.  7.  He 
therefore  made  directly  up  to  his  door, 
where  he  knocked  and  called  a  considera- 
ble time  without  any  answer ;  but  at  last 
Old-Age  inquired  who  was  at  his  door. 

Godli.  Your  real  friend,  TV-we  Godli- 
ness, who  would  fain  have  a  lodging  with 
you. 

Old- Age.  Godliness!  I  have  heard,  I 
think,  of  you,  but  do  not  know  you.  Be- 
sides, I  am  not  able  to  rise  up  from  my 
chair  to  let  you  in.  I  have  such  a  weak 
and  crazy  body,  and  am  so  full  of  pains 
and  aches,  that  1  have  enough  to  do  to  sus- 
tain my  own  infirmities:  pray  come  anoth- 
er time :  do  not  now  trouble  me. 

Godli.  Alas  I  Fatlier,  you  may  not  live 
another  day ;  death  may  seize  you  beibre 
to-morrow  morning,  Prov.  xxvii.  1.  Why 
should  you  put  me  off?  I  came  to  you 
when  you  were  young,  and  then  you  stated 
that  you  could  not  welcome  me,  because 
you  had  not  sowed  all  your  wild  oats,  and 
you  were  too  young,  and  I  was  not  a  fit 
companion  for  Youth.  Moreover,  you  then 
said,  when  you  were  old,  you  would  let  me 
ill ;  and  will  you  put  me  off  row  too  ? 

But  all  the  means  Godliness  could  use 
were  of  no  avail ;  Old- Age  was  settled  so 
on  his  lees,  and  had  had  such  rebellious 
servants  and  children,  that  they  would  not 
suffer  him  to  show  Godliness  the  least  fa- 
vor, Jer.  xlviii  11.  The  names  of  some 
of  them  were  Weary-Limbs,  Dim-Eyes, 
Peevish,  Hard-Hearty  Iinpenitency,  Self- 
Conceit,  Enmity,  Unbelief,  and  Ignorance  ; 
with  many  more  of  the  like  sort.  The 
first  I  named  were  his  own  natural  off- 
spring, and  somewhat  younger  than  the 
rest.  Hard-Heart  he  had  nourished  and 
fed  continually  from  his  youth,  for  Godli- 
ness found  him  at  his  house  when  he  gave 
him  a  visit  in  the  prime  of  his  days  ;  but 
now  he  was  grown  very  stout,  stubborn, 
and  obdurate.  This  fellow  made  Old-Age 
not  to  regard  at  all  tlTe  threats  of  God. 
And  he  was  so  void  of  pity,  that  he  stirred 
Old-Age  up  to  stifle  poor  Conscience,  who 
kept  his  accounts,  and  at  every  turn  to  tread 
him  under  foot,  if  he  had  at  any  time  so 
much  light  and  power  as  to  tell  him  of  his 
debts,  viz.  what  abundance  of  abominable 
sins  he  had  committed  against  God  ;  and 
not  only  so,  but  not  to  regard  or  pity  the  sad 
,  estate  of  his  own  soul.  Nor  did  he  con- 
cern himself  with  the  low  condition  of  God's 
church,  but  would  curse  and  swear,  and 
tell  many  storie.'?  and  lies,  and  now  and 
then  be  drunk,  notwithstanding  he  was 
even  ready  to  drop  into  hell !  And  all  this 
comes  to  pass  through  the  evil  nature  of 
this  Hard-Heart,  and  his  companions  En 
mity  and  Unbelief. 

These  three  had  also  bred  up  another 
graceless  inmate  as  bad  as   themselves, 


one  Impenitency ;  so  that  all  that  could  be 
said  to  him  by  Godliness,  and  his  servant, 
Theology,  concerning  the  detestable  nature 
of  sin,  and  his  miserable  condition,  yet  he 
could  not  be  brought  to  repent,  nor  to  let 
one  tear  fall  for  his  sins ;  so  that  that  word 
of  the  blessed  apostle  was  made  good  in 
him,  "But  after  thy  hard  and  impenitent 
heart,  thou  treasurest  up  unto  thyself  wrath 
against  the  day  of  wrath,  and  revelation 
of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God,  who  will 
render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds." 
Rom.  ii.  5,  6. 

Ignorance  was  in  Youth's  house,  and  in 
Poveity''s  house,  but  not  such  a  sottish  Ig- 
norance as  seemed  to  be  with  Old-Age  ; 
for  he  aflirmed  that  God  did  not  trouble 
himself  to  take  notice  of  what  men  did  be- 
low, but  was  taken  up  about  high  matters 
in  heaven ;  neither  indeed  could  he  believe 
that  he  saw  through  dark  clouds.  "  Is  not 
God,"  saith  he,  ''in  the  height  of  heaven? 
and  behold  the  height  of  the  stars,  how 
high  they  are !  And  how  doth  God  know  ? 
Can  he  judge  through  the  dark  clouds? 
Thick  clouds  are  a  covering  to  him,  that 
he  seeth  not ;  and  he  walketh  in  the  circuit 
of  heaven."    Job  xxii.  12,  13,  14. 

Moreover,  he  and  Unbelief  told  him  that 
he  had  as  good  a  heart  as  the  best ;  and 
that  to  hear  and  read  some  good  prayers, 
and  to  mean  well,  was  godliness  enough 
for  him.  Besides,  they  would  not  suti'er 
him  to  believe  that  God  ever  cast  any  of 
his  creatures,  whom  he  had  made,  into  a 
lake  of  fire  and  brimstone.  Nay,  he  was 
almost  persuaded  by  them  to  believe  there 
was  no  hell  at  all.  As  it  regarded  heaven, 
they  told  him  there  might  be  some  such 
state,  and  that  though  he  might  not  have 
so  elevated  a  place  there  as  some  men,  yet 
he  should  get  in  among  the  crowd  and  find 
some  corner,  for  heaven  was  a  very  spa- 
cious place. 

Self- Conceit  caused  him  to  think  so  high- 
ly of  himself,  that  notwithstanding  all  that 
Godliness  could  say  to  confute  Ignorance 
and  Unbelief,  he  did  not  regard  it  all ;  for 
he  said,  they  were  all  fools  who  troubled 
themselves  about  sin  and  anotlier  world ; 
and  that  he  Avho  had  lived  so  many  years, 
understood  better,  and  knew  what  to  do  ; 
and  bid  Godliness  cease  his  importunity; 
for,  said  he,  every  tub  must  st&nd  upon  its 
own  bottom ;  and  sure  I  am,  God  v/ill  not 
cast  away  an  old  man.  I  was  born  a  Chris- 
tian, and  made  a  child  of  God,  a  member 
of  Christ,  an  heir  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
by  my  baptism,  and  would  you  persuade  me 
to  think  my  condition  is  bad  at  last?  No, 
Sir,  I  understand  what  religion  is  very  well. 
Do  not  mistake  yourself,  for  I  do  not  see 
that  I  am  much  pressed  by  our  parson  to 
strict  godliness ;  but  to  come  now  and  then 
to  hear  prayers,  and  receive  the  sacrament, 


TRAVELS    OF     TRUE    GODLINESS. 


41 


and  this  I  am  resolved  to  do.  And  though 
my  condition  is  considered  so  bad  by  you, 
I  am  sure  there  are  many  in  our  parish,  and 
good  churchmen,  as  bad  if  not  far  worse 
than  I. 

Godliness  by  this  time  perceived  Old-Age 
was  so  hardened  in  his  sins,  and  trained  up 
by  Ignorance  for  so  long  a  time,  that  it  was 
next  to  an  impossibihty  to  think  the  evil 
habits  he  had  got  by  being  accustomed  so 
long  to  those  ways  of  Vice  and  Ungodliness, 
should  ever  be  changed;  and  considering 
he  was  become  so  vuiteachable  and  self 
conceited,  was  resolved  to  leave  him,  not 
thinking  it  was  worth  his  time  to  wait  long- 
er at  his  door,  nor  give  any  reply  to  those 
base  bred  children  and  servants  he  kept  in 
his  house ;  for  Peevish  made  him  so  snap- 
pish that  there  was  no  speaking  to  hirri; 
remembering  that  word  of  the  prophet, 
"  Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  or  the 
leopard  his  spots?  Then  may  you,  who 
are  accustomed  to  do  evil,  learn  to  do  well." 
Jer.  xiii.  23.  Yet  he  could  not  but  take 
pity  on  him,  considering  his  age ;  therefore 
he  gave  him  the  following  general  reply, 
and  departed. 

Godli.  Father  Old-Age,  it  grieves  me 
to  find  you  thus  blind,  and  hardened  in  your 
evil  ways;  and  the  rather,  because  I  see 
your  enemy,  death,  now  standing  with  his 
sword  drawn  here  at  your  door,  ready  to 
enter  in,  and  hell  is  at  his  heels.  Alas ! 
death,  who  now  shakes  his  sword  over  your 
head,  will  soon  sheath  it  in  your  heart. 
What  will  you  do  when  you  come  to  stand 
before  God  in  judgment?  There  is  but  a 
little  airy  breathing  between  you  and  eter- 
nal burning :  it  is  better  to  have  your  eyes 
open  on  earth,  to  bewail  your  sins,  than  to 
have  your  eyes  open  in  hell  to  bewail  your 
sufferings;  though  you  will  not  let  me  in 
now,  who  would  make  you  happy,  yet  you 
will  not  be  able  very  long  to  keep  death 
out,  who  will  make  you  eternally  miserable. 
Psal.  Ixxxix.  84.  It  is  sad  you  will  not  see 
your  danger,  till  you  cannot  escape  it.  As 
I  now  stand  at  your  door,  saying,  Open  to 
me,  but  am  not  let  in ;  so  you  ere  long  will 
say,  "  Lord,  Lord,  open  to  me ;"  but  you 
will  be  kept  out,  for  none  but  those  who  re- 
ceive me  into  their  hearts  on  earth,  will  be 
received  by  Christ  hereafter  into  heaven. 
Those  who  contemn  Godliness  here,  will  be 
contemned  for  their  Ungodliness  hereafter. 
Your  poor,  deluded  soul,  who  thinks  its  state 
so  good  without  grace  and  regeneration, 
will  find  it  bad  ere  long,  under  wrath  and 
condemnation :  "  For  except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God."  John  iii.  3.  This  is  the  day  of 
God's  long-suffering,  but  quickly  will  come 
the  day  of  your  long-suffering ;  for  he  whose 
mercy  you  have  abused,  while  vou  live, 

Vol.  3.— F. 


will  let  out  liis  vengeance  against  you  to 
eternity  when  you  die.     Thess.  i.  8,  9. 

Much  to  the  same  purpose  he  spake  to 
him,  and  with  deep  sorrow  left  him  to  perish 
in  his  sins ! 


CHAPTER    VII. 

True  Godhness,  after  this,  travelled  towards 
the  city  Jerusalem,  near  to  which  was  a 
small  village  called  Religion,  in  which 
dwelt  Mr.  Legalist,  at  whose  door  he 
knocked.  The  cause  why  he  did  not  en- 
tertain him. 

Godliness,  havmg  hitherto  barely  es- 
caped with  his  life,  thought  it  now  full  time 
to  leave  those  parts,  where  he  had  long 
travelled  up  and  down,  and  suffered  many 
hardships,  (being  generally  slighted  and 
contemned  by  all  where  he  came)  and  to 
travel  into  some  other  country,  amongst 
people  (if  he  could  find  such)  who  were  not 
so  abominably  wicked,  or  at  least  not  such 
visible  and  open  enemies  to  him  as  others 
were  ;  and  he  thought  it  might  be  best  to 
bend  his  course  towards  Jerusalem;  but 
before  he  entered  Salem,  he  perceived  a 
village  lying  near  the  city,  and  the  name  of 
that  town  he  understood  was  Religion ;  he 
therefore  turned  aside  thither,  and  being 
informed  that  Mr.  Legalist  lived  at  the 
town's  end,  near  Mount  Sinai,  he  resolved 
to  give  him  a  visit,  and  immediately  came 
to  his  door,  where  with  great  earnestness 
he  knocked  ;  and  he,  being  within,  spake  to 
this  purpose : 

Legal.     Who  is  at  my  door  ? 

Godli.  Sir,  a  stranger  to  you,  though 
your  very  good  friend,  and  one  who  would 
gladly  have  a  lodging  in  your  house. 

Legal.    What  is  your  name  ? 

Godli.     Sir,  my  name  is  True  Godliness. 

Legal.  I  wonder  much  you  should  say 
True  Godliness  is  a  stranger  to  me,  or  I  to 
him.  He  has  long  been  a  cherished  mem- 
ber of  my  family.  Do  be  gone,  you  must 
be  an  impostor. 

Godli.  Sir,  it  is  a  mistake ;  you  have 
been  greatly  deceived. 

Legal.  What,  do  I  not  know  TVue  God- 
liness ?  This  is  strange  !  Do  not  he  and 
I  converse  together  every  day  ? 

Godli.  Sir,  it  is  indeed  true  that  there 
are  one  or  two  persons  who  go  sometimes 
by  my  name  ;  and  it  is  very  probable  you 
may  be  acquainted  with  one  of  them.  Pray 
what  are  his  manners  ?  What  instructions 
does  he  give  you  ?  For  by  these  I  shall 
know  who  your  guest  is. 

Legal.  Why,  Sir,  he  teaches  me  to  keep 
the  commandmente  of  God,  to  lead  a  right- 


42 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS, 


eous  life,  to  do  unto  all  men  as  I  would 
tliey  should  do  unto  me. 

Godli.  O !  Sir,  that  is  my  friend  and 
honest  neighbor  Morality,  one  that  I  love 
very  well,  and  I  am  sure  it  is  your  great 
ignorance  to  take  him  for  me :  he  will  not 
say  his  name  is  Tnie  GocUinsss ;  for  though 
in  some  things  we  are  a  little  alike,  I  teach- 
ing the  same  doctrine  you  mention,  yet  we 
differ  exceedingly  in  many  things.  First, 
we  agree  in  saying  you  must  keep  God's 
commands.  Secondly,  he  says  that  you 
must  be  righteous ;  I  say  the  Hke.  And, 
thirdly,  that  you  should  do  unto  all  men  as 
you  would  have  them  do  to  you ;  I  say  the 
very  same,  it  being  my  Master's  own  doc- 
trine. But  we  differ  prodigiously  on  other 
points.  He  teaches  you  to  seek  justification 
by  doing ;  but  I,  by  believing ;  he  by  keep- 
ing the  law ;  I  by  God's  free  grace,  through 
the  merits  of  Christ. 

Legal.  What  is  that,  friend,  you  say? 
Are  we  not  required  to  keep  the  law  of 
God? 

Godli.  Sir,  you  ought  to  keep  it  as  far 
as  you  are  able,  though  not  as  it  is  the  law 
of  works,  but  as  it  is  the  law  of  Christ 
You  must  not  look  for  righteousness  and 
justification  by  your  keeping  the  law  in  any 
sense,  (it  was  on  this  very  block  the  Jews 
of  old  stumbled,  and  were  broken  in  pieces,) 
because  you  have  sinned,  and  daily  break 
the  law ;  and  the  least  transgression  there- 
of exposeth  you  to  the  wratih  and  curse  of 
God. 

Legal.  I  know  I  cannot  perfectly  keep 
the  law,  but  I  will  do,  by  the  help  of  God, 
what  I  can.  And  wherein  I,  through  weak- 
ness, transgress  the  law,  God  is  merciful, 
and  I  trust  he  will  forgive  me. 

Godli.  Forgive  you!  Why,  he  hath 
said,  "He  will  in  no  wise  clear  the  guilty." 
Moreover,  "What  the  law  saith,  it  saith  to 
them  that  are  under  the  law,  that  all  mouths 
may  be  stopped,  and  the  whole  world  be- 
come guilty  liefore  God."     Rom.  iii.  19. 

Legal.  What  do  you  say?  Will  not 
God  forgive  me,  who  am  a  penitent  person  ? 
Oh  !  what  a  horrible  doctrine  is  this  !  I  be- 
lieve he  will  not  forgive  the  impenitent,  and 
such  guilty  ones,  that  the  Scriptures  speak 
of 

Godli.  Mistake  not.  Sir,  all  are  guilty ; 
all  have  broken  the  law  or  first  covenant ; 
all  are  under  sin  and  wrath.  It  is  not  your 
repentance  that  will  do ;  God  will  not  for- 
give any  man,  let  him  bo  who  he  will,  ex- 
cept he  believes  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  takes 
hold  of  the  merits  of  his  blood.  "  By  the 
deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  shall  be  justified." 
God  will  not  pardon  your  sins,  notwith- 
standing your  repentance,  as  a  simple  act 
of  his  mercy,  unless  you  fly  to  him  through 
Christ,  who  hath  satisfied  his  justice ;  for 


what  you  say  renders  Christ's  glorious  un- 
dertaking void  and  unnecessary;  and  so 
casts  a  great  reflection  upon  the  wisdom  of 
God,  in  sending  his  Son  mto  the  world. 

Legal.    How  do  you  make  that  appear? 

Godli.  Do  you  not  say  you  will  do  what 
you  can  to  keep  the  law ;  and  wherein  you 
transgress,  God  will  through  his  mercy  for- 
give you  ?  Now,  if  God  accepts  of  your 
obedience  in  keeping  the  law,  and  forgives 
all  your  deviations,  as  a  simple  act  of  his 
mercy,  and  that  hereby  you  are  justified  and 
accepted  by  him;  why  then  did  he  send 
Jesus  Christ  into  the  world,  to  die  the  curs- 
ed death  of  the  cross  ?  For  if  by  this  way 
righteousness  and  salvation  are  attainable, 
it  is  evident  Christ  is  dead  in  vain ;  for 
could  not  God  have  done  all  this  if  Christ 
had  never  come?  Thou  art  a  wretched 
creature ;  look  to  Christ,  or  tliou  art  undone. 

Legal.  Nay,  Sir,  do  not  mistake  me 
neither;  I  do  not  think  my  righteousness 
justifies  me  any  otherwise  than  through  the 
merits  of  Christ. 

Godli.  Sir,  you  err  exceedingly;  it  ia 
not  your  personal  righteousness,  no,  not 
through  Christ's  merits,  that  justifies,  but 
the  merits  of  Christ,  received  by  faith  alone. 
Alas !  now  you  discover  indeed  what  a  great 
stranger  you  are  to  me:  you  are  one  of 
those  just  men,  it  seems,  who  never  went 
astray,  or  righteous  ones  that  Christ  came 
not  to  call.  Alas !  I  always  declare  and 
testify,  that  all  men  must  perish  without 
faith  in  Christ.  Doth  not  the  text  positively 
say,  "He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damn- 
ed?" Mark  xvi.  16.  "He  that  hath  tJic 
Son,  hath  life ;  and  he  that  hath  not  the 
Son,  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God 
abides  upon  him."  John  iii.  36.  Sir,  "there 
is  no  other  name  given  under  heaven, 
whereby  men  can  be  saved."  Acts  iv.  12. 
"  Another  foundation  can  no  man  kn',  than 
that  which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ." 
1  Cor.  iii.  11.  Come,  let  me  in,  and  I  will 
expel  those  dark  clouds,  and  teach  you 
another  kind  of  doctrine.  I  will  help  yon 
to  be  holy,  and  not  to  depend  upon  it ;  to  be 
righteous,  but  not  to  trust  in  it ;  I  will  lead 
you  to  say,  "  In  the  Lord  have  I  righteous- 
ness ;"  and  that  he  is  made  of  God  "  wis- 
dom, and  righteousness,  and  sanctification 
and  redemption."  But  I  forewarn  you,  if  I 
come  in,  you  must  turn  out  those  helpless 
and  unprofitable  servants  you  have  kept. 

Legal.  What  servants  Avould  you  have 
me  turn  out  ? 

Godli.  Mr.  Mis- Belief,  and  Good- Opin- 
ion, and  Self-Righteousness  you  must  turn 
out.  Beside,  you  must  also  remove  your 
dwelling  farther  off  from  Mount  Sinai ;  for 
look  about  you,  be  gone  quickly,  for  I  see 
dreadful  flashes  of  lightning,  the  mountain 
seems  to  be  all  on  fire :  and  hark  !  do  you 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS, 


43 


not  hear  it  thunder,  Legalist  7  God  is 
angry  with  you,  Sir ;  there  is  no  seeing  his 
face  but  through  a  Mediator. 

Legal.  What,  most  I  turn  my  tried  ser- 
vants out  of  doors '? 

Godli.  There  is  no  help  for  it ;  you  must 
cast  out  Blind-Zeal^  Ignorance^  and  Legal- 
Hearty  too,  for  these  are  dangerous  persons ; 
and  in  their  room  place  True-Zeal,  Right- 
Faith,  Broken-Heart,  and  Good-Under- 
standing. Nay,  Sir,  and  let  me  tell  you,  if 
you  do  not  quickly  expel  these  out  of  your 
tabernacle,  you  will  be  undone,  and  perish 
in  your  sins ;  for  notwithstanding  your  great 
hopes  of  heaven,  they  will  soon  thrust  you 
down  into  hell ;  for  "  publicans  and  harlots 
go  into  heaven  before  you." 

Upon  this  he  began  to  be  very  angry, 
and  gave  True  Godliness  hard  words,  call- 
ing him  Libertine  and  Antinomian,  charac- 
■  Iters  that  Godliness  gre£j,tly  detests.  More- 
over Legalist  told  him  he  was  sure  he  whom 
he  had  already  received  into  his  house  was 
,  True  Godliness,  and  he  but  an  impostor. 
Finally,  in  a  great  rage  he  bid  him  begone 
from  his  door. 

Upon  this,  Godliness  perceiving  Legalist 
;was  so  wedded  to  his  own  opinion,  that 
,  (there  was  no  hope  of  getting  entertainment 
in  his  house,  left  him,  and  travelled  a  little 
/urther  into  the  town,  being  told  that  seve- 
ral persons  lived  not  far  off,  who  were 
Miought  to  be  sound  Christians. 


I  CHAPTER    VII L 

lodliness  encounters  a  Man  of  strange^ 
Countenance,  who  it  appears  was  an 
Antinomian. 

As  Godliness  passed  on  from  the  house  of 
Jiis  self-righteous  professor,  he  was  accosted 
■*y  a  haughty  looking  person  who  seemed 
jgreatly  disposed  to  dispute  upon  religion. 
1  The  matter  of  good  works  was  soon 
hroached,  and  with  no  small  self-confidence 
]|ie  rattled  over  his  threadbare  story. 

Godliness.  I  am  afraid  you  are  not 
Sound.  Pray,  friend,  what  do  you  believe 
ibout  justification  ? 

Antinomian.    I  believe  all  the  elect  are 

personally  and  actually  justified  from  eter- 

lity,  and  beloved  by  the  Lord  with  a  love 

bf  complacency,  before  they  believe,  even 

as  they  are  after  being  called  and  sanctified. 

^    Godli.    You  certainly  are  very  corrupt 

ftn  your  judgment,  and  hold  a  doctrine  Jesus 

,f  Christ  abhors.     Besides,  you  talk  as  if  you 

understand  not  common  sense :  can  any  be 

actually  and  personally  justified  before  they 

actually  and  personally  exist  ? 

Anti.  I  believe  the  elect  were  all  actu- 
ally justified  from  eternity. 


Godli.  What,  actually  and  personally 
justified,  and  yet  actually  and  personally 
condemned,  at  one  and  the  same  time! 
This  is  strange.  Adam,  for  his  first  sin, 
fell  under  wrath  and  condemnation,  and 
being  a  public  person,  all  partake  of  his 
corrupt  nature ;  and  thus  are  children  of 
wrath,  as  well  as  by  their  own  actual  trans- 
gressions, and  so  abide  until  they  are  trans- 
planted out  of  that  dead  root,  and  are  im- 
planted into  Jesus  Christ,  and  partake  of  a 
vital  union  with  him.  John  iii.  18,  36.  Can 
righteousness  be  imputed  and  sin  charged 
upon  a  person  at  the  same  time  ?  Or  are 
unbelievers  justified  persons?  To  justify 
or  acquit  a  sinner,  implies  he  was  before 
guilty  and  condemned  ;  and  thus  it  was 
with  all  believers,  before  they  were  united 
to  Christ,  as  the  word  of  God  testifieth,  and 
so  doth  the  Holy  Ghost  also,  by  conviction, 
when  it  first  works  upon  the  hearts  and 
consciences  of  sinners  ;  therefore  your  no- 
tion charges  the  Holy  Ghost  with  being  a  liar. 

Anti.  I  tell  you,  I  like  you  not,  nor  do  I 
regard  what  you  say.  I  am  for  free  grace ; 
God  sees  no  sin,  nor  ever  did,  in  his  elect, 
nor  need  they  mourn  for  sin,  nor  indulge 
any  doiibt ;  nay,  though  they  are  ungodly, 
their  state  is  good,  say  what  you  will. 

Godli.  You  are  such  as  expose  me  and 
my  friends  to  reproach;  your  doctrine, 
alas !  tends  to  looseness  and  ungodliness. 
I  also  hear  that  your  preachers  never  pray 
for  pardon  of  sin ;  and  also  tolerate  igno- 
rant people  to  rend  themselves  from  the 
true  churches  of  Christ,  and  will  hardly 
allow  any  to  be  true  ministers  but  them- 
selves. Those  of  your  communion  I  see 
are  just  like  the  church  of  Laodicea ;  that 
is,  "  increased  in  goods,  and  have  need  of 
nothing"  in  their  own  sight,  not  poor  in 
spirit.  This  is  manifest,  because  your 
haughty  preachers  are  so  full,  that  they 
need  not  confess  their  sins,  nor  ask  pardon 
of  God. 

The  case  of  this  man  was  so  hopeless 
that  Godliness  would  not  stand  to  dispute 
with  him,  and  therefore  passed  on. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Godliness  came  to  Mr.  Formalist's  door, 
who  bid  him  very  welcome ;  but  he  stis- 
pecting  his  integrity,  and  that  he  har- 
bored divers  grand  enemies  of  his,  par- 
ticularly one  Hypocrisy,  hesitated  to  go 
in.  How  Hypocrisy  came  to  be  discover- 
ed. Formalist  at  last  refused  to  entertain 
True  Godliness. 

Godliness  being  informed  that  there  was 
another  great  professor  living  in  this  village 
of  Religion,  he  thought  it  was  convenient 


44 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


for  him  to  see  whether  he  might  not  get  a 
lodging  in  his  house,  because  he  was  a  man 
whom  all  the  neighborhood  said  had  a  great 
love  to  True  Godliness :  nay,  many  verily 
thought  he  had  for  a  long  time  taken  up 
his  lodging  with  him,  and  wondered  when 
they  heard  him  ask  for  his  house,  (for  by 
that  means  they  perceived  he  was  a  stran- 
ger to  him,)  but  it  was  a  considerable  time 
before  he  could  find  where  he  dwelt ;  for  it 
appeared  he  was  called  by  another  name, 
viz.  Devotion.  But  at  last,  coming  by  one 
man's  door,  and  by  another,  he  heard  a  man 
at  prayer,  and  he  spake  so  loud,  that  all 
who  walked  along  the  street,  might  hear 
him  :  he  then  concluded,  it  was  very  proba- 
ble he  might  dwell  there ;  and  to  liis  door 
he  came  and  knocked. 

Formal.    Who  's  there  ? 

Godli.    My  name  is  True  Godliness. 

Formal.  TVue  Godliness!  Pray,  Sir, 
come  in :  there  is  none  in  all  the  world  I 
love  more  dearly ;  the  beet  room  in  all  my 
house  is  at  your  service.  Pray  where  have 
you  been,  and  what  news  do  you  hear  ? 
Are  the  Imperialists  and  Turks  at  peace, 
and  all  things  adjusted  1  How  go  things  in 
the  world  ?  How  doth  it  fare  with  our  poor 
Protestant  brethren  in  France?  What 
news  from  Scotland  ?  When  will  the  times 
be  better  ? 

Many  such  questions  he  asked,  and  pro- 
fessed abundance  of  respect  to  True  God- 
liness., and  (as  you  heard)  bid  him  come  in, 
but  never  offered  to  open  the  door.  Godli- 
ness was  grieved  to  find  him  so  full  of 
words ;  but  more  especially,  because  he 
took  up  his  time,  and  troubled  his  mind  so 
much  after  news ;  nay,  and  that  too,  when 
he  should  open  to  True  Godliness^  and  just 
upon  ending  his  devotion ;  yet  nevertheless. 
Godliness  very  mildly  answered  him  to  this 
purpose : 

Godli.  Sir,  as  to  your  first  question,  I 
answer,  I  have  wandered  about  from  place 
to  place,  to  seek  entertainment,  I  mean,  a 
fit  and  convenient  lodging  for  a  little  time, 
for  it  will  not  be  long  ere  I  have  done  trav- 
elling ;  but  I  am  fallen  into  such  an  evil  and 
perilous  time,  that  scarcely  any  one  will 
show  me  the  favor  to  take  me  in,  and  make 
me  welcome.  Riches,  Poverty,  Youth  and 
Old  Age,  have  all  refused  me,  and  shut 
.their  doors  against  me ;  and  since  I  came 
into  those  parts,  and  particularly  to  your 
town,  where  every  one  concluded  I  should 
be  most  kindly  embraced,  the  very  first  man 
I  came  to,  hath  denied  me  entertainment 
and  not  only  so,  but  called  me  hard  names, 
and  declared  I  was  a  vile  impostor. 

Formal.  Wliat  man  is  that?  pray  in^ 
form  me. 

Godli.  My  friend,  to  answer  your  ques- 
tion, the  man  is  called  Legalist. 

Formal.    O  !  Sir,  there  is  not  a  man  in 


all  this  town  more  haughty,  proud,  and 
conceited  than  he  ;  he  concludes,  I  warrant 
you,  that  he  hath  godliness  enough  already; 
he  makes,  in  truth,  the  whole  of  religion  to 
consist  in  principles  of  morality.  I  have 
heard  him  say  that  if  a  man  do  but  square 
his  life  as  near  as  he  can  according  to  the 
law  of  the  ten  commandments,  not  being 
guilty  of  gross  sins,  nor  wilfully  break  any 
precepts  of  the  two  tables,  he  shall  be  saved. 
He  never  considers  all  the  while  the  neces- 
sity of  faith  and  regeneration ;  and  although 
he  trusted  thus  to  his  own  righteousness,  he 
is  a  very  worldly,  proud,  and  passionate 
person ;  nay,  and  he  himself  confesseth,  he 
is  a  sinner,  and  yet  would  be  justified  by 
the  law ;  whereas  you  know  the  least  sins, 
lusts  of  the  heart,  and  evil  thoughts,  are  a 
breach  of  it;  and  the  smallest  breach  is 
death  and  eternal  wrath,  without  a  com- 
pensation made  to  offended  justice ;  and 
none  was  able  to  do  this  but  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  none  have  the  blessing  of  his  under- 
taking, but  such  as  believe. 

Godli.  You  seem  to  have  a  good  under- 
standing, and  can  talk  well ;  but  how  comes 
it  about,  you  let  me  stand  all  this  while  at 
your  door?  Is  this  your  kindness  to  me? 
What  avails  your  knowledge  and  parts, 
except  you  entertain  Tnie  Godliness  7 

Formal.  Dear  Sir,  have  I  not  opened  to 
you  already  ?  you  are  in  my  affections,  and 
I  will  farther  open  to  you ;  pray  come  in, 
and  do  as  you  please  in  my  ho\jse. 

Godli.  I  fear  you  mistake ;  you  have 
opened  to  me  in  one  respect,  but  not  in 
another :  you  seem  to  like  my  form,  but  not 
my  power ;  my  external  rites,  but  not  my 
internal  life.  I  am  indeed  received  into 
your  head,  but  not  into  your  heart.  The 
truth  is,  I  suspect  you. 

Formal.     Suspect  me,  Sir !  for  what  ? 

Godli.  That  you  have  one  or  two  im- 
placable enemies  of  mine  hid  secretly  in 
your  house. 

Formal.  Who;  I,  Sir!  God  forbid  I 
should  hide  any  enemies  of  Tnie  Godli- 
ness !  Who  are  they  ?  Pray  tell  me  their 
names  ?    They  shall  be  instantly  dismissed. 

Godli.  Old-Man,  Carnal-Affections,  and 
Hypocrisy. 

Formal.  As  touching  Old-Man,  there  is 
no  Christian  can  be  quite  rid  of  him ;  God 
forbid  I  should  show  him  any  countenance ; 
and  as  to  Carnal-Affections,  in  this  you 
mistake,  for  my  affections  are  spiritiial. 
But  why  should  you  think  I  harbor  Hypoc- 
risy in  my  house  ?  I  will  assure  you,  there 
is  none  in  all  the  world  I  hate  more  than 
that  base  fellow,  for  I  know  God  hates  him; 
and  shall  I  show  countenance  to  him? 
Lord,  far  be  it  from  me. 

Godli.  Nay,  Formalist,  be  not  too  con- 
fident ;  it  is  not  your  bare  denial  of  it  which 
is  sufficient  to  acquit  you  of  the  suspicion  I 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS, 


45 


have  of  you  upon  this  account.  I  will  see 
if  I  cannot  find  him  out ;  for  you  have  a 
certain  officer  in  your  house,  who  I  am  sure 
can  make  a  righteous  decision,  if  he  be  not 
basely  corrupted  and  blinded  by  your  pre- 
tending so  much  love  and  zeal  to  seeming 
holiness.  I  know  he  will  not  flatter  any 
man,  but  speak  according  to  his  light  and 
knowledge  impartially  at  all  times.  Sir,  I 
■yvill  appeal  to  him. 

Formal.     What  is  his  name  ? 

Godli.     His  name  is  Ccmscieiice. 

Upon  this,  Conscience  was  called,  and 
inquired  of  after  this  manner : 

Godli.  Conscience.,  I  require  you  in  the 
fear  of  God,  to  answer  me  a  question  or 
two  concerning  your  master :  Doth  he  not 
secretly  lodge  and  hide  one  in  his  house, 
called  Hypocrisy?  For  I  very  much  sus- 
pect hira  herein  to  be  guilty ;  what  do  you 
say? 

Crni.  Sir,  if  you  please  to  give  me  his 
character,  or  give  me  some  certain  signs  of 
his  behavior  and  properties,  whereby  I  may 
know  him,  I  will  faithfully  discover  all  that 
I  understand  as  touching  this  matter. 

Godli.  Conscience.,  I  thank  you ;  you 
speak  like  an  honest  man,  and  indeed  I  have 
always  found  you  impartial  according  to 
your  light.  I  will  then  give  you  such  a  de- 
scription of  this  subtle  and  deceitful  enemy 
of  mine,  that  you  cannot  well  mistake ;  and 
this  I  shall  do  by  propounding  a  few  ques- 
tions to  you. 

First.  Sir,  was  your  master  ever  thor- 
oughly wounded  in  the  sense  of  sin,  being 
convinced  of  its  ugly  and  abominable  na- 
ture ;  there  is  nothing  more  hateful  to  God 
than  that ;  not  only  convinced  of  the  evil 
which  attends  it,  or  is  the  fruit  of  it,  but 
that  cursed  evil  there  is  in  it,  being  utterly 
contrary  to  the  holy  and  pure  nature  of  God, 
a  breach  of  his  law ;  and  that  which  hath 
made  a  breach  between  God  and  man,  de- 
faced the  image  of  God  in  him,  and  is  the 
cause  of  all  that  abominable  enmity  that  is 
in  his  heart  against  God,  and  me  his  bless- 
ed offspring ;  and  also  makes  a  man  in  love 
with  the  ways  of  the  devil ;  nay,  to  be  like 
the  devil,  conformable  to  him,  and  to  do  his 
will. 

Secondly.  Is  there  no  one  sin  that  se- 
cretly he  loves  and  hves  in  (the  evil  habit 
never  being  broken  ?)  Have  you  not  found 
him  now  and  then  telling  a  lie  for  his  ad- 
vantage, or  telling  tales  or  stories,  adding 
to  them,  to  please  the  company,  or  to  ex- 
cuse himself,  when  accused,  that  so  he  may 
gain  credit?  Is  he  not  sometimes  over- 
taken by  drunkenness  ?  Is  he  not  proud, 
minding  more  the  honor,  praise,  and  ap- 
plause of  men,  in  what  he  doth  in  religion, 
than  the  praise  of  God  1  Is  he  not  cove- 
tous 1  Does  he  give  according  to  his  ability 
to  the  poor  ?    Does  he  not  rob  God  to  serve 


the  world  1  I  mean,  neglect  hearing  God's 
word,  and  other  indispensable  duties,  for 
worldly  profit,  and  so  prefer  the  world  above 
the  word  ?  Does  he  never  in  trading, 
offend  you,  by  speaking  better  of  his  com- 
modities than  they  deserve?  Is  not  the 
world  more  in  his  love  and  affections  than 
God  and  Jesus  Christ?  Does  he  always 
give  just  weight  and  measure,  and  not  take 
unlawful  profit  ?  Does  he  not  make  gain 
of  Godliness.,  and  use  religion  as  a  cloak  to 
cover  his  secret  sin  ?  Does  he  concern 
himself  for  the  interest  of  the  gospel,  and, 
by  his  open-heartedness,  show  upon  that 
account,  he  loves  Christ  above  son  or 
davighter  ?  Is  he  resolved  to  part  with  all, 
rather  than  to  sin  against  God,  and  to  of- 
fend you  his  Conscience!  Does  he  see 
more  evil  in  the  least  sin,  than  in  the  great- 
est suffering  ? 

Thirdly.  Does  he  desire  as  much  to  have 
his  sins  mortified  as  pardoned  ;  to  be  made 
holy  here,  as  well  as  happy  hereafter  ?  Is 
he  as  much  in  love  with  tlie  work  of  holi- 
ness as  with  the  wages  of  holiness  ?  Does 
he  love  the  word  of  God  because  of  the 
purity  of  it  ?  Is  he  willing  to  bear  the  cross 
as  well  as  wear  the  crown ;  to  be  with 
Christ  in  his  temptations  here,  as  well  as 
with  Christ  in  his  exaltations  hereafter? 
To  live  to  God  on  earth,  as  well  as  to  live 
with  God  in  heaven  ? 

Fourthly.  Is  he  the  same  in  private  as 
in  pubhc  ?  Does  he  not  rest  satisfied  upon 
the  bare  performance  of  duty,  not  minding 
whether  he  hath  met  with  God  or  not? 
Does  he  pray  in  private  as  if  men  saw  him; 
and  in  public,  as  knowing  God  sees  him  ? 
Does  not  his  satisfaction  more  lie  in  hia 
asking  of  God,  than  in  his  receiving  from 
God  ?  Does  he  not  seek  more  for  suitable 
words  in  prayer,  than  for  a  suitable  heart  ? 
Does  he  not  study  more  for  acute  expres- 
sions to  affect  the  hearts  of  others,  than  to 
meet  with  powerful  impressions  upon  his 
own?  Does  he  not  lengthen  his  prayers 
before  others,  and  hurry  them  over  in  pri- 
vate ?  Does  he  as  much  seek  after  what 
he  needs  from  God,  as  that  which  he  needs 
of  the  world  ? 

Fifthly.  Can  he  bear  reproofs  kindly  for 
his  faults,  and  take  them  patiently ;  nay, 
and  esteem  him  his  greatest  friend,  who 
deals  most  candidly  with  him  ?  Is  he  ready 
to  take  shame  to  himself,  and  give  glory  to 
God  ?  Can  he  be  contented  in  the  way  of 
well  doing,  though  he  meet  with  little  sen- 
sible comfbrt  from  God,  or  outward  re- 
spect from  saints  ? 

Sixthly.  Does  he  as  much  desire  to  have 
his  heart  filled  with  grace,  as  his  head  with 
knowledge  ?  Does  he  take  as  much  care  to 
make  the  glory  of  God  his  end,  as  the  com- 
mand of  God  his  ground,  in  what  he  does  ? 

Seventhly.  Is  he  not  more  severe  in  press- 


46 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


ing  the  smaller  concerns  of  religion,  than  in 
urging  the  greater  Does  he  not  recjuire 
those  duties  of  others,  which  he  himself  is 
loth  to  practice  ?  Is  he  not  more  curious 
to  know  other  men's  conditions  than  his 
own  ? 

Eighthly.  Has  he  received  a  whole  Christ 
with  a  whole  heart  ?  1.  A  whole  Christ 
comprehends  all  his  offices,  and  a  whole 
heart  comprehends  all  his  faculties.  Has 
he  recieved  Christ,  not  only  as  a  priest  to 
die  for  him,  but  also  as  a  prince  to  rule 
over  him  ?  Does  he  obey  all  God's  precepts, 
as  well  as  believe  all  God's  promises  ?  2. 
As  to  his  faculties,  his  understanding  may 
be  somewhat  enlightened,  but  his  affections 
may  be  carnal,  and  his  will  adverse  to  Tme 
Godliness;  is  his  heart  divided?  Come 
Conscience,  I  do  now  command  you,  in  the 
presence  of  the  great  and  dreadful  God 
who  searches  all  hearts,  to  make  a  right- 
eous decision  ;  tell  me  plainly,  is  my  ene 
my  Hypocrisy  here  or  not  1  By  these  hints 
you  may  easily  know  him. 

Con.  Sir.  I  must  confess  Hypocrisy  is 
here ;  now  I  have  found  him  out ;  nay,  Sir, 
and  he  hath  hid  himself  in  his  house  ever 
since  he  came  to  live  in  this  town  of  Reli 
gion.  His  greatest  care  has  been  to  keep 
his  name  from  being  reproached  by  men. 
Should  I  tell  of  those  lusts  which  he  har- 
bors in  his  heart,  and  what  favor  he  shows 
to  that  old  man  (you  mentioned  before,)  I 
should  quite  shame  him.  He  prays,  hears 
and  reads,  but  I  have  often  found  him  very 
weary  of  these  duties ;  nay,  Sir,  he  would 
seldom  pray  at  all,  were  it  not  to  quiet  me ; 
besides,  he  performs  them  with  a  sad,  cold, 
dead,  carnal,  and  lifeless  spirit  He  cares 
much  for  the  small  things  of  religion,  but 
neglects  the  more  weighty;  nay,  there  is 
one  thing  more  I  will  state ;  as  he  does  not 
love  strict  Godliness  himself,  so  his  heart 
is  ready  to  rise  against  such  who  outdo  him. 
Sir,  I  plainly  perceive,  he  is  a  mere  dissem- 
bler, yet  he  would  be  thought  as  religious  a 
man  as  any  in  the  town.  I  find  him  much 
abroad,  finding  faults  in  others,  or  espying 
tlie  mote  that  is  in  his  brother's  eye,  but  he 
never  perceives  the  beam  that  is  in  his 
own ;  nay,  and  he  is  ready  to  fall  out  with 
manv  good  Christians,  because  they  will 
not  follow  him  in  habit,  mode,  and  gesture, 
&  c.  In  a  word,  most  of  those  black  marks 
of  Hypocrisy,  at  which  you  hinted,  I  find 
in  him. 

Gndli.  Say  no  more  ;  I  see  I  was  not 
mistaken.  Now  Formalist,  how  can  you 
pretend  kindness  to  me,  and  thus  secretly 
entertain  one  of  my  worst  enemies?  Sir, 
it  is  you  who  has  brovight  so  great  a  re- 
proach upon  this  poor  town  Religion,  and 
on  ail  iti!  inhabitants ;  nay,  and  it  is  through 
vour  means  I  am  so  vilified  and  condemned 
by  Igtioreuvce,  for  he  is  ready  to  conclude. 


that  all  my  friends  and  true  favorites  are 
such  as  yourself,  viz.  mere  loose  and  for- 
mal hypocrites.  Oh !  you  are  like  to  be 
undone  and  perish  forever,  unless  you  soon 
turn  this  enemy  of  mine  out  of  doors ;  for  I 
expect  no  other  result  but  that  you  will  in 
a  little  time  fall  into  apostacy ;  nut  should 
vou  die  first,  yet  assure  yourself  you  will 
be  lost ;  for  hell  is  prepared  for  such  as  you 
are.  You  are  in  the  worst  condition  of  all 
men;  for  tlie  wicked  hate  you,  because 
you  pretend  so  much  love  to  Religion  and 
Godliness;  God  also,  because  you  have 
not  real,  only  pretended  love  to  them,  being 
not  sincere  and  upright  in  your  profession. 
Formalist  at  this  began  to  be  very  angry, 
being  greatly  offended  at  Ttub  Godliness  ; 
for  he  could  not  endure  to  see  his  con- 
dition depicted  in  this  manner,  nor  to  hear 
of  his  present  or  future  misery,  being  per- 
suaded by  Mr.  Vain-Hope,  Unbelief',  and 
Good  Opinion,  to  think  his  condition  might 
be  safe  enough.  However  Vain-Hope  told 
him,  though  at  present  his  state  might  be 
doubtful,  yet  he  sliould  have  many  days  on 
earth,  and  that  he  might  repent,  and  set  all 
things  right  before  he  died ;  whose  word 
and  promise  he  adventured  to  take,  and  so 
bade  Tme  Godliness  adieu  ;  and  no  man's 
state  in  all  liis  travels  did  he  indeed  more 
lament  than  that  of  bhnded,  hopeless  For- 
malist. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Godliness,  travelling  farther  into  the  Town 
(called  Religion,)  saw  many  People  who 
had  been  great  professors,  retiring  from 
the  Town  as  fast  as  they  coidd.  In  the 
discourse  he  had  with  one  of  them,  the 
tiature  and  danger  of  Apostacy  is  des- 
cribed. 

Godliness  had  no  sooner  left  Formalist's 
door,  and  gone  a  little  fartlier  into  the  town 
of  Religion,  than  he  espied  a  great  number 
of  people  hasting  out  as  fast  as  possible  ; 
nay,  he  observed  some  of  them  ran,  though 
others  went  slowly.  At  first  he  wondered 
what  occasioned  this  commotion,  because 
the  town  was  a  little  before  supposed  to  be 
as  sale  and  honorable  a  place  to  dwell  in, 
as  any  in  all  the  country,  and  had  as  great 
and  glorious  privileges  belonging  to  it ;  but 
upon  inquiry  he  was  told,  there  was  a  num- 
ber of  lions,  evening  wolves,  and  other  evil 
beasts  (which  had  for  a  long  been  shut  up 
in  their  derts)  getting  out;  and,  having  a 
great  while  been  kept  without  prey,  they 
were  afraid  they  should  be  torn  in  pieces. 

True  Godliness  at  this  seemed  so  deep 
concerned,  that  he  could  not  let  them  pass 
without  speaking  to  them ;  and  observing 
that  one  of  them  looked  like  a  sober  man^ 


TRAVELS  OF  TRUE  GODLINESS. 


47 


though  he  hung  down  his  head,  as  if  he 
had  been  ashamed,  resolved  to  have  a  httle 
discourse  with  him.  To  him  he  thus  ad- 
dressed himself. 

Godli.  Sir,  What  is  the  reason  you 
leave  this  town,  and  haste  away  so  fast  ? 
When  you  first  took  up  your  dwelling  here, 
did  you  not  intend  to  abide  in  it  as  long  as 
you  lived  ? 

Apostate^  (for  that  it  seems  was  his  name.) 
Truly,  Sir,  I  did  intend  it ;  I  had  a  great 
love  for  this  poor  town,  but  I  must  now  re- 
move out,  and  be  gone. 

Godli.  Why  must  you  1  Is  there  a  ne- 
cessity laid  upon  you  to  quit  this  place,  this 
honorable  town  of  Religion  7 
■  Apost.  Sir,  I  shall  be  destroyed  else,  for 
the  walls  of  late  are  gone  much  to  decay ; 
I  do  not  see  that  safety  to  reside  here  as 
formerly:  besides,  they  say  there  are  a 
great  number  of  lions,  wolves,  and  other 
beasts  of  prey,  breaking  out  upon  us,  and  I 
am  afraid,  if  I  shouki  escape  with  my  Hfe, 
yet  having  a  few  sheep  and  lambs,  they  will 
devour  them:  truly,  Sir,  I  do  it  to  save 
what  I  have ;  yet  I  wish  very  well  to  the 
place. 

Godli.  I  am  heartily  sorry  that  you  in- 
dulge such  fears ;  let  me  persuade  you  to 
return,  and  rest  in  this  town.  Sir,  do  not 
fear  those  lions ;  for  God  hath  said,  "  He 
will  break  the  teeth  of  the  lions,  the  old 
lion,  and  the  lions'  whelps."  Job  iv.  10 
But  what  though  they  should  destroy  your 
substance,  is  not  your  soul  worth  more  than 
all  the  world  ?  Mat.  xxvi.  26.  Come,  go 
back  again  with  me,  and  I  will  dwell  with 
you,  and  be  a  sure  defence  to  you,  so  that  you 
will  not  be  hurt,  let  lions,  wolves,  and  devils 
too,  do  what  they  can.  My  name  is  True 
Godliness.  Sir,  I  have  saved  many  thou- 
sands from  ruin  in  as  great  danger  as  you 
can  be. 

Apost.  Sir,  there  will  be  no  safe  living 
for  me.  I  must  quit  the  place,  the  town  is 
besieged. 

Godli.  What  though  it  is  besieged,  God 
is  able  to  defend  it,  and  will  be  a  wall  of 
fire  about  it.  But,  Sir,  if  you  proceed,  I 
fear  there  will  be  no  end  to  your  wander- 
ings. You  must  go  far  indeed  to  find  a 
place  as  safe  as  the  city  you  are  leaving. 

Apost.  Sir,  do  not  mistake  me ;  I  do  not 
intend  to  go  far,  and  am  fully  determined 
to  return  again  when  the  danger  is  over : 
at  present  I  will  go  but  a  little  way  out  of 
town. 

Godli.  Sir,  you  will  show  yourself  to  be 
a  traitorous  and  hypocritical  person,  if  you 
leave  this  town  in  its  distress.  If  the  dan- 
ger be  great  which  attends  it,  you  had  the 
more  need  to  abide  in  it,  to  strengthen  and 
encourage  the  poor  inhabitants.  Pray  do 
not  show  so  base  and  cowardly  a  spirit. 
What  is  this  less  than  to  betray  the  town 


to  enemies  1  Is  not  the  strength  of  any 
place  the  people  1  Besides,  your  flying 
encourages  the  adversaries ;  for  by  this 
means  they  may  think  to  frighten  all  out, 
and  then  with  much  ease  take  the  town, 
and  utterly  destroy  it.  Beside,  you  weaken 
the  hands,  and  grieve  the  hearts,  of  all  true 
Christians,  whose  chief  treasure  lies  in  the 
town,  and  cannot  be  removed ;  and  it  be- 
ing also  tlieir  spiritual  native  place,  they 
resolve  to  abide  in  it  to  the  last,  let  what 
will  come.  You  say  you  intend  to  return 
igain  when  the  danger  is  over.  What 
dangers  you  see  above  others,  to  move 
you  to  quit  the  town,  I  know  not ;  but  let 
me  tell  you,  few  who  leave  from  fear  of 
human  loss  or  danger,  return  again.  You 
say  you  intend  to  go  but  a  little  way ;  alas ! 
you  cannot  tell  where  you  shall  stop.  When 
once  you  desert  God's  gracious  protection ; 
you  may  go  on  to  atlieism,  or  any  thing. 
Come,  go  back ;  let  me  save  you  from  a 
fatal  fall. 

Apost.  Sir,  I  retain  the  same  principles 
tliat  I  formerly  held,  and  my  love  is  the 
same  to  the  town  as  it  ever  was. 

Godli.  Poor  man !  You  own  the  prin- 
ciples of  True  Religion.,  and  yet  cleave  to 
vanity  and  sin.  The  three  worthies  of  old, 
by  your  doctrine,  might  have  retained  laith 
and  right  principles  of  the  true  God  in  their 
hearts,  and  yet  have  bowed  down  to  the 
golden  image,  and  so  needed  not  to  have 
exposed  themselves  to  the  fiery  furnace. 
Nay,  by  this  doctrine,  who  need  suffer  per- 
secution? Besides,  it  renders  all  the  mar- 
tyrs of  old,  mere  fools  and  madmen.  What 
do  you  say  ?  Will  you  return  ?  My  com- 
pany, it  may  be  hoped,  will  allure  you. 

Apost.  No,  Sir,  I  have  formerly  had 
your  company,  and  do  not  find  you  a  ne- 
cessary companion :  besides,  the  town  is 
sadly  divided ;  those  who  love  you  do  not 
agree. 

Godli.  Nay,  Sir,  what  though  the  town 
is  divided  ?  It  is  my  great  grief  to  see  it ; 
but  you  had  the  more  need  to  abide  in  it, 
to  do  what  you  can  to  persuade  the  divided 
inhabitants  to  unite  in  affection.  Come, 
humble  yourself  before  God  for  this  great 
sin,  and  let  us  dwell  together  now,  and  thou 
shalt  abide  secure,  notwithstanding  the  di- 
visions within,  and  the  troubles  without, 
and  have  sweet  peace  and  inward  joy. 
What  dost  thou  say  ? 

Apost.  Sir,  say  no  more.  I  am  resolv- 
to  be  gone. 

Godli.  Well,  since  I  see  I  cannot  per- 
suade you  to  return,  but  that  you  are  re- 
solved to  leave  Religion,  and  not  receive 
True  Godliness.,  I  will  tell  you  what  your 
present  state  is,  and  what  your  future  por- 
tion is  like  to  be. 

Apost.  Pray,  Sir,  do  not  detain  me;  I 
must  pass  on. 


48 


TRAVELS  OF  TRUE  GODLINESS 


Godli.  I  cannot  let  you  go  till  I  show 
you  plainly  your  condition  and  prospects. 
Let  me  solemnly  warn  you  of  several  deep- 
ly interesting  things. 

First,  It  appears,  as  I  hinted  before,  that 
you  have  apostatized  from  Christ. 

Secondly,  You  are,  it  is  to  be  feared,  for- 
saken of  God,  and  left  to  yourself. 

Thirdly,  Either  God  will  set  Conscience 
against  you,  to  torment  you,  (as  he  did 
upon  Francis  Spira)  or  else  wholly  give 
you  up  to  your  own  heart's  lust,  to  walk  in 
your  own  counsel. 

Fourthly,  Your  sin  tends  towards  the  sin 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  shall  never  be 
forgiven,  neither  in  this  world,  nor  in  that 
which  is  to  come ;  for  you  have  been  a  per- 
son much  enlightened,  and  now  wilfully 
cast  off  God  and  religion.  Pray  read  these 
scriptures,  Heb.  vi.  4,  5,  6.  "  For  it  is  im- 
possible for  those  who  were  once  enlight- 
ened, and  have  tasted  of*  the  heavenly  gift, 
and  were  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  have  tasted  the  good  word  of  God,  and 
the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  if  they 
shall  fall  away,  to  renew  them  again  unto 
repentance ;  seeing  they  crucify  to  them- 
selves the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and  put  him 
to  an  open  shame."  Heb.  x.  26—28 :  "  For 
if  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  receiv- 
ed the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  re- 
maineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins,  but  a 
certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment,  and 
fiery  indignation  which  shall  devour  the  ad- 
versaries. He  that  despised  Moses'  law. 
died  without  mercy,  under  tA\'o  or  three 
witnesses." 

Fifthly,  Jesus  Christ  will  be  ashamed  of 
you  at  the  last  day,  when  he  comes  in  the 
glory  of  the  Father,  with  all  his  Holy  An- 
gels. Mark  viii.  38. 

Sixthly,  Those  who  set  their  hands  to  the 
plough,  and  look  back,  are  not  fit  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  Luke  ix.  62 ;  nor  will 
God's  soul  take  pleasure  in  them. 

Seventhly,  You  are  like  to  have  the  most 
miserable  place  in  hell.  "  The  same  shall 
drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God, 
which  is  poured  out  Avithout  mixture  into 
the  cup  of  his  indignation  ;  and  he  shall  be 
tormented  with  fire  and  Isrimstone  in  the 
presence  of  the  holy  angels,  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  Lamb."     Rev.  xiv.  10. 

Eighthly,  Remember  the  fearful  end.  of 
such  persons  as  you  are,  and  what  dread- 
ful judgments  God  hath  many  times  brought 
upon  them.  Besides,  who  will  trust  you? 
For  you  that  are  false  to  God,  and  to  your 
own  soul,  will  never  be  faithllil  to  men. 
Come,  that  very  way  you  think  to  save  all, 
you  may  lose  all.  Besides,  let  me  tell  you, 
"  Light  is  sown  for  the  righteous,  (though 
it  is  a  dark  time  now,)  and  joy  ibr  the  up- 
right in  heart."  Nay,  this  precious  seed  is 
sown,  ae  I  could  chow  you,  in  this  present 


dispensation ;  but  I  am  in  haste.  What  do 
you  say  to  these  things  ?    Will  you  return  1 

Apost.    I  dare  not.  Sir,  at  present. 

Godli.  Well  then,  I  see  you  love  the 
world  above  Christ.  I  have  but  little  more 
to  say  to  you ;  but.  Sir,  what  man  in  his 
right  mind  would,  to  avoid  a  few  sparks, 
leap  into  the  fire  ?  or  to  save  his  hat,  lose 
his  head?  Alas !  whilst  you  seek  to  save 
your  estates,  you  are  likely  eternally  to  loose 
your  soul. 

Apost.    Well,  Sir,  trouble  not  yourself; 


farewell. 
Godli. 


Adieu  then,  poor  soul ! 


CHAPTER  XL 

Godliness,  coming  to  Thoughtful's  hotise 
foundthere  his  JriendConsideraiion  whom 
he  had  a  long  time  sought  for.  The 
great  opposition  Consideration  met  with. 

Godliness,  being  still  not  without  hopes 
of  finding  Serioics  Consideration,  in  or  near 
this  place,  knocked  at  a  man's  door  who 
was  come  to  dwell  in  tlie  town  Religion. 
It  encouraged  him  to  learn  tliat  while  so 
many  were  leaving  the  place,  this  man 
sought  it  for  a  habitation.  Now,  this  per- 
son formerly  had  been  a  very  great  enemy 
to  True  Godliness,  having  lived  a  loose 
and  profuse  life ;  and  wasted  his  chief  sub- 
stance, though  he  had  not  really  come  to 
poverty,  but  seemed  to  be  in  middling  cir- 
cumstances. Godliness  had  not  long  Jcnock- 
ed  at  his  door,  before  he  hstened  to  him 
and  spake  within  himself  to  this  purpose : 
Who  is  this  that  is  come  to  my  door  ?  Sure, 
said  he,  this  is  a  voice  different  from  any 
I  ever  heard  in  my  life ;  and  he  doth  not 
knock  as  others  used  to  do.  At  last  he  cried 
out.  Who  is  tliere  ?  Who  is  it  that  is  at 
my  door? 

Godli.  Soul,  Christ  is  at  the  door,  and  I, 
his  noble  and  renowned  offspring,  Tnte 
Godliness.  Dost  thou  not  remember  tliat 
word,  "  Behold  I  stand  at  the  door  and 
knock  ?"  &c.  Rev.  iii.  20.  Sir,  now  I  will 
ask  you  the  like  question ;  pray  what  is 
your  name  ?  I  hope  I  am  come  to  tlie  right 
door. 

He  answered,  I  might  very  well  be  call- 
ed Prodigal ;  for  I  have  hitherto  lived  a 
very  thoughtless  and  wicked  life  ;  but  some 
call  me  of  late  Thought/id,  because,  bless- 
ed be  God,  I  am  newly  come  to  myself,  by 
thinking  upon  my  latter  end,  and  the  evil 
of  my  former  ways. 

Godli.  But  why  dost  thou  choose  to  take 
up  thy  dwelling  in  this  village  now,  when 
so  many  are  going  out  ? 

Thought.  Because  I  hear  it  is  the  best 
town  in  all  the  country  to  secure  a  man 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


49 


from  danger  in  evil  times,  provided  I  can 
but  get  a  place  in  one  of  its  strong  holds  in 
the  heart  of  the  town ;  for  I  have  heard 
there  is  no  safe  dwelling  at  the  town's  end ; 
no,  nor  any  where  in  the  suburbs.  Besides, 
I  was  told  lately,  that  the  city  where  I  have 
dwelt  till  now  of  late,  will  suddenly  be  de- 
stroyed. I  do  it  indeed  to  save  my  own 
soul.  I  am.  Sir,  desirous  to  find  out,  if  it 
may  be,  where  true  peace,  happiness  and 
eternal  felicity  is  to  be  had ;  for  I  see  they 
are  not  to  be  found  in  those  paths  I  former- 
ly walked  ;  I  mean,  in  the  ways  of  Riches, 
Honor,  and  the  Pleasures  of  this  world. 

Godli.  I  commend  thee,  honest  Thought- 
ful ;  thou  hast  done  wisely,  and  like  a.  con- 
siderate man.  Prithee,  let  me  come  in  and 
dwell  with  thee,  and  thou  wilt  find  thi.s 
poor  town  the  safest  and  most  secure  place 
in  these  dangerous  times,  in  all  the  world. 
Sir,  I  have  wandered  about  a  long  time, 
travelling  from  place  to  place,  to  seek  for 
one  to  whom  I  bear  much  good  will,  but 
hitherto  I  have  not  found  him ;  his  name  is 
Consideration. 

Upon  this  Consideration,  who  it  seems 
was  within,  Avhispered  Thoughtfid  in  his 
ear,  and  said,  This  is  he  that  can  alone 
made  thee  happy,  if  he  be  readily,  sincere- 
ly, and  heartily  embraced  and  entertained. 
Is  it  not  good  for  thee  to  muse  upon  the 
worth  and  excellent  nature  ot  thy  soul? 
Thou  art  made  a  man,  and  therefore  for  a 
nobler  and  higher  end  and  employment, 
surely,  than  eating  and  drinking,  sleeping 
and  playing,  trade  and  secular  affairs,  and 
to  enjoy  sensual  pleasures.  This  glorious 
soul  which  lies  in  thy  bosom,  is  capable  of 
knowing  God,  and  of  enjoying  union  and 
communion  with  him  forever ;  and  all  those 
who  suffer  the  honors,  profits,  and  pleasures 
of  the  world  to  take  up  and  engross  their 
hearts,  go  astray,  and  err  from  the  great 
end  of  their  creation.  Alas  !  nothing  can 
fill  the  desires  of  thy  soul,  but  God  him- 
self; thou  hast  hitherto  suffered  thy  affec- 
tions and  desires  to  run  after  whatsoever 
thou  couldst  think  might  yield  thee  felicity ; 
but  it  is  evident  there  is  nothing  thou  canst 
find  here  below,  that  can  satisfy  thy  thirsty 
and  ever  craving  soul.  Riches,  which  some- 
times thy  heart  hath  been  so  much  set  upon, 
cannot  be  thy  chief  happiness ;  for  they  are 
uncertain,  fleeting,  and  variable :  and  let  a 
man  have  ever  so  much  of  them,  yet  if  they 
are  his  chief  delight,  he  is  still  craving  and 
desiring  more;  so  that  it  is  as  Solomon 
says,  "  He  that  desireth  silver,  shall  not  be 
satisfied  with  silver." 

Honors  are  of  like  nature ;  and  besides 
their  vanity,  they  depend  on  the  minds, 
will,  and  humors  of  men,  who  are  changea- 
ble and  inconstant. 

Pleasures  and  voluptuousness  are  com- 
mon to  beasts  as  well  as  men,  and,  what  is 

Vol.  3.— G. 


worse, manhas  this  additional  disadvantage, 
that  he  endures  remorse  and  discontent 
when  the  enjoyment  is  past. 

Besides  all  this.  Consideration,  to  induce 
him  to  open  to  True  Godliness,  bid  him  ask 
his  soul  in  what  state  it  now  was,  what  it 
was  doing,  and  whither  it  was  going. 

First,  He  endeavored  to  show  him,  that 
his  soul  was  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and 
in  the  bond  of  iniquity,  being  under  the  law 
and  curse  of  God,  both  in  respect  of  origi- 
nal and  actual  sin  ;  he  having  not  yet  clos- 
ed with  Christ,  nor  received  True  Godli- 
ness. 

Secondly,  Then  as  to  what  he  was  doing, 
he  bid  him  see  if  he  did  not  neglect  that 
one  thing  needful.  Have  you,  said  Con- 
sideration, made  religion  your  chief  busi- 
ness since  you  came  to  live  in  this  place  ? 
Have  you  not  rather  spent  too  much  of 
your  time  about  notions  and  speculations  ? 

Thirdly,  Whither  are  you  going  ?  Are 
you  fit  to  die  ?  Are  you  going  the  way  to 
heaven?  Surely  that  cannot  be,  unless 
you  receive  True  Godliness;  for  I  have 
heard  that  he  consists  in  a  right  faith,  as 
well  as  in  an  holy  life.  Oh!  what  cost, 
labor,  pains,  means,  motives  and  argu- 
ments hath  God  used  to  make  men  sensi- 
ble of  the  everlasting  interest  of  their  souls, 
and  to  engage  them  to  a  serious  prepara- 
tion tor  another  world ! 

And  this  serious  preparation  must  neces- 
sarily be  a  thorough  work  of  regeneration, 
faith,  and  spotless  conversation ;  for  the  na- 
ture of  the  means  must  ever  be  suitable 
and  agreeable  to  the  nature  of  the  end ; 
and  heaven  being  a  holy  place,  nothing  but 
perfect  holiness  reigneth  there  ;  so  it  were 
impossible  to  enter  into  it  hereafter,  without 
progress  be  made  in  holiness  here.  And 
how  can  it  be  thought  that  a  man  should 
reach  the  highest  step  of  a  ladder  without 
ascending  the  lowermost  first  ?  Who  (said 
he)  ever  hoped  for  a  crop  of  corn  without 
sowing  any,  or  expected  to  reap  wheat,  and 
sowed  nothing  but  tares  ? 

Besides  these.  Consideration  dwelt  much 
on  the  nature  and  holiness  of  God,  his  infi- 
nite hatred  of  sin,  and  great  severity  against 
all  unbelieving  and  impenitent  souls,  to- 
gether with  the  perfect  knowledge  he  had 
of  the  heart,  thoughts,  and  ways  of  the 
children  of  men.  He  endeavored  to  set  in 
array  the  dreadful  judgments,  commands, 
threats,  and  precious  promises  of  Jehovah. 

He  also  brought  to  his  mind  the  evil  of 
sin,  showing  him  what  an  abominable  thing 
it  was  for  a  man  to  seek  to  please,  obey, 
and  do  the  will  of  the  devil ;  and  offend, 
disobey,  and  cross  the  will  of  God.  Nay, 
he  began  to  speak  of  the  excellency  of 
True  Godliness  also,  and  what  he  should 
gain  by  embracing  him,  and  letting  Christ, 
and  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  Christ  and  tlie 


50 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS, 


Grace  of  Christ,  Christ  and  Tnie  Godli- 
ness, reign  in  his  heart.  Nay,  he  had  so 
much  to  say,  that  Thoughtfid  was  so  per- 
suaded, as  to  be  on  the  point  of  opening 
the  door  to  True  Godliness  ;  but  on  a  sud- 
den, there  was  a  great  disturbance  in  the 
house,  several  fellows  made  a  violent  up- 
roar, and  poor  Considei-ation  was  quite  put 
down,  and  came  near  being  utterly  driven 
out  of  the  house. 

Those  who  made  all  this  disturbance 
were  some  old  servants,  who  not  having 
been  often  called  to  duty  of  late,  had  grown 
apprehensive  of  losing  their  places,  and 
justly  feared  the  actual  admission  of  True 
Godliness  would  now  drive  them  all  away. 
Their  names  were  Difficulty,  Sloth,  Defi- 
ciency, Security,  Danger,  Worldly  Cares, 
and  Carnal  Company.  These  and  other 
wicked  servants  therefore  combined  to  ob- 
struct this  great  and  important  business  of 
opening  to  True  Godliness. 

First,  Difficulty  spake  after  this  manner : 
Sir,  do  not  trouble  yourself  to  study  to  find 
out  these  great  mysteries  of  Religion,  for  it 
is  a  work  too  difficult  for  you  to  understand ; 
there  is  nothing  more  mysterious;  there- 
fore to  muse  upon  them  would  be  lost  labor. 

Sloth  told  him  it  was  laborious  and  toil- 
some work,  and  it  would  be  great  weariness 
to  him,  if  Difficidty  did  not  make  it  utterly 
impossible. 

Deficiency  said  he  was  a  man  of  a  weak 
understanding,  and  those  things  were  mat- 
ters for  the  learned  and  most  knowing  men  to 
study ;  nay,  that  many  of  them  too,  notwith- 
standing all  their  profound  learning,  pro- 
ficiency, and  skill  in  the  languages,  could 
hardly  attain  to  the  right  knowledge  of 
them. 

Security  endeavored  to  make  it  appear 
that  his  condition  was  very  good  and  safe 
now,  and  that  he  had  godliness  enough, 
without  troubling  himself  farther ;  and  that 
he  exceeded  in  holiness  many  men  that 
had  lived  long  in  the  town.  Moreover,  he 
told  him,  that  he  had  followed  the  counsel 
of  Consideration  too  much  already. 

Danger  also  spake  several  things.  1. 
That  to  give  place  to  him,  would  let  in  his 
enemy  Melancholy,  which  might  endanger 
his  life.  Do  you  not  see,  said  he,  how  un- 
comfortable this  Consideration  has  made 
many  brave  men,  causing  them,  by  think- 
ing on  their  latter  end,  to  hang  down  their 
heads  like  a  bullrush,  fold  tlieir  arms,  and 
spend  their  days  in  tears  and  weeping? 
Hearken  not  to  him,  for  he  will  certainly 
infuse  sad  thoughts  into  your  mind,  and 
give  you  as  it  were  nothing  but  gall  and 
vinegar  to  drink. 

2.  He  said,  moreover.  Consideration  had 
made  many  men  go  beside  themselves ; 
and  if  he  gave  way  to  hini  ubout  this  affair, 
he  would  be  distracted. 


3.  He  insinuated  also,  that  if  he  seriously 
mused  upon  this  matter,  or  gave  place  to 
Consideration,  so  that  Godliness  were  let 
in,  the  times  were  such  he  would  be  undone, 
and  utterly  ruined. 

Worldly-Cares  proved  as  great  an  ene- 
my to  Consideration  as  any  of  them ;  lor 
he  could  not  seriously  muse  nor  think  upon 
eternity,  or  the  present  condition  his  poor 
soul  was  in,  he  Avae  so  hurried  in  his  mind 
about  the  affairs  of  this  life :  nay,  no  soon- 
er at  any  season  did  he  set  himself  to  ru- 
minate or  ponder  them  in  his  mind,  bul 
Worldly-Cares  would  expel  and  drive  such 
thoughts  away. 

Carnal  Company  and  Old  Cmnpanions 
greatly  abused  Consideration.  They  turn- 
ed Religion  and  Godliness  into  a  jest,  and 
made  the  precepts  of  the  gospel  matter  tor 
raillery ;  and  told  him,  that  those  men  who 
seemed  most  serious,  were  the  most  sedi- 
tious ;  and  that  their  profession  savored 
of  nothing  but  pride,  singularity,  and  hy- 
pocrisy. 

Now,  after  they  had  spoken  all  tlieir 
pleasure,  and  had  silenced,  nay,  had  quite 
routed  poor  Consideration,  his  mind  was 
filled  and  hurried  about  many  things,  which 
Godliness,  though  not  yet  let  in,  overheard, 
and  presently  took  them  all  up  seriously 
and  answered  them  ene  by  one. 

Godli.  Honest  Thoughtful,  I  would  not 
have  thee  discouraged  by  those  enemies 
thou  has  witliin,  so  as  to  slight  Considera- 
tion, for  he  is  thy  very  good  friend,  and  as 
able  a  counsellor  as  most  in  this  town. 
Moreover,  very  great  inconveniencies  liave 
always  followed  those  who  have  ignorantly 
slighted  and  contemned  him ;  nay,  I  must 
tell  thee,  most  of  all  those  great  miseries 
and  heavy  judgments  tliat  have  befallen 
nations,  cities,  towns,  churches,  and  partic- 
ular souls,  have  been  occasioned  through 
their  great  neglect  to  hearken  to  Conside- 
ration. This  was  the  cause  of  Israel's  ruin 
of  old.  God,  by  his  merciful  providence^ 
sent  to  them  by  his  prophets,  to  warn  them 
of  their  perilous  estate  and  condition  by 
reason  of  their  sins,  and  not  only  told  them 
of  their  imminent  danger,  but  also  revealed  it3 
true  causes,  and  how  they  might  easily  pro- 
vide remedies  for  the  prevention  of  it ;  but 
they  refused  to  lay  it  to  heart,  or  give  way  to 
Coimderation  about  it,  which  made  Jeho- 
vah bewail  their  future  misery  after  this 
manner :  "  O  that  they  were  wise,  that  they 
understood  this,  that  they  would  consider 
their  latter  end."  Deut.  xxxii.  29.  Among 
other  causes  of  their  dismal  calamities, 
none  is  more  general,  or  oftener  alleged, 
than  tlie  lack  of  Consideration.  It  is  through 
this  means,  as  by  a  conijtnon  snare  and  de- 
ceit of  the  alversary,  that  must  men  fall 
into  sin  and  reject  me,  and  are  hoiden  also 
perpetually  in  Satan's  bond.^^,  to  their  de- 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


51 


struction  and  perdition.  Men  seem  deter- 
mined to  go  on  in  their  abominable  lusts, 
pride,  oppression,  excess  of  riot,  drunken- 
ness, and  all  manner  of  debauchery,  with- 
out considering  what  the  end  of  these  things 
will  be.  "  Wo  unto  them,"  saith  the  Lord, 
"that  rise  up  early  in  the  morning,  that 
they  may  follow  strong  drink,  and  continue 
until  night,  till  wine  inflame  them ;  and  the 
harp  and  viol,  the  tabret  and  pipe,  and  wine 
are  in  their  feasts,  but  they  regard  not  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  neither  consider  the  ope- 
rations of  his  hands."  Isa.  v.  11.  Their 
lusts  and  sensuality  brought  them  to  neg- 
lect Consideration.  "  For  this  cause  is  my 
people  led  away  captive,  &c.  for  they  have 
no  knowledge,  no  understanding  of  the 
time  to  come,  no  consideration  of  their  dan- 
ger." He  that  will  not  lend  an  ear  to  Con- 
sideration, renders  himself  little  better  than 
a  brute :  and  what  follows  this  folly  and 
madness  ?  "  Therefore  (saith  the  Holy 
Ghost,)  hell  hath  enlarged  herself,  and  open- 
ed her  mouth  without  measure,  and  their 
glory,  and  their  multitude,  and  their  pomp, 
and  he  that  rejoiceth,  shall  descend  into  it." 
Isa.  v.  13,  14.  "A  brutish  man  knoweth 
not,  neither  doth  a  fool  understand  this, 
when  the  wicked  spring  as  the  grass,  and 
when  all  the  workers  of  iniquity  do  flourish : 
it  is  that  they  should  be  destroyed  forever." 
Psal.  xcii.  6,  7.  "  The  ox  knoweth  his 
owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib,  but 
Israel  doth  not  know,  my  people  doth  not 
consider."     Isa.  i.  3. 

Negligence,  Carelessness,  Ignorance,  and 
absence  of  Consideration,  as  they  brought 
Jerusalem  down  wonderfully.  Lam.  i.  9,  so 
they  have  been  the  bane  and  ruin  of  wretch- 
ed men  in  all  ages,  and  will  be  yours,  if 
you  hearken  to  these  evil  enemies  of  your 
soul,  and  suffer  Consideration  to  be  expel- 
led. Why  at  this  day  are  there  so  many 
people  who  drink  up  iniquity  as  the  ox 
drinks  water;  that  commit  all  manner  of 
sin,  outrage,  and  injustice,  treading  down 
the  poor,  and  contemning  me,  without  re 
morse  of  conscience,  or  dread  of  God's 
wrath  and  fearful  vengeance ;  but  for  the 
lack  of  considering  that  which  is  like  to  be 
their  reward  and  punishment  ?  Thus  saith 
the  Lord,  "  Consider  your  ways,  consider 
your  doings."  Haggai.  i.  "  Consider  this, 
ye  that  forget  God,  lest  he  tear  you  in 
pieces,  and  there  be  none  to  deliver  you." 
Psal.  i.  Aye,  but  they  will  not  consider  it, 
nor  lay  it  to  heart ;  they  will  not  know  in 
this  their  day,  the  things  that  belong  to 
their  peace,  but  inconsiderately  put  the 
evil  day  far  away,  and  harden  their  hearts 
against  God,  provoking  him  to  draw  his 
sword,  and  cause  his  hand  to  take  hold  of 
judgment.  Nothing  doubtless  can  be  more 
intolerable  in  the  presence  of  the  Almighty, 
tlian  this  iniquity,  since  he  hath  published 


his  law,  declared  his  pleasure  concerning 
godliness,  charging  all  to  bear  it  in  their 
minds,  to  ponder  it  in  their  hearts,  to  study 
and  meditate  upon  it  both  day  and  night, 
at  home  and  abroad,  when  they  rise  up,  and 
when  they  lie  do^vn,  and  to  make  it  their 
thoughts  continually.  And  oh !  that  men 
should  ever,  notwithstanding  all  this,  con- 
temn it,  and  make  it  no  part  of  their  thoughts, 
but  rather  avoid  with  care  the  knowledge 
thereof!  God  makes  his  complaint,  and  de- 
nounceth  judgment,  but  no  man  (as  the 
prophet  Jeremiah  sheweth)  will  enter  into 
consideration,  nor  mind  why  the  land 
mourns:  none  cry  out,  "  What  have  I  done!" 
All  men,  alas!  are  set  upon  their  own 
courses,  and  run  on  with  as  great  vehem- 
ence and  fierce  obstinacy,  as  the  war  horse 
rushes  into  battle,  when  he  hears  the  trum- 
pet sound  a  charge. 

Come,  Thoughtful,  if  thou  adhere  to  Con- 
sideration, he  will  help  thee  to  know  God 
and  thyself,  and  to  find  out  the  miserable 
condition  thou  and  all  men  are  in  by  nature. 
He  is  the  key  that  openeth  the  door  for  me 
to  enter  the  innermost  room  of  thy  heart ; 
though  it  is  true,  he  cannot  open  it  witliout 
help.  Nay,  farthermore,  he  is  the  looking- 
glass,  or  rather  the  very  eye  of  thy  soul, 
whereby  thou  raayst  view  thyself,  and  see 
what  a  condition  thy  soul  is  in:  hereby 
thou  mayst  espy  thy  debts,  thy  danger,  thy 
duties,  thy  defects,  thy  safety,  the  course 
thou  dost  follow,  the  company  thou  dost 
keep ;  finally,  the  place  and  end  to  which 
thou  drawest.  He  will  give  thee  a  view  of 
all  God's  dealings  with  men  since  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world  ;  the  reason  why  God  sent 
his  Son,  his  gospel,  his  Spirit,  his  servants, 
and  takes  so  much  pains  to  bring  men  to 
salvation.  By  his  help,  thou  mayst  also 
find  that  all  the  means  God  uses  to  bring 
thee  to  a  true  sight  and  sense  of  sin  and 
wrath,  and  to  recover  thee  out  of  thy  fallen 
estate,  will  prove  vain  and  ineffectual  to 
thee.  Let,  therefore,  the  consideration  of 
the  danger  thou  mayst  escape  through 
hearkening  to  him  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
great  advantage  thou  mayst  receive  on  the 
other,  together  with  the  absolute  necessity 
of  cherishing  him,  if  thou  wouldst  be  hap- 
py, engage  thee  not  to  be  discouraged  to 
incline  to  him,  nor  regard  what  any  speak 
against  so  good  a  servant  as  Considera- 
tion. 

Give  me  admission,  and  I  will  bring  thee 
acquainted  with  God  and  Jesus  Christ; 
nay,  help  thee  to  a  room  in  his  heart,  and 
lead  thee  into  union  and  communion  with 
him,  and  give  thee  much  glorious  light,  and 
help  thee  to  pardon  for  sin,  peace  of  con- 
science, and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  will 
make  thee  a  son  of  God,  give  thee  a  place 
in  the  heavenly  family,  feed  thee  with  the 
bread  of  life,  clothe  thee  with  glorious  robes, 


52 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS 


which  sparkle  like  diamonds,  and  make 
thee  rich ;  rich  in  faith,  in  knowledge,  in 
experience,  truly  rich,  always  rich,  eternal- 
ly rich,  yea,  set  a  crown  of  glory  upon  thy 
head,  and  make  thee  an  heir  of  heaven  and 
earth.  Thy  renown  also  will  be  great; 
thou  shalt  have  angels  to  guard  thee,  Christ 
to  serve  thee,  God  to  honor  tliee.  Oh ! 
love  him  who  would  lead  thee  into  Christ's 
bosom,  and  cause  thee  to  sit  in  heavenly 
places;  make  thee  to  triumph  with  sera- 
phims,  and  set  down  with  thy  glorified  Re- 
deemer upon  the  throne  of  God  for  ever- 
more. Alas !  men  deal  with  me  and  my 
friend  Consideration,  as  the  inhabitants  of 
Sodom  did  with  the  three  heavenly  messen- 
gers that  entered  into  Lot's  house,  viz. 
quarrel  with  us,  abuse  us,  and  offer  violence 
to  us — who  seek  to  preserve  them  from  be- 
ing consumed,  and  who  whilst  we  are  with 
them,  stay  the  hand  of  heaven  from  falling 
upon  them,  the  hand  of  the  destroying  an- 
gel, that  they  perish  not,  and  endeavor  to 
make  them  forever  happy,  possessing  all 
true  felicity,  and  free  them  from  all  misery. 
Does  not  every  man  desire  that  which  is 
good?  Was  ever  any  man  in  love  with 
torment  ?  Is  it  not  every  one's  interest  to 
study  how  to  prevent  it  ?  Why  then  surely 
Consideration  cannot  but  have  thy  affection, 
unless  thou  dost  contemn  rivers  of  pleas- 
ures, inconceivable  glory,  even  the  inex- 
haustible riches  of  both  worlds,  and  choos- 
est  anguish,  death,  hell,  and  the  lake  that 
burneth  with  fire  for  thy  portion. 

As  to  the  objections  which  Difficidty 
raises  against  thy  compHance  with  my  ad- 
vice, they  are  soon  answered. 

First,  He  basely  insinuates  that  to  muse 
and  ponder  on  the  great  concerns  of  God- 
liness and  another  world  is  a  hard  and  diffi- 
cult work.  In  great,  and  hazardous,  and 
dangerous  achievments  for  worldly  advan- 
tages, however  this  is  not  made  an  objec- 
tion. Men  do  not  care  how  difficult  the 
work  is,  if  it  be  but  profitable :  and  shall 
this  be  a  stumbling  block  in  the  way  ?  How 
should  some  houses  be  built,  bridges  over 
great  rivers  be  made,  fields  be  sowed,  and 
dangerous  voyages  to  sea  be  taken  ?  Shall 
the  carpenter  say,  Oh  it  is  difficult,  and  the 
husbandman  say.  It  is  difficult,  and  the 
mariner  say.  It  is  difficult,  and  so  lay  the 
enterprise  aside  1 

Is  it  not  sad,  and  very  surprising,  that 
the  enemies  of  the  gospel,  should  not  think 
any  thing  too  hard  and  difficult  to  under- 
take to  suppress  and  destroy  Godliness; 
and  yet  many  who  profess  love  to  me  are 
not  willing  to  encounter  small  difficulties  to 
entertain  and  embrace  me,  though  it  be 
their  only  business  and  chief  interest  in  the 
world !  Were  a  man's  house  on  fire  over 
his  head,  and  he  likely  to  be  burned,  would 
he  not  think  of  ways  to  escape  though  it 


was  difficult  ?  It  is  not  because  considera- 
tion about  heaven  and  happiness  is  so  dif- 
ficult, that  men  avoid  them,  but  because 
they  have  no  will  nor  love  to  these  things ; 
other  things  are  more  in  their  aflections. 
Besides,  the  rarest  things  are  not  obtained 
but  through  great  difficulty.  What  hazard 
do  men  often  run  for  honor  and  worldly 
riches  I  Oh,  what  projects  and  contrivan- 
ces do  they  find  out !  And  wilt  thou  desist 
from  this  work,  because  it  is  difficult  ?  Men 
do  not  think  it  hard  to  carry  talents  of  lead, 
or  mountains  of  sin  on  their  backs,  and  yet 
think  Consideration  difficult,  who,  like  a 
faithful  friend,  would  tell  them  how  to  be 
rid  of  that  load,  that  will  sink  them  downi 
into  the  lowest  pit,  except  they  obtain  faith 
in  Christ,  or  receive  True  Godliness  into 
their  hearts.  They  do  not  think  it  hard  to 
dig  into  hell,  yet  they  think  Consideration 
hard,  who  would  teach  them  a  way  to 
quench  that  fire.  They  do  not  think  it 
hard  to  be  oppressed  by  an  usurper,  and 
yet  they  think  Consideration  hard,  who 
would  help  them  to  shake  him  off.  O  fools, 
and  slow  of  heart !  They  tliat  have  cour- 
age to  meet  an  army  in  tlie  field,  and  have 
confidence  to  laugh  at  the  glittering  spear 
and  shield ;  they  that  have  courage  to 
plough  the  sea,  to  face  the  mouth  of  a  can- 
non, to  stand  a  volley  of  shot,  to  fight  du- 
els, endure  the  noise  of  guns,  hear  the  clash- 
ing of  swords,  and  lie  on  the  cold  ground 
many  nights  together,  to  have  an  arm  or 
leg  cut  off,  think  consideration  about  re- 
ligious things  too  hard !  Contemn  the 
thoughts  of  being  overcome  by  deceitful 
and  timorous  Difficidty. 

As  to  what  Deficiency  says,  that  thou  art 
a  man  of  weak  understanding ;  thou  canst 
perceive  that  gold  is  better  than  glass,  and 
that  pearls  are  better  than  pebbles.  Thou 
art  able  to  perceive  thou  art  mortal,  and 
must  die  ;  and  know,  when  a  bone  is  bro- 
ken, it  is  good  to  have  it  set ;  that  food  is 
good  when  thou  art  hungry ;  and  that  it  is 
good  to  get  clothes  to  cover  thee.  Art  thou 
not,  then,  able  to  consider  that  there  is  need 
of  food  for  thy  soul,  and  clothes  to  cover 
the  nakedness  of  thy  soul,  and  that  it  is  good 
to  have  grace  to  enrich  thy  soul  ?  Art  thou 
able  to  find  out  how  grievous  it  is  to  be  cast 
into  a  furnace  of  fire,  and  yet  canst  not 
understand  that  it  is  worse  to  be  cast 
into  a  fire  that  cannot  be  quenched  ?  Nay, 
have  not  very  weak  and  simple  persons- 
attained  to  the  skill  of  Consideration  about 
their  eternal  state  ;  and  have  even  outdone 
the  wise  and  learned  of  the  world?  "'Knowl- 
edge is  easy  unto  him  that  hath  understand- 
ing." Prov.  xiv.  16.  "  Wisdom  gives  sub- 
tlety to  tlie  simple,  and  young  men  knowl- 
edge and  discretion."  Prov.  i.  4.  "  When 
wisdom  entereth  into  thine  heart,  and  knowl- 
edge is  pleasant  to  thy  soul,  discretion  shall 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS 


53 


preserve  thee,  and  understanding  shall  keep 
thee."    Prov.  ii.  10,  11. 

As  for  what  Sloth  saith,  thou  hast  cause 
to  abhor  him,  for  he  is  a  beggarly  character, 
and  deserves  to  be  driven  not  only  out  of 
thy  house,  but  out  of  the  world,  for  he  nev- 
er did  any  man  the  least  good :  cast  him 
out  then  as  a  vagabond.  Thoughtful, 
wouldst  thou  not  be  at  pains  ?  Remember, 
the  slothlul  person  shall  beg  at  harvest,  and 
have  nothing.  Thy  house  is  ready  to  fail, 
and  thy  vineyard  is  grown  over  with  thorns 
and  nettles,  and  yet  he  would  not  have  thee 
consider  thy  danger,  until  it  is  too  late  to 
escape  it.  Oh !  how  many  liave  lost  their 
souls  by  this  wretch  !  What  good  comes 
of  Idleness  7  Besides,  do  you  not  see  how 
the  men  of  this  world  hate  him  ?  They 
will  not  hearken  to  him,  but  will  in  despite 
of  him  engage  in  all  ways  and  means  to 
get  bread  to  eat,  and  clothes  to  put  on ; 
nay,  seek  out,  through  great  industry, 
rare  projects  to  amass  riches ;  and  wilt 
thou  be  drawn  away  by  him,  from  thinking 
on  the  ready  way  to  be  made  rich,  great, 
and  renowned  forever  ?  It  is  the  dihgent 
hand  that  hath  the  promise :  "  Thou  must 
seek  for  wisdom  as  for  silver,  and  search 
for  her  as  for  hid  treasure."  Prov.  ii.  4. 
Do  not  think  that  I  put  too  great  a  burden 
upon  thee ;  for  observe,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  take  greater  pains  about  this  inestimable 
jewel,  than  men  of  the  world  take  to  get 
the  perishing  things  of  this  life :  nay,  ii" 
men  did  but  bestow  half  the  labor  about 
the  good  of  their  souls,  that  they  do  about 
getting  the  world,  and  providing  for  their 
bodies,  what  happy  persons  might  they  be  ! 

As  to  what  timorous,  faint-hearted  Dan- 
ger has  laid  before  thee,  in  respect  to  let- 
ting in  Melancholy,  this  is  a  mere  deceit ; 
for  there  is  a  vast  ditference  between  seri- 
ous Consideration  and  destructive  Melan- 
choly :  a  man  is  not  sad,  because  he  will 
not  swear,  cheat,  gamble,  and  be  drunk. 
Consideration  will  let  thee  see,  that  those 
men  who  are  pleased  so  much  with  vain 
sports  and  merriment,  have  the  least  cause 
to  rejoice  of  any  men  in  the  world. 

Consideration  will  show  you  that  what- 
soever vain  men  may  prate  and  boast  of, 
touching  joy  and  pleasures,  yet  there  is  no 
delight  and  felicity  like  that  which  is  found 
in  the  ways  of  true  virtue  ;  that  Godliness 
is  the  best  security ;  that  those  serious  per- 
sons who  look  dejected  and  melancholy  to 
the  carnal  eye,  have  joys  within  which  no 
stranger  intermeddles  with ;  and  carry  in 
tlieir  breast  that  which  can  make  their  life 
perpetually  peacelul  and  joyous. 

They  are  fools  that  count  the  life  of  a 
Christian  madness,  and  liis  inward  peace, 
an  airy  notion.  Who  is  so  frantic,  as  he 
who  ciierishes  a  serpent  in  his  bosom,  that 
will  certainly  sting  him  to  death ;  who  nev- 


er sows,  yet  thinks  to  reap  at  harvest ;  who 
might  have  glorious  robes  to  clothe  him, 
and  yet  values  his  own  rags  above  tliem,  or 
chooses  to  go  unclothed ;  who  hates,  and 
seeks  to  destroy  his  best  friends,  for  the 
sake  of  whom  he  is  not  destroyed;  who 
thinks  to  go  to  heaven,  and  yet  walks  the 
direct  way  to  hell  ?  Can  there  be  greater 
madness  than  to  prefer  a  stone  before  bread, 
or  feed  upon  husks  with  the  swine,  when 
there  are  all  things  to  be  had,  by  seeking 
for  them  1  Can  there  be  greater  madness 
than  to  value  a  base  lust  above  God,  Christ, 
and  eternal  glory  ? 

Whereas  Danger,  in  order  to  obstruct  Con- 
sideration from  opening  to  me,  tells  thee 
of  the  evils  of  the  times,  and  that,  if  I  am 
let  in,  thou  wilt  be  undone,  be  assured,  if  I  am 
kept  out,  there  is  no  way  to  escape,  but  ru- 
ined thou  wilt  be.  No  danger  is  like  soul- 
danger  :  he  can  never  be  undone  that  hath 
God  for  his  portion,  and  heaven  for  his  in- 
heritance. Lose  thy  soul,  and  what  hast 
thou  more?  And  unless  thou  consider 
soon,  and  open  to  me,  thou  canst  not  save 
it ;  for  "  without  holiness  no  man  shall  see 
the  Lord." 

Worldly-Cares,  I  know,  hinders  my  dear 
friend  Consideration  as  much  as  any  one ; 
he  would  persuade  thee  thou  hast  no  time 
to  think  on  God  nor  Godliness,  having  a 
trade  to  follow,  a  family  to  provide  for,  &c. 
But  shall  those  things  hinder  thee  from 
thinking  of  any  thing  else  ?  Is  there  not 
one  thing  more  needful,  viz — to  seriously 
think  on  me,  and  of  the  concerns  of  thy  soul, 
when  thou  art  at  work,  or  about  thy  world- 
ly affairs ;  when  thou  goest  out,  and  when 
thou  comest  in  ;  when  thou  liest  down,  and 
when  thou  risest  up  ?  Thy  heart  may  be 
with  God,  when  tliy  hands  are  fully  employ- 
ed. True,  if  the  world  is  in  thy  heart, 
there  can  be  but  little  room  for  Considera- 
tion, much  less  for  True  Godliness.  A  con- 
tinual liurry  of  business  puts  out  the  eye 
whereby  it  should  reflect  upon  itself  But 
shall  tlie  earth  keep  out  heaven,  and  the 
prince  of  darkness  shut  out  the  Prince  of 
Light,  and  briars  and  thorns  choke  the 
good  seed?  Shall  Worldly-Cares  and 
business  be  thy  chief  guests  whom  thou 
biddest  welcome,  and  Christ  stand  at  thy 
door  as  a  neglected  stranger?  Shall  World- 
ly Consideration  be  cherished,  and  Serious 
Coiisideraiion  be  crushed,  who  would  put 
thee  in,  a  way  to  get  to  heaven  ?  But  re- 
member this,  he  that  hath  not  time  to  open  to 
Christ  here,  Christ  will  find  no  time  to 
open  to  him  hereafter.  Can  the  world  help 
thee  to  peace  and  pardon  on  a  death  bed, 
or  riches  deliver  tliee  in  the  day  of  wrath  ? 

As  to  what  thy  Old  Companions  lay  be- 
fore tliee,  to  render  me  odious,  if  thou  per- 
sist in  regarding  them,  adieu  forever ! 
They  that  hate  Seriousness  for  themselves, 


54 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


must  needs  dislike  it  in  others :  these  are 
Satan's  agents,  whom  lie  sends  abroad  in- 
to the  world  to  destroy  virtue ;  these  strive 
to  put  me  into  a  wolf's  skin,  and  then  set 
the  dogs  of  the  town  upon  nie.  Shun  keep- 
ing company  with  these  scoffers  and  con- 
temners of  True  Cfodliness,  for  the  sake  of 
thy  precious  soul.  As  thou  art  come  into 
the  town  of  Rdigion,  so  let  tlie  truly  reli- 
gious be  thy  companions,  who  will,  instead 
of  hindering,  help  Serious  Consideration. 
What  ground  is  there  to  think  a  man  should 
mind  the  true  interest  of  his  soul,  that  keeps 
company  witli  persons  who  make  sport  of 
Serious  Considcjationl  What  is  he  that 
keeps  company  with  sinners,  but  an  abettor 
of  sinners?  Remember  that  society  in  sin 
strangely  diminishes  the  sense  of  its  hein- 
ousness.  As  is  a  man's  company,  such  is 
the  man ;  and  as  is  his  company  here,  such 
it  is  likely  to  be  hereafter.  Oh,  how  do  sin- 
ners harden  one  another  in  ways  of  wicked- 
ness !  They  think  there  is  some  comfort 
in  having  associates  in  misery.  It  is  a  hard 
thing  indeed,  Thoughtful,  to  be  serious  in 
such  a  wicked  age  as  this.  A  wicked  man, 
as  he  poisons  the  air  in  which  he  breathes, 
so  he  pollutes  the  age  in  which  he  lives. 
It  is  bad  lodging  in  the  house  where  God 
refuses  to  dwell ;  with  the  froward  thou 
wilt  soon  learn  frowardness :  but  it  is  bet- 
ter to  be  contemned  for  virtue  by  men  on 
earth,  than  to  be  condemned  for  vice  by 
the  God  of  heaven.  What  sayst  tliou, 
Thoughtful,  shall  Cunsidcratiwi  prevail 
with  thee  to  open  the  door  to  me  ? 

Conscience  being  now  brought  over  to 
join  with  the  solicitations  of  Godliness, 
Thoughtful  was  fully  resolved  to  cherish 
Serious  Consideration,  in  spite  of  all  the 
clamor,  raised  by  the  other  inmates  of  his 
house.  Indeed  he  determined  to  rid  him- 
self as  soon  as  possible  of  every  one  of 
them,  and  had  no  doubt  of  immediate  sue 
cess — but  Ip !  on  a  sudden,  new  enemies 
rose  up  in  his  house,  and  made  strong  op- 
position to  the  admission  of  Godliness.  Of 
this  we  shall  give  an  account  in  the  next 
Chapter. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

Thoughtful,  though  he  had  embraced  Con 
eideration,  and  was  resolved  to  receive 
Godliness  into  his  house,  is  hindered  by 
Old-Man,  Wilful- Will,  Carnal-Affections, 
and  Apollyon.  He  is  aided  by  Labori- 
ous, but  had  not  prevailed,  had  it  nut 
been  for  another  who  came  in  to  his  as 
sistance. 

Thooghtpul,  having  with  much  joy  and 
gladness  embraced  CojisicZeraiion,  and  over 
come  the  snares  and  impediments  tliose  ad- 


versaries (we  mentioned  before)  laid  in 
his  way,  was  now  resolved  to  receive  True 
Godliness,  and  speedily  close  with  Jesus 
Christ ;  but  all  on  a  sudden  other  enemies, 
that  he  had  not  suspected  to  be  in  his  house 
before,  rose  up,  and  made  strong  opposi- 
tion against  his  receiving  this  heavenly 
guest.  These  enemies  were  Old-Man, 
Carnal- Affections,  and  IVilful-  Will,  all  stir- 
red up  by  the  envious  prince  Apollyon.  But 
though  he  was  thus  discouraged  by  unex- 
pected opposition,  he  found  that  he  had,  by 
the  means  of  Consideration,  and  the  light 
of  God's  word,  some  new  friends  to  help 
and  assist  him ;  their  names  were  Con- 
science and  Enlightened-  Understanding. 
Now  Apollyon  being  in  great  fear  that 
Thoughtful,  by  the  help  of  Consideratio7'i, 
Conscience,  and  Enlightened- Understand- 
ing,  would  embrace  True  Godliness,  rose 
up  in  great  fury,  and  spoke  to  the  rest  of 
the  infernal  host  to  this  purpose : 

Most  iiiiglity  pow'rs,  who  once  from  heaven  fell, 
To  raise  this  throne  and  monarchy  in  hell, 
Bestir  yourselves  with  speed,  or  all  is  gone, 
For  Thoughtful  has  almost  the  battle  won. 

All  the  powers  of  hell  now  combined  to 
prevent  Thoughtful  I'rom  receiving  Tnie 
Godliness,  and  endeavored  to  stir  up  Old- 
Man  and  Carnal- Affections,  to  do  what 
they  could  to  place  his  mind  and  thoughts 
on  the  perishing  things  of  this  life.  This 
put  poor  Thoughtful  to  a  stand.  One 
while  he  was  resolved  to  open  the  door, 
but  tlien  suddenly  his  heart  was  captivated 
with  the  pleasures  and  delights  of  this  life. 
This  was  because  his  affections  were  not 
yet  thoroughly  changed,  nor  the  evil  quali- 
ties of  his  soul  removed ;  for  Old-Man  had 
grievously  corrupted  all  his  powers  and 
faculties,  which  Godliness  (who  with  pa- 
tience waited  still  at  his  door)  perceiving, 
asked  him  what  the  matter  was  that  he  did 
not  let  him  in. 

Thoughtfid  answered,  he  was  hindered 
by  a  base  adviser  that  he  had  in  his  house : 
upon  this.  Godliness  and  he  fell  into  serious 
discourse  again. 

Godli.  Who  is  it,  Thoughtfid,  that  hin- 
ders my  being  received  ? 

Thoicght.     His  name  is  Old-Man. 

Godli.  Ah !  he  is  my  grand  enemy,  and 
hath  been  nearly  six  thousand  years.  There 
is  not  one  in  all  the  world,  that  has  done 
more  wrong  than  he  and  his  daughter, 
Carnal- Affect  ions. 

Thought.  I  find  also  JVilful-  Will  is  ut- 
terly against  your  admision :  Lord,  what 
will  become  of  me  ?  I  know  you  are  wor- 
thy of  entertainment ;  and  oh !  who  am  I, 
that  you  should  come  to  be  guest  to  such  a 
vile  and  unworthy  wretch ! 

Godli.  Nay,  IVioughtful,  I  do  not  stand 
alone,  but  here  are  others  waiting  at  thy 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS, 


m 


door  to  come  in  with  me  also,  who  are  per- 
sons of  no  mean  quahty. 

Thought.     Others !  pray  who  are  they  ? 

GodlL  Why  here  is  the  eternal  Jeho- 
vah, with  Jesus  Christ,  the  Prince  of  the 
kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
Rev.  iii.  30. 

Tliought.  Lord!  what  shall  I  do?  O 
infinite  and  admirable  grace  and  condescen- 
sion !  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  at  my  door,  and  I  not  let  them  in ! 
Oh  !  this  is  amazing  ! 

Godli.  Moreover,  I  must  tell  thee  ;  they 
have  been  waiting  here  ever  since  I  came 
first  to  knock  at  thy  door ;  and  I  so  inform- 
ed thee ;  but  I  perceive  thy  memory  proves 
false.  Thou  art  doubtless  misled  by  that 
deceptive  Old-Man ;  but  if  thou  dost  not 
open  to  me  soon,  I  shall  leave  thee,  and 
these  illustrious  guests  will  take  their  de- 
parture. Why  dost  thou  not  lay  Old-Man 
prostrate  ?  It  is  not  enough  to  cry.  What, 
Lord,  shall  I  do  ?  but  thou  must  shake  off 
Sloth,  and  Uke  a  brave  and  courageous 
soul  acquit  thyself. 

Tlwught.  Alas  !  what  can  I  do  ?  This 
Old-Mail  is  too  strong  for  me,  and  Wilful- 
YVill  is  very  stubborn  too  ;  I  am  unequal  to 
them. 

Godli.  Why,  I  will  tell  thee;  there  is 
one  in  thy  house  that  will  help  thee,  if  thou 
hearken  to  him. 

Thought.     What  is  his  name.  Sir  1 

Godli.     His  name  is  Conscience. 

Thought.  Sir,  I  know  him  well ;  he  has, 
since  his  eyes  were  opened,  been  a  very 
good  friend  to  me :  but  for  a  great  while 
he  lay  in  my  house  as  one  dead,  and  I  found 
Ids  eyes  almost  put  out  by  Old-Man;  but 
all  that  he  can  do,  is  not  sufficient  without 
farther  help. 

Godli.  Thou  sayest  right ;  thank  Enlight- 
ened-Understanding for  that.  Considera- 
tion, by  bringing  him  to  read  and  hear 
God's  holy  word,  opened  his  eyes  also.  But 
is  there  no  other  friend  of  mine  in  thy  house, 
who  can  lend  thee  assistance  in  this  time  of 
need  ? 

Thought.  Alas  !  Sir,  whom  have  I  else 
that  can  do  apy  thing  for  me  1  for  my  house 
is  full  of  adversaries ;  never  was  a  cage 
fuller  of  unclean  and  hateful  birds. 

Godli.  Thou  sayest  right;  I  believe  thee, 
poor  Thoughtful ;  but  see  if  thou  canst 
not  Jind  a  friend  that  I  dearly  love,  and 
have  a  long  time  sought  for. 

Thought.  Pray,  Sir,  who  is  that?  Tell 
me  his  name. 

Godli.  His  name  is  Endeavor,  alias  La- 
borious. You  cannot  imagine,  Thoughtful, 
what  great  things  he  hath  done :  O  !  I  love 
liim  much;  he  helped  Noah  to  build  the 
1  ark,  and  Jacob  to  get  the  blessing,  and  to 
1  wrestle  with  the  angel,  and  to  prevail  too  ; 
and  Solomon  to  build  the  temple.     Consid 


eration,  it  is  true,  caused  David  to  think  on 
his  ways,  but  it  was  Endeavor,  that  turned 
his  foot  to  keep  God's  statutes.  Conside- 
ration also  brought  the  poor  prodigal  to 
his  right  mind,  but  it  was  Endeavor  that 
sent  him  home  to  his  father's  house :  it 
was  he  that  made  him  find  his  feet,  after 
the  Spirit  of  God  had  brought  him  to  him- 
self: nay,  I  could  tell  thee,  I  have  taught 
him  to  get  many  a  blessing  by  prayer. 
Who  was  it  that  got  the  three  loaves  in  the 
gospel  ?  Was  it  not  the  importunate  Labo- 
rious ?  Was  it  not  he  likewise  that  made 
the  poor  widow  prevail  with  the  unjust 
judge  to  avenge  her  of  her  adversary? 
Ng.y,  in  a  word,  the  promise  of  God  is 
made  to  him — "  If  you  follow  on  to  know 
the  Lord,  then  you  shall  know  him."  It  is 
this  dihgent  person  that  makes  men,  with 
God's  blessing,  rich ;  I  mean  spiritually 
rich.  Now,  what  dost  thou  say.  Thought- 
ful ?  Canst  thou  find  my  good  friend  En- 
deavor ? 

Thought.  Truly,  Sir,  now  I  think  of  it, 
I  hope  I  have  found  him  ;  but  he  has  been 
here  but  a  little  time,  and  has  been  too 
much  neglected  by  me :  for  I  did  not  "strive 
to  enter  in  at  the  straight  gate,"  till  now. 
But  I  pray,  wherein  will  he  be  so  useful  to 
me  ?     What  are  his  properties  ? 

Godli.  Why,  he  commonly  stirs  up  men 
to  open  the  door  to  me.  He  is  a  great  ene- 
my to  Sloth  and  Idleness  ;  he  makes  them 
rise  betimes  in  the  morning  to  call  upon 
God,  and  to  read  his  word,  and  search  into 
it  very  diligently.  He  will  make  you  incline 
your  ear  to  what  Conscience  says,  and  make 
you  tremble  at  his  reproofs  and  accusations 
when  you  sin  against  God,  if  you  will  take 
his  counsel.  He  will  also  cause  you  to  go 
and  hear  sermons,  and  not  to  sleep  when 
you  get  there,  nor  neglect  nor  slight  con- 
victions, nor  be  careless  and  negligent  in 
any  duty ;  and  will  help  you  to  labor  after 
faith,  and  not  to  rest  upon  any  thing  short 
of  Christ. 

Thought.  01  Sir,  this  is  the  very  friend 
I  want ;  and  blessed  be  God  I  have  found 
him.  I  am  resolved  to  make  use  of  his 
help  and  assistance  continually. 

Upon  this  he  became  very  diligent  in 
attending  upon  all  the  means  of  grace. 
Moreover,  by  the  help  of  Endeavor,  he  cut 
off  some  one  or  two  of  the  members  of  Old- 
Man,  that  body  ol'  sin,  and  prayed  morning 
and  evening ;  shunned  all  open  prolaneness 
and  scandalous  sins;  would  not  speak  at 
random  with  his  tongue,  nor  neglect  to  hear 
one  good  sermon,  when  an  opportunity  pre- 
sented, and  became  just  in  all  his  deaUngs 
with  men.  But  now  Apollyon,  by  the  treach- 
ery of  Old-Man,  raised  up  another  enemy 
which  had  almost  undone  him  insensibly. 
This  was  Self-Riglvteousness,  a  very  great 
enemy  to  True  Godliness.  By  his  influence, 


56 


TRAVELS     OF     TRUE     GODLINESS. 


Thoughtful  was  becoming  quite  contented 
with  himself,  and  began  to  forget  tliat  he 
had  not  admitted  True  Godliness ;  but  at 
last,  he  knocked  again,  and  demanded  in- 
stant admittance. 

Godli.  What  is  tlie  cause  of  this  great 
neglect  ?     What,  shall  I  not  be  received  ? 

0  what  a  long  time  have  I  stood  at  your 
door  !     What  is  the  difficulty  now  ? 

Thought.  Truly,  Sir,  I  had  concluded 
tliat  now  the  door  was  open,  by  the  help  of 
my  good  friend  Laborious,  for  I  have  done 
what  he  required  of  me. 

Godli.  No,  no,  Thoughtfid,  I  am  still 
kept  out.  Wilfid-  Will  and  Old-Man  have 
beguiled  you,  and  let  in  another  dangeroys 
enemy,  whose  name  is  Self-Righteousness. 

1  cannot  enter  till  he  be  expelled  and  hated. 
This  was  he  that  quite  undid  poor  Legalist, 
and  will  quite  ruin  you  too,  if  you  do  not 
take  heed.  I  would  not  have  you  slight 
Endeavor,  but  do  not  make  an  idol  of  him. 
If  you  be  found  in  your  own  righteousness, 
you  will  be  lost  by  your  own  unrighteous- 
ness ;  duties  can  never  have  too  much  of 
your  diligence,  nor  too  little  of  your  de- 
pendence. Not  the  salt  sea  of  thy  own 
tears,  but  the  red  sea  of  Christ's  blood 
must  wash  away  thy  sins.  You  must  owe 
the  life  of  your  soul  to  the  deatli  of  your 
Saviour.  If  you  have  no  better  righteous- 
ness than  what  is  of  your  own  providing, 
you  will  meet  with  no  higher  happiness  tlian 
what  is  of  your  own  deserving.  You  must 
take  up  duties  in  point  of  performance,  but 
lay  them  all  down  again  in  point  of  depend- 
ence. There  is  as  much  cause  to  fear  for 
you  now  as  there  ever  was.  What  will 
you  do ! 

Thought.  Lord,  help  me  !  what  shall  I 
do  indeed  ?  O  !  how  many  are  deceived, 
who  think  it  is  an  easy  thing  to  be  saved  ! 
Surely  I  shall  never  attain  to  a  state  of 
grace  and  true  conversion. 

Upon  this  a  melancholy  and  very  dan- 
gerous person,  (called  Despond,)  attacked 
him,  and  almost  prostrated  him  to  the  earth. 
Nay,  I  perceived,  he  fractured  some  of  his 
bones,  wounding  him  so  grievously,  that  he 
despaired  of  hfe.  Indeed,  he  was  over- 
whelmed with  trouble ;  and  that  which 
grieved  him  most  of  all,  was,  to  think,  that 
all  this  time,  not  only  True  Godliness,  but 
Christ  himself  also  waited  at  his  door. 
Godliness,  perceiving  what  a  deplorable 
condition  he  was  in,  spake  to  him  after  this 
manner : 

Godli.  Poor  TJioughtfid,  do  not  give 
way  to  Apollijon,  that  prince  of  darkness ; 
for  it  is  he  who  hath  stirred  up  that  cruel 
enemy  Despond  to  take  away  thy  lil'e  ;  that 
cruel  destroyer  hath  sent  many  souls  to  hell. 
Come,  though  thy  own  righteousness  is 
worth  nothing,  being  but  like  filthy  rags, 
yet  Christ's  righteousness  is  sufficient  to 


cover  thee,  and  his  blood  to  heal  thy  wounds. 
Your  business  is  to  believe,  viz.  wholly  to 
get  out  of  yourself,  and  rely  upon  Christ's 
all-sufficient  merits ;  and  know  assuredly, 
that  the  very  moment  you  cast  yourself,  by 
a  lively  act  of  faith,  upon  Jesus  Christ,  I 
shall  enter  your  habitation. 

O  know,  poor  Thoughtful,  tliat  Christ's 
righteousness  hath  more  worth  in  it  to  save 
you,  and  raise  you  up  to  heaven,  than  your 
own  unrighteousness  hath  weight  to  cast 
you  down  to  hell.  You  say  you  are  a  great, 
and  hell-deserving  sinner ;  but  you  can  be 
but  a  sinner,  and  Christ  died  for  sinners ; 
and  never  did  any  throw  themselves  by  an 
act  of  true  faith  upon  him,  but  they  were 
saved.  He  died  for  the  chief  of  sinners. 
Do  you  not  hear  him  say,  "  Come  unto  me, 
all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and 
I  will  give  you  rest  ?"     Matt.  xi.  28,  29. 

Thought.  O  that  I  could  believe !  My 
sins !  my  sins  ! 

No  sooner  had  Godliness  showed  him 
what  it  was  to  open  the  door,  and  laid 
before  him  the  necessity  of  union  with 
Christ,  and  of  faith  in  him,  but  ApoUyon, 
with  the  Old-Man,  and  other  bitter  ene- 
mies, began  to  cause  dreadful  commotions 
in  his  house;  for  nothing  doth  the  devil 
fear  more  than  true  faith:  and  Thoughtful 
Ibund  it  very  hard  to  believe.  Wilful- It  ill 
being  stubborn  and  perverse.  ApoUyon, 
also  tried  his  skill  in  many  other  ways  to 
undo  him,  so  that  he  was  hard  beset;  but 
when  he  saw  none  of  those  ways  were 
likely  to  succeed,  he  laid  before  him  the 
outward  danger  he  would  be  in,  if  True 
Godliness  were  embraced ;  he  told  him,  he 
was  likely  to  suffer  great  persecution,  it 
being  the  portion  of  all  who  entertained 
True  Godliness,  insomuch  that  his  very  life 
might  be  in  danger.  But  Godliness  com- 
forted him  with  many  precious  promises; 
telling  him  also,  he  had  such  a  glorious 
retinue  to  attend  him,  which  he  would  bring 
into  his  house  with  him,  that  he  need  not 
I'ear  any  difficulty,  provided  he  would  but 
admit  him  ;  and  seeing  he  was  still  unable 
to  open  the  door,  his  enemies  being  too 
strong  for  him,  he  told  him,  there  was  one 
friend  of  his,  whom,  if  he  could  prevail  with 
to  come  to  his  assistance,  he  would  soon 
make  the  way  clear,  and  open  the  door. 
Who  is  that  ?  said  Thoughtful,  with  great 
earnestness  mingled  with  joy.  Godliness 
then  discovered  immediately  the  excellency 
of  his  person,  and  the  nature  of  his  opera- 
tion, by  which  he  soon  understood  it  was 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Upon  this  he  was  not  a 
httle  delighted,  and  presently  cried  out,  as 
one  whose  life  is  in  danger,  to  God,  to  send 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  assist  him.  "  O  Lord, 
the  Holy  Spirit,  teach  me  thy  tnith,  and 
work  in  me  to  do  thy  pleasure."  Thus  he 
cried,  with  the  greatest  fervency,  and  pree- 


TRAVELS  OF  TRUE  GODLINESS. 


57 


«ntly  there  were  strange  strugglings  in- 
deed (tile  Holy  Spirit  acting  upon  all  the 
faculties  of  his  soul ;)  yea,  such  a  conflict 
as  he  never  before  met  with.  Judgment  in 
the  combat  behaved  himself  valiantly ; 
Consideration  was  not  wanting ;  Conscience 
laid  on  home  blows,  being  backed  by  En- 
deavor ;  and  in  the  beginning  of  tlie  com- 
bat, the  Holy  Spirit  came  in,  and  with  him 
Faith  and  other  attendants  of  Godliness ; 
then  the  door  flew  open,  and  Godliness  en- 
tered. OldrMan  hid  himself  Wilful-  Will 
submitted,  and  became  TlioughtfuVs  very 
good  servant.  Carnal  Affections  changed 
their  minds,  and  were  made  heavenly ;  and 
so  abode,  increasingly,  to  his  dying  day. 

True  Godliness  being  now  entered  into 
Ills  house,  with  his  attendants.  Thoughtful 
was  not  a  little  comforted.  Now  the  reti- 
nue of  Godliness,  who  came  in  with  him, 
were  these,  viz.  Newman,  True  Love,  Hu- 
mility, Sobriety,  Sincerity,  Temperance, 
Self -Clearing,  Faithful,  Excellent- Knowl- 
edge, Blessed-Experience,  Godly-Zeal,  Fil- 
ial-Fear, Precious-Promises,  Holy-Revenge, 
Vehement-Desire,  Constant-Supplication, 
Spiritual-Indignation,  Christian-Courage, 
Sincere  Aims  and  Ends,  Carefid.  Patience, 
Hospitality,  Stability,  Charily,  Liberality, 
Chastity,  Purity,  Holy- Sympathy,  Wake- 
Man,  JVatch- Well,  Peaceable,  Harmless, 
Gentleness,  Brotherly  -Kindness,  and  Love- 
All,  besides  several  others  of  like  quality. 
These,  as  I  formerly  stated,  were  all  per- 
sons of  noble  birth,  being  the  offspring  of 
Heaven.  I  perceived  also  a  most  glorious 
company  with  them ;  and  that  you  may 
know  what  a  happy  man  poor  Thoughtful 
now  became,  I  shall  intbrm  you  who  they 
were. 

The  first,  was  The  Father  of  True  God- 
liness, for  he  always  dwells  where  he  dwells, 
and  abides  with  this  his  glorious  and  heav 
enly  attendant.  Then  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  which  brought  tliat  word  to  my 
remembrance,  "  If  any  man  love  me,  he 
will  keep  my  words,  and  my  Father  will 
love  him,  and  we  will  come  unto  him,  and 
make  our  abode  with  him."  John  xiv.  23. 
Also  the  other  words,  "  I  will  come  in  to 
him,  and  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me," 
Rev.  iii.  20.  2  Tim.  i.  14.  Also,  The  Holy 
Spirit,  for  he  is  said  to  dwell  in  us ;  and  be- 
sides these,  there  was,  Union.  Reconcilia- 
tion. Justification.  Acceptation.  Commun- 
ionwiththe  Father  and  Son.  Adoption.  Par- 
don of  Sin.  The  Image  of  God.  Peace 
of  Conscience.  Joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Free  Access  to  the  Throne  of  Grace.  A 
Place  in  the  heavenly  Family.  Fellowship 
with  Saints.  The  earnest  Sealing  of  the 
Spirit.  Increase  of  Grace.  The  Attend- 
ance of  an  innumerable  Company  of  An- 
gels. 

But  lo !  I  looked,  and  afar  off  I  espied 

Vol.  3.— H. 


another  glorious  train  Ibllowing,  in  the 
midst  of  which  I  plainly  discerned,  amongst 
others,  (whose  glory  was  so  great  I  could 
not  behold  them,)  Immortality,  Incorrup- 
tion.  Perfection,  Glorious  Victory,  Heaven- 
ly Triumph,  the  Beautiful  Vision,  Rivers 
of  Pleasure,  the  Tree  of  Life,  the  King 
in  his  Beauty,  a  while  Throne,  Mansions 
of  Glory,  the  Holy  City,  New  Jerusalem,  a 
Crown  of  Righteousness,  and  Millions  of 
glorified  saints  coming  amongst  the  holy 
Cherubim  and  Se7-aphim,  and  all  the  Host 
of  Heaven,  with  palms  and  harps  in  their 
liands,  singing  Hallelujah  to  God  and  the 
Lamb.  They  made  such  melody,  that  it 
was  sufficient  to  ravish  the  soul  in  such  a 
manner,  as  to  leave  no  heart  nor  spirit  in 
us  for  the  empty  objects  of  this  world. 

Now  the  two  first  glorious  companies 
who  attended  True  Godliness  here,  entered 
with  him  immediately,  and  the  other  glories 
Tliuughtful  was  sure  of  possessing  after 
being  faithful  until  death,  so  that  he  was 
wonderfully  fortified  against  all  domestic 
commotions,  or  loreign  approaching  dan- 
gers. He  could  not  indeed,  but  expect 
new  troubles  would  be  raised  against  him, 
both  i'rom  within  and  without;  and  so  in- 
deed it  suddenly  came  to  pass,  Ibr  Apollyon, 
the  prince  of  darkness,  first  raised  up  all 
his  scattered  forces  which  still  remained 
within,  and  lurked  in  secure  corners  of  his 
house.  Old-Man,  though  he  was  danger- 
ously wounded,  and  lay  bleeding,  and  though 
Holy  Revenge  had  a  strict  command  to  kill 
him,  he  did  not  presently  do  it,  by  which 
means  it  happened,  that  in  a  little  time  he 
seemed  to  revive  again  ;  which  was  a  great 
grief  to  him,  and  a  hinderance  also  to  True 
Godliness.  And  the  worst  was,  this  inward 
corruption,  alias,  Old-Man,  alias  Body  of 
Sin,  getting  too  great  power  by  the  treach- 
ery oi  Apollyon,  Prince  of  darkness,  so  laid 
before  him  his  manifold  evils,  and  remiss- 
ness in  holy  duties,  as  to  persuade  him  that 
he  harbored  an  enemy  of  True  Godliness 
named  Hypocrisy ;  and  that  he  was  likely, 
upon  that  account,  to  lose  all  his  hopes 
here,  and  that  happiness  of  which  Godli- 
ness assuredhim  hereafter.  But,  as  the  Lord 
had  ordered  it,  Self-Clearing,  by  the  help 
of  Conscience,  made  it  apparent  to  him, 
that  Hypocrisy  was  not  concealed  in  his 
house,  nor  in  the  least  countenanced  by 
him.  For,  first,  they  proved  that  he  had  a 
hatred  of  all  iniquity,  and  did  not  allow  of, 
nor  countenance  any  sin  whatsoever,  by  the 
aid  of  Spiritual  Indignation.  And  second- 
ly, that  there  was  no  one  duty  which  he 
was  convinced  of,  but  he  readily  submitted 
to  it  by  the  help  of  New-Obedience.  Third- 
ly, That  he  was  peculiarly  careful  of,  and 
had  alway  (by  the  help  of  Christian  Watch- 
Well)  kept  a  strict  eye  over  Mrs.  Heart, 
whom  he  most  of  all  mistrusted,  and  had  a 


58 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


great  jealousy  of.  Fourthly,  That  he  rest- 
ed not  upon  the  external  perlbrmancc  of 
any  duty,  but  did  all  to  the  praise  and  glo- 
ry of  God,  bj^  the  help  of  Triie-Lovc. 
Fifthly,  That  ho  was  the  same  continually 
in  private  which  he  was  in  public,  by  the 
assistance  of  Filial-Fear.  Sixthly,  And 
that  also  he  gave,  according  to  his  ability, 
at  all  times,  to  Theology  (Christ's  minister) 
and  to  the  poor  saints  ;  the  one  by  the  aid 
of  New- Obedience,  Bounty,  Liberality,  and 
Godly-Zeal,  and  the  other  by  the  help  of 
Christian- Charity.  Seventhly,  That  he  did 
nothing  to  be  seen  of  men,  or  for  the  sake 
of  Vain- Glory,  by  the  directions  of  Holy- 
Ends  and  Alms,  and  by  the  power  of  Heav- 
enly Neio-Man.  Eighthly,  That  he  was 
always  constant  in  his  love  to,  and  his  es- 
teem of  True  Godliness,  being  as  much 
for  the  work  of  Godliness,  as  for  the  wages, 
by  the  assistance  of  Faithful.  Ninthly, 
That  he  did  not  inordinately  love,  nor  set 
his  affections  upon,  the  things  of  this  life, 
by  the  help  of  Temperance  and  Sobriety. 
Tenthly,  That  he  labored  to  live  a  spotless 
life,  being  taught  so  to  do  by  Purity.  Elev- 
enthly, That  he  bore  up  valiantly  in  the 
profession  of  the  gospel,  not  being  asham- 
nor  afraid  to  own  .Tesus  Christ  before  men, 
by  the  means  of  Stability  and  Christian- 
Courage.  Twelfthly,  That  he  did  not  faint 
under  afflictions  and  trials,  by  the  help  of 
Blessed-E.rpcrienr.e,  Patience,  and  Pre 
cious-Promises.  Thirteenthly,  And  that  he 
was  kept  from  being  corrupted  in  principle, 
or  led  into  error,  by  the  means  of  Excellent- 
Knowledge. 

Now  Conscience  and  Self-Clearing  hav- 
ing thus  freed  Thoughtful  from  the  false 
charge  about  harboring  Hypocrisy,  he  per- 
ceived what  excellent  advantage  he  had, 
and  should  receive  by  Godliness'  noble  ret- 
inue ;  and  hereupon  he  fell  so  in  love  with 
them,  that  he  never  would  go  any  where, 
nor  perform  any  service  without  their  com- 
pany ;  which  Apollyon  perceiving,  knew  it 
was  in  vain  to  assault  him  any  more  in  that 
way ;  but  being  filled  with  rage  and  malice 
against  him,  he  raised  up  mighty  forces  and 
powers  upon  him  from  without.     He  stirred 
up  many  of  the  base  sort  to  abuse  him, 
amongst  which  were  these  following :  Hate- 
Good,  Time-Server.  Pride,  Oid-Side,  Riot, 
Ignorance,  Hard-Heart,  Scoffer,  Please- All, 
Ijove-Lust,  Giddy-Head,  Rob-Saint,  Tem- 
porizer, Iclolator,  Avarice,  Shameless,  High- 
Minded,    Seared- Conscience ;    who,    Avith 
many   more   of  like   sort,  compassed   him 
about  like  bees,  mis-called  and  abused  him 
in  a  cruel  and  unmerciful  manner,  which 
made  him  anxiously  inquire  what  the  cause 
should   be;    but  a"t  last  he  perceived  the 
ground  and  reason  of  it  was  only  because 
he  had  received  7\-ue  Godliness. 

Remembering  that  word  of  Jesus  Christ, 


"  Marvel  not  if  tlie  world  hate  you ;"  and 
that  word,  "  They  shall  say  all  manner  of 
evil  against  you  falsely  for  my  name  sake ;" 
with  the  saying  of  the  apostle,  "And  all 
that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus,  shall 
suffer  persecution ;"  he  saw  that  nothing 
could  be  expected  but  that  these  fellows 
would  distress  him.  Though  by  tiie  help 
he  had  from  Godliness^  glorious  retinue,  he 
was  supported  and  established  in  the  ways 
of  grace  and  true  holiness,  yet  he  was 
somewhat  disquieted  in  his  mind.  He  now 
began  to  think  he  must  remove  from  these 
tormentors.  He  wondered  they  should  sa 
perplex  him,  and  felt  sure,  Avere  he  to 
change  his  condition  and  manner  of  living, 
he  should  certainly  escape  their  annoyance 
and  serve  God  with  more  pleasure  and  ad- 
vantage. What  was  now  essential  to  his 
peace  was,  to  be  associated  with  Christian 
Contentment. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Thoughtful,  meeting  with  his  Fnend  Con- 
tentment, and  finding  nmo  nothing  want- 
ing in  order  to  the  making  of  his  Life 
sweet  and  comfortable,  sung  Hallebijahs, 
Hymns  of  Praise  and  Thanksgiving  to 
God  and  the  Lamb. 

Thoughtful  Christi.\n,  for  so  now  we 
must  call  him,  notwithstanding  all  the  high 
and  unutterable  blessings,  riches,  and  honor, 
he  had  acquired  by  embracing  True  Godli- 
ness, became  sad  and  melancholy,  by  per- 
ceiving not  only  the  great  distresses  and 
troubles  which  his  family  were  like  to  meet 
with  in  this  world,  but  also  what  unsettled, 
and  unhappy  days,  he  was  fallen  into,  and 
of  the  abounding  evils  and  horrid  blasphe- 
mies which  he  witnessed  wherever  he  came. 
Godliness,  however,  informed  him  of  a  per- 
son named  Coiztentment,  whom  he  saw  he 
had  not  yet  found ;  and  remarked,  that  if 
he  could  but  acquire  him  for  an  associate, 
his  mind  would  remain  sweetly  settled  and 
composed,  and  that  he  would  enjoy  all  im- 
aginable calmness  of  soul,  and  be  delivered 
from  all  anxious  thoughts,  and  undergo 
crosses  and  harsh  accidents  with  equanimity 
and  acquiescence  of  spirit ;  wholly  submit- 
ting unto,  and  being  fully  satisfied  with,  the 
divine  disposal.  Now,  this  glorious,  noble, 
and  renowned  personage.  Contentment,  had 
been,  it  seems,  travelling  from  place  to  place, 
like  a  poor  pilgrim,  as  Tnie  Godliness  had 
done,  seeking  a  fit  resting  place,  but  could 
find  none.  He  had  been  to  visit  Riches, 
but  Avas  not  admitted ;  and  Poverty  also, 
but  found  no  lodging  there  ;  Avith  Youth  he 
could  find  no  abode,  and  Old-Age  was  a 
stranger  to  hi  in  ;  Pleasure,  could  give  him 
no  entertainment ;    Honors  were  forced  to 


TRAVELS    OF    TRUE    GODLINESS. 


59 


say,  we  know  him  not.  He  was  not  lodged 
in  the  prince's  palace,  nor  in  the  peasant's 
cottage:  the  unmarried  sought  him,  but 
could  not  find  him,  and  the  married  wished 
for  him,  but  he  tbund  tliere  was  no  abiding 
with  them  neither.  Thoughtful  now  hear- 
ing that  he  was  accustomed  to  dwell  where 
Godliness  took  up  his  lodging,  sent  pres- 
ently his  old  friend  Consideration  to  seek 
for  him,  and  by  the  providence  of  God,  it 
was  not  long  before  he  was  found.  For  the 
information  of  my  thinking  reader,  I  shall 
show  how  Consideration^  by  the  assistance 
of  Faith,  met  with  him,  and  brought  him 
home  to  Thoughtful  Christian,  and  made 
him  his  fixed  companion. 

First,  Co7isideraiion  led  him  forth  to  pon- 
der upon  the  divine  attributes,  providences, 
and  promises,  and  taught  him  to  confide 
■cheerfully  in  tlie  infinite  power,  wisdom, 
holiness,  mercy,  goodness,  truth,  and  faith- 
fulness of  God. 

Secondly,  He  stirred  him  up  to  seek  for 
ContentmeiU,  by  observing  his  present  state 
and  condition.  What,  saith  he,  hath  God 
done  for  thee !  Thou  wast  in  the  gall  of 
bitterness,  and  bond  of  iniquity,  and  God 
hath  brought  thee  out,  and  yet  not  content ! 
Thou  wast  a  child  of  wrath,  and  now  art  a 
child  of  God,  yet  not  content!  Hast  thou 
God  for  thy  God,  Christ  for  thy  Saviour, 
the  Holy  Spirit  for  thy  Comforter,  and  yet 
not  content!  Nay,  doth  God,  Christ,  and 
the  Holy  Spirit  dwell  with  thee,  and  yet 
not  content!  Hast  thou  received  True 
Godliness^  glorious  retinue  into  thy  house, 
to  abide  witli  thee,  to  enrich  thee,  to  strength- 
en thee,  to  comfort  thee,  and  make  thy  life 
sweet  to  thee,  and  yet  not  content !  Are 
thy  sins  pardoned,  thy  soul  justified — hast 
thou  union  and  communion  with  the  Father 
and  Son,  and  yet  not  content !  Is  thy  name 
written  in  the  Book  of  Life !  Art  thou  an 
heir  of  a  crown  and  a  kingdom  that  fadeth 
not  away,  and  yet  not  content!  Nay,  let 
me  tell  thee,  all  these  things,  and  many 
more,  are  absolutely  thine  with  Content- 
ment. Come,  art  thou  willing  to  possess 
them,  to  make  them  thine  own,  and  enjoy 
them  forever  ?  If  thou  wouldst  be  sure  of 
them,  then  get  Contentment  to  dwell  with 
thee ;  for  "  Godliness  with  contentment  is 
great  gain."  1  Tim.  vi.  6.  It  doth  not  say. 
Godliness  without  Contentment  but  with 
Contentment.  This  glorious  prince  will 
put  thee  into  the  present  possession  of  all 
true  happiness,  and  wilt  thou  not  resolve  to 
give  him  a  residence  in  thy  house  ? 

Thirdly,  Ponder  upon  the  excellency  of 
Contentment ;  for  a  saint  never  looks  like 
himself,  or  acts  like  a  person  of  rank  and 
quaUty,  who  hath  received  so  many  glori- 
ous and  excellent  qualities  and  privileges, 
but  when  in  all  conditions  he  is  therewith 
content. 


Fourthly,  Ponder,  saith  Consideration, 
upon  the  evils  of  Discontent.  Oh !  what 
dishonor  doth  it  bring  to  God !  what  re- 
proach to  True  Godliness !  and  wliat  great 
wrong  to  thy  own  soul! 

Fifthly,  It  is  below  thy  Christian  relation, 
to  be  discontent.  It  was  the  speech  of  Jo- 
nadab  to  Amon,  '•  Why  art  thou,  being  a 
king's  son,  lean  from  day  to  day  ?"  But 
that  was  for  a  wicked  cause ;  he  saw  his 
spirit  was  troubled,  for  otherwise  he  was 
healthful  enough.  It  is  below  thy  relation 
to  God,  who  is  thy  portion,  thy  shield,  thy 
sanctuary,  thy  iatiier.  David  thougjit  it  no 
small  matter  to  be  a  son-in-law  to  an  earthly 
king ;  and  thou  art  the  King's  son  of  heav- 
en and  eartli,  and  yet  not  content !  It  is 
below  thy  relation  to  Jesus  Christ.  What, 
art  thou  the  spouse  of  Christ,  a  member  of 
Christ,  the  brother  and  friend  of  Christ,  an 
heir  with  Christ,  and  yet  not  content !  It  is 
below  thy  relation  to  the  Holy  Ghost.  Is 
he  thy  comforter,  guide,  witness,  strength, 
and  art  thou  not  content !  It  is  below  thy 
relation  to  the  holy  angels  who  are  thy 
guard,  thy  attendants,  thy  friends,  thy 
watch-men !  hast  tlaou  millions  of  those 
glorious  spirits  to  minister  to  thee,  to  fight 
for  thee,  keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways,  and  yet 
not  content !  It  is  below  thy  relation  to  the 
saints  and  heavenly  family.  Art  thou 
brought  home  to  sit  down  with  them,  to 
partake  of  all  the  sacred  privileges  of  God's 
house  with  them,  and  to  have  a  share  in  all 
their  prayers,  and  yet  not  content!  It  is 
below  the  high  and  sovereign  dignity  thou 
art  raised  to.  Art  thou  born  from  above,  a 
prince,  a  favorite  of  heaven,  an  heir  of  both 
worlds,  and  yet  not  content ! 

Lastly,  Consider,  all  thy  afflictions,  trou- 
bles, and  sorrows  are  nothing,  in  comparison 
of  what  other  saints  have  met  with ;  nay, 
to  those  Jesus  Christ  met  with  himself  for 
thy  sake,  and  art  thou  not  content!  Be- 
sides, are  they  not  less  than  thy  sins  de- 
serve? Nay,  all  those  hard  things  thou 
meetest  with,  God  intended  to  work  for  thy 
good.  All  the  bitter  things  thou  art  ever 
hke  to  meet  with,  may  be  in  this  world 
nothing  but  sweet  hereafter,  and  yet  not 
content!  All  thy  troubles  will  soon  be 
gone,  they  are  but  for  a  moment ;  besides, 
they  are  intermixed  with  much  sweet,  and 
yet  not  content ! 

No  sooner  had  Consideration  laid  all 
these  things  and  many  other  of  the  like  na- 
ture before  him,  but  lo !  to  his  joy.  Content- 
ment came  in,  and  was  immediately  wel- 
comed by  Godliness''  heavenly  retinue; 
yea,  it  cannot  be  imagined  what  rejoicing 
there  was  now  in  poor  ThoughffiWs  house ; 
it  would  have  diffused  joy  through  every 
benevolent  mind,  to  see  how  the  scattered 
powers  of  the  enemy  were  forced  to  fly 
into  conceahnent.     ApoUyon   him^;elf  was 


60 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


forced  to  withdraw ;  Despond  was  vanish- 
ed ;  Disquiet  and  Munnur  could  find  no 
place.  Oh !  this  was  to  him  the  joyful  day 
of  days. 

Now  that  blessed  Contentment  was  fairly 
settled  in  the  house,  he  witli  the  kind  retinue 
which  Godliness  had  brought  in  before,  soon 
began  to  set  the  affairs  of  Thoughtful  in 
order.  Constant  Supplication  proved  him- 
self an  excellent  help.    Careful,  Hospitality, 


Holy  Sympathy,  I^ve-All,  and  others  con- 
tributed to  secure  the  respect  of  all  his 
neighbors.  His  residence  in  the  town  of 
Religion  proved  a  public  blessing  ;  and  so 
long  as  my  knowledge  of  him  continued,  he 
remained  happy  and  prosperous,  ever  bless- 
ing the  day  he  became  acquainted  with 
True  Godliness,  and  employed  much  of 
his  time  in  thanksgiving  and  praise  to  God 
and  the  Lamb. 


HELP 


TO 


ZION'S    TRAVELLERS 


AN  ATTEMPT  TO  REMOVE  VARIOUS   STUMBLING-BLOCKS  OUT  OF 

THE  VV^AY  RELATING  TO  DOCTRINAL,  EXPERIMENTAL 

AND  PRACTICAL  RELIGION. 


By  ROBERT  HALL,  Late  op  Arnsby. 


INTRODUCTION 


"  Cast  ye  up,  cast  ye  up,  prepare  the  way,  take  iip  the 
stumbling-block  out  of  the  way  of  my  people." — Isaiah 
Ivii.  14. 

These  words  seem  to  have  been  the  lan- 
guage of  those  who  in  a  time  of  general 
declension  adhered  to  God  and  religion,  and 
in  every  difficulty  and  danger  trusted  in  the 
Lord,  being  encouraged  by  his  precious 
promises,  as  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
verse.  Knowing,  by  mournful  experience, 
the  various  obstacles  and  intricacies  which 
annoy  and  perplex  the  heavenly  traveller 
in  times  of  distress  and  obscurity,  they  are 
represented  as  saying,  on  behalf  of  the  dis- 
couraged and  entangled,  to  those  who  were 
employed  in  the  ways  of  Zion,  Cast  ye  up, 
cast  ye  up,  prepare  the  way,  &c. 

Wnether  the  text  be  considered  as  his- 
torical, or  prophetical,  as  a  relation  of  what 
was  the  request  of  the  godly  in  the  days 


of  the  prophet,  or  a  prediction  of  what 
would  be  solicited  in  some  future  period,  it 
is  evident  from  the  words  that  the  people 
of  God  are  represented  as  on  a  journey, 
seeking  a  better  country,  which  is  an  heav- 
enly ;  therefore  are  frequently  called,  stran- 
gers, and  pilgrims  on  the  earth ;  that  the 
way  in  which  they  are  to  walk  is  not  at  all 
times  easy  to  be  discovered  ;  and  when  ob- 
scurity attends  the  patli,  hesitation  prevents 
a  progress.  Hence  tlie  servants  of  the 
Lord  are  called  upon  to  cast  up  and  pre- 
pare the  way,  to  render  it  more  visible  and 
obvious  to  every  spiritual  passenger,  to  see 
that  it  be  raised  or  elevated,  and  thereby 
rendered  safe,  even  when  floods  of  perse- 
cution and  temptation  abound,  and  made 
as  plain  as  possible,  by  the  removal  of  every 
thing  tending  to  injure  the  weak  or  benight- 
ed traveller :  therefore  it  is  added,  Take 
up  the  stumbling-block  out  of  the  way  of 
my  people.  This  desire,  this  request  seems 
to  be  represented  as  the  personal  and  imited 
wish  of  every  good  man,  whether  in  the 
days  of  llie  prophet,  or  in  future  periods  of 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


61 


time.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  "  He  that 
putteth  his  trust  in  me — shall  say,  Cast  ye 
up,  cast  ye  up,  prepare  the  way,  take  up 
the  stumbhng -block  out  ol'  the  way  of  my 
people." 

Though  etumbhng-block  is  mentioned 
only  in  the  singular,  as  if  pointing  to  some 
one  danger  or  difficulty  to  he  removed,  yet 
it  is  evident  from  scripture,  that  various 
things  are  so  denominated ;  but  the  singu- 
lar number  only  being  used  in  the  words, 
may  denote  the  dreadful  nature  and  dan- 
gerous tendency  of  the  doctrine  and  prac- 
tice of  idolatry,  which  was  the  stumbling- 
block  Balaam  taught  Balak  to  cast  before 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  against  which 
the  prophet  in  this  chapter  had  been  bear 
ing  his  testimony.  The  doctrine  of  idola- 
try in  its  different  forms  has  been,  and  con- 
tinues to  be,  a  fatal  stumbling-block  to  ma- 
ny: hence  the  church  of  Pergamos  was 
censured  for  keeping  in  her  community 
them  that  held  the  doctrine  of  Balaam. 
Rev.  ii.  14.  Again,  if  the  text  be  consid- 
ered as  the  language  of  every  believer,  it 
may  refer  to,  or  include,  whatever  was  or 
may  be  found  of  a  stumbling  nature  to 
each  of  them.  The  experiences  of  Chris- 
tians are  very  different  respecting  what  is, 
or  has  been,  to  them  of  a  trying,  perplex- 
ing nature ;  and  as  each  Christian  is  ready 
to  fear  what  has  been  the  principle  stum- 
bling-block to  him  may  be  the  same  to  oth- 
ers, it  is  natural  to  suppose,  that  as  every 
heart  knows  its  own  bitterness,  each  tried 
believer  would  thus  express  himself,  and  in 
reference  to  his  own  experience,  say,  "  Take 
the  stumbling-block  out  of  the  way  of  my 
people." 

Besides,  as  there  is  often  a  prevalence  of 
various  errors  in  different  periods,  and  dis- 
tinct places ;  so,  what  is  injurious  to  the 
people  of  God,  as  a  prevailing  stumbling- 
block  in  their  way,  is  variable,  according  to 
the  methods  taken  to  obscure,  misrepresent, 
or  oppose  the  solemn  and  sacred  truths, 
which  God  has  graciously  revealed  in  his 
word ;  or  lessen  their  genuine  influence 
and  native  tendency,  as  recorded  in  the 
holy  scriptures. 

From  these  considerations  we  may  infer, 
that  though  the  text  speaks  in  the  singular 
number,  yet  the  servants  of  the  Lord  must 
expect  to  have  various  things  of  a  stum- 
bling nature  to  remove,  according  to  the 
different  exercises  of  the  saints,  or  the  in- 
jury done  to  truth  at  different  times,  and  by 
different  persons. 

The  ministers  of  Christ  are  set  for  the 
defence  of  the  gospel,  and  are  appointed  to 
help  the  faith  and  joy  of  those  who  have 
believed  through  grace.  And  as  this  is  a 
day  in  which  errors  of  various  kinds  abound, 
a  day  of  gloominess  and  perplexity  to  ma- 
ny sincere  Christians  who  desire  to  know 


the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  to  be  devoted  to 
him  through  life,  as  well  as  found  in  him  at 
death ;  for  the  sake  of  such  1  would  endeav- 
or, as  the  Lord  shall  help,  to  remove  some 
of  those  stumbling-blocks,  which  he  in  their 
way,  relating  to  doctrinal,  experimentau 
and  PRACTICAL  religion. 


CHAPTER 'i?-^ 
The  Deity  of  &kfi»&r^ 


Respecting  doctrinal  difficulties,  we  may 
observe  the  most  common  and  artful  meth- 
ods taken  by  many  to  overturn  the  soul- 
supporting  truth  of  Christ's  divinity.  It  is 
only  from  the  sacred  scriptures  we  can  have 
information  respecting  the  person  and  work 
of  our  precious  Redeemer :  to  these  he  ap- 
pealed in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  saying, 
Search  the  scriptures,  for  they  testify  of  me : 
but  with  what  deceitfulness  is  the  word  of 
God  handled  by  many,  when  the  person 
of  Christ  is  the  subject  of  inquiry !  [In- 
stances might  easily  be  multiphed;  but  I 
shall  mention  only  the  following.] 

1.  Some  in  order  to  overthrow  his  claim 
to  divinity,  and  the  supreme  love  of  his 
people,  have  collected  a  number  of  passa- 
ges of  scripture,  which  plainly  declare  his 
inferiority  to  God :  from  which  they  infer, 
with  an  appearance  of  gravity  and  good 
will  to  truth,  that  as  scripture  is  evidently 
consistent  with  itself,  he  therefore  who  ia 
therein  declared  to  be  inferior  to  deity,  can- 
not possibly  be  divine.  But  a  little  atten- 
tion is  sufficient  to  discover  that  art  is  sub- 
stituted in  the  room  of  argument,  and  soph- 
istry occupies  the  place  of  sense.  Every 
good  man  will  rejoice  in  the  harmony  and 
consistency  of  divine  revelation,  and  readi- 
ly allow  that  inferiority  and  equality  are 
opposites,  and  that  in  the  sense  in  which 
Christ  is  spoken  of  as  an  inferior,  he  is  not, 
cannot  be  equal  with  God. 

But  as  in  the  person  of  Christ  two  dis- 
tinct natures  are  united,  in  consequence  of 
which  he  is  Immanuel,  God  with  us ;  there- 
fore it  does  not  follow,  because  he  has  a 
nature  inferior  to  God,  yea,  even  to  angels, 
that  his  superior  nature  is  not  properly 
divine.  Ten  thousand  testimonies  in  proof 
of  his  humanity  do  not  in  the  least  degree 
enervate  his  claim  to  deity :  a  very  small 


62 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS, 


attention  to  the  subject  under  considera-I 
tion,  is  sufficient  to  discover  the  fallacious- 
ness of  such  reasoning  as  the  above.  For 
those  who  maintain  the  divinity  of  the  bless- 
ed Saviour,  as  firmly  believe  him  to  be 
properly  man.  as  they  do  who  deny  him  to 
be  God  over  all. 

It  is  our  unspeakable  felicity,  that  the  Son 
of  Grod  was  sent  into  the  world  as  a  Medi- 
ator, to  make  peace  between  Jehovah  in 
his  public  character  as  a  governor,  and  re- 
bellious men,  that  the  Lord  God  might 
dwell  among  them,  and  they  with  him. 
In  order  to  accomplish  which,  it  was  ne- 
cessary he  .should  assume  human  nature, 
and  dwell  among  us.  To  reconcile  God 
and  man,  it  was  needful  he  should  be  a 
middle  person,  possessing  the  nature  of 
both,  and  as  equally  interested  in  favor  of 
each  party,  be  able  to  establish  Heaven's 
righteous  claim,  and  raise  self-ruined  man 
to  a  state  of  safety,  dignity,  and  delight. 

Considered  as  a  complex  person,  he  kind- 
ly condescended  to  act  on  our  behalf  in 
office  capacity,  as  if  inferior  to  Deity.  For 
as  Mediator  he  acted  as  under  the  direction 
and  commission  of  his  Father ;  and  as  such, 
was  God's  servant,  though  his  Son  ;  there- 
fore said,  of  himsell'  he  could  do  nothing : 
not  through  the  want  of  ability,  but  being 
under  official  obligations  to  adhere  to  his 
Father's  directions.  Though  an  embassa- 
dor can  do  nothing  of  himself,  but  is  bound 
in  duty  to  act  in  all  things  in  conformity  to 
his  instructions,  yet  it  is  not  from  thence 
inferable  that  his  nature,  ability,  or  men- 
tal powers,  are  inferior  to  those  of  his  sov- 
ereign ;  for  the  restriction  or  limitation  is 
not  the  effect  of  personal  debility,  but  of 
office  capacity.  The  blessed  Jesus  is  there- 
fore not  only  inferior  to  God  as  man,  but 
as  Mediator;  nevertheless,  inferiority  in 
office  does  not  prove,  nor  imply,  an  inferi- 
ority of  nature.  Nay,  on  the  contrary,  the 
errand  on  which  he  came,  and  the  work 
assigned  him  to  perform,  were  so  infinitely 
important,  awful,  and  arduous,  that  he 
could  not  have  discharged  his  trust  without 
the  power  and  penetration  of  Deity.  Hence 
he  appealed  to  his  works  in  prooi  of  his  di- 
vine mission,  likewise  as  evidences  of  his 
filial  relation  to  God,  in  such  a  sense  as  ex- 
posed him  to  the  charge  of  blasphemy,  had 
he  not  been  properly  divine :  John  x.  24 — 
38.  His  true  dignity  as  a  divine  person  be 
ing  inferable  from  what  he  did,  his  enemies 
were  on  that  account  inexcusable,  because 
his  works  sufficiently  demonstrated  to  every 
honest  inquiring  mind,  who  he  was,  as  well 
as  from  whence  he  came ;  though  it  was 
inconsistent  with  his  then  state  of  humilia- 
tion and  debasement,  to  allow  the  glories 
of  divinity  to  shine  forth  in  their  native  lus 
tre  and  infinite  splendor :  hence  he  repeat- 
edly charged  his  friends  not  to  publish  to 


the  world  who  he  was,  till  after  his  resur- 
rection from  the  dead.  That  he  was  a 
man,  his  enemies  knew  as  well  as  his  dis- 
ciples ;  yea,  some  of  them  thought  him  to  be 
the  promised  Messiah,  and  said  one  to  anoth- 
er, riiis  is  the  heir,  let  us  kill  him :  but  as 
a  divine  person  they,knew  him  not;  for, 
had  they  known  him,  they  would  not  have 
crucified  the  Lord  of  Glory.  For  the  prin- 
cipal charge  brought  against  him,  and  for 
which  he  was  condemned,  was,  that,  being 
a  man,  he  made  himself  equal  with  God ; 
John  V.  18.     Chap.  xix.  7. 

If  Christ  exposed  himself  to  death  through 
ambiguity,  how  did  he  witness  a  good  con- 
fession at  Pilate's  bar?  If  he  did  not 
mean  an  equality  with  God,  which  the  Jews 
thought  he  did,  strange  that  his  regard  to 
truth  did  not  lead  to  an  explanation  of  what 
he  intended. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  priests  and  others  in 
that  day  of  prevalent  ignorance  and  per- 
verseness,  should  have  a  secret  conviction 
of  his  office  capacity  as  Messiah,  without 
an  idea  of  his  divinity,  seeing,  some  under 
the  profession  of  gospel  ministers,  acknowl- 
edge and  plead  lor  his  divine  mission,  and 
yet  oppose  and  reject  with  contempt  the 
idea  of  his  being  a  divine  person. 

How  kind  and  wonderful  the  condescen- 
sion of  the  blessed  Jesus,  that  he  should 
stoop  to  take  upon  him  human  nature  (not 
as  when  in  its  original  dignity,  but  in  its  de- 
based state)  in  order  to  suffer,  and  serve, 
in  favor  of  those  who  would,  he  knew,  on 
that  very  account,  rob  him  of  his  reputa- 
tion, as  a  divine  person  !  It  is  mournful  to 
tliink  he  should  be  despised  on  earth  for 
that,  on  account  of  which  he  is  admired  in 
heaven. 

Consider  the  complex  capacity  of  the 
adorable  Jesus  as  God,  and  as  man,  with 
his  acting  as  Mediator,  in  consequence  of 
such  an  vmion  of  distinct  natures,  and  then 
the  scripture  account  of  his  inferiority  and 
subjection  to  the  divine  Father  will  appear 
quite  consonant  with  the  doctrine  of  his 
true  and  proper  divinity ;  and  the  stum- 
bling-block aforesaid  be  totally  removed. 
But  when  the  aforesaid  [difficulty]  is  re- 
moved, behold  another  is  with  equal  art 
thrown  in  the  way  of  the  ignorant  and  un- 
wary, which  is 

2.  A  perversion  of  the  terms  used  ia 
treating  of  this  important  subject.  In  con- 
sequence of  such  unwarrantable,  not  to  say 
unmanly  craft,  the  uniiy  of  the  divine  es- 
sence is  represented  to  be  so  evidently  in- 
consistent with  a  plurality  of  divine  persons, 
as  if  it  was  universally  agreed  to  consider 
them  as  absolute  contradictions,  and  to  con- 
vey irreconcilable  ideas  ;  whereas  it  is  ve- 
ry well  known  that  those  who  believe  the 
divinity  of  the  blessed  Jesus  (and  the  Holy 
Ghost)  as  firmly  maintain  the  unity  of  the 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


63 


divine  essence,  or  that  there  is  only  one 
God,  as  they  do  who  oppose  a  pluraUty  of 
divine  persons.  Yet  things  are  so  repre- 
sented as  if  they  and  the  Trinitarians  agreed 
in  that  about  which  they  ditfer,  and  again 
as  if  they  differed  about  that  in  wliich  they 
are  agreed:  for  the  consistency  between 
a  pluraUty  of  persons  in  the  one  divine  es- 
sence is  the  very  thing  Ibr  which  those  con- 
tend who  believe  the  divinity  of  Christ.  And 
that  there  is  but  one  living  and  true  God, 
both  parties  unite  and  agree  in  acknowl- 
edging. The  doctrines  of  2mUy  in  the  di- 
vine essence,  and  a  plurality  oi' persons,  are 
in  their  very  nature  distinct,  and  ought 
never  to  be  confounded.  But  that  they 
are  opposites  and  inconsistent  in  reference 
to  God,  has  not  yet  been  proved,  and  I  be- 
lieve never  will.  But  though  the  adversa- 
ries of  Christ's  divinity  oppose  the  one  to 
the  other,  as  if  they  were  allowed  contra- 
rieties ;  yet,  by  and  by,  they  will  treat  those 
very  terms  by  which  the  doctrines  are  dis- 
tinguished, as  if  they  were  intended  to  ex- 
press the  same  thing,  or  convey  similar 
ideas.  Hence,  if  the  essence  of  God  be 
the  subject  treated  of,  the  term  person  is 
immediately  substituted,  as  if  synonymous 
with  that  of  essence,  and  then  with  an  air 
of  triumph  it  is  inferred,  that^  If  God  be 
one,  he  w  not  two  or  three.  Again,  il'  the 
doctrine  of  divine  personality  be  the  mat 
ter  of  immedioAe  consideration,  and  scrip- 
tural proofs  be  adduced  in  support  of  a 
plurality  of  persons  truly  divine,  behold 
the  idea  of  essence  is  by  them  substituted 
in  the  room  of  person,  and  nnity  instead 
of  plurality,  and  by  the  help  of  such  a 
substitution  and  perversion  of  terms,  and 
shuffle  of  ideas,  they  very  gravely  exclaim 
against  Tritheism,  i.  e.  the  doctrine  of  three 
Gods.  As  the  friends  of  Christ's  divinity 
never  assert  God  to  be  three  in  the  sense 
in  which  he  is  one,  nor  one  in  the  same 
sense  in  which  he  is  three,  but  perpetually 
distinguish  between  a  plurality  of  persons 
and  the  imity  of  God,  the  methods  taken  as 
aforesaid  are  disingenous,  contemptible, 
mean,  and  even  beneath  notice,  were  it  not 
that  thereby  inattentive  minds  are  imposed 
upon,  the  opposition  to  the  Redeemer's 
dignity  is  supported,  and  weak  Christians 
are  stumbled. 

It  is  evident,  however,  beyond  contradic- 
tion, that  according  to  the  scriptures  there 
was  a  plurality  of  persons  antecedent  to 
creation ;  for  in  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God,  the  same  was  in  the 
beginning  witii  God :  all  things  were  made 
by  him,  and  without  him,  was  not  any  thing 
made  that  was  made  ;  John  i.  1,  2,  3  :  that 
glorious  person  who  was  unth  God  was 
therefore  distinct  from  him  with  whom  he 
was,  and  yet  of  the  same  nature,  being  one 


in  essence  with  tlie  Father.  For  the  word 
was  God,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  is  intended 
by  the  Word  who  was  in  the  beginning 
with  God,  and  the  author  of  creation,  is 
plain  from  verse  10.  He  was  in  the  world, 
and  the  world  was  made  by  him.  Again, 
verse  14,  The  Word  was  made  flesh  and 
dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld  his  glory, 
the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth.  As  he 
was  before  all  things,  so  by  him  all  things 
consist ;  Col.  i.  17.  He  was  with  the  Fath- 
er from  everlasting,  and  all  that  is  done  in 
lime  is  according  to  the  eternal  purpose 
which  the  Father  purposed  in  him.  Hence 
God  chose  his  people  in  him,  committed 
them  to  his  care  in  the  everlasting  cove- 
nant, and  promised  eternal  life  in  him  before 
the  world  began.  Many  instances  might 
be  given  of  Christ's  existence  before  his 
incarnation,  as  he  said.  Before  Abraham 
was,  I  am ;  John  viii.  58.  The  plural  pro- 
nouns used  in  scripture  by  the  great  Eter- 
nal when  speaking  of  acts,  authority,  and 
properties  peculiar  to  Deity,  are  striking 
proofs  of  a  plurality  of  persons  in  one  es- 
sence, God  said.  Let  us  make  man  in  our 
image,  after  our  likeness ;  Gen.  i.  26.  Be- 
hold the  man  is  become  like  one  of  us ; 
chap.  iii.  22.  Let  us  go  down  and  confound 
their  language :  chap.  xi.  7.  Whom  shall 
I  send,  who  will  go  for  us  ?  Isaiah,  vi.  8. 
And  respecting  all  other  objects  of  worship, 
Jehovah's  language  is,  Produce  your  cause, 
saith  the  Lord,  bring  forth  your  strong  rea- 
sons, saith  the  King  of  Jacob ;  let  them 
show  the  former  things  what  they  be,  that 
WE  may  consider  them.  Or  declare  us 
things  to  come,  that  we  may  know  that  ye 
are  gods ;  yea,  do  good  or  do  evil,  that  we 
may  be  dismayed,  and  behold  it  together. 
Isaiah  xli.  21,  22,  23.  Again,  to  stain  the 
pride  of  man  and  curb  human  arrogance, 
he  asserts  his  divine  prerogative  in  the  fol- 
lowing solemn  and  instructive  interroga- 
tions. Who  hath  declared  from  the  begin- 
nig  that  we  may  know  ?  And  before  time, 
that  WE  may  say  he  is  righteous  ?  I  be- 
held, and  there  was  no  man,  no  counsellor, 
that  when  I  asked  them  could  answer  a 
word ;  Isaiah  xli.  26,  28.  From  these  and 
many  more  instances  which  might  be  pro- 
duced, it  is  evident,  that  there  is  a  plu- 
rality of  persons  in  the  one  eternal  God, 
even  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  that  these  three  are  one.  In 
the  name  of  which  sacred  three  the  holy 
ordinance  of  baptism  Avas  ordered  to  be 
administered. 

The  adversaries  of  Christ's  divinity  be- 
ing conscious,  that  the  scriptures  treat  of  a 
plurality  of  persons  employed  in  creation, 
&c.  and  lest  the  artful  manner  of  treating 
the  argument  respecting  person  and  es- 
sence as  aforesaid  should  not  block  up  the 


64 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


way  leading  to  the  divine  glories  of  Jesus, 
have  invented  another  stumbling-block  to 
render  the  path  of  faith  in  Christ's  divinity 
quite  impassable,  which  is  [to  advocate] 

3.  The  pre-existence  of  Christ's  soul. 
It  is  acknowledged  some  have  maintained 
this  sentimant  witiiout  any  designed  injury 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  Truiity.  But  it  is 
equally  evident  that  some  of  the  most  vir- 
ulent enemies  of  Christ's  divine  personal- 
ity, find  it  impossible  to  give  their  scheme 
of  opposition  even  the  appearance  of  con- 
sistency, but  as  aided  by  the  aforesaid  hy- 
pothesis ;  therefore  gi'eai  pains  have  been 
taken  to  render  it  plausible,  in  consequence 
of  which  it  has  proved  a  stumbling-block 
to  some. 

But  that  it  was  not  a  human  soul  which 
existed  witli  the  Father  before  time,  and 
which  made  the  world,  and  to  which  God 
spake,  saying,  Let  us  make  man,  &c.  &c. 
but  his  own  infinitely  glorious  Son,  will  ap- 
pear, if  the  following  things  be  duly  con- 
sidered. He  who  was  with  the  Father, 
was  with  him  from  everlasting,  rejoicing 
always  before  him,  and  whose  goings  forth 
have  been  from  of  old,  from  everlasting ; 
Mic.  V.  2,  and  who  should  be  called,  though 
clothed  with  humanity,  the  everlasting  Fath- 
er the  mighty  God  ;  Isaiah  ix.  6.  But  it  is 
absurd  to  suppose  a  creature  to  have  exist- 
ed before  time  began.  Every  creature  once 
was  not ;  to  suppose  a  creature  always  to 
have  been,  is  to  form  an  idea  of  a  creature 
which  was  never  created  ;  all  things  were 
made  by  Jesus  Christ,  without  him  nothing 
was  made  that  was  made ;  bat  according 
to  the  aforesaid  opinion,  there  was  a  crea- 
ture made  which  Jesus  Christ  was  no  way 
concerned  in  the  formation  of;  for  a  crea- 
ture cannot  be  thought  to  have  created  it- 
self, without  absvirdly  supposing  it  to  have 
been  before  it  was,  to  exist  prior  to  its  ex- 
istence, or  to  act  while  it  was  nothing,  in 
order  to  be  something — the  above  absurdi- 
ties are  unavoidable :  if  tlie  scripture  ac- 
count of  the  creation  (as  the  production  of 
a  plurality  of  persons)  be  credited,  and  the 
divinity  of  Christ  be  denied. 

As  a  soul  could  not  create  itself,  so  neith- 
er could  it  be  the  author  of  the  other  parts 
of  the  creation,  which  Jesus  Christ  is  posi- 
tively declared  to  be.  For  by  him  Avere  all 
tilings  created  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that 
are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether 
they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  principalities, 
or  powers :  all  things  were  created  by  him 
and  for  him :  Col.  i.  16.  If  a  human  soul 
be  the  author  of  creation,  various  creatures 
would  be  above  their  Creator.  Angels, 
for  instance,  would  be  superior  to  their 
Maker,  and  excel  him  in  strength  ;  for  man 
(which  Christ  is  asserted  only  to  be)  is  nat- 
urally inferior  to  those  celestial  spirits. 
Thou  madest  him  a  little  lower  than  the 


angels;  which  supposes  tlie  angels  were, 
when  his  humanity,  was  made  ;  Heb.  ii.  7. 
The  acknowledgment  of  Christ  as  Creator, 
renders  the  denial  of  his  proper  divinity  in- 
excusable, and  says  the  foundation  oi  not 
only  revealed,  but  natural  religion :  for,  if 
Jesus  be  the  former  of  all  things,  the  invis- 
ible things  of  him  from  the  creation  of  the 
world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by 
tlie  tilings  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal 
power  and  Godhead,  so  that  they  are  without 
excuse  who  glorify  him  not  as  God.  Rom. 
i.  20,  21.  Some  assert  that  Christ  was  on- 
ly an  instrument  in  creation ;  but  the  work 
of  creation  was  of  such  a  nature  as  to  ex- 
clude the  idea  of  an  instrumental  creator. 
An  instrument,  ii"  concerned  at  all,  must 
have  been  employed  either  before  or  after 
the  proditction  oi"  being,  for  there  was  no 
medium.  Not  before,  because  prior  to  cre- 
ation there  was  not  any  thing  existing  for 
an  instrument  to  act  upon,  or  to  be  em- 
ployed about.  Not  after,  because  when 
a  creature  does  exist,  it  is  too  late  for  an 
instrument  to  be  employed  in  producing  it. 
Nothing  short  of  infinite  agency  could  pos- 
sibly be  concerned  in  creation  ;  the  persons 
so  engaged  were  properly  divine,  and  es- 
sentially one.  However,  that  there  was 
no  instrument  concerned  is  beyond  all  di.s- 
pute,  if  what  Jehovah  says  be  duly  regard- 
ed ;  for  he  declares  there  was  none  such 
with  him.  Prov.  viii. ;  Mic.  v.  2.  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  thy  Redeemer,  and  he  that 
formed  thee  from  the  womb  ;  I  am  the  Lord 
that  maketh  all  things,  that  stretched  out 
tlie  heavens  alone,  that  spreadeth  abroad 
the  earth  by  myself.  Isaiah  xliv.  24. 
"Which  ALONE  spreadeth  out  the  heavens. 
Job  ix.  S.  Hence  it  appears,  that  though 
they  were  distinct  persons  employed  in  cre- 
ation, yet  they  were  eo  united  as  to  be  in- 
cluded in  the  one  all-creating  Jehovah. 

4.  To  render  the  scheme  of  opposition  to 
Christ's  divinity  more  consistent,  and  the 
idea  of  the  soul  existing  before  time,  instead 
of  the  Son  of  God,  less  exceptionable ;  it 
has  been  tliouglit  proper  to  exclude  the 
body  from  being  an  essential  constituent 
part  of  a  man.  Such  an  exclusion  to  be 
sure  was  a  happy  thought,  and  quite  neces- 
sary;  for  without  it  the  all-creating  creature 
would  not  have  been  properly  eitlier  God, 
angel,  or  man.  But  that  it  might  be  con- 
sidered as  belonging  to  some  scale  or  class 
of  being,  "  It  is  asserted  to  be  a  proper  hu- 
man person,  a  true  and  real  man,  the  body 
being  only  a  temporary  covering  for,  but 
not  a  constituent  part  of,  human  nature." 
But  this  method  of  depreciating  the  divine 
glories  ot"  the  blessed  Jesus  will  prove  abor- 
tive, if  the  Scripture  account  of  human 
nature  be  attended  to ;  and  without  doubt 
he  who  made  man  could  best  describe  him. 
From  the  sacred  pages  we  learn,  that  the 


HELP     TO     ZION'S     TRAVELLERS. 


6& 


Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the 
ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the 
breath  of  hfe,  and  man  became  a  hving 
soul ;  Gen.  ii.  7  :  and  that  the  rib,  Avhich  the 
Lord  God  had  taken  from  man,  made  he  a 
woman  !  and  Adam  said,  She  shall  be  call- 
ed woman,  because  she  was  taken  out  of 
man.  Again,  to  Adam  as  a  transgressor, 
the  Lord  said,  Dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust 
shalt  thou  return  ;  Gen.  iii.  19.  Ma7i  shall 
return  again  to  dust.  Now  as  the  soul  was 
not  formed  of  the  dust,  nor  the  rib  of  which 
Eve  was  made,  taken  out  of  the  soul ;  but 
the  rib  from  the  body,  and  the  body  from 
the  gi^ound ;  therefore  the  body  must  be  a 
constituent  part  of  inan,  (or  the  body  only 
returns  to  dust,  and  yet  the  Lord  says,  man 
shall  return  thither.  Job  xxxiv.  15.  Again : 
the  personal  name  of  man  is  often  given  to 
the  body,  which  Avould  be  improper  if  the 
body  was  not  a  part  of  the  person.  Jacob 
in  his  affecting  lamentation  says,  Joseph  is 
without  doubt  rent  in  pieces.  I  will  go 
down  into  the  grave  unto  my  son  mourning : 
thus  his  father  Avept  for  him.  Gen.  xxxvii. 
33,  35.  It  was  not  the  soul,  but  the  body  of 
his  son  which  he  concluded  was  torn  asun 
der ;  nor  his  own  soul,  but  his  body,  that 
would  go  down  to  the  grave.  And  when 
the  same  patriarch  was  near  death,  he 
charged  his  sons,  saying.  Bury  me  with  my 
fathers ;  in  such  a  cave  which  he  described  : 
adding,  there  they  buried  Abraham  and 
Sarah  his  wife ;  there  they  buried  Isaac 
and  Rebecca  his  wife,  and  there  I  buried 
Leah.     Gen.  xlix.  29,  31. 

And  that  the  body  of  Christ  Avas  an  es 
sential   part   of  his  humanity,   is   evident 
from  what  the  angel  said  to  his  weeping 
friends.     He  is  not  here  he  is  risen :  Come 
see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay.     Matt, 
xxviii.  6.     But  if  the  body  was  no  proper 
constituent  part  of  his  manhood,  he  never 
lay  in  the  grave  ;  nor  did  he  ever  inse  from 
the  dead,  for  he  did  not  die.     They  did  not 
nail  him  to  the  tree  ;  the  whole  account  of 
his  corporal  sufferings  is  a  mere  fiction,  if 
it  be  true,  that  his  body  was  not  a  proper 
constituent  part  of  himself.     In   a  word, 
there  never  will  be  a  resurrectign  of  any 
man,  if  bodies  are  not  essential  to  human 
nature,  and  this  world  of  men  are  quite  as 
invisible  to  each  other  as  the  world  of  an- 
gels are  [to  them.]     According  to  that  no- 
tion, the  sight  of  a  man  is  a  singular  rarity. 
That  a  soul  can  exist  without  a  body  is 
readily  allowed,  but  such  a  separate  exist- 
ence is  the  effect  of  death  ;  and  can  it  be 
thought  reasonable  that  Christ's  first  exist- 
ence should  be  a  state  similar  to  that  of  the 
dead  ?    Once  more,  on  such  a  supposition 
Christ  could  not  be  the  son  of  man  in  any 
sense,  because  his  soul  is  said  to  exist  be- 
fore all  men;  and  his  body  not  a  part  of 
his  humanity.     But  he  was  the  son  of  Da- 
VoL.  3.— L 


vid,  a  descendant  of  Abraham,  as  the  scrip- 
tures assert,  and  as  the  apostle  to  the  He- 
brews said,  "  It  is  evident  our  Lord  sprung 
out  of  Judah  ;"*  Heb.  vii.  14.  To  conclude  ; 
the  incarnation  of  Christ  was  not  only  con- 
sidered by  the  great  apostle  as  an  instance 
of  infinite  condescension,  but  admired  by 
him  and  every  believer  in  his  day,  as  being 
in  its  nature  really  inexplicable,  and  truly 
mysterious ;  they  did  not  dispute  the  fact, 
though  they  could  not  conceive  how  divinity 
and  humanity  Avere  united  in  one  person ; 
but  rejoiced  in,  and  steadily  supported,  its 
reality  as  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth. 
'  Without  controversy,  great  is  the  mystery 
of  godliness :  God  was  manifest  in  the 
flesh :"  1  Tim.  in.  15,  16.  "  The  Word" 
which  "  was  God,"  "  Avas  made  flesh,  and 
dwelt  amongst  us." 

But  if  Christ  be  only  a  man,  or  a  mere 
creature,  the  wonder  ceases,  for  it  cannot 
be  thought  a  thing  singular  and  surprising 
for  a  human  soul  to  possess  a  body ;  nor 
for  God  to  manifest  himself  to  a  holy  crea- 
ture, and  employ  in  his  .service  a  good  man. 
It  is  truly  lamentable  and  really  astonishing 
that  any  who  wish  to  be  saved  by  Jesus, 
should  endeavor  to  sink  his  character  and 
diminish  his  dignity :  Yea,  rejoice  in  hope 
of  proving  the  Saviour  infinitely  uuAvorthy 
of  their  supreme  love  and  delight.  You 
happy  souls  Avho  need,  knoAV  and  esteem 
the  Redeemer,  as  infinitely  powerful,  and 
divinely  precious — oh,  pity  the  condition, 
and  dread  the  deception  of  such,  Avhose 
peace  and  pleasure  rise  high  in  consequence 
of  the  Saviour  sinking  lotc  in  their  esteem. 
Pray  for  them,  and  take  heed  lest  you  also 
be  tempted ;  and  [labor]  that  your  own 
faitli  may  be  firm  in,  and  your  love  fervent 
to,  the  infinitely  glorious  and  lovely  Re- 
deemer. Consider  and  frequently  contem- 
plate the  proofs  of  his  proper  divinity,  as 
recorded  in  the  sacred  volume :  such  as  the 
properties   of  which   he  is  possessed,  the 


■  From  a  conviction  of  the  sin^lar  absurdity  attending 
the  supposiiion  of  a  creature  existir.g  from  eternity,  some 
have  boldly  asserted  that  everlasting  from  which  Christ 
is  said  to  exist,  only  intends  a  measurable  period,  and 
therefore  does  not  convey  the  idea  of  eternity,  or  un- 
limited duration.  It  is  granted  that  by  the  term  ever- 
lasting and  eternal  hkewise,  sometimes  is  intended  no 
more  than  a  very  distant  period,  but  that  is  not  their 
native  primary  signification.  But  the  natural  meaning 
of  the  word  is  a  perpetual  existence  or  infinite  duration. 
Hence  we  reaJ,  The  eternal  God  is  thy  refuse,  and  un- 
derneath are  the  everlasting  arms  :  Deut.  xxxiii  27.  Art 
thou  not  from  everlasting,  O  Lord,  my  God  ?  Hab.  i.  12. 
If  it  be  said  the  existence  of  Christ  is  limited,  as  being 
only  from  everlasting,  or  ever  the  earth  was,  and  that, 
before  the  mountains  were  brought  forth,  or  the  highest 
part  of  the  dust,  were  qualifying  terms  tending  to  estab- 
lish a  limited  idea,  therefore  though  Christ  was  from 
everlasting,  yet  not  eternal ;  we  answer,  the  Holy  Ghost 
has  taken  care  to  guard  his  people  against  sophistry  so 
dishonoring  to  Christ :  for  Moses,  the  Man  of  God,  when 
treating  on  Jehovah's  eternity,  and  human  morialiiy,  says, 
Before  the  mountains  were  brought  forth,  or  ever  thou 
hadst  formed  the  earth  and  the  world,  even  from  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting  thou  art  God ;  Ps.  xc.  2.  Again, 
thy  throne  is  of  old.  thou  art  from  everlasting.  Ps.  xciii. 
2     See  Mich,  r  2 


66 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


work  he  has  performed,  the  worship  he  has 
received  from  angels  and  men,  the  divine 
names  and  titles  which  are  given  him,  the 
honors  ascribed  to  him,  the  unUmited  confi- 
dence placed  in  him  by  good  men  in  every 
age,  and  the  claims  which  are  made  by 
him ;  for  he,  who  was  never  the  subject  of 
arrogance,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be 
equal  with  God ;  Phil.  ii.  6.  May  the  Lord 
grant  that  every  reader  may  search  the 
scriptures  which  testify  of  Jesus,  with  godly 
sincerity  and  gospel  simplicity.  To  the 
upright,  light  shall  rise  in  darkness.  I 
might  greatly  enlarge ;  but  it  is  hoped,  that 
the  above  considerations  may  serve  through 
the  Divine  blessing  to  remove  the  common 
difficulties  respecting  the  true  knowledge 
of,  and  faith  in,  the  Redeemer's  dignity  as 
a  person  properly  divine.  My  heart's  de- 
sire is,  that  all  the  saints  may  be  brought 
to  rejoice  in  Jesus,  as  the  mighty  God,  the 
Alpha  and  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last, 
which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which  is  to 
come,  the  Almighty.    Rev.  i.  8. 


CHAPTER    IL 

Difficulties  concerning  the  Love  of  God. 

That  Jehovah  changeth  not,  is  a  self- 
evident  truth,  a  scripture  axiom.  "  With 
him  there  is  no  variableness,  nor  shadow  of 
turning."  Being  perfection  itself,  therefore 
the  properties  of  his  nature,  and  purposes 
of  his  will,  are  absolutely  unalterable. 
What  he  has  determined,  shall  be  done. 
"  He  is  of  one  mind,  and  who  can  turn  him? 
For  the  counsel  of  the  Lord  standeth  for- 
ever, the  thoughts  of  his  heart  to  all  gene- 
rations, and  to  Zion  he  says,  he  will  rest  in 
his  love.  He  will  rejoice  over  her  with 
singing,  for  having  loved  his  own  wliich 
were  in  the  world,  he  loved  them  unto  the 
end."  Notwithstanding  the  above  and 
such  like  solemn  declarations  made  by  the 
God  of  truth,  such  objections  have  been 
raised  against  the  unchangeableness  of 
Jehovah's  love,  as  greatly  to  perplex  and 
stumble  some  who  are  evidently  the  dis- 
tinguished objects  of  it. 

As  wrong  conclusions  may  be  drawn 
from  principles  wliich  are  unexceptionably 
right,  so  I  apprehend  many  of  those  things 
are  indisputable  facts  from  whence  the 
changeable  nature  of  God's  love  is  inferred ; 
and  indeed,  it  seems  his  people  are  more 
agreed  in  their  primary  principles,  than  in 
their  conclusions.  In  the  former  there  may 
be  a  happy  union,  though  in  the  latter  they 
widely  differ,  and  cast  stumbling-blocks  in 
each  other's  way.  For  the  exemplification 
and  removal  of  which,  as  relating  to  the 
doctrine  of  divine  love,  it  may  be  proper  to 


observe,  that  creatures  who  are  now  the 
objects  of  God's  indignation,  were  oncu 
loved  by  him;  those  infernal  spirits  who 
kept  not  their  first  estate,  thougn  now  the 
abhorred  of  the  Lord,  were,  while  innocent, 
the  objects  of  his  approbation ;  and  the 
same  may  be  said  of  man,  considered  as  in 
his  present  state  of  corruption,  and  in  his 
original  state  of  perfection  ae  created  of 
God.    Jolm  i.  1,  14 ;  Phil.  ii.  6,  7. 

It  is  evident,  God  could  not  produce 
creatures  morally  defective,  or  disagreeable 
to  himself;  tliey  were  what  he  willed  them 
to  be,  i.  e.  good,  yea,  very  good,  and  as  such 
were  loved  and  delighted  in,  by  their  Ma- 
ker. Every  creature  being  Jehovah's  pro- 
duction, therefore  no  creature  was,  in  its 
original  state,  tiie  object  of  his  disapproba- 
tion :  and  yet  many  of  tliem  are  now  the 
declared  objects  of  his  hatred  and  indigna- 
tion. From  the  above  self-evident  facts,  it 
is  inferred  by  some  sincere  inquirers  after 
truth,  that  the  love  of  God  is  changeable, 
and  not  invariably  fixed  on  its  objects; 
which  inference  has  perplexed  many  of  the 
people  of  God,  and  proved  a  stumbling- 
block  in  their  way  to  a  proper  acquaintance 
Avith  several  very  important  truths  in  divine 
revelation.  From  this  source  various  errors 
have  proceeded,  by  which  the  glorious  gos- 
pel of  the  grace  of  God  has  been  beclouded, 
the  faith  of  many  Christians  staggered,  and 
their  joy  in  Jesus  and  hope  of  glory  greatly 
diminished.  But  that  the  above  plnusible 
inference  is  a  false  conclusion,  (though 
drawn  from  undeniable  facts,)  will  I  hope 
be  made  plainly  [to]  appear,  if  we  impar- 
tially survey  the  doctrine  of  Jehovah's  love 
in  the  light  of  divine  revelation. 

The  love  of  God,  according  to  the  scrip- 
tures, ought  to  be  considered  [under  these 
distinctions,  viz.]  as  Natural  and  as  Sove- 
reign. The  righteous  Lord  loveth  righte- 
ousness, and  holiness  is  his  perpetual  de- 
light. This  love  arises  from  the  perfection 
and  purity  of  his  nature,  and  has  lor  its 
object  his  own  holy  image,  as  enstamped 
upon  his  rational  creatures;  or  in  other 
words,  in  holy  dispositions  and  correspond- 
ing acts,  tlie  Lord  takes  pleasure  and  de- 
light. He  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold 
iniquity  with  approbation,  or  look  on  holiness 
with  disgust.  His  hatred  of  sin,  and  love 
of  purity,  are  not  acts  of  divine  sovereignty. 
Sin  is  not  hateful  because  God  willed  it 
should  be  so,  but  is  odious  in  its  own  nature 
to  every  pure  being ;  and  is  therelbre  infi- 
nitely hateful  to  an  infinitely  holy  God. 

God  does  not  hate  sin,  because  he  has  by 
his  law  forbidden  it ;  but  has  forbidden  it, 
because  it  is  what  he  loathes,  as  contrary 
to  his  holy  nature.  Perfect  conformity  to 
God,  and  supreme  delight  in  him  as  the 
chief  good,  arc  enforced  by  God's  holy  law, 
because  of  their  native  excellency  and  pro- 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


67 


priety.  Holiness  then,  being  the  object  of 
God's  natural  love,  or  essential  approbation, 
and  sin  the  reverse,  it  necessarily  follows 
that  every  unholy  creature  is  odious  in  the 
sight  of  God ;  therefore  a  creature  having 
lost  its  purity,  ceases  to  be  the  object  of  his 
natural  approbation ;  yet  the  alteration  is 
not  in  God,  but  in  the  creature,  which  is 
become,  through  moral  impurity,  what  he 
■abhors.  God's  natural  love  is  still  unalter 
ably  fixed  on  personal  purity,  wherever  it 
is  found;  but  in  reference  to  a  polluted 
creature,  love  has  lost  its  object,  that  on 
which  it  was  fixed  being  quite  annihilated 
or  destroyed. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  various  ranks  of 
intelligent  creatures  AVere,  in  their  original 
condition,  interested  in  God's  favor.     Even 
those    abominable    beings,    called    devils, 
were,  while  holy,  the  objects  of  their  Ma- 
ker's love  and  approbation,  as  well  as  the 
angels  who  continue  to  shine  in  holy  splen- 
dor and  untainted  purity.     Though  a  part 
of  the  angelic  world,  and  the  whole  human 
race,  have,  by  their  revolt  from  God,  be- 
come vile,  and  cease  to  be  the  objects  of 
the  Lord's  delight,  yet  there  is  no  variable- 
ness or  change  in  Jehovah.     But,  to  every 
proper  object,  "  God  is  love ;"  1  John.  iv. 
16;  for  God  has  no  aversion  to  his  creatures, 
simply  considered  as  creatures ;  but  on  ac- 
count of  their  moral  depravity ;  nor  does  he 
necessarily  love  them,  because   they  owe 
their  existence  to  his  sovereign   will  and 
ahniglity  power  ;  but  as  the  subjects  of  his 
moral  image,  wliich  consists  in  righteous- 
ness and  true  Jioliness.     As   all   mankind 
have  lost  the  image  of  God  in  which  they 
were  created,  and  become  base  and  abomi 
nable  in  his  sight,  being  filthy  and  guilty 
before  him,  they  must  have  continued  in  a 
condition  eternally  disgustful  to  God,  and 
in  a  state  tremendously  terrible  to  them- 
selves, had  not  the  Lord  been  pleased  to 
show  them  kindness  in  a  sovereign  way ; 
being  graciously  determined  to  save  whom 
he  thought  proper,  with  an  everlasting  sal- 
vation.    That  love  from  which  salvation 
springs  is  [not  natural  but]  properly  sove- 
reign; [not  necessary  but]  absolutely /ree. 
None  are  its  objects  because  they  deserved 
to  be  so,  nor  was  God  under  any  necessity 
of  nature  so  to  distinguish  them;   but  it 
consisted  in  a  voluntary  determination  to  do 
good  to  the  persons  he  sovereignly  fixed 
upon  as  his  people,  with  infinite  and  invari- 
able delight. 

If,  then,  we  consider  the  voluntary  love  of 
the  great  Eternal  as  distinct  from,  and  yet 
harmonizing  with,  that  [riatural  and  neces- 
sary love]  of  which  we  have  been  treating, 
difficulties,  which  otherwise  are  insurmount- 
able, will  disappear.  That  love  which  is 
essential,  or  natural  to  God,  has  personal 
holiness  or  pure  principles  for  its  invariable 


object.     But  sovereign  love  fixed  upon  per- 
sons, without  a  regard  had  to  their  disposi- 
tions as  its  cause ;  which  sovereign  favor  is 
entirely  uninfluenced  by  their  dispositions, 
and  is  beautifully  illustrated  by  the  Lord's 
voluntary  favor  to  the  person  of  Jacob,  and 
the  distinguished  special  privileges  enjoyed 
by  his  posterity,  without  respect  had  to  his 
having  done  either  good  or  evil.     Jacob 
have  1  loved,  saith  the  Lord.   Rom.  ix.  13.* 
And  Moses,  speaking  of  Israel  as  a  chosen 
people,  observes.  The  Lord,  did  not  set  his 
love  upon  you,  nor  choose  you  because  ye 
were  more  in  number  than  any  people,  (tor 
ye  were  the  fewest  of  all  people,)  but  be- 
cause the  Lord  loved  you.     Deut.  vii.  7,  8. 
Such  as  it  hath  pleased  the  Lord  to  make 
his  people,  1  Sam.  xii.  22.  may  with  humble 
joy  and  holy  admiration  say,  "  Behold  what 
manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed 
upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called  the  sons 
of  God."     1  John  iii.  1.     This  sovereign 
love  of  the  Lord  to  his  spiritual  Israel,  set 
apart  his  own  son,  Immanuel,  as  the  head 
of  his  people,  and  gave  their  persons  to  him 
before  the  world  was ;  and  in  time  gave  him 
to  die  for  them.     God   sovereignly  loved 
their  persons,   but  abhorring  their  sinful 
conduct  and  criminal  dispositions,  was  de^ 
termined  to  remove  that  from  them  which 
he  hated  in  them,  and  by  creating  them 
anew  in  Christ  Jesus,  or  implanting  holy 
and  heavenly  principles  in  their  souls,  to 
make  them  a  holy  people,  that  as  such  they 
might  become  the  suitable,  fit  and  proper 
objects  of  his  natural,  necessary,  and  essen- 
tial love  ;  which,  as  aforesaid,  has  holiness 
for  its  invariable  object.     Sovereign  love 
having  their  persons   only  for  its  objects, 
without  being  excited  by  their  dispositions, 
is  therefore   invariably  the  same,  without 
addition  or  diminution.     Hence  all  that  is 
done  for  them,  and  wrought  in  them,  is  in 
consequence  of;  and  according  to  that  great 
love  wherewith  he  loved  them,  even  when 
they  were   dead  in    trespasses  and   sins. 
This  sovereign  love  is  the  fruit  of  God's 
good  pleasure,  or  the   effect  of  gracious 
good-will  to  them.     The  utility  and  propri- 
ety of  the  above  distinction,  were  it  suffi- 
ciently attended  to,  would  appear  as  bright 
as  the  sun  in  a  clear  meridian.     I  wish 
some  able  pen  would  undertake  to  investi- 
gate the  subject  more  fully  than  either  my 
talents  or  time  will  admit  of.     However,  the 
few  following  remarks  I  hope  may  be  of  . 
use  to  weak  Christians,  for  whose  sake  I 
write,  either  to  rectify  tlieir  judgments — 


The  liatred  of  Esau,  as  opposed  to  the  love  of  the 
Lord  to  Jacob,  is  not  to  be  considered  as  implying  any 
positive  indignation  to  his  person  as  a  sinner ;  because 
the  love  and  the  hatred  spoken  of,  was  without  their 
having  done  either  good  or  evil ;  it  only  intends  his  not 
being  loved  as  Jacob  was.  In  this  sense,  hatred  is  (o  be 
understood  in  Deut.  xxi.  15;  Luke  xiiv.  26;  and  John 
xii.  25. 


68 


HELP     TO    ZION'S     TRAVELLERS. 


stimulate  their   obedience — increase   their 
joy, — or  relieve  their  perplexity. 

1.  From  the  sacred  oracles  it  appears, 
that  God's  necessary  hatred  to  sin  is  not 
contrary  to  his  sovereign  love  or  gracious 
intentions  to  do  good  to  his  people,  even 
while  ihey  are  subjecfs  of  no  other  dif?posi- 
tions  tlian  what  he  abhors.  If  sovereign 
love  to  the  sinner  was  inconsistent  with  Jiis 
infinite  hatred  to  sin,  who  then  could  be 
saved  ?  For  fallen  men  are,  as  such,  be- 
come altogether  abominable  in  the  eyes  of 
their  holy  Maker,  the  imagination  of  their 
hearts  being,  while  unrenewed,  evil,  only 
evil,  and  that  continually.  "  They  are  cor- 
rupt, they  have  done  abominable  works, 
there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no  not  one  ;" 
Psal.  xiv.  1,  3 ;  compared  with  Rom.  iii.  9, 
18.  "  We  ourselves  also,  were  sometimes 
foolish,  disobedient,  deceived,  serving  divers 
lusts  and  pleasures,  living  in  malice  and 
envy,  hateful  and  hating  one  another.' 
Tit.  iii.  3.  They  who  do  such  things  are 
worthy  of  death,  and  likewise  those  who 
take  pleasure  in  them  that  do  them.  Rom 
i.  32.  "  So  then  they  that  are  in  the  flesh 
cannot  please  God  ;"  Rom  viii.  8.  Never- 
theless, ''  God  commended  his  love  towards 
us,  in  that  while  Ave  were  yet  sinners  Christ 
died  for  us  ;"  Rom.  v.  8.  "  Herein  is  love, 
not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he  loved 
us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation 
for  our  sins ;"  1  John  iv.  10.  "  In  this  was 
the  love  of  God  manilest."  Ver.  9.  "Yea, 
I  have  loved  thee  Avith  an  everlasting  lov^e : 
therefore  with  loving  kindness  have  I  drawn 
thee ;"  Jer.  xxxi.  3.  Jesus  when  pleading 
with  his  Father  on  behalf  of  his  chosen 
says,  "  Thou  hast  loved  them  as  thou  hast 
loved  me,  and  thou  lovedst  me  before  the 
foundation  of  the  Avorld."  John  xvii.  23, 
24.  "  We  all  had  our  conversation  in  times 
past  in  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  fulfilling  the 
desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind,  and 
were  by  nature  the  children  of  Avrath,  even 
as  others.  But  God,  Avho  is  rich  in  mercy, 
for  his  great  love  wherewith  he  loved  us, 
even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath 
quickened  us,  &c."  Eph.  ii.  3,  4,  5.  Re- 
specting their  persons  they  Avere  loved 
while  in  their  sins;  but  [they  were]  not 
loved  in  reference  to  their  rlisposiiiojis. 
No  ;  God  necessarily  hated,  Avhile  he  sore- 
reignly  loved.  "  But  after  that  the  kindness 
and  love  of  God  our  Saviour  appeared 
toward  man ;  not  by  works  of  righteousness 
which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  his 
mercy  he  saved  us,  by  the  Avashing  of 
regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  j"  Tit.  iii.  5.  Being  thus  the  Avork- 
manship  of  God  created  ancAV  in  Christ, 
the  church  becomes  the  object  of  the  Lord's 
necessary  love,  or  natural  dehght.  As  he 
saith,  "  I  will  call  her  beloyed  which  was 
not  beloved ;"  Rom.  ix.  25. 


2.  Those  Avho  are  renewed  in  the  spirit 
of  their  minds,  and  possessed  of  holy  prin- 
ciples, and  arc  undeniably,  as  such,  the  ob- 
jects of  God's  natural  love,  yet  through  sin 
become  the  objects  of  his  holy  displeasure. 
Nevertheless,  that  docs  not  suppose,  nor 
imply  any  change  in  Jeho\'ah.  Not  in  his 
snveieigii  good  will,  [Avhich  has  regard]  to 
their  persons,  and  Avhich  is  still  the  same, 
being  the  effect  of  his  mere  good  pleasure, 
and  not  fixed  on  them  because  of  any  good 
moral  quality  in  them.  Nor  is  there  any 
change  in  his  natural  love,  because  only 
holiness  is  its  iuA'ariable  object.  Agreeably 
to,  and  in  proof  of  the  above,  Ave  read  that 
though  God  loved,  yet  he  greatly  ahhon-ed 
Israel,  and  Awas  Avroth  with  his  inheritance. 
Ps.  Ixxviii.  59,  62.  Being  defiled  with  their 
own  Avorks,  therefore  was  the  Avrath  of  the 
Lord  kindled  against  his  people,  insomuch 
that  he  abhorred  his  own  inheritance  ;"  Ps. 
cvi.  40.  "  Nevertheless  he  regarded  them 
when  he  heard  their  cry ;"  A'er.  44.  "  Yea,  \ 
mine  heritage,  saith  the  Lord,  is  unto  me  as  { 
a  lion  in  the  forest,  it  crieth  out  against  me, 
therefore  I  hate  it.  I  hale  the  dearly  beloved  i 
of  my  soul ;"  Jer.  xii.  7,  8.  '•  Thou  hast 
wearied  me  AAnith  thine  iniquities ;"  yet 
sovereign  grace  breaks  forth  in  Israel's 
fixvor,  and  Jehovah  adds,  "  I,  eA^en  I,  am  he 
that  blotteth  out  thy  transgressions  for  mine 
OAvn  sake,  and  Avill  not  remember  thy  sins;" 
Isaiah  xliii.  24,  25.  "  I  knew  thou  AA'ouldest 
deal  very  treacherously,  and  Avas  called  a 
transgressor  from  the  womb.  Yet,  saith 
the  Lord,  for  my  name's  sake  Avill  I  defer 
mine  anger,  and  for  mj^  praise  will  I  refrain 
for  thee,  that  I  cut  thee  not  off";  Isaiah 
xlviii.  8,  9.  "For  the  iniquity  of  his  cove- 
tousness  was  I  AAToth  and  smote  him,  I  hid 
me  and  Avas  Avroth,  and  he  Avent  on  fro- 
Avardly  in  the  way  of  his  heart."  And  Avas 
not  the  desperate  sinner  made  a  dreadful 
example  of  Divine  displeasure  ?  He  must 
have  been  so,  had  not  free  exuberant  grace 
interposed  in  his  favor,  saying,  "  I  have 
seen  his  ways,  and  I  will  heal  him,"  Isaiah 
Ivii.  17,  IS.  SoA'ereign  love  triumphs  in 
the  -sinner's  salvation,  through  the  merits  of 
the  Almighty  Saviour,  in  a  AA^ay  AA'hich  dis- 
plays the  infinite  purity  of  Jehovah's  nature 
and  [his]  unmerited  favor.  Sin  giA-es  many 
a  mortal  AA'ound,  but  grace  provides  a  cure. 

Thus,  from  the  example  of  God's  con- 
duct toward  backsliding  saints,  AA'e  haA'e 
striking  proofs  that  neither  God's  natural 
nor  [his]  sovereign  love  change  their  ob- 
jects. Holiness  is  the  invariable  object  of 
the  former,  and  the  persons  of  liis  people 
the  objects  of  the  latter.  I  might  add,  all 
the  good  Avhich  sovereign  grace  does  Avork, 
or  implant  in  tiie  human  heart,  meets  with 
God's  necessary  approbation  in  all  its  gen- 
uine operations.  He  attends  to  the  lan- 
guage of  penitence  Avith  pleasure.     He 


HELP     TO    ZION'S     TRAVELLERS. 


69 


says  of  mourning  Ephraim,  whom  he  heard 
bemoaning  himselt',  "  My  bowels  are  trou- 
bled for  him,  and  I  earnestly  remember  him 
still."  With  what  melting  pity  does  he 
address  the  soul  that  seeks  tor  soUtude  to 
lament  its  doleful  condition  ?  "  O  my  dove, 
thou  art  in  the  clefts  of  the  rocks ;  let  me 
see  thy  countenance,  let  me  hear  thy  voice, 
for  sweet  is  thy  voice,  and  thy  countenance 
is  comely."  Song  ii.  14.  Sovereign  love 
having  given  sight  to  the  soul  which  was 
before  blind  to  the  beauties  of  Immanuel, 
to  Jesus  it  now  looks  and  loves;  and  he 
being  delighted  with  the  exercise  of  grace, 
says,  "  Thou  hast  ravished  my  heart,  tliou 
hast  ravished  my  heart  with  one  of  thine 
eyes ;  how  fair  is  thy  love,  my  sister,  my 
spouse  !  How  much  better  is  thy  love  than 
wine  ;  and  the  smell  of  thine  ointments  than 
all  spices !"  Song  iv.  10.  The  productions 
of  sovereign  grace  God  naturally  loves, 
and  therefore  takes  pleasure  in  them  that 
fear  him,  in  them  who  hope  in  his  mercy. 
Ps.  cxlvii.  11.     Once  more; 

3.  Of  diat  love  which  is  essential  to  the 
nature  of  God,  good  men  are  not  equally 
the  objects ;  for  as  no  man  is  its  object  but 
in  consequence  of  being  the  subject  of  holi- 
ness, therefore  a  growth  in  grace,  or  in  holy 
obedience,  wiU  ever  meet  with  God's  in- 
creasing approbation.  Christ,  as  man, 
though  ever  pure,  "  increased  in  favor  with 
God ;"  Luke  ii.  92.  "  Therefore  doth  my 
Father  love  me  (said  Jesus)  because  I  laid 
down  my  life :"  John  x.  17.  "  He  that  lov- 
eth  me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I 
will  love  him.  If  a  man  love  me,  he  will 
keep  my  words,  and  my  Father  will  love 
him,  and  we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make 
our  abode  with  him."  John  xiv.  21,  23. 
"For  the  Father  himself  loveth  you,  be- 
cause ye  have  loved  me,  and  have  believed 
that  I  came  out  from  God ;"  John  xvi.  27. 
"  Keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God ; 
Jude,  verse  21.  "  As  the  Father  hath  loved 
me,  so  have  I  loved  you ;  continue  ye  in  my 
love.  If  ye  keep  my  commandments,  ye 
shall  abide  in  my  love,  even  as  I  have  kept 
my  Father's  commandments  and  abide  in 
his  love ;"  John  xv.  9,  10.  Though  all  re- 
generate persons  are  evidently  the  equal 
objects  of  special  sovereign  favor,  and  with 
them,  as  in  Christ,  the  Lord  is  well  pleased 
for  his  righteousness'  sake;  Isaiah  xlii.  21, 
and  their  persons  are  accepted  in  the  belov- 
ed ;  yet  with  many  of  them  the  Lord  is  not 
well  pleased,  with  respect  to  the  temper  of 
their  hearts,  and  manner  of  life.  See  1 
Cor.  X.  4,  5.  Therefore  "  only  let  your  con- 
versation be  as  becometh  the  gospel  of 
Christ."  "  We  beseech  you,  brethren,  and 
exhort  you  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that 
as  ye  have  received  of  us  how  ye  ought  to 


walk,  and  to  please  God,  so  ye  would 
abound  more  and  more ;"  Phil.  i.  27.  1 
Thess.  iv.  1.  "Knowing  that  your  labor 
shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the  Lord."  1  Cor. 
XV.  58.  "  For  God  is  not  unrighteous  to 
forget  your  work  and  labor  of  love  ;"  Heb. 
vi.  10.     From  the  above  v/e  may  infer : 

1.  That  the  everlasting  damnation  of 
those  who  kept  not  their  first  estate  in 
which  they  enjoyed  the  Divine  approbation, 
does  not  oppose  the  unchangeable  nature 
of  Jehovah's  love,  nor  render  the  eternal 
salvation  of  his  people  precarious  or  uncer- 
tain. 

2.  How  carefully  should  every  saint 
watch  against  every  sin,  and  strive  to  grow 
in  perfect  conformity  to  his  God.  True 
happiness  will  ever  be  found  inseparably 
connected  with  real  holiness;  and  sin, 
wherever  it  is,  will  invariably  remain  the 
object  of  God's  displeasure.  On  the  ac- 
count of  this  he  hides  his  face,  and  is  wroth 
with  his  people ;  and  though  he  pardon 
them,  yet  he  will  take  vengeance  on  their 
inventions ;  for  whom  he  loveth  he  chasten- 
eth. 

3.  How  awfully  miserable  must  our  con- 
dition have  been,  having  lost  that  rectitude 
of  nature  in  which  God  dehghted,  had  he 
not  proceeded  tov/ards  us  in  a  way  of  sov- 
ereign grace,  choosing  us  in,  and  commit- 
ting our  persons  to  the  care  of  his  own 
Son,  laying  our  iniquities  upon  him,  and 
punishing  him  for  them,  and  justifying  us 
on  his  account,  conveying  hohness,  pardon 
and  peace,  through  him,  to  make  us  pure 
and  spotless  before  his  throne  !  There,  in 
that  world  of  bliss,  God,  in  all  his  essential 
glories,  will  be  forever  enjoyed  the  same  as 
though  sin  had  never  been  ;  with  additional 
pleasures  arising  from  the  amazing  infinite 
source  of  sovereign  spontaneous  favor. 
The  hearts  of  the  redeemed  will  be  ravish- 
ed, their  powers  of  mind  animated,  and 
their  elevated  songs  make  heaven's  high 
arches  ring  with  the  joyful  acclamation  of, 
Salvation  to  our  Ood  and  the  Lamb.  A 
full  evidence  of  the  infinite  desert  of  sin, 
which  seems  to  be  intended  by  the  smoke 
of  the  furnace  ascending  before  the  throne, 
will  heighten  their  admiration  of  sovereign 
love,  and  fill  their  capacious  souls  with  un- 
speakable joy,  profound  reverence,  and  holy 
wonder. 

4.  Opposition  to  the  sovereign  grace  of 
God  is  truly  lamentable.  How  mournful 
to  think  that  poor  condemned  criminals 
should  be  filled  with  enmity  against  that,  in 
consequence  of  which,  only,  salvation  can 
become  the  object  of  hope.  It  is  a  striking 
proof  of  the  deceitful  and  infatuating  nature 
of  sin,  and  the  pride  of  the  human  heart. 


70 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Tlie  Doctrine  of  Electioiu 

Some  upright  minds,  being  subject  to  dis- 
couragements through  misapprehensions 
which  are  olten  the  truit  of  misrepresenta- 
tions of  truth,  I  shall  [now]  attend  to  anoth- 
er subject  nearly  cormected  with  the  above, 
at  the  very  name  of  which  some  professors 
are  startled,  though  it  is  frequently  met 
with  in  the  scriptures  of  truth.  [This  sub- 
ject is  the  doctrine  of  Election.] 

1.  Election  or  choice  always  implies  free- 
dom of  will  in  the  person  or  persons  who 
choose  or  elect.  Constraint  or  compulsion 
is  incompatible  with,  and  opposite  to  choice, 
which  must  be  voluntary  or  not  at  all. 

2.  Every  elector  has  an  end  in  view,  in 
respect  of  which  he  makes  his  choice,  or 
for  the  accomplishment  of  which  the  choice 
is  made. 

3.  The  person  chosen  is  always  consid- 
ered as  passive,  being  entirely  at  the  will 
of  the  elector,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  act 
of  choosing. 

These  three  ideas  are  inseparably  con- 
nected with  election,  or  a  proper  choice, 
whatever  kind  of  election  we  refer  to,  wheth- 
er made  by  God  or  man.  But  some  young 
or  weak  Christians  have  confused  or  dis- 
couraging ideas  of  the  doctrine  now  under 
consideration,  for  want  of  attending  to  the 
diiferent  senses  in  which  the  scriptures 
speak  of  persons  being  the  chosen,  or  the 
elect  of  God.  Of  this  ignorance  or  inat- 
tention the  opposers  of  sovereign  grace 
take  the  advantage ;  and  in  order  to  per- 
plex or  prejudice  their  minds,  produce  scrip- 
ture instances  of  some  who  were  elected, 
and  nevertheless  perished  in  their  sins,  as 
there  is  rea.son  to  think  Saul  and  Judas  did, 
and  yet  both  of  them  were  chosen  of  God. 
Hence  it  is  inferred,  that  as  some  are  lost 
who  were  elected,  therefore  election  does 
not  secure  the  salvation  of  tliose  who  are 
chosen,  but  is  of  such  a  nature  as  to  leave 
their  future  happiness  and  final  felicity  en- 
tirely precarious.  As  such  inferences  as 
the  above,  at  the  first  view,  wear  the  ap 
pearance  of  truth,  it  is  no  wonder  that  some 
gracious  persons  are  inditierent  about  the 
doctrine.  But  the  apostle  exhorts  Chris 
'  tians  to  give  all  diligence  to  make  their 
calling  and  election  sure,  by  being  able  to 
produce  such  evidences  as  may  demonstrate 
their  personal  interest  in  Jehovah's  choice : 
Ihe  knowledge  of  which,  in  the  judgment 
of  Jesus,  is  calculated  to  produce  in  his 
people  greater  pleasure  than  they  ought  to 
take  from  the  evidence  of  devils  being  in 
subjection  to  them.  To  have  hell  van- 
quished must  afford  unutterable  joy  to  those 
who  wrestle  with  the  powers  of  darkness ; 


"  notwithstanding  in  this  rejoice  not,  that  the 
spirits  are  subject  unto  you,  (saith  the  Lord,) 
but  rather  rejoice  because  your  names  are 
written  in  heaven."  Luke  x.  20.  For  the 
relief  of  serious  inquirers  after  the  truth,  it 
may  be  proper  to  observe,  that  by  Elec- 
tion, in  scripture  is  sometimes  intended 
God's  setting  apart,  or  choosing  a  people, 
to  the  enjoyment  of  peculiar  external  privi- 
leges ;  in  that  sense  he  chose  the  Jewish 
nation,  and  therefore  they  as  a  nation,  not- 
withstanding their  wickedness,  are  frequent- 
ly called  the  Lord's  elect,  or  chosen  peo- 
ple. Again,  the  Lord  hath  elected,  or  cho- 
sen particular  persons  to  act  in  office  capa- 
city ;  as  Samuel,  Saul,  David,  and  many 
more  under  the  Old  Testament ;  and  Peter, 
James,  Judas,  and  others,  were  chosen,  or 
elected  in  like  manner  under  the  New. 
Hence  Jesus  said  to  his  disciples,  "  Have 
not  I  chosen  you  twelve  ?  and  one  of  you 
is  a  devil." 

But  the  election  of  grace,  of  which  I  am 
treating,  is  of  a  ditierent  nature,  and  con- 
sists in  God's  choosing  of  persons  in  Christ 
Jesus,  or  setting  them  apart  as  in  connec- 
tion with  him,  to  salvation,  through  sancti- 
fication  of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the 
truth.  Salvation  was  the  end  C^od  had  in 
view ;  to  bring  his  chosen  to  the  possession 
and  enjoyment  of  salvation,  not  only  as 
consisting  in  a  dehverance  from  punish- 
ment, but  from  all  iniquity.  Therefore  in 
the  definition  the  apostle  gives  of  the  doc- 
trine, sanctification  by  tlie  Spirit,  and  a 
true  laith,  were  what  tliese  persons  were 
chosen  to  be  the  subjects  of,  through  which 
only,  salvation  could  be  enjoyed.  This 
choice  was  Irom  the  beginning,  or  ever  the 
earth  was.  They  were  not  chosen,  because 
they  were  viewed  as  holy,  and  therefore 
deserving  to  be  distinguished  as  God's  fav- 
orites, on  account  of  their  obedience  or  per- 
sonal purity,  but  that  they  should  be  holy. 
The  great  apostle,  in  his  deep,  but  delight- 
ful epistle  to  the  saints  at  Ephesus,  treats 
of  the  important  subject  in  so  full,  plain, 
and  accurate  a  manner,  as  to  answer  almost 
every  pertinent  query  that  can  be  made 
respecting  the  doctrine.  He  begins  with 
expressions  of  fervid  affection  and  humble 
gratitude  to  its  infinite  Author,  saying. 
Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Q.     1.  What  hath  he  done  1 

A.    Who  hath  blessed  us. 

Q.    2.  Witli  what  hath  he  blessed  us  ? 

A.    With  all  spiritual  blessings. 

Q.  3.  Where  are  those  blessings  depos- 
ited? 

A.    In  Christ. 

Q.  4.  Where  may  seeking  souls  expect 
to  find  and  enjoy  them  1 

A.    In  heavenly  places  (or  things.) 

Q.    5.  According  to  what  does  he  pro- 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS, 


71 


ceed  in  the  bestowment  of  such  special  I 
privileges :  is  it  owing  to  our  choice  of  him  ? 

A.  No :  but  according  as  he  hath  cho- 
sen us  in  him. 

Q.     6.   "When? 

A.    Before  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

Q.  7.  But  did  he  choose  us  because  we 
were  holy,  or  because  he  foresaw  we  would 
be  so? 

A.    No  ;  but  that  we  should  be  holy. 

Q.  8.  Did  he  then  intend  that  all  such 
should  be  made  completely  holy  ? 

A.  Yes,  and  without  blame  before  him 
in  love. 

Q.  9.  And  is  every  thing  aforesaid  ab- 
solutely secured  ? 

A.    Yes,  having  predestinated  us. 

Q.     10.  Predestinated  to  what  ? 

A.     Unto  the  adoption  of  children. 

Q.     11.  By,  and  to  whom  ? 

A.    By  Jesus  Christ  to  himself 

Q.  12.  What  is  the  source  of  such  fa- 
vors, or  from  whence  do  they  flow  ? 

A.     The  good  pleasure  of  his  will. 

Q.  13.  In  what  does  the  whole  termin- 
ate, or  to  what  does  it  lead  ? 

A.  To  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
grace. 

Wherein  he  hath  made  us  accepted  in 
the  Beloved,  in  whom  we  have  redemption 
through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins 
according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace.  See 
Eph.  i.  4th  to  the  12th.  Again,  the  same 
inspired  writer  asserts,  such  were  "  chosen 
to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth."  2  Thess. 
ii.  13.  God  kindly  connected  their  final  fe- 
licity and  his  own  eternal  glory,  when  he 
ordained  them  to  eternal  life.  Acts  xiii. 
48.  But  though  Judas  was  chosen  to  office, 
he  was  not  chosen  to  holiness,  for  Jesus, 
when  speaking  to  the  disciples  as  his  ser- 
vants and  true  followers  (Judas  being  pres- 
ent) he  said,  I  speak  not  of  you  all.  I  know 
whom  I  have  chosen.  John  xiii.  IS.  The 
names  of  his  chosen  are  written  in  heaven, 
and  all  such  are  freed  from  condemnation. 
Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the  charge  of 
God's  elect?  Rom.  viii.  33.  All  this  could 
not  [with  propriety]  be  said,  of  the  Jewish 
nation,  nor  of  Judas,  and  many  more  who 
have  been  chosen  [merely]  to  office:  be- 
sides, individuals  are  called  the  elect,  who 
could  not  bear  rule  in  the  church  of  God  ; 
for  a  woman  was  not  suffered  to  speak  in 
the  church,  nor  usurp  authority  over  the 
man,  but  was  to  be  in  sile;ice.  1  Tim.  ii. 
12.  Yet  we  read  of  an  elect  lady  and  her 
elect  sister.  2  John  i.  13.  If  God  hath 
thus  chosen,  the  end  he  had  in  view  will 
certainly  be  accomphshed,  for  saith  Jesus, 
"  All  that  the  Father  givelh  me  shall  come 
unto  me,  and  him  that  cometh  unto  me  I 
will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  "His  people 
shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  his  power," 


for  having  "  loved  them  with  an  everlast- 
ing love,  therefore  with  loving  kindness 
will  he  draw  them."  No  one  instance  can 
be  given  of  God  having  chosen  any  people, 
person,  or  place,  to  that  which  was  not  ac- 
tually accomplished.  Did  the  Lord  choose 
the  Jewish  nation  to  peculiar  privileges? 
Yes,  and  in  consequence  of  that  choice 
they  had  the  advantage  of  all  other  nations, 
and  much  every  way.  Samuel  did  actu- 
ally prophesy,  and  Saul  and  David  were 
really  kings  in  Israel.  Judas  was  actually 
numbered  with  the  apostles,  and  with  them 
took  part  of  the  ministry  to  which  he  was 
elected.  Moses  was  Israel's  leader,  and 
lawgiver,  because  he  was  chosen  by  the 
Lord  to  such  dignity.  Aaron  and  his  des- 
cendants were  priests  of  the  most  high  God, 
because  they  were  elected  by  him  to  that 
office.  So  the  Lord  chose  Jerusalem  as 
the  residence  of  the  ark,  and  the  place 
where  sacrifices  should  be  offered ;  and 
thither  the  tribes  of  Israel  actually  repaired 
to  worship,  and  adore  him  whose  dwelling 
was  in  Zion.  In  no  one  instance  did  Jeho- 
vah choose  in  vain.  The  ends  he  had  in 
view  were  ever  accomplished.  And  if  so, 
can  there  be  any  reason  assigned  why  those, 
and  those  only  who  were  chosen  to  the 
greatest  blessings,  should  fall  short  of  them  ? 
But  the  foundation  standeth  sure,  having 
this  seal,  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are 
liis.  In  every  age  "  as  many  as  were  or- 
dained to  eternal  hfe  believed"  "  the  election 
obtained  it,  but  the  rest  were  blinded"  by 
^'  the  god  of  this  world,  who  blindeth  the 
eyes  of  them  who  believe  not."  "  So  then 
at  this  present  time  also  there  is  a  remnant 
according  to  the  election  of  grace,  and  if 
by  grace,  then  it  is  no  more  of  works,  other- 
wise grace  is  no  more  grace."  Rom.  xi. 
5,  6. 

Another  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of 
many  inquirers,  next  to  the  doctrine  of  elec- 
tion, is  reprobation,  which  is  generally  [but 
improperly]  considered  as  the  counterpart 
of  election,  and  related  to  it  as  its  direct 
opposite ;  as  a  negative,  is  related  to  a  pos- 
itive idea.  But  if  it  be  understood  as  the 
negative  of  election,  is  it  not  strange  it 
should  change  its  nature,  and,  in  contro- 
versy, become  a  positive  idea?  And  yet 
as  such  it  has  been  [both]  opposed  and  de- 
fended with  great  warmth ;  for  the  adver- 
saries of  sovereign  grace  scarcely  ever  di- 
rectly encounter  the  doctrine  of  election ; 
but  artfully  file  off  to  reprobation,  as  if 
they  were  conscious  [that]  election  was 
itself  mvulnerable,  and  could  not  possibly 
be  reduced.  But  from  the  mountain  of 
reprobation  they  attack  the  doctrine  intend- 
ed to  be  demohshed,  and  charge  it  with  the 
most  horrid  consequences,  too  shocking  to 
relate.  These  consequences  tlie  defend- 
lers  of  sovereign  grace  have   repeatedly 


72 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


f)roved  to  be  quite  foreign  to,  and  not  in  the 
east  inferable  from,  the  doctrine  of  God's 
sovereign  choice  of  his  people  to  grace  and 
glory.  But  perhaps  their  defence  of  the 
doctrine  of  reprobation  has  not  been  equal- 
ly successful.  [And  no  wonder ;  they  have 
unwarily  admitted  it  to  be  the  opposite  of 
election ;  and  tliis  admission]  has  been 
stumbling  to  many  inquirers  after  truth, 
and  encouraging  to  its  oppoeers.  Election 
or  choice,  indeed,  implies  a  negative,  or 
that  some  are  not  chosen  ;  which  the  scrip- 
ture calls  the  rest :  this  is  readily  allowed, 
but  reprobation  as  mentioned  in  scripture  is 
never  opposed  to  election.  To  the  doc- 
trine of  election  it  does  not  seem  related, 
but  stands  in  a  quite  different  situation  in 
the  system  of  scriptural  divinity. 

1.  I'i  reprobation  conveyed  the  idea  of 
non-election,  by  a  person  being  reprobated, 
we  should  understand  one  not  elected ;  but 
how  will  such  an  idea  comport  with  the 
apostle's  reasoning,  when  he  says,  "  Know 
ye  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  in  you  except  ye 
be  reprobates  ?"  2  Cor.  xv.  15.  To  sup- 
pose him  to  mean  they  were  not  elected  if 
Christ  was  not  in  them,  is  supposing  him 
to  contradict  his  own  experience,  and  op- 
pose self-evident  facts ;  for  there  was  a 
time  when  Christ  was  not  in  Paul  himself; 
during  which  period  he  was  exceeding 
mad  against  those  who  professed  the  name 
of  Jesus.  But.  says  he,  "  it  pleased  God  to 
reveal  his  Son  in  me."  Before  this  hap- 
py change  took  place  he  was  in  a  state  of 
reprobation^  for  Christ  was  not  in  him,  amj 
yet  he  was  never  in  a  state  of  non-election, 
but  was  one  chosen  in  Christ  before  the 
world  was.  Again,  he  could  not  mean  if 
Christ  was  not  in  them  they  were  not  elect- 
ed, because  Christ  is  not  naturally  in  his 
elect,  as  most  of  them  know ;  and  [they] 
lament,  when  called  by  grace,  that  they 
lived  without  God  and  without  Christ  in 
the  world;  therefore,  during  that  period, 
they  were  reprobates,  not  having  Christ  in 
them  ;  nevertheless  they  were  the  elect  of 
God,  of  which  their  bemg  called  by  grace 
is  a  proof  From  hence  it  appears  that 
reprobation  is  not  the  opposite  of  election. 

2.  That  reprobation  is  not  the  opposite 
of  election  will  appear  evident,  if  it  be  con- 
sidered that  election  is  an  act  of  divine  sov- 
ereignity, arising  merely  from  the  will  of 
God,  without  any  fitness  in  creatures  de- 
serving to  be  so  distinguished ;  but  repro- 
bation, whenever  the  word  is  used  in  scrip- 
ture, respects  a  comparative  deficiency,  or 
an  essential  defect  in  those  who  are  repro- 
bated. Election  is  the  effect  of  or  entirely 
flows  from  the  good  pleasure  of  God's  will 
in  favor  of  the  persons  of  his  people  ;  but 
reprobation  originates  not  merely  from 
God's  will,  but  from  the  natural  contrariety 


there  is  between  Jehovah's  purity  and  their 
'pollution. 

3.  Ifepmbation  in  scripture  always  stands 
opposed  to,  and  is  the  natural  negative  of, 
approbation,  whether  it  respects  the  state 
of  a  person,  the  frame  of  his  mind,  or  the 
nature  of  his  actions.  Hence,  vile  profess- 
ors are  compared  to  the  alloy  or  dross  fre  ■ 
quently  mixed  with  metal,  which  on  trial 
is  found  base  or  deficient  in  quality ;  there- 
fore "  reprobate  silver  shall  men  call  them, 
because  the  Lord  has  rejected  them."  Jer. 
vi.  30.  So  in  the  text  before  mentioned, 
"  Know  ye  not  that  Christ  is  in  you  except 
ye  be  reprobates?"  the  apostle's  obvious 
meaning  is,  that  such  are  destitute  of  real 
worth.  For  however  splendid  a  profession 
be,  yet  without  Christ,  all  will  be  found 
mere  refuse  at  last ;  therefore  he  puts  them 
upon  close  examination,  lest  they  should 
be  deceived  by  appearances.  Thinking 
themselves  something,  while  in  fact  they  are 
nothing.  Hence  in  the  next  verse  he  adds, 
"  But  I  trust  that  ye  shall  know  that  we  are 
not  reprobates."  2  Cor.  xiii.  5,  6 ;  and  in 
verse  7,  he  says,  "Now  I  pray  to  God  tiiat 
ye  do  no  evil,  not  that  we  should  appear 
approved,  but  that  ye  should  do  that  which 
is  honest,  though  we  be  as  reprobate.^."' 
Thus  he  considers  reprobation  and  appro- 
bation as  natural  opposites.  Again,  men 
of  corrupt  minds  are  said  to  be  ^-reprobate 
concerning  the  fliith,"  i.  e.  destitute  of  a 
true  understanding  of  the  truth.  2  Tim. 
iii.  8.  And  the  "  abominable  and  disobe- 
dient are  unto  every  good  work  reprobate.'''' 
Tit  i.  16.  Agreeable,  therefore,  to  this 
view  of  reprobation,  those  vile  atiections  lo 
which  the  Gentiles  were  given  up,  are  call- 
ed '■'■  a  reprobate  mind.''^  Rom.  i.  26,  28, 29. 
Meaning  that  their  dispositions  and  conduct 
were  odious,  and  could  not  possibly  be  ap- 
proved of,  either  by  God  or  good  men. 
From  the  above  considerations  it  evidently 
appears,  that  election  and  reprobation  are 
not  inseparably  connected,  nor  even  so 
much  as  related  as  kindred  ideas,  and  that 
reprobation  does  not  intend  an  absolute  ap- 
pointment to  eternal  misery,  for  such  may 
still  find  mercy  as  Paul  did ;  but  that  it  is 
the  awful  opposite  to  divine  approbation, 
whether  it  respects  persons,  principles,  or 
proceedings. 

But  some  may  reply,  Though  the  term 
reprobation  should  be  disused  as  relating 
to  election,  yet  if  the  ideas  be  retained 
which  were  conveyed  by  it,  the  doctrine  is 
not  less  exceptionable  than  before.  True ; 
therefore,  let  us  calmly  consider  whether 
those  horrid  ideas,  which  the  opposers  of 
election  have  always  connected  with  the 
term  reprobation,  are,  or  are  not,  as  foreign 
to  the  doctrine  of^  election  as  the  term  itself 
The  most  decent  and  sober  opposers  of  the 


HELP    TO    Z  ION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


73 


doctrine  in  question,  generally  charge  it 
with  implying  three  things :  1.  An  appoint- 
ment to  inevitable  destruction  of  those  who 
are  not  elected ;  therefore,  2.  That  the  doc- 
« trine  of  election  is  injurious  to  those  not  in- 
cluded in  it ;  and  consequently,  3.  Is  a  re- 
flection on  the  justice  or  moral  character 
of  God.  These  reasons,  it  is  confessed, 
are  quite  sufficient  to  justify  a  dissent  from 
the  doctrine,  or  an  opposition  to  it,  suppos- 
ing them  well  founded.  But  whether  these 
awful  inferences  are  the  genuine  offspring 
of  election  or  not  will  appear,  if  brought 
under  impartial  examination. 

1.  Respecting  the  first  objection,  the 
question  is.  Whether  the  doctrine  of  election 
(supposing  it  a  fact)  be  the  cause  of,  or  in 
the  least  influential  upon,  an  appointment  of 
any  creature  to  destruction  ?  That  it  was 
neither  the  cause  nor  the  occasion  of  such 
an  appointment  is  demonstrably  evident 
from  its  very  nature.  It  could  not  have  such 
a  tendency,  because  election  is  an  act  abso- 
lutely sovereign,  or  a  gracious  act  arising 
simply  from  Jehovah's  will.  But  punish- 
ment does  not  arise  from  divine  sovereignty. 
If  it  did,  it  would  be  causeless ;  but  God 
never  punished  (therefore  never  intended  to 
do  so)  without  a  criminal  cause  in  the  crea- 
ture. God  does  not  punish  for  sin  because 
it  was  his  sovereign  will ;  but  his  very  will 
to  punish  arises  from  the  holiness  of  his  na- 
iure  and  the  equity  of  his  government; 
therefore  God's  intention  to  punish  arises 
from  a  distinct  source  from  that  out  of 
which  election  springs.  They  are  in  their 
nature  eternally  distinct,  as  any  acts  of  God 
can  possibly  be.  Such  a  charge,  therefore, 
might  as  well  be  brought  against  creation 
as  election.  It  seems  very  strange  that  any 
serious  person  should  oppose  the  idea  of 
God's  decreeing  to  punish  for  sin,  seeing 
he  actually  does  so,  which  he  could  not,  if 
it  was  an  unrighteous  thing  in  God  to  take 
vengeance.  If  it  be  right  for  the  Lord  to 
punish  those  who  are  punished  by  him,  it 
could  not  be  wrong  to  resolve  to  do  so,  un- 
less it  be  wrong  to  determine  to  do  what  is 
right.  However,  such  a  decree  does  not 
arise  from  election.  What  is  opposite  to 
election,  is  a  mere  negation,  or  a  leaving 
others  in  that  state  in  which  ail  men  are 
viewed  by  the  great  Eternal  when  he  chose 
his  people :  therefore, 

2.  The  doctrine  is  not  injurious  to  those 
not  included  in  it ;  for  if  election  respected 
its  objects  as  sinless,  or  simply  considered 
as  creatures  formed  of  God,  which  some 
think,  seeing  the  happy  angels  and  the  per- 
son of  Christ  were  included  in  Jehovah's 
choice,  those /ro??2.  among  whom  thoy  were 
chosen  could  not  be  deemed  ptmishable, 
being  considered  in  their  pure  unlallcn  state; 
therefore  election,  if  so  considered,  could 
not  in  the  nature  of  things,  be  the  cause  or 

Vol.  3.-J. 


occasio7i  of  God's  designing  to  punish  any 
man.  If  the  election  of  men  be  considered 
as  a  choice  of  criminal  creatures,  or  oi' 
creatures  considered  as  in  a  sinful  fallen 
state,  in  which  light  it  is  viewed  by  many, 
because  the  choice  is  unto  salvation  through 
sanctification  of  the  spirit,  (however,  the 
different  stating  of  the  doctrine  is  only  a 
circumstance  which  does  not  alter  the  na- 
ture of  the  truth  stated,  for  if  it  be  thus  con- 
sidered,) it  unavoidably  follows,  that  as 
those  not  included  in  the  sovereign  choice, 
were  viewed  by  God  as  sinful  when  the 
choice  was  made ;  therefore  the  choice 
could  not  possibly  make  them  sinful  nor 
cause  them  to  be  viewed  as  criminals.  It 
is  singularly  absurd  to  suppose  the  pres- 
cience of  God,  or  his  all-comprehending 
understanding,  to  be  the  fruit  of  his  sove- 
reign will ;  and  yet  this  absurdity,  gross  as 
it  is,  attends  the  objection,  which  is  the 
same  as  saying,  if  God  had  not  elected 
some,  he  would  never  have  known  or 
thought  of  the  condition  of  others.  As  no 
injury  is  done  to  any  man  by  the  doctrine 
in  question,  therefore, 

3.  It  is  not  contrary  to,  or  an  impeach- 
ment of,  the  moral  character  of  God.  In 
election  there  is  no  connivance  at  sin  im- 
phed.  By  it,  sin  in  the  chosen  was  not  ren- 
dered less  odious,  nor  justice  partially  ad- 
ministered in  their  favor,  but  a  surety  was 
graciously  substituted  in  their  stead,  who 
bore  their  sins,  and  was  wounded  for  their 
transgressions,  and  by  whose  obedience  the 
law  of  God  was  magnified,  and  through  his 
death  impartial  justice  shone  with  tremen- 
dous lustre.  Had  the  crimes  of  which  the 
elect  was  guilty  been  transferred  or  impu- 
ted io  those  who  perish,  in  that  case  an  ex- 
emption of  the  elect  from  punishment  would 
have  been  unjust  and  injurious,  because 
mercy  shown  to  them  would  have  heightened 
the  misery  of  others.  But  as  every  one  who 
perishes  suffers  only  according  to  the  de- 
merit of  his  own  personal  sins,  therefore  to 
infer  that  the  doctrine  of  election  is  detri- 
mental to  man,  and  unworthy  of  God,  dis- 
covers either  pitiable  weakness,  or  power- 
ful prejudice ;  for  such  inferences  seem  as 
opposite  to  truth,  decency  and  common 
sense,  as  a  man  would  appear  to  be,  if  he 
undertook  to  prove  that  God  is  cruel  be- 
cause he  is  kind,  and  that  those  have  great 
cause  to  complain  who  were  never  injured. 
That  the  doctrine  is  not  inimical  to  Chris- 
tian experience,  but  of  contrary  tendency, 
will  be  shown  in  its  proper  place.  What 
has  been  said  I  hope  may  tend  to  remove 
the  objections  against  it,*  as  a  revealed 


*  The  following  condensed  view  of  the  doctrine  of 
plection,  may,  perhaps,  not  be  unacceptable  to  the  young 
rhiislian. 

1.  There  is  a  manife.sl  difference  among  mankind  in 
their  moral  and  religious  character; — a  difference  which 


74 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


truth  of  great  importance,  in  consequence 
of  which  Christ  and  his  people  were  so  con- 
nected that  what  he  did  was  impiUable  to 
them. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Union  to  Christ. 

Though  the  Scriptures  speak  with  re- 
markable plainness  of  the  near  relation  sub- 
sisting between  Christ  and  his  church,  in 
consequence  of  electing  love,  yet  various 
stumbling-blocks  are  frequently  found  in 
the  way  of  [those  who  desire]  clear  views 
of  that  doctrine ;  for  the  removal  of  which, 
if  God  please  to  bless  the  attempt  let  us 
now  briefly  consider,  [that  relation  to 
Christ  which  is  expressed  by  the  title  of 
the  present  chapter.] 

Various  warm  disputes  have  existed 
among  the  people  of  God  about  union  to 
Christ,  particularly  as  relating  to  its  com- 
mencement, which  is  thought  by  some  to 
have  been  from  everlasting,  and  by  others 
not  till,  or  after  believing.  Though  agreed  in 
the  main  about  its  nature  and  duration, 
each  side  has  been  pretty  free,  and  fertile 
in  the  invention  of  consequences,  as  arising 
from  their  opponents'  sentiments,  which 
[consequences,]  perhaps,  are  equally  ab- 
horrent to  both.  On  this  account,  many 
sincere  inquirers  after  truth  have  been 
greatly  discouraged,  wounded  in  their 
minds,  and  prevented  making  progress  in 
religious  attainments.  Some  are  likewise 
perplexed  and  stumbled  by  a  third  party, 
who,  differing  from  the  other  about  the  na- 


is  not  merely  external,  but  apparently,  radical  and  essen- 
tial :  some  are  the  subjects  of  real,  vital  piety,  of  which 
others  are  entirely  destitute. 

2.  As  every  effect  must  originate  in  some  cause,  so 
this  difference  in  men's  characters  is  an  effect  of  some 
cause,  and  the  Scriptures  attribute  it  to  God  ;  Eph.  ii.  3, 
5.  "We  were  by  nature  children  of  wrath  even  as  oth- 
ers; but  God — hath  quickened  us." 

3.  As  God  is  the  author  of  this  difference,  he  has, 
doubtless,  in  producing  it,  acted  like  an  intelligent  and 
wise  being.  But  such  a  Being  does  not  act  till  he  has 
determived  to  act ;  and  each  act  is  part  of  a  plan  of  ope- 
ration :  therefore,  before  God  produced  this  difference  in 
men'scharaclers,  he  determined  to  produce  it,  and  the 
change  produced,  is  part  of  his  great  plan  of  operations  ; 
i.  e.  what  he  has  done  in  time,  he  has  resolved  to  do  be- 
fore time  began  :  he  determined,  then,  to  effect  the  very 
change  he  has  effected,  and  in  the  very  persons  in  whom 
he  has  effected  It ;  (Rom.  vlii.  29,  30,)  and  this  determi- 
nation is  election. 

From  Ihls  it  will  be  seen  that,  election  has  absolutely 
no  bearing  upon  any  but  the  saved  ;  it  does  not  touch,  or 
at  all  regard  others ;— no  more  than  if  they  had  not  any 
being.  It  leaves  them  exactly  as  they  were,  and  as  they 
would  have  been  if  there  had  been  no  election  at  all. 

From  an  inspection  of  the  passage  just  referred  to,  in 
connection  with  the  above  remarks,  it  will  be  seen,  also, 
that  so  far  from  election  securing  the  salvation  of  any, 
irrespective  of  character  and  piety,  their  rAarac^er  is  one 
object  regarded  in  their  election ;  and  election  secures 
that  it  shall  be  holy  ;  (Eph,  I,  4.)  Election,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  the  determination  that  there  should  be  a  differ- 
ence in  conduct  and  character  between  its  objects  and 
others  :  and  that  they  should  be  sanctified  in  spirit,  by 
the  belief  of  the  truth.    2.  Thes.  ii.  13. 


ture  of  the  union,  therefore  deny  its  dura- 
bility^ and  maintain  that  those  who  are  in 
Christ  to-day  may  possibly  be  in  hell  to^ 
morrow.  Perhaps  the  doctrine  of  union 
with  Christ  may  be  of  such  a  copious  and# 
complex  nature,  as  to  justify  in  some  meas- 
ure the  sentiment  of  each,  who  viewing  the 
subject  in  detached  parts  only,  therefore 
may  conclude  some  things  are  opposite, 
which  are,  in  fact,  only  distinct.  However, 
so  far  as  that  may  be  the  case  with  com- 
mon Christians,  an  impartial  survey,  or  re- 
view of  the  subject,  may  have  a  concilia- 
ting tendency;  for  which  purpose  it  should 
be  considered,  that  union  to  Christ  is  of  a 
threefold  nature,  which  may  (for  the  sake 
of  keeping  ideas  distinct)  be  denominated, 
visible,  vital,  and  virtual. 

First ;  By  visible,  is  intended  a  credible 
profession  of  Christ,  joined  with  an  appa- 
rent subjection  to  him,  or  an  embracing  his 
gospel,  and  obeying  his  laws.  Where 
there  appears  love  to  Jesus,  and  subjection 
to  him  as  a  Saviour,  and  a  Sovereign,  we 
are  bound  to  consider  such  per.sons  as  rela- 
ted to  him,  and  to  love  them  accordingly. 
The  apostle,  treating  of  the  visible  church 
as  in  union  with  Christ,  founded  on  profes- 
sion, says.  We  being  many,  are  one  body  in 
Christ,  and  every  one  members  one  of  an- 
other. Rom.  xii.  5.  And  speaking  of  the 
churches  of  Judea,  he  adds,  which  were  in 
Christ.  Gal.  i.  22.  To  be  therefore  m  the 
church  by  a  credible  profession,  was  called 
a  being  in  Christ,  as  in  1  Cor.  xii.  2.  See 
Gal.  iii.  27;  1  Cor.  xii.  13.  Yet  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  apostle  did  not  account  all 
were  true  believers  which  were  in  Christ 
by  profession,  though  he  was  bound  in  char- 
ity to  hope  thus  of  them  all,  till  there  was 
evidence  to  the  contrary.  The  inspired 
penmen  did  not  certainly  know  the  gra- 
cious state  of  the  persons  they  addressed, 
but  had  cheering  hopes  and  distressing 
fears,  respecting  those  to  whom  they  min- 
istered. See  Epist.  to  Gal.  Even  Jesus, 
"  who  kneic  what  was  in  man,"  generally,  as 
a  minister,  addressed  his  own  people  by  such 
terms  as  were  descriptive  of  gracious  dis- 
positions ;  Matt.  V.  As  many  are  in  Christ 
only  by  a  profession,  having  a  name  to  live, 
and  are  dead,  therefore  there  is  a  striking 
propriety  in  the  various  ifs  we  meet  with 
in  scripture,  when  promises  and  encour- 
agements are  treated  of,  which  ifs  do  not 
imply  an  uncertainty  of  a  true  believer's 
future  happiness ;  but  an  uncertainty  re- 
specting who  the  persons  are  that  have  be- 
lieved through  grace.  With  what  jealousy 
does  Paul  speak  of  the  Galatian  churches, 
and  of  many  in  that  of  Corinth ;  and  with 
what  caution  does  Peter  mention  one  whom 
he  greatly  valued,  "  Sylvanus,  a  faitliful 
brother,  as  I  suppose."  2  Pet.  v.  12.  The 
visible  kingdom  of  Christ  is  compared  to  a 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


75 


net  which  encloseth  divers  kinds ;  but  the 
Lord,  who  searcheth  the  heart,  will  take 
care  of  the  good,  and  cast  the  bad  away. 
Then  many  who  were  visibly  in  connection 
with  Christ,  who  ate  and  drank  in  his  pres- 
ence, who  were  the  children  of  the  kingdom, 
and  visible  members  of  his  body,  the  church, 
will  be  cast  out;  so  that  those  who  are 
found  fruitless  branches  in  Christ,  will  be 
broken  off,  and  burned  with  unquenchable 
fire.  Therefore  it  is  granted  that  many 
who  are  in  Christ,  in  [this]  sense,  [i.  e.  visi- 
bly,'} may  notwithstanding  lift  up  their  eyes 
in  hell,  being  in  torment. 

Secondly;  there  is  a  vital  union,  or  a 
divine  connection  between  Christ  and  his 
people,  which  takes  place  at  regeneration, 
when  the  soul  is  made  to  hear  the  voice  of 
the  Son  of  God  and  live;  for  the  Son 
quickeneth  whom  he  will.  Hence  the  apos- 
tle says,  "  I  live ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  which 
liveth  in  me."  To  live  imphes  three  things, 
all  which,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  every  true 
Christian  is  the  subject  of,  viz.  sensation, 

ANIMATION,  PRESERVATION. 

1.  Sensation.  They  feel  the  burden  of 
guilt,  and  are  sensible  of  the  plague  of  their 
own  hearts.  They  are  convinced  of  their 
wants  and  weakness,  and  are  conscious  of 
being  in  a  condition  both  mean  and  misera- 
ble. They  see  their  own  deformity  and 
Jehovah's  beauty.  Their  ears  are  open  to 
receive  instruction ;  and  the  voice  of  God 
in  his  word,  whether  terrific  or  tender^ 
makes  deep  and  durable  impressions  on 
their  minds.  They  have  a  taste  for  the 
things  of  religion,  after  which  they  hunger 
and  thirst.  To  them  Christ  is  precious: 
his  name  is  an  ointment  poured  forth,  his 
beauty  is  as  the  olive-tree,  and  his  smell  as 
Lebanon ;  yea,  he  is  altogether  lovely.  All 
their  spiritiud  sensations,  whether  painful 
or  pleasurable,  are  in  consequence,  of  living 
union  with  Jesus ;  for  prior  to  its  commence- 
ment they  were  dead  in  sin,  and  destitute 
of  every  holy  emotion  and  perception. 

2.  Animation.  Christian  activity  is  en- 
tirely owing  to  Christ's  aniviative  influence. 
Through  his  Spirit  and  all-sufficient  grace, 
they  serve  with  pleasure,  or  suffer  with  pa- 
tience ;  they  strive  and  war  against  sin,  and 
wrestle  with  principalities  and  powers,  over 
all  which  they  are  more  than  conquerors 
through  him  who  hath  loved  them.  Yea, 
they  can  do  all  things  through  Christ 
strengthening  them,  and  without  him  they 
can  do  nothing. 

3.  Preservation.  The  principle  of  am- 
mation  ever  discovers  an  inchnation  to  pre- 
serve its  connection  with  that  which  is  ani- 
mated by  it:  this  is  obvious  not  only  in 
rational  life,  but  even  in  animal  likewise. 
So,  Christ  has  always  discovered  an  entire, 
infinite  inclination  to  keep  and  preserve  his 
people  in  connection   with   himself     He 


influences  them  to  love,  and  labor  for  the 
meat  which  perisheth  not.  He  alarms  their 
fears  that  they  may  escape  danger,  and 
strengthens  their  faith  that  they  may  lay 
hold  of  eternal  life,  secures  their  love  by 
fresh  discoveries  of  divine  beauties,  and  the 
suitableness  of  celestial  objects  to  heaven- 
born  souls.  Thus  he  draws  them  in  the 
paths  of  duty  by  the  bands  of  love,  and  by 
the  cords  of  a  man.  He  is  the  author  of 
their  presei^ation,  in  such  a  way  as  to  pre- 
vent presumption,  and  secure  their  attention 
to  appointed  means,  which  Divine  wisdom 
has  connected  with  the  desired  end.  He 
says  he  never  will  leave  them,  but  will  be 
with  them  always  to  the  end  of  the  world ; 
and  writes  his  law  in  their  hearts,  that  they 
might  not  finally  depart  from  him.  He 
saves  them,  therefore,  not  contrary  to  their 
inclination,  but  witla  their /re  e  consent,  and 
fervent  desire.  He  that  is  joined  unto  the 
Lord  is  one  spirit;  1  Cor.  vi.  17.  Between 
Jesus  and  them,  there  is  a  oneness  in  per- 
ception, affection,  interest  and  end.  As 
they  are  precious  to  him,  so  he  is  precious 
to  them ;  the  chief  among  ten  thousand, 
and  altogether  lovely.  His  interest  is  theirs, 
and  theirs  is  his.  He  rejoiceth  in  (he  pro.s- 
perity  of  his  people,  and  they  esteem  Jeru- 
salem, i.  e.  his  cause  on  earth,  above  their 
chief  joy ;  his  revealed  designs  correspond 
with  their  real  desires.  The  destruction  of 
sin  and  the  perfection  of  purity  they  long 
for.  He  gave  his  life  for  them,  neither  do 
they  count  theirs  too  dear  to  sacrifice  on  his 
behalf;  their  life  therefore  is  in  their  hand, 
ready  to  be  delivered  up  at  their  Saviour's 
call.  They  rejoice  in  Jesus  on  account  of 
his  mediatorial  obedience,  not  only  as  it  is 
their  security  from  condemnation,  but  as  it 
does  infinite  honor  to  Heaven's  righteous 
law.  What  Christ  has  done,  intentionally 
centres,  and  will  ultimately  terminate,  in 
the  vindication  of  God's  moral  government, 
and  the  eternal  display  of  Jehovah's  essen- 
tial perfections,  in  all  their  native  beauty, 
and  infinite  excellency,  grandeur,  and  glory, 
that  God,  to  whom  sinners  have  an  aver- 
sion, may  appear  and  be  acknowledged,  not 
only  by  angels,  but  by  men,  as  all  in  all. 
As  influenced  by  grace,  the  true  believer 
says,  "  Oh,  how  I  love  thy  law !"  "  I  de- 
light in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward 
man."  Jehovah  he  admires  and  adores; 
and  when  he  takes  a  solemn  view  of  the 
great  Eternal,  whose  glory  dazzles  angelic 
eyes,  he  is  astonished,  confounded,  and  lost. 
in  pleasing  wonder.  He  sinks  into  profound 
contempt  of  himself,  and  feels  keen  reflec- 
tions on  his  criminal  want  of  affection  to, 
and  departures  from  a  Being  so  infinitely 
deserving  the  supreme  love  of  men  and 
angels.  But  on  the  revival  of  hope,  with 
humble  reverence,  and  holy  rapture,  he 
sings,  "  The  Lord  is  my  portion,  sartfi  my 


76 


HELP     TO    ZION'S     TRAVELLERS. 


soul.  He  is  my  rock  and  fortress,  and  my 
deliverer,  my  God,  my  strength,  my  buckler, 
my  sah'>atio7i,  and  my  high  tower.  In  his 
presence  is  fulness  of  joy,  iit  his  right  hand 
are  pleasures  forevcrniorc.  Then  shall  I 
be  satisfied,  when  I  awake  in  his  likeness." 
Though  conscious  of  meanness  and  demerit, 
his  language  now  is,  "  Will  he  plead  against 
me  with  his  great  power  ?  No,  but  he  will 
put  strength  into  nie."  "  1  know  whom  I 
nave  believed.  He  hath  said,  My  grace 
shall  be  sufficient  for  thee,  my  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  weakness.  The  Lord  will 
preserve  me  unto  his  heavenly  kingdom,  to 
whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen." 

As  such  souls  freely  give  themselves 
unto  the  Lord,  so  he  receives  them  gra- 
ciously, and  rejoiceth  in  them  as  his  spouse, 
his  property,  and  portion  ;  it  is  his  will,  and 
their  desire  to  be  like  him,  and  with  him 
for  ever ;  and  for  them  to  die  is  gain. 
Therefore,  though  shoals  of  professors  per- 
ish, none  who  are  possessors  of  his  grace 
ever  shall.  Their  internal  life  is  eternal  in 
its  duration ;  for  thus  saith  the  Lord,  "  I 
give  unto  my  sheep  eternal  life,  and  they 
shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  pluck 
them  out  of  my  hand."  John  x.  28.  "  He 
that  believeth  on  him  is  not  condemned." 
John  iii.  18.  "  There  is  therefore  now  no 
condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ 
Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after 
the  Spirit."  Rom.  viii.  1.  As  there  is  no 
condemnation  to  such  noao,  there  never 
shall  be  any.  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  he  that  heareth  my  word  and  believeth, 
shall  not  come  into  condemnation,  but  is 
passed  from  death  unto  life.  John  v.  24. 
Whoso  believeth  on  him,  shall  not  perish, 
but  have  eternal  life.  John  iii.  15,  16. 
They  shall  never  die ;  though  they  were 
dead,  yet  shall  they  live.  John  xi.  25. 
Who  shall  separate  them  from  the  love  of 
Christ?  Rom.  viii.  35.  Whose  Spirit  is 
in  them  as  a  well  of  water  springing  up 
into  everlasting  life.  John  iv.  14.  He  that 
hath  the  Son  hath  life,  and  he  that  hath  not 
the  Son  of  God  hath  not  life."  Those, 
therefore,  who  are  vitally  united  to  Christ, 
cannot  lose  their  spiritual  life  while  he 
maintains  his  own ;  for  he  hath  said,  "  Be- 
cause I  live  ye  shall  live  also."  Being 
bought  by  his  precious  blood,  and  kept  by 
almighty  power,  they  therefore  may  con- 
clude with  the  Jipostle,  "  That  when  Christ, 
who  is  their  hfe,  shall  appear,  they  shall 
also  appear  with  him  in  glory." 

There  is,  therefore,  no  real  contradiction 
in  the  declarations  in  scripture,  though  they 
may  to  some  appear  opposite,  respecting 
the  final  state  of  those  who  are  united  to 
Christ ;  for  salvation  is  not  i)isepara,bly  con- 
nected with  a  visible,  but  with  a  vital  union 
to  the  Son  of  God.  Those  who  perish 
never  were  spiritually  in  Christ:  he  was 


never  the  home  of  their  hearts.  They 
never  approved  of  him,  nor  he  of  them ; 
therefore  he  will  say  to  all  that  shall  be 
doomed  to  destruction,  I  never  knew  you. 
Though  they  may  have  been  among  the 
saints,  yet  such  were  never  of  them ;  but 
of  a  contrary  character  all  the  while.  Hence 
of  apostates  the  apostle  thus  speaks: 
"  They  went  out  from  us,  but  they  were 
not  of  us,  for  if  they  had  been  of  us,  they 
would  no  doubt  have  continued  with  us; 
but  they  went  out  that  they  might  be  made 
manifest,  that  they  were  not  all  of  us,  but 
ye  have  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One,^'* 
&c.  1  John  ii.  19,  20.  Thus  it  appears, 
that  a  visible  and  a  vital  union  to  Christ 
are  very  distinct;  and  yet  they  are  not 
opposites,  for  a  profession  of  Christ  cannot 
be  deemed  contrary  to  a  possession  of  him. 
Thirdly,  Vital  union  is  distinct  from  vir- 
tual, though  one  is  not  contrary  or  opposite 
to  the  other.  By  virtual  union  with  Christ, 
is  intended  a  real  connection  subsisting  be- 
tween him  and  the  elect  of  God  considered 
simply  as  such.  That  there  was  such  a 
connection  antecedent  to  vital  union,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  following  considerations. 
They  were  chosen  in  Christ,  and  given  to 
him ;  in  covenant  he  represented  them  as  a 
federal  head.  He  became  a  surety  for 
them,  and  on  their  behalf  was  made  under 
the  law,  in  consequence  of  which  there  was 
a  legal  connection  of  union  established  be- 
tween him  and  them.  The  substitution  of 
his  person  under  the  law  in  their  stead,  was 
the  ground  of  the  imputation  of  their  sins 
to  him,  and  of  his  obedience  for  them. 
What  he  did  and  endured,  would  have  had 
no  efficacy  in  their  favor,  had  they  not  been 
personally  interested  in  him.  Their  sins 
could  not  have  been  done  away  by  the  sac- 
rifice of  himself",  had  he  not  given  himself 
for  them  in  particular  or  died  in  their  stead. 
But  as  their  kinsman-Redeemer,  he  ran- 
somed them  from  death,  and  as  the  Head 
of  the  church,  he  became  the  Saviour  of 
the  body.  Thus  was  he  related  to  his  cho- 
sen, as  their  head  of  representation ;  and, 
as  their  surety,  by  his  gracious  engage- 
ments and  condescending  substitution  of  his 
person  [to  endure  the  penalties  of  the  law] 
in  their  place,  and  by  his  performing  for 
them  what  was  required  of  them,  he  be- 
came the  Lord  their  riglitcousness,  and  by 
his  death  he  procured  on  their  behalf  an 
eternal  exemption  from  deserved  punish- 
ment, and  a  legal  title  to  everlasting  bliss. 
In  consequence  of  this  union,  the  elect  were 
intrusted  to  his  care,  and  were  preserved 
in  Christ  Jesus,  and,  therefore,  called  to  be 
saints.  By  virtue  of  the  aforesaid  connec- 
tion, they  are  said  to  be  his  sheep,  whom  he 
must  bring ;  for  of  all  that  the  Father  hath 
given  him,  he  will  lose  none :  and  from 
thence  ariseth  the  propriety  of  the  apostle'a 


HELP     TO     ZION'S     TRAVELLERS. 


77 


language  in  Eph.  ii.  4,  6 :  "  God  who  is  rich 
in  mercy,  for  his  great  love  wherewith  he 
loved  us,  even  wlien  we  were  dead,  in  eins, 
hath  quickened  us  together  with  Christ,  and 
hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us 
sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ 
Jesus."  Now  as  this  virtual  union  does  not 
supersede  vital,  or  render  it  unnecessary, 
hut  is  the  secret  source  trom  whence  it  flows, 
why  then  should  the  godly  quarrel  one  with 
another  about  what  is  so  evidently  consist- 
ent? Though  yn«^  be  only  found  in  the 
branches,  yet  the  root  is  surely  not  unprofit- 
able, seeing  from  thence  the  sap  of  the  tree 
proceeds.  According  to  this  simile  we  may 
observe,  what  the  scripture  calls  bringing 
forth  fruit  unto  God,  can  only  be  expected 
among  professors  of  religion,  who  are  in 
Christ  as  visible  branches.  But  even 
amongst  them,  will  no  fruit  be  found  with- 
out sap  or  living  nourisliment ;  and  there 
can  be  no  vital  nourishment,  but  in  conse- 
quence of  union  with  the  root.  As  none 
ever  imagine  there  is  no  connection  between 
the  root  and  branches  of  a  tree  till  blossoms 
appear,  why  then  should  any  think  there  is 
no  connection  between  Christ  the  root  of 
the  righteous,  and  his  people,  before  the 
appearance  of  grace  1  It  is  owing  to  the 
appearance  of  gracious  dispositions,  that  a 
relation  to  Christ  is  discovered,  or  claimable 
by  any  person  whatever ;  nevertheless,  the 
union  or  relation  in  the  last  sense  in  which 
we  have  been  speaking,  does  not  then  com- 
mence. If  there  was  no  previou^s  secret 
connection  with  Christ,  from  whence  did 
grace  proceed  to  the  soul  1  It  must  have  a 
source  or  original  cause.  The  apostle  ob- 
serves all  spiritual  blessings  were  given  us 
in  Christ.  Eph.  i.  3.  If  Christ  was  intrust- 
ed with  all  spiritual  blessings  to  communi- 
cate to  his  people,  then  no  spiritual  blessing 
is  ever  possessed,  but  what  flows  from  him 
and  if  so,  there  must  be  a  prior  connection 
with  him.  Believers  have  reason  gratefully 
to  acknowledge  that  they  all  have  received 
out  of  hie  fulness,  grace  for  grace.  John  i. 
16.  To  the  hesitating  soul  we  would  re- 
commend a  close  consideration  of  the  apos- 
tle's query ;  "  What  hast  thou,  that  thou 
didst  not  receive."     1  Cor.  iv.  7. 

The  doctrine  of  union  between  Christ 
and  his  church  is  of  a  nature  so  copious, 
that  no  one  metaphor  can  properly  repre- 
sent it ;  therefore  in  the  scriptures  we  meet 
with  various  similitudes,  tending  to  illustrate 
the  important  subject.  Christ  is  frequently 
compared  to  a  foundation,  on  which  his 
people  are  built;  but  that  conveying  only 


represented:  to  supply  this  defect,  Christ 
and  his  people  are  farther  illustrated  by  the 
union  subsisting  between  head  and  mem- 
bers. But  though  the  idea  of  activity  is 
thereby  conveyed,  there  is  still  a  material 
defect,  for  tlie  relation  between  these  is 
quite  involuntary.  Had  it  been  otherwise, 
the  head  might  possibly  have  chosen  better 
feet,  or  better  hands;  and  had  theyhe&xv 
the  subject  of  distinct  volition,  they  would, 
probably,  have  chosen  to  have  been  in  union 
with  a  better  head :  therefore  to  supply  the 
deficiency  of  the  above  simile,  and  to  include 
the  idea  of  mutual  choice  and  social  en- 
dearments, Christ  and  his  church  are  com- 
pared to  husband  and  wife.  If  then  we 
are  in  such  near  and  close  connection  with 
the  blessed  Jesus,  as  the  scriptures  assert, 
and,  by  so  many  significant  simihtudes,  il- 
lustrate his  own  people  to  be,  let  us  fre- 
quently think  of,  and  bless  God  for,  that 
sovereign  and  inseparable  love  which  con- 
stituted the  relation.  It  is  all  of  God,  as  is 
devoutly  acknowledged  by  that  sweet  singer 
in  our  British  Israel,  the  late  Dr.  Watts, 
who  of  the  Father's  love  and  choice  thus 
speaks : 


'  Christ  be  my  first  elect,  he  said, 
Then  chose  our  souls  in  Christ  our  Head ; 
Nor  shall  our  souls  be  thence  remov'd, 
Till  he  forgets  his  first  belov'd." 


CHAPTER  V. 

Relation  to  God. 

As  there  are  unhappy  differences  among 
the  professors  of  religion  about  union  to 
Christ,  so  in  like  manner  they  are  subject 
to  cast  stumbling-blocks  in  each  other's 
way  respecting  relation  to  God. 

For  the  removal  of  these,  and  the  pur- 
pose of  reconciliation,  let  us  consider  on 
what,  relation  to  God  is  founded.  That  re- 
lation in  which  God's  people  stand  unto 
himself,  distinct  from  others,  according  to 
the  scripture,  arises  from  adoption  and  re- 
generation. Adoption  is  a  taking  those  in- 
to the  relation  of  sons,  and  treating  them 
as  such,  who  are  not  so  by  nature.  Now 
God's  people  were  all  by  nature  aliens ; 
but,  by  adopting  grace,  [they]  were  by 
him  considered  as  his  children.  Again, 
His  people  are  all  his  children  by  birth  ; 
being  born  again,  they  possess  or  partake 
of  his  nature,  as  it  consists  in  righteous- 
ness  and  true   holiness,  and  so   bear  his 


the  idea  of  support,  therefore  he  is  compar-  image.  Adoption  constitutes  relation,  but 
ed  to  a  root,  by  which  the  idea  of  «i^Mettce  does  not  convey  likeness  of  nature;  but  regen- 
is  likewise  illustrated.  But  though  branches  eration  does  both.  Adoption  is  before  or  ante- 
are  influenced,  and  rendered  fruitful,  in  cedent  to  regeneration,  for  there  is  no  propri- 
consequence  of  conveyed  nourishment,  yet  ety  in  supposing  those  are  made  sons  by  adop- 
Christian  activity  is  not  thereby  properly '  tion  Avho  are  so  by  birth.    No  man  ever 


78 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


adopted  his  own  son ;  those  who  are  sons 
by  nature,  need  not  to  be  made  sons  by 
adoption.  Though  the  persons  who  are  re- 
generated were  adopted,  yet  they  were  not 
adopted  as  regenerate,  but  when  they  were 
in  a  state  oi"  ahenation  from  God.  In  which 
state  all  men  are  by  nature,  as  the  descend- 
ants of  an  apostate  head.  Adoption  is 
therefore  the  taking  those  into  the  relation 
of  children,  who  are  not  so  by  nature,  or 
reckoning,  or  accounting  those  sons,  who 
arc  not,  [as  yet,  such]  by  regeneration. 
Relation  by  adoption  is,  therefore,  quite 
distinct  from  sonship  arising  from  regenera- 
tion, or  a  being  generated,  and  born  anew ; 
and  accordingly  we  find  it  treated  of  as  a 
separate  subject  in  the  word  of  God.  Adop- 
tion is  an  act  of  God's  sovereign  will  ac- 
cording to  Eph.  i.  5,  6.  "  Having  predes- 
tinated us  unto  the  adoption  of  children  by 
Jesus  Christ  to  himself,  according  to  the 
good  pleassure  of  his  will,  to  the  praise  and 
glory  of  his  grace,  wherein  he  hath  made 
us  accepted  in  the  beloved."  Regenera- 
tion is  the  work  of  his  power,  it  is  a  man- 
ifest change  of  soul  produced  by  his  Holy 
Spirit.  "Not  by  works  of  righteousness 
which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  his 
mercy  he  saved  us  by  the  washing  of  regen- 
eration, and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Tit.  iii.  5.  The  people  of  God,  considered 
as  children  by  adoption,  were  the  subjects 
of  redemption.  Being,  through  sin,  in  a 
state  of  distance  and  dreadful  captivity, 
Christ  gave  his  life  a  ransom  lor  them. 
"  He  died,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  he 
might  bring  them  to  God."  Hence  those  who 
were  sometime  afar  off  are  made  nigh  by 
the  blood  of  his  Son.  It  was  therefore  ex- 
pedient that  Christ  should  die  for  the  peo- 
ple, and  gather  together  in  one  the  children 
of  God  that  were  scattered  abroad.  John 
xi.  50,  52.  For  it  became  him  for  whom 
are  all  things,  and  by  whom  are  all  things, 
in  bringing  many  sons  unto  glory,  to  make 
the  captain  of  iheir  salvation  perfect  through 
sutTcrings.  Heb.  ii.  10.  They  were  not 
redeemed,  considered  as  saints,  but  as  sin- 
ners ;  not  redeemed  as  children,  by  regen- 
eration, but  as  sons  by  adoption  ;  and  of 
them,  as  such,  Christ  will  at  last  say 
"  Father,  here  am  I  and  the  children  which 
thou  hast  given  me."  The  application  of 
redeeming  love,  and  the  possession  of  the 
Redeemer's  purchase  is  not  enjoyed  nor 
by  them  desired  till  renewed  in  the  spirit 
of  their  minds ;  but  being  God's  adopted 
sons,  therefore  in  his  account  they  were  en- 
titled to  them ;  and  because  they  were  sons, 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  is  sent  into  their  hearts, 
crying,  Abba,  Father.  It  is  owing  to  the 
Spirit  of  adoption,  or  the  Holy  Ghost,  bear- 
ing witness  to  their  relationship  as  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  that  they  are  delivered  from 
that  bondage  and  fear  which  would  other- 


wise overwhelm  them,  in  consequence  of 
a  sight  and  sense  of  criminal  distance  from 
God,  and  unlikeness  to  him.  Rom.  viii. 
15,  17.  The  bodies  of  God's  people  were 
included  in  the  act  of  adoption,  and  with 
their  souls  were  given  to  Christ,  and  bought 
by  him;  "Ye  are  bought  with  a  price, 
wherefore  glorify  God  in  your  bodies, — 
which  are  his.  But  though  the  members 
of  the  body  are  instruments  of  righteous- 
ness unto  holiness,  in  consequence  of  a  per- 
son being  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  his  mind, 
yet  while  in  this  life  the  bodies  of  the  saints 
have  no  peculiar  marks  of  divine  sonship, 
but  are  subject  to  vanity,  bondage,  and 
corruption.  The  privileges  of  adoption, 
therefore,  as  relating  to  them,  will  not  be 
enjoyed  till  the  resurrection,  for  the  bodies 
of  all  men  through  sin  are  the  seat  of  mis- 
ery; and  not  only  bodies  in  general,  but 
ourselves  also,  which  have  the  first  fruits 
of  the  Spirit,  even  we  ourselves  groan  with- 
in ourselves,  waiting  for  the  adoption,  to 
wit,  the  redemption  of  the  body."  Rom. 
viii.  23.  Sonship  by  adoption  is  not  con- 
trary to,  nor  does  it  render  relationship  to 
God  by  regeneration,  unnecessary  ;  there 
is  as  much  need  of  a  meetness  for  heaven 
as  of  a  title  to  it.  In  order  to  consummate 
happiness,  it  is  as  necessary  to  have  a  dis- 
position, or  taste,  for  pure  and  refined  pleas- 
ure, as  it  is  to  be  delivered  from  pain. 
Therefore,  except  a  man  be  born  again,  he 
cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  he  can- 
not see  it  in  its  nature,  beauty,  and  spiritual 
glory,  for  the  natural  man  perceiveth  not  the 
things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  neither  can  he 
know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned. Hence  (says  Christ)  ye  must  be 
born  again.  The  doctrine  of  adoption  is  sup- 
porting to  the  beUever's  hope,  even  when 
he  loathes  and  bemoans  himself  on  tlie  ac- 
count of  transgressions,  for  the  very  name 
Jesus  (a  Saviour)  was  given  to  Immanuel, 
because  he  should  save  his  people  from 
their  sins.  Matt.  i.  21.  But  considered  as 
born  again,  they  are  not  denominated  sin- 
ners, but  saints,  for  he  that  is  born  of  God 
sinneth  not.  Sin  is  not  his  occupation. 
By  adoption  God's  people  were  in  a  point 
of  relation  made  near  him,  as  respecting 
their  persons.  By  regeneration  tliey  be- 
come followers  of  liim  as  dear  children, 
through  their  being  the  subjects  of  gracious 
principles  and  holy  dispositions. 

To  conclude;  as  sonship  amongst  men 
arises  from  adoption  and  likewise  from  nat- 
ural descent  or  generation ;  the  Lord,  there- 
fore, more  fully  to  express  his  love  to  his 
people,  and  the  ground  of  their  claim  or 
title  to  heavenly  things,  has  been  pleased 
to  discover  himself  as  their  Father  under 
both  considerations ;  which  if  properly  at- 
tended to  by  the  household  of^  faith,  their 
diflferences  would  in  some  measure  subside, 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


79 


and  their  diiRculties  in  some  degree  dimin- 1     First :  It  supposes  the  party  to  have  been 
ish;  for  according  to  the  scriptural  account  justly  injured  [or  offended]  to  whom  satis- 


of  relation  to  God,  they  are  most  certainly 
right  who  say,  that  by  regeneration  or 
heavenly  birth  the  people  of  God  are  de- 
nominated sons  in  a  proper  sense,  and  in 
which  sense  they  were  not  his  children  be- 
fore, for  we  are  all  the  children  of  God  by 
faith  in  Christ  Jesus ;  and  if  any  man  have 
not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his. 
But  those  who  heartily  subscribe  to  this 
truth,  may  surely,  without  offence,  be  allow- 
ed to  say,  that  by  adoption  they  were  con- 
stituted sons  before  believing ;  for  none  are 
denominated  believers  till  born  of  God, 
and  it  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  they 
were  not  till  then  adopted.  Equally  absurd 
as  to  suppose  Adam  adopted  Abel,  or  that 
it  is  necessary  for  his  majesty  to  adopt  the 
prince  of  Wales.  When  the  scriptures 
treat  only  of  men's  relation  to  God,  it  is 
then  attributed  to  adoption  ;  or  the  gracious 
act  of  Jehovah's  will  towards  them  ;  which 
does  not  imply,  but  is  distinct  from,  his 

gowerful  influences  in  and  upon  them, 
iut  when  likeness  and  relation  to  God  are 
jointly  considered,  an  heavenly  birth  is  then 
intended  or  included.  For  the  Holy  Spir- 
it's operations  in  the  souls  of  men  are  illus' 
trated  by  natural  generation ;  because  such 
are  thereby  made  partakers  of  the  Divine 
image,  as  it  consisteth  in  righteousness  and 
true  holiness.  The  consideration  of  these 
things,  it  is  hoped,  may  tend  to  reconcile 
the  minds  of  some  of  the  people  of  God, 
and  prevent  their  falling  out  by  the  way. 


CHAPTER  VL 

7%e  Doctrine  of  Atonement. 

This  important  truth  is  attended  with 
divers  difficulties,  which  are  perplexing  to 
weak  Christians,  the  removal  of  which  calls 
for  serious  attention  to  its  nature  and  ne- 
cessity. Atonemetit  signifies  reconciliation, 
or  appeasing  of  anger  ;  to  atone  is  to  har- 
monize or  bring  parties  to  an  agreement 
that  were  at  variance,  or  to  remove  that 
distance  and  disaffection  which  have  sub- 
sisted between  parties  offended,  so  as  to  be 
at  one  again,  or  brought  into  a  state  of 
friendship,  amity,  and  good  will.  The 
atonement  under  present  considration,  is 
tliat  by,  or  on  the  account  of,  which  God  k 
pacified  towards,  or  pardons  the  sins  of  his 
people.  Various  ideas  are  included  in  the 
term,  as  used  in  scripture,  but  they  are  all 
of  a  kindred  nature,  and  adhere  to  the  im- 
portant doctrine,  as  their  central  point, 
tending  to  explain  its  natural  origin  and 
efficacy.  In  order  to  obtain  a  distinct  view 
of  the  subject,  it  may  be  proper  to  observe, 


faction  is  due.  This  was  in  fact  the  case 
in  respect  of  God.  Men,  all  men,  are  be- 
come enemies  to  him  without  any  reason 
which  can  possibly  exculpate  them  from 
blame.  His  law,  which  men  have  broken, 
was  in  every  respect  reasonable  and  right. 
His  authority,  though  indisputably  the  high- 
est and  best  founded,  is  treated  by  man 
with  the  greatest  contempt.  The  moral 
beauty  and  excellency  of  God  is  become 
disgustful  to  his  rebellious  creatures.  As 
Jehovah  is  the  first,  the  best,  and  most 
worthy  of  all  beings,  it  is  fit  he  should  value 
and  esteem  his  own  glory  in  proportion  to 
its  worth,  which  is  infinitely  more  excellent 
and  more  dear  to  him  than  all  creatures  in 
heaven  and  earth.  But  man  has  set  up 
his  own  honor  and  happiness  in  opposition 
to  God's  and  (as  it  were)  deifies  himself, 
and  debases  Jehovah,  to  whom  he  pays  no 
further  regard  than  he  apprehends  will  ter- 
minate in  his  own  advantage.  God's  an- 
ger is  righteous  displeasure,  for  men  have 
hated  him  without  a  cause ;  there  was  noth- 
ing in  his  nature,  character,  or  commands, 
with  which  men  could  be  justly  displeased. 
God  never  did  any  thing  to  provoke  his 
creatures  to  revolt;  if  he  had,  he  would 
have  been  under  obhgation  to  have  made 
satisfaction  to  man  for  the  injury  done  him, 
in  order  to  an  honorable  reconciliation,  that 
man  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  God, 
which  is  shocking  to  suppose  :  therefore, 

Secondly :  The  atonement  supposes  the 
offending  party,  man,  to  have  been  justly 
deserving  punishment,  and  exposed  to  mis- 
ery. If  he  was  not  exposed  to  misery, 
there  could  have  been  no  need  of  the  ex- 
ercise of  mercy ;  and  if  he  was  the  real 
offender,  something  was  needful  to  atone 
for  the  offence,  in  order  to  a  restoration 
of  friendship  between  him  and  his  Creator. 
There  is  a  prevalent  conviction  attending 
guilt,  of  the  necessity  of  something  to  rec- 
ommend to  and  pacify  offended  Deity.  It 
is  not  against  atonement  that  men  are  nat- 
urally prejudiced ;  but  it  is  only  that  of 
God's  providing  to  which  they  have  an  en- 
mity and  aversion.  "  Wherewith  shall  I 
come  before  the  Lord,  and  bow  myself  be- 
fore the  most  high  God  ?"  is  the  common 
and  grand  inquiry  of  a  guilty  mind.  It  is 
not  a  bowing  before  him,  either  in  a  way 
of  submission,  confession,  supplication,  or 
obedience,  that  will  satisfy  for  past  offences, 
but  something  that  has  worth  and  efficacy 
to  atone  for  the  sin  of  the  soul,  in  order  to 
an  acceptable  coming  to,  and  bowing  be- 
fore the  most  high  God  :  therefore,  "  thou- 
sands of  rams,  ten  thousand  of  rivers  of 
oil,"  and  even  "  the  first-born  of  the  body," 
is  thought  of  for  the  purpose  of  pleasing 
an  offended  God.     "  He  hath  shown  thee, 


80 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


Oman!"  (in  his  word,)  "what  is  good" 
for  the  pacification  of  Divine  justice,  and 
what  he  requires  of  thee,  as  a  grateful  re- 
turn for  the  inestimable  favor.  Mic.  vi.  6, 
7,  8.  Not  all  created  good  (was  it  at  the 
sinner's  disposal)  could  compensate  (or  the 
injury  done  to  Jehovah's  righteous  law  and 
equitable  government,  because  it  bears  no 
proportion  to  an  infinite  evil ;  therefore,  the 
wisdom  of  men  and  angels  could  never  have 
pointed  out  a  method  for  the  exercise  of 
mercy,  consistent  with  the  natural  rights  of 
justice  and  truth.  But  God,  through  infi- 
nite wisdom  and  sovereign  love,  has  made 
a  gracious  proclamation  in  lavor  of  crimi- 
naf  man,  saying,  "  Deliver  his  soul  from 
going  down  to  the  pit,  I  have  found  a  ran- 
som" or  an  atonement :  this  was  entirely 
a  new  procedure,  the  eflect  of  a  new  and 
well-orilered  covenant,  according  to  his  eter- 
nal purpose,  Avhich  he  purposed  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord.  There  was  nothing  in 
God's  law,  nothing  in  the  original  constitu- 
tion of  things,  nor  any  known  property  in 
Deity,  from  -whence  it  could  be  inlerred, 
that  mercy  would  ever  be  shown  to  man, 
or  friendship  be  restored  between  him  and 
his  justly  offended  Sovereign.  The  gra- 
cious intention  was  hid  in  God.  Eph.  iii. 
9.  Yea,  had  an  intimation  been  given  of 
the  kind  design,  fhe  nature  of  atonement  is 
such  that  created  wisdom  could  never  have 
guessed  how.  or  by  wliom  it  could  be  ac- 
complished.    For, 

1.  The  person  undertaking  to  atone, 
must  have  been  able  to  ofler  to  God  that 
which  was  infinite  in  its  worth  and  value. 

2.  [He  must  have  the  nature  of  those 
whom  his  atonement  is  to  benefit ;  i.  e.  he 
must]  be  man,  capable  of  obeying  the  law, 
and  bearing  its  tremendous  curse;  [and 
this]  without  personal  and  perpetual  des- 
truction. 

3.  He  who  atones  for  another's  crimes 
must  himself  be  innocent,  otherwise  an 
atonement  would  be  needtid  on  his  own  ac- 
count; and  therefore,  "whatever  he  might 
do  or  endure  for  the  purpose  of  reconcilia- 
tion, could  not  properly  be  imputed  to,  or 
benefit  any  other  guilty  person.  But  among 
men,  where  could  perfect  innocence  be  found, 
seeing  the  whole  Avorld  is  become  guilty 
before  God?  But  supposing  such  a  one 
could  have  been  found,  an  atonement  would 
not  have  appeared  ]X>ssible,  because, 

4.  Equity  cannot  allow  an  innocent  per- 
son to  suffer  punishment.  It  is  contrary  to 
the  natural  rule  of  right ;  penal  suffering 
cannot  be  inflicted  but  in  consequence  of 
guilt :  therefore  he  that  justifieth  the  wick 
ed,  and  he  that  condenmeth  the  just,  even 
they  are  both  an  abomination  to  the  Lord. 
Prov.  xvii.  15.  And  shall  not  the  Judge  of 
all  the  earth  do  right?  It  is  not  possible  hi 
should  do  that  which  is  abhorrent  to  his  na- 


ture, and  abominable  in  his  sight ;  there- 
fore, as  a  God  of  equity  he  carmot  clear 
tlie  guilty,  nor  punish  the  innocent.     Again, 

5.  He  who  is  supposed  to  endure  vica- 
rious punishment,  or  suffer  in  the  room  and 
stead  of  another,  must  stand  in  such  prior 
relation  to  or  union  with  him,  on  whose  be- 
half he  is  punished,  as  is  necessary  to  sup- 
port the  delinquent'.s  claim  to  an  equitable 
discharge.  But  where  could  such  a  friend 
be  found,  standing  judicially  related  to  mis- 
erable man,  to  act  as  his  surety,  or  as  a 
day's-man  between  him  and  his  God,  and 
lay  his  hand  upon  them  both  ?  Job  ix.  33. 
xvii.  3.  But  on  a  supposition  such  a  liiend 
could  have  been  pointed  out,  who  was  al- 
lowedly one  in  law  with  the  sinner,  yet  he 
could  not  die,  or  .suffer  in  his  stead,  though 
even  desirous  of  it,  because, 

6.  No  creature  has  power  or  authority  over 
his  own  life,  to  lay  it  down  when  he  pleases, 
nor  even  to  sufler  mutilation  on  behalf  of' 
his  dearest  friend ;  for  his  life  and  his  limbs 
are  at  the  sole  and  only  disposal  of  God, 
in  whom  we  all  live  and  move,  and  from 
whom  Ave  have  our  being. 

From  the  above,  and  similar  considera- 
tions, it  appears,  that  the  nature  of  sin,  and 
the  condition  of  men,  were  such  as  totally 
to  preclude  every  ray  of  hope,  yea,  every 
idea  of  the  possibility  of  an  atonement  be- 
ing made,  or  a  reconciliation  accomplished. 
But  in  the  glorious  gospel,  God  has  opened 
a  door  of  hope  for  lost  sinners.  He  has 
graciously  provided  and  revealed  a  meth- 
od of  salvation,  which  finite  wisdom  could 
never  have  deemed  possible,  a  contrivance 
wherein  he  hath  abounded  towards  us  in 
all  wisdom  and  prudence.  Eph.  i.  8.  For 
every  difficulty  vanishes  when  the  glorious 
Immanuel  is  viewed  as  the  atoning  priest 
and  bleeding  victim.  Here  is  infinite  wortii, 
value  and  virtue,  infinite  ability  to  obey  the 
precepts  of  the  law,  and  endure  its  awful 
penalty,  without  sustaining  the  loss  of  final 
felicity.  He  was  holy,  harmless  and  sep- 
arate from  sinners.  But  that  he  might  le- 
gally suffer,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  he  who 
knew  no  sin  was  made  sin  for  vis.  The 
Lord  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all, 
which  he  bore  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree, 
when  he  made  his  sovd  an  offering  for  sin. 
Thus,  through  imputation,  he  was  number- 
ed with  transgressors,  and  bore  the  sins  of 
many,  which  he  put  away  by  the  sacrifice 
of  himself  What  he  did  and  endured  in 
the  room  and  stead  of  his  people,  was  right- 
eously placed  to  their  account.  He  being 
graciously  substituted  in  their  stead,  being 
their  surety,  made  under  the  law,  that  he 
might  redeem  them  from  the  curse  of  the 
law,  being  made  a  curse  for  them.  He, 
therefore,  kmdiy  gave  his  life  a  ransom  for 
his  people,  for  he  had  authority  and  power 
to  lay  down  his  life,  and  power  to  take  it 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


81 


up  again.  This  commandment,  says  he, 
I  received  of  my  Father.  His  propitiatory 
death  was  according  to  the  determinate 
counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God,  and 
agreeable  to  the  everlasting  covenant,  and 
therefore  with  his  full  approbation  and  free 
consent ;  for  the  counsel  of  peace  was  be- 
tween them  both,  (which  will  ever  contin- 
ue,) and  his  dehghts  were  with  the  sons  of 
men. 

Christ's  atonement  was  illustrated  by  the 
various  atonements  under  the  law,  [and  was 
the  central  point  of  them.]  The  respect- 
ive victims  were  without  blemish;  were 
the  property  of  the  persons  on  whose  ac- 
count they  were  to  be  offered ;  the  crimes 
they  were  designed  to  expiate  and  atone 
for,  were  first  solemnly  confessed  over  them, 
and  then  as  having  sin  placed  on  or  trans- 
ferred to  them,  they  were  offered  up  as  the 
sinner's  substitute,  in  consequence  of  which 
temporary  forgiveness  was  obtained ;  for 
these  were  only  shadows  of  good  things  to 
come,  and  were  offered  year  by  year  con- 
tinually, but  could  never  make  the  comers 
thereunto  perfect,  or  take  away  sin  as  per- 
taining to  the  conscience.  The  law  could 
make  nothing  perfect,  but  the  bringing  in 
of  a  better  hope  did :  see  Heb.  x.  Atone- 
ment is  a  declaration  of  divine  righteous- 
ness, and  a  vindication  of  Jehovah's  just- 
ice in  condemning  and  punishing  for  sin ; 
therefore  the  act  of  Phineas,  in  taking  ven- 
geance in  behalf  of  God  on  daring  offend- 
•ers,  is  called  an  atonement  for  the  congre- 
gation. Atonement  is  designed  as  a  cover- 
ing of  the  guilty  soul ;  thereby  iheir  iniqui- 
ties are  covered,  and  their  transgressions 
are  forgiven.  When  the  congregation  was 
numbered,  it  was  enjoined  on  every  man  to 
give  to  the  Lord  a  ransom  for  his  soul ;  the 
rich  were  not  to  give  more  than  half  a 
shekel,*  nor  tlie  poor  less ;  which  was  call- 
ed atonement  money,  as  thereby  atone- 
ment was  made  for  their  souls.  In  conse- 
quence of  which  price,  they  were  covered 
from  the  plague  to  whic-h  they  were  liable. 
See  Exod.  xxx.  12,  16.  So  Jesus  gave 
himself  a  ransom  for  many :  his  people  were 
bought  with  a  price,  not  with  silver  or  gold, 
but  with  the  precious  blood  of  the  Son  of 
God,  in  whom  we  have  redemption,  even 
the  forgiveness  of  sins.  By  the  blessed 
Jesus,  the  purity  of  God's  law  was  fully  ap- 
proved and  eternally  preserved,  its  righteous 
claims  established  and  fully  confirmed  ;  its 
tremendous  curse  was  by  him  endured,  and 
"his  people  exempted  from  wrath  to  come. 
In  him  mercy  and  truth  are  met  together, 
righteousness  and  peace  have  kissed  each 
other.  He  is  the  true  antitype  of  the  mer- 
•cy-seat,  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a 


A  little  over  twenty-five  cents,  and  so  within  the 
■compass  of  the  poor 

Vol.  3,— K. 


propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood.  The 
seat  of  mercy,  where  Deity  appeared  pro- 
pitious, was  the  cover  of,  and  supported  by 
the  ark,  which  contained  and  preserved  the 
holy  law  which  men  had  violated,  denoting 
that  the  glory  of  God's  righteous  govern- 
ment must  be  secured  before  pardoning 
mercy  could  be  discovered.  To  deny  the 
glory  and  equity  of  God's  law,  by  which 
sinners  are  condemned,  antecedent  to  the 
gospel,  is  to  undermine  the  foundation  of 
mercy,  and  destroy  the  pillars  which  sup- 
port the  throne  of  rich,  reigning  grace. 
The  blood  of  atonement,  sprinkled  annu- 
ally on  the  mercy-seat  by  the  high  priest, 
was  an  acknowledgment  of  Israel's  guilt, 
and  Jehovah's  just  authority ;  and  likewise 
of  their  absolute  dependence  on  his  volun- 
tary mercy,  richly  dispensed  and  gloriously 
displayed,  consistent  with  his  infinite  hatred 
to  sin  and  inflexible  regard  to  impartial  just- 
ice and  punitive  equity. 

Some  represent  tlie  atonement  of  Christ 
as  unnecessary  in  order  to  the  pardon  of 
sin,  the  remission  of  which  is,  by  them, 
considered  as  an  act  of  divine  clemency, 
without  respect  had  to  any  merit  attending 
the  sufferings  of  Christ  in  the  stead  of  those 
whose  transgressions  are  forgiven.  By  this 
many  have  been  perplexed,  seeing  such  a 
representation  and  view  of  things  evident- 
ly tends  to  lessen  the  odious  nature  of  sin, 
tarnish  the  lustre  of  Jehovah's  character, 
and  diminish  the  believer's  obligation  to 
Jesus.     We  therefore  shall  consider, 

1.  It  is  undeniable  that  a  consciousness 
of  sin  is  attended  with  a  fear  of  punish- 
ment in  those  who  are  not  favored  with  a 
divine  revelation.  Hence  the  apostle,  speak- 
ing of  the  heathen  world,  says,  "  Who 
knowing  the  judgment  of  God,  that  they 
which  commit  such  things  are  worthy  of 
death."  Rom.  i.  32.  But  if  punishment 
be  not  necessarily  connected  with  trans- 
gression, how  could  the  dread  of  suffisring, 
and  a  conviction  of  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  taking  vengeance,  be  so  deeply  en- 
graven on  the  hearts  of  those  who  did  not 
know  the  will  and  determination  of  God, 
except  as  inferred  from  the  natural  obliga- 
tion his  creatures  are  under  to  glorify  him 
as  their  Creator  ?  No  creature  can  possi- 
bly know  what  originates  in,  or  is  depend- 
ent upon,  the  sovereign  will  of  God,  with- 
out a  divine  revelation,  but  as  the  punish- 
ment of  sin  can  be  known  where  a  revela- 
tion is  not  [possessed,]  therefore  the  pun- 
ishment of  sin  arises  not  from  divine  sove- 
reignty, but  from  the  essential  purity,  dig- 
nity and  rectitude  of  Jehovah's  nature :  [and 
hence]  there  was  a  necessity  for  Christ,  as 
the  surety,  to  endure  the  penalty,  in  order 
to  his  people's  enjoying  a  pardon ;  for  sin 
is  so  abominable  in  God's  sight,  so  contra- 
ry to  his  pure  nature,  that  jjunislimejit  i'of 


82 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


it  cannot  be  dispensed  with ;  a  sinner,  as 
such,  cannot  be  safe.  Hence  there  was  a 
necessity  for  Jesus  the  Saviour  to  put  away 
sin,  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  to  endure 
the  curse,  that  his  people  might  be  exempt- 
ed from  sin's  demerit,  enjoy  heavenly  bless- 
ings, and  wear  the  celestial  crown. 

2.  Through  the  sufferings  of  Christ  the 
essential  righteousness  of  God  is  discover- 
ed, and  his  equity  in  acquitting  the  believer 
is  thereby  evidenced,  and  on  that  basis  eter- 
nally established.  It  is  Jesus  Christ  as  a 
Redeemer,  "  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to 
be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood, 
to  declare  his  righteousness  lor  the  remis- 
sion of  sins  that  are  past,"  (i.  e.  the  sins  of 
the  Old  Testament  saints,;  "through  the 
forbearance  of  God :  to  declare,  I  say,  at 
this  time,  his  righteousness,  that  he  might 
be  just  and  the  justifier  of  him  that  believeth 
in  Jesus."  Rom.  iii.  25,  26.  If  God  could 
with  equity  have  pardoned  sin,  and  justified 
criminals  by  an  act  of  sovereign  clemency, 
without  an  atonement,  the  death  of  Jesus  did 
not  render  the  sinner's  acquittal  just  and  right- 
eous, which  the  apostle  asserts.  But  as 
the  equity  of  God  in  justifying  the  ungodly, 
depends  upon  the  Saviour's  sufferings, 
therefore  without  his  sufferings  there  could 
have  been  no  pardon  of  sin  granted;  for 
"  all  his  ways  are  judgment,  a  God  of  truth, 
and  without  iniquity,  just  and  right  is  he." 
Deut.  xxxii.  4.  When  we  say,  God  could 
not  pardon  sin  without  an  atonement,  or 
that  "without  shedding  of  blood  there  is 
no  remission,"  a  limitation  of  Jehovah's 
power  is  not  intended,  nor  is  it  from  thence 
inferrable ;  for  pardon  and  justification  are 
not  productions  of  Divine  power,  but  are 
acts  of  his  will.  Besides,  God  cannot  do 
■what  is  improper.  He  cannot  lie,  he  can- 
not deny  himself;  and  of  iniquity  he  says, 
"  I  cannot  away  with  it ;"  not  owing  to  a 
deficiency  in  power,  but  the  perfection  of 
his  purity  and  rectitude  of  his  nature. 

3.  God's  gift  of  his  Son  to  die  for  us,  is 
always,  in  scripture,  admired  as  the  great 
est  and  most  astonishing  instance  of  his  love 
to  sinners,  and  considered  as  a  blessing  su- 
perior to  any  other  conferred  on  his  people 
Hence  the  apostle  infers:,  "  if  God  spared 
not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for 
lis  all,  how  shall  he  not,  with  him,  freely 
give  us  all  things?"  Rom.  viii.  32.  But 
if  sinners  could  liave  been  made  happy 
without  Jesus,  if  there  was  no  real  necessi- 
ty for  his  death,  the  gift  of  Christ,  by  such 
an  awful  supposition,  is  diminished  in  its 
value,  and  the  favor  sinks  into  the  number 
of  non-essentials  in  point  of  salvation  and 
eternal  felicity. 

4.  If  Divine  justice  could  have  dispens- 
ed with  the  punishment  of  sin,  Christ  was 
60  precious  to  his  righteous  Father,  and  so 
entirely  loved  by  him.  that  it  is  natural  to 


suppose  he  would  have  been  spared ;  those 
agonizing  sorrows  and  excruciating  pains, 
under  which  he  groaned  and  died,  would 
not  have  been,  without  necessity,  inflicted 
upon  the  darling  of  heaven.  But  as  eio 
was  placed  to  his  account,  it  pleased  the 
Father  to  bruise  him,  and  put  him  to  grief; 
though  he  pleaded  to  have  the  cup  remov- 
ed if  possible,  yet  he  spared  him  not.  Now 
as  in  every  other  thing  the  Father  heard 
him  always,  may  we  not  from  thence  con- 
clude, it  was  impossible  for  the  connection 
between  sin  and  suffering  to  be  broken  ? 
Who  can  attend  to  the  tremendous  lan- 
guage of  a  sin-avenging  God,  saying, 
"  Awake,  O  sword,  against  the  man  that  is 
my  fellow,"  smite  him  ;  or  seriously  reflect 
on  the  doleful  groans  and  bloody  sufferings 
of  the  Son  of  God,  in  the  garden,  and  on 
the  cross ;  and  calmly  conclude  there  was 
no  necessity  for  any  thing  of  that  nature. 

5.  Those  who  are  redeemed  from  sin, 
and  reign  with  God  in  heavenly  pomp  and 
holy  splendor,  ascribe  their  deliverance  and 
advancement  to  the  kindness  of  Clirist,  and 
the  efficacy  of  his  sufferings ;  for  with  tri- 
umphant pleasure  and  gratitude  they  sing, 
"  Unto  him  that  loved  us,  and  washed  us 
from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood,  and  hatli 
made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and 
his  Father,  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion 
for  ever  and  ever.  Amen."  Rev.  i.  5,  6- 
But  how  does  the  propriety  of  such  ac- 
knowledgments appear,  if  what  Jesus  did 
was  not  at  all  necessary  to  their  deliver- 
ance from  sin  and  advancement  to  dignity 
and  delight?  From  the  above  considera- 
tions it  appears,  there  was  a  necessity  for 
Jesus  to  die,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  he 
might  bring  them  to  God. 

Some  again  admit  the  death  of  Christ 
was  necessary,  in  order  to  the  forgiveness 
of  sins,  yet  deny  him  the  honor  of  properly 
meriting  for  his  people  an  exemption  from 
punishment,  and  assert  that  the  efficacy  of 
his  snfferiiigs  as  a  sacTifce  arose  entirely 
from  the  will  and  appointment  of  God. 
That  he  became  a  mediator,  surety,  and 
sacrifice  on  behalf  of  his  people,  in  conse- 
quence of  Divine  appointment,  is  undoubt- 
edly evident ;  but  that  his  vahie  and  worthy 
efficacy  and  merit,  arose  from  thence,  can 
never  be  proved.  God  graciously  provided 
and  found  the  ransom,  on  which  account 
pardon,  justification,  and  the  whole  of  sal- 
vation is  all  of  grace ;  free  exuberant  grace, 
and  rich  mercy.  That  a  person  of  such 
infinite  worth  and  dignity  as  Immanuel, 
God's  own  and  only  begotten  Son,  should 
die  for  sinners,  is  an  unparalleled  instance 
of  favor  and  love.  It  is  the  wonder  of  an- 
gels the  terror  of  devils,  and  the  joy  and 
triumph  of  saints.  But  it  is  absurd  to  sup- 
pose his  personal  dignity  arose  from  his  de- 
basement, that  he  became  strong,  because 


HELP    TO     ZION'S     TRAVELLERS, 


83 


help  was  laid  upon  him,  or  that  his  real 
worth  arose  from  his  appointment  to  ran- 
som miserable  captives,  and  discharge  the 
debt  of  prodigal  transgressors.  Christ 
was  appointed,  and  agreed  in  covenant  to 
do  and  suffer  what  he  was  under  no  natural 
obligation  to  perform  or  endure  ;  and  from 
his  native  dignity,  worth,  and  ability,  arose 
his  merit  and  efficacy.  To  suppose  God 
appointed  his  death  to  be  efficacious  with- 
out real  efficacy,  or  meritorious  without 
personal  merit,  is  a  contradiction  in  terras, 
an  awful  reflection  on  the  Divine  under- 
standing, and  an  affront  to  common  sense. 
Again,  if  God  accepted  of  the  death  of  Je- 
sus as  meritorious,  though  it  was  not  so  in 
its  own  nature,  then  might  he  have  pardon- 
ed sins  by  a  simple  act  of  sovereign  clem- 
ency, without  the  death  of  his  Son ;  for  it 
would  surely  have  been  equally  just  to  have 
pardoned  sin  without  a  sacrifice,  as  to  re- 
mit sin  in  consequence  of  that  which  is,  in 
its  nature,  destitute  of  merit  and  efficacy. 
Once  more,  if  merit  and  real  efficacy  arise 
only  from  the  Divine  appointment,  it  would 
have  been  possible  for  the  blood  of  bulls 
and  of  goats  to  have  taken  away  sin,  or  any 
other  animal  would  have  been  sufficient  for 
the  removal  of  guilt  and  saving  lost  sinners, 
if  God  had  been  pleased  to  have  appointed 
such  an  end  to  have  been  answered  by 
their  death.  But  the  direct  contrary  to  the 
above  is  asserted  by  one  who  well  under- 
stood and  dehghted  in  the  doctrine  of  re- 
conciliation. His  words  are :  "  For  it  is 
not  impossible  that  the  blood  of  bulls  and 
of  goats  should  take  away  sins ;"  Heb.  x. 
4,  "  which  sacrifices  can  never  take  away 
sins ;"  verse  1 1.  "  It  was  necessary  that  the 
patterns  of  things  in  the  heavens  should  be 
purified  with  these,  but  the  heavenly  things 
themselves  with  better  sacrifices  than  these. 
But  now  once  in  the  end  of  the  world  hath 
he  (Christ)  appeared,  to  put  away  sin  by 
the  sacrifice  of  himself;"  chap.  ix.  23,  26. 
"  He  hath  made  peace  by  the  blood  of^  his 
cross,"  Heb.  ix.  12  ;  "  having  obtained  eter- 
nal redemption  for  us,  "  "  made  an  end  of 
«in,  made  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and 
brought  in  an  everlasting  righteousness," 
"  with  which  the  Lord  is  well  pleased ;" 
Dan.  ix.  24.  Isaiah,  xlii.  2L  Therefore  to 
every  believer  Jehovah  says,  "  Fury  is  not 
in  me."     Isaiah  xxvii.  4. 

It  is  hoped  the  above  remarks  may  help 
the  entangled  Christian  over  the  objections 
made  against  the  necessity,  merit,  and  effi- 
cacy of  the  Saviour's  death,  as  an  atoning 
sacrifice  for  sin,  and  tend  to  increase  his 
knowledge  of,  faith  in,  and  love  to  the 
blessed  Jesus,  as  able  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most all  that  come  unto  God  by  him.  I 
should  therefore  add  no  more  on  the  sub- 
iect,  were  it  not  for  another  stumbling-block 
lately  thrown  in  the  way  of  believers,  equal- 


ly, if  not  more  formidable  in  appearance 
than  the  above :  Which  is,  if  Christ  was  a 
Divine  person,  he  could  not  atone  for  sin, 
because  Deity  could  not  die. 

This  artful  objection  seems  intended  to 
draw  the  unwary  Christian  into  a  dreadful 
dilemma,  either  to  give  up  the  soul-support- 
ing doctrine  of  the  atonement,  or  to  deny 
the  divinity  of  the  Son  of  God.  The  ob- 
jection is  the  more  dangerous,  as  it  seems 
to  look  on  the  doctrine  of  atonement  with  a 
smiling,  approving  countenance.  But  in 
fact  the  design  of  it  is  to  undermine  the 
real  personal  merit  of  Christ,  and  place  the 
efficacy  of  his  blood  to  the  account  of  God's 
appointment,  as  mentioned  above.  The 
evident,  though  disguised  intention  of  the 
objection  and  language  is  plainly  this: 
"  Sinners,  you  must  be  content  with  a  finite 
creature  Saviour,  or  none  at  all.  If  Christ 
be  God,  he  is  too  great  to  do  you  any  es- 
sential service  as  a  Saviour,  because  Deity 
cannot  die.  Therefore  do  not  think  sin  is 
infinitely  odious  and  hateful  to  God.  It 
does  not  demerit  infinite  displeasure  and 
punishment.  If  it  did,  there  could  be  no 
infinite  satisfaction  made  to  God  ;  for  even 
supposing  Christ  to  be  Divine,  his  sacrifice 
could  not  be  of  infinite  value,  because  as  a 
Divine  person  he  could  not  die."  Let  us 
calmly  consider  this  formidable  objection, 
and  seriously  attend  to  the  supposed  dread- 
ful dilemma,  in  which  will  be  found  more 
artful  sophistry,  than  argument  and  solid 
sense. 

Death  always  implies  a  separation  or  a*^ 
loss  of  that  wherein  life  consisted.  Death, 
in  the  sense  we  are  now  called  to  consider 
it,  is  a  separation  of  the  principle  of  sensa- 
tion and  influence ;  thus  it  is  said,  "  The 
body  without  the  spirit  is  dead."  Without 
the  soul  it  is  in  a  state  of  total  inactivity, 
incapable  of  voluntary  motion,  and  divested 
of  all  sensation.  Now  though  the  body 
only  be  the  subject  of  death,  considered  as 
a  state  of  inactivity  and  insensibility^  yet 
the  man  is  said  to  be  dead,  when  soul  and 
body,  the  constituent  parts  of  humanity,  are 
separated,  although  the  soul  or  spirit,  dis- 
tinctly considered  from  the  body,  is  not  the 
subject  of  death.  A  spirit  cannot  die,  be- 
cause it  is  of  a  simple  or  uncompounded 
nature.  There  is  no  part  of  a  soul,  from 
whence  another  part  of  itself  can  be  sepa- 
rated or  divided.  If  a  soul  can  be  so  sepa- 
rated, consciousness  either  does,  or  does 
not,  continue  in  each  separated  part.  If 
each  part  remain  conscious,  then  are  they 
two  souls,  or  two  conscious  subsistences. 
If  one  separated  part  of  the  soul  remain 
unconscious,  or  in  a  state  of  insensibility, 
wherein  does  that  supposed  unconscious 
part  differ  from  matter  1  A  created  spirit 
might  cease  to  exist,  if  God  so  determined ; 
but  die  it  cannot.   Annihilation  is  not  death. 


84 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


What  is  annihilated  has  no  existence,  but 
what  is  dead  exists,  however  its  form  be 
changed.  There  is  therefore  no  force  in 
the  objection,  Deity  cannot  die ;  for  as  no 
spirit  can  die,  it  might  as  pertinently  be 
objected,  if  Christ  had  a  soul  he  could  not 
atone  for  sin,  because  a  soul  cannot  die. 
But  the  death  of  a  spirit  cannot  be  suppos- 
ed ;  in  that  case,  death  is  not  predicable ; 
yet  a  man  being  composed  of  body  and 
spirit,  is  with  propriety  said  to  be  dead, 
when  matter  and  mind,  those  constituent 
parts  ol"  humanity,  are  separated.  Dead 
saints  are  therefore  said  to  "  rest  in  their 
beds,"  in  respect  of  tlieir  bodies:  yet  in 
reference  to  their  souls,  "  each  one  is  walk- 
ing in  his  uprightness."  Death  is  therefore 
called  a  departure.  "  The  time  of  my  de- 
parture is  at  hand."  Now  as  the  Divine 
and  human  Spirit  of  our  Immanuel  ceased 
to  animate  his  body,  the  person  of  the  Me- 
diator may  as  properly  be  said  to  have  been 
dead,  as  the  person  of  Samuel,  David,  or 
any  other.  It  may  be  necessary  to  observe, 
that  death  does  not  dissolve  the  relation 
between  the  body  and  spirit,  but  death  con- 
sists in  a  total  cessation  of  vital  influence, 
or  a  removal  from  the  body,  for  a  period,  of 
the  principle  of  sensation  and  animation. 
But  the  relative  union  still  continuing,  there- 
fore the  spirits  of  martyrs  are  represented 


the  Divine  nature,  as  one  person.  By  vir- 
tue of  which  union,  his  blood  is  divinely 
precious,  and  called  the  blood  of  God :  like 
as  the  spirits  under  the  altar  call  the  blood 
with  which  tiiey  sealed  their  testimony  for 
God,  when  in  the  body,  our  blood*  May 
the  Lord  the  Spirit  bless  these  attempts  to 
remove  the  stumbling-blocks  out  of  the  way 
of  serious  inquirers  after  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus. 


PART     II 


EXPERIMENTAL 
TIES. 


DIFFICUL- 


CHAPTER  L 

A  Sinner's  Warrant  to  Apply  to  Christ, 

Stumbling-blocks  relating  to  Christiai* 
Experience  are  various;  and  what  gene- 
rally appears  first  in  view  is,  respecting 
what  right  or  warrant  an  undone  sinner 
hath  to  apply  to  Jesus  as  a  Saviour.  It  ia 
as  concerned  about,  and  longing  for  their  I  common  for  those  v/ho  are  convinced  of  sin, 


bodies,  which  were  killed  for  the  cause  of 
Christ  on  earth,  and  at  the  resurrection 
every  soul  will  have  its  own  body.  As 
through  the  separation  of  body  and  soul, 
and  the  relation  between  them  being  undis- 
solved, the  man  is  properly  dead,  and  yet 
the  soul  not  changed  in  its  natural  powers ; 
so,  in  like  manner,  and  for  the  same  reason, 
it  appears  the  person  of  the  Mediator  was 
really  dead  for  a  time,  his  precious  body 
not  being  animated  by,  though  related  to, 
his  human  and  Divine  spirit.  Yet  his  death 
does  not  imply  or  suppose  the  least  change 
or  mutability  in  its  Divine  nature,  nor  any 
alteration  in  the  powers  and  properties  of 
his  soul.  Agreeably  to  the  above  view  of 
things  we  are  told,  that  when  the  beloved 
disciple  saw  his  Lord  in  transcendent  splen- 
dor and  majestic  glory,  and  fell  at  his  feet 
as  dead,  the  reviving  and  compassionate 
language  of  Jesus  was,  "  Fear  not,  I  am 
the  first  and  the  last,  he  that  liveth  and  was 
dead,  and  behold  I  live  for  evennore,  amen ; 
and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and  death." 
Rev.  i.  17,  18.  That  he,  the  first  and  the 
last  was  dead,  is  again  repeated  in  the 
solemn  message  sent  to  the  church  at  Smyr 
na.  Rev.  ii.  8.  Thus  it  appears  that  there 
is  no  force  at  all  in  the  objection  aforesaid ; 
for  instead  of  Christ's  divinity  rendering 
him  incapable  of  atoning  for  sin,  the  infinite 
virtue  and  value  attending  the  sufferings 
of  his  humajiity  arose  from  its  union  with 


and  see  the  need  of  salvation,  to  look  for 
some  good  thing  in  them,  as  the  ground  of 
encouragement  for  their  applying  to  and 
closing  with  the  blessed  Jesus.  But  find- 
ing themselves  altogether  vile,  sinful,  and 
unworthy,  they  apprehend  it  would  be  dar- 
ing presumption  in  their  present  condition 
to  trust  in,  or  apply  to  him  for  salvation. 
The  stumbling-block,  in  this  case,  seems  to 
arise  from  a  mistaken  apprehension,  ac- 
counting that  which  supports  a  person'& 


'  To  elucidate  the  above  subject,  and  render  it  plain 
to  young  Christians,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe  the 
following  easy  illustrative  gradations.  There  is  a  value 
or  worth  attending  simple  matter  considered  as  the  pro- 
duction of  God,  who  made  every  tiling  good,  yea,  very 
good  ;  yet  animated  matter  is  superior  to  what  is  not  so, 
though  it  were  an  inferior  form ;  otherwise  a  living  dog 
would  not  be  better  than  a  dead  lion,  nor  the  body  of  a 
man  preferable  to  a  bag  of  sand.  Animated  bodies  arise 
in  value  and  re.spect,  in  proportion  to  the  natural  superi- 
ority of  the  spirits  by  which  they  are  governed  and  influ- 
enced; though  the  body  of  a  sparrow  i.s  the  subject  of 
animation  as  much  as  llie  body  of  a  man,  yet  a  human 
body  is  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows.  Again,  the 
importance  of  actions  through  the  medium  of  matter 
arises  from  the  volitions  and  influence  of  the  spirit  by 
which  they  are  performed  ;  were  it  not  so,  the  action  of 
a  man  would  not  excel  those  of  a  monkey.  Moreover, 
in  regard  to  human  nature,  there  is  a  great  disproportion 
in  real  worth,  arising  from  internal  qualities,  or  externat 
dignity  ;  for  scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die, 
yet  peradvcnture  for  a  good  man,  some  would  even  dare 
to  die.  Hence  David's  adherents  said,  Thou  art  worlk 
ten  tliousand  vfus.  How  infinitely  precious  and  worthy 
then  was  the  Divine  .lesus,  in  whomdweltall  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead  bodily.  May  every  believer's  heart 
glow  with  love  to  him,  and  gratitude  for  him,  and  say, 
with  unfeigned  lips,  "  Thanhs  be  to  God  for  his  imspeaJcr- 
able  SJft." 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


85 


right  to  come  to  Christ  is  synonymous  with, 
or  equivalent  to,  what  evidences  an  interest 
in  him ;  or,  in  other  words,  persons  want  to 
know  that  they  are  really  converted  before 
they  dare  apply  to  Jesus.  What  greatly 
tends  to  entangle  and  retard  the  progress 
of  such  souls,  are  certain  injudicious  and 
dangerous  maxims  relating  to  experimen- 
tal religion. 

First ;  Some  will  say,  and  many  suggest, 
that  it  is  not  the  duty  of  unconverted  peo- 
ple to  pray.  But  if  so,  in  order  to  a  convic- 
tion of  prayer  being  a  duty,  the  prayerless 
person,  even  while  continuing  so,  must  have 
evidence  of  a  conversion  to  God,  which  is 
ridiculously  absurd.  Though  Peter  per- 
ceived that  Simon  the  sorcerer  was  in  the 
gall  of  bitterness  and  in  the  bond  of  iniqui- 
ty, yet  he  directed  him  to  penitence  and 
prayer.  It  is  evident  there  can  be  no  gra- 
cious acts,  but  in  consequence  of  gracious 
principles ;  yet  it  is  equally  evident,  that 
gracious  principles  camiot  be  discerned 
but  by  gracious  acts ;  therefore  such  acts 
must  necessarily  precede,  or  be  prior  to  the 
discernment  of  a  spiritual  principle.  It  is 
therefore  impossible  for  any  man  to  know 
or  feel  himself  to  be  the  subject  of  grace 
while  he  is  prayerless,  or  to  have  the  least 
evidence  of^his  relation  to  Christ,  without 
a  reliance  upon  him  and  delight  in  him. 

To  assert,  therefore,  that  persons  are  not 
to  pray  till  they  are  converted,  is  danger- 
ous and  absurd.  Dangerous,  as  it  leads 
into  a  state  of  deception,  into  the  very  es- 
sence of  Pharisaism ;  for  such  as  think 
themselves  converted  before  they  come  to 
Christ,  by  penitential  prayer  and  faith, 
found  their  hopes  on  self-righteousness : 
the  secret  language  of  their  deceived  hearts 
is,  God  he  thanked.,  I  am  iiot  now  like  other 
men,  stand  by,  thou  unconverted  sinner,  I 
am  holier  than  thou.  Such  do  not  go  to 
Christ  as  a  trembling  criminal,  but  a  confi- 
dent convert ;  not  as  an  undone  sinner,  but 
a  self-admired  saint.  Again ;  such  a  repre- 
sentation is  dangerous,  as  it  tends  to  fatal 
security,  and  keeps  a  carnal  mind  in  pro- 
I'ound  and  fatal  peace ;  for  a  man  lives 
without  prayer,  and  consequently  without 
God,  yet  his  conscience  does  not,  cannot 
accuse  him  with  the  neglect  of  duty.  If  he 
ought  not  to  pray,  an  aversion  to  pray  is 
not  a  criminal,  but  a  commendable  disposi 
tion ;  for  surely  a  person  is  much  to  be 
commended  for  being  averse  to  what  he 
ought  not  to  do.  If  it  be  said,  an  unre 
generate  man  ought  not  to  pray,  because 
while  in  such  a  state  they  are  incapable  of 
spiritual  actions,  such  objectors  ought  to 
point  out  what  duties  the  iinconverted  can 
perform  acceptably,  or  allow  that  they  are 
not  bound  to  the  performance  of  any  ;  and 
if  not  under  obligation  to  obedience,  they 
are  not  chargeable  with  sin,  and  conseqnent- 


ly  are  in  a  state  of  safety,  not  being  ex- 
posed to  punishment ;  for  whoever  are  not 
culpable  need  not  fear  the  Divine  displeas- 
ure. But  God  has  said  he  will  pour  out  his 
fury  on  all  them  who  call  not  on  his  name. 

It  is  shocking  to  think  any  poor  sinner 
should  be  taught  to  consider  himself  ex- 
empted from  an  acknowledgment  to  God 
for  the  mercies  he  enjoys,  and  likewise  from 
an  application  to  him  for  present  or  fu- 
ure  favors.  Besides,  it  is  absurd  to  assert, 
that  a  person  ought  not  to  pray  until  he 
feels  himself  converted,  for  it  is  much  the 
same  as  saying  a  man  oughi  not  to  ask  for 
guidance  till  he  knows  he  is  right,  nor  seek 
for  a  cure  till  he  feels  himself  healed. 

Secondly ;  A  second  stumbling  maxim 
is.  No  man  can  be  the  subject  of  genuine 
repentance  till  he  beholds  by  faith  the  Re- 
deemer as  dying  for  his  transgressions,  or 
at  least  have  hope  that  his  sins  are  forgiven 
him.  A  poor  wounded  sinner  not  being  so 
favored,  is  thereby  taught  to  consider  the 
way  to  the  Saviour  as  barred  against  him  ; 
yea  to  conclude  it  would  be  an  affront  to 
the  Lord,  a  horrid  provocation  to  God,  for 
him  to  pray,  Take  away  all  iniquity ;  or  so 
much  as  to  cry,  God  be  merciful  to  me  a 
sinner :  for  all  such  language  is  only  sol- 
emn mocking  in  the  lips  of  the  impenitent ; 
and  impenitent  such  must  be,  who  are  des- 
titute of  real  repentance.  But  is  it  not 
strange  that  a  person  cannot  be  sorry  for  a 
fault  till  he  hopes  he  shall  not  be  punished ; 
nor  sincerely  beg  for  a  favor  till  he  enjoys 
it  1  How  shall  a  person  while  he  is  in  a 
state  of  impenitency  know,  or  what  is  his 
warrant  to  conclude,  that  Christ  died  for 
him  in  particular?  There  is  nothing  in 
scripture  to  encourage  an  impenitent  sin- 
ner to  believe  or  hope  he  is  in  a  safe  condi- 
tion, but  the  very  reverse  is  plainly  and  aw- 
fully expressed,  "  Thou, — after  thy  hard- 
ness and  impenitent  heart,  treasurest  up 
unto  thyself  wrath  against  the  day  of 
wrath  and  revelation  of  the  righteous  judg- 
ment of  God."  Rom.  ii.  5.  "For  except 
ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish." 
Luke  xiii.  3.  "  If  we  confess  our  sins,  God 
is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins  ;" 
but  the  sense  of  no  scripture  is,  if  God  will 
give  us  assurance,  or  hope  of  a  pardon,  we 
will  be  faithful  and  just  to  acl^nowledge 
our  offences.  If  there  be  no  true  repent- 
ance till  the  soul  behold  by  faith  the  Re- 
deemer as  dying  for  its  sins,  then  are  we 
presented  with  a  view  of  an  impenitent  be- 
liever, or  one  who  beheves  his  sins  are  par- 
doned, for  the  commission  of  which  he  was 
never  sorry.  The  scriptures  represent  the 
nature  of  repentance  and  faith,  and  the 
connection  between  them,  as  the  very  re- 
verse of  those  raw  and  rash  assertions  be- 
fore referred  to,  "Repent  and  be  converted, 
that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out  when  the 


86 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


times  of  refreshing  sliall  come  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord."  Acts  iii.  19.  Re- 
pentance towards  God  and  faith  towards 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  are  subjects  so  im- 
portant and  comprehensive,  as  to  include 
the  substance  of  the  gretat  apostle's  minis- 
try :  the  necessity  of  repentance  in  order  to 
the  hope  of  pardon  tlirough  faith  in  tlie 
blood  of  Jesus,  he  constantly  inculcated  and 
testified  both  to  tlie  Jews  and  Greeks.  Acts 
XX.  21. 

Christ  is  exalted  to  give  first  repentance ; 
and  tJun  remission  of  sins  to  Israel.  Acts 
V.  31.  Pardon  of  sin  is  never,  in  all  the 
scripture,  declared  as  belonging  to  tlie  im- 
penitent, but  its  uniform  language  is  agree- 
able to  the  solemn  assertion  of  the  Son  of 
God ;  "  Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  like- 
wise perish."  Luke  xiii.  3,  5.  Therefore 
the  belief  of  a  pardon  is  not  prior  to  repent- 
ance indeed  implies  knowledge  of,  and  be- 
lief in  the  righteous  and  holy  nature  of  God 
and  his  law,  and  a  persuasion  of  personal 
criminality,  as  represented  in  the  word  of 
God.  It  consists  in  a  pungent  sense  of  the 
evil  of  sin ;  a  loathing  and  hearty  forsak- 
ing of  it,  and  humiliation  for  it :  joined  with 
a  justification  of  the  righteousness  of  God 
in  passing  sentence  on  the  guilty  criminal. 
Repentance  therefore  imphes,  and  is  ac- 
companied with  the  primary  actings  of  faith, 
and  is  the  immediate  effect  of  grace  in  the 
soul ;  but  the  first  actings  of  faith  are  not 
a  believing  the  person  is  pardoned,  nor  even 
a  reliance  on  Christ  for  the  remission  of  sin. 
Nothing  can  be  more  false  than  that  an  im- 
penitent person  has  a  revealed  right  to  par- 
don ;  if  he  ought  to  believe  he  is  pardoned 
before  he  repents,  then  he  ought  to  believe 
a  lie.  But  the  most  firm,  hearty,  and  con- 
stant belief  of  a  falsehood  will  never  make 
it  a  truth.  To  suppose  a  person  to  believe 
in  Christ  as  a  dying  Saviour,  without  re- 
pentance, is  the  same  as  supposing  a  man 
to  need  a  physician,  and  long  for  a  cure, 
while  he  is  whole.  But  that  such  need  not 
a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick;  see 
Matt.  ix.  12.  It  is  impossible  such  a  faith 
can  be  right,  which  springs  from  an  impen- 
itent heart,  and  which  consists  in  believing 
that  to  be  a  fact,  of  the  truth  of  which  there 
is  no  evidence.  If  such  a  faith  be  not  gen- 
uine, liow  can  a  false  faith  produce  true  re 
,pentance?  Repentance  is  proved  to  be  of 
a  genuine  spiritual  nature,  by  its  continu- 
ance and  increase,  when  the  fault  repented 
of  is  remitted.  But  the  conviction  of  blame 
does  not  spring  from  a  forgiveness  of  the 
crime.  Legal  repentance,  or  the  terrific  op- 
eration of  the  law  on  the  conscience  with- 
out the  grace  of  the  gospel,  arises  from  the 
sense  of  danger,  and  is  continued  and  in- 
creased only  by  the  fear  of  punishment ; 
therefore  when  danger  disappears,  and  sell' 
is  supposed  to  be  safe,  siicli  a  repentance 


immediately  dies,  the  idea  of  danger  being 
its  sole  support.  But  true  repentance,  aris- 
ing from  a  change  of  heart,  a  new  and  ho- 
ly principle,  and  consisting  in  an  aversion  to 
sin,  considered  in  its/>Oife?'and  pollution^  as 
well  as  its  pimiahmetd,  therefore  a  sense  of 
pardon  (though  it  does  not  give  existence 
or  being  to  repentance)  greatly  increases 
a  godly  sorrow  for  sin,  the  evil  of  which  is 
more  deeply  impressed  on  the  mind  from  a 
view  of  the  Saviour's  sufferings,  and  the 
infinitely  amiable  character  of  God  as  a 
righteous  lawgiver  and  loving  Father. 
Such  a  view  melts  the  soul  into  evangelical 
sorrow  for  sin,  and  inflames  the  mind  with 
indignation  against  it,  and  a  vehement  de- 
sire after  its  total  destruction ;  called  by 
the  apostle  revenge.  2Cor.  vii.  11.  When 
God  pours  on  his  chosen  the  spirit  of  grace, 
he  first  convinceth  the  soul  of  sin,  and  is 
then  to  his  people  a  Sprirt  of  supplication  ; 
and  such  suppliants,  saith  the  Lord,  shall 
look  upon  him  whom  they  have  pierced, 
and  they  shall  mourn  for  him,  as  one  mourn- 
eth  for  his  only  son.  Zech.  xii.  10.  The 
language  of  the  true  penitent,  under  the 
enjoyment  of  a  full  pardon,  is  beautifully  set 
forth  in  the  following  Unes : 

Whilst,  with  a  melting,  broken  heart, 
My  iiiunlered  Lord  I  view, 
I'll  raise  revenge  against  my  sins. 
And  slay  the  murderers  too. —  Watts. 

Again,  thirdly :  It  is  frequently  asserted, 
that  a  true  faith  in  Christ  is  inseparably 
connected  with  the  knowledge  in  him,  or 
that  there  can  be  no  proper  believing  in 
Jesus  without  considering  him  as  a  person's 
own  :  this  has  proved  a  stumbling-block  to 
many :  for  as  common  sense  suggests  the 
absolute  necessity  of  evidence,  in  order  to 
support  a  claim,  and  the  soul  before  it  goes 
to  Christ  not  having  that  evidence,  there- 
fore is  discouraged  from  applying  to  him, 
till  proof  of  an  interest  in  him  appear. 
Laboring  in  vain  for  marks  and  signs,  as 
evidences  of  their  belonging  to  Christ,  in 
order  to  warrant  or  encourage  their  appli- 
cation to  him,  they  conclude  there  is  no 
hope,  they  are  none  of  his  chosen  and  re- 
deemed, &c.  But  there  is  no  doctrine  con- 
tained in  the  gospel,  nor  even  any  threat- 
ening in  the  law  of  God,  which  is  in  its 
own  nature,  a  bar  to  an  undone  sinner's 
coming  to  Christ  for  salvation.  Their  right 
to  come  to  Christ,  does  not  in  the  least  de- 
pend upon,  or  arise  from,  prior  knowledge 
of  interest  in  special  blessings,  or  feeling 
themselves  the  subjects  of  supernatural 
principles.  Such  knowledge,  such  experi- 
ence, is  impossible  to  be  obtained,  but  in 
consequence  of  believing  in  or  receiving 
Jesus  the  Saviour ;  for  he  who  believeth 
not,  is  declared  to  be  under  condemnation; 
the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him.  To  at- 
tempt, therefore,  to  define,  as  some  do,  who 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS 


87 


ought,  and  ought  not  to  return  to  God  by 
Christ,  is  daring  presumption,  and  tends  to 
discourage  the  soul,  and  rivet  the  fetters  of 
guilt,  where  a  sense  of  meanness  and  mis- 
ery prevails,  and  in  others,  to  encourage  j 
self-righteousness,  by  establishing  the  idea 
of  previous  fitness  in  order  to  salvation. 

If  any  one  should  ask,  Have  I  a  right  to 
apply  to  Jesus  the  Saviour,  simply  as  a 
poor,  undone,  perishing  sinner,  in  whom 
there  appears  no  good  thing?  I  answer. 
Yes ;  the  gospel  proclamation  is,  "  Whoso- 
ever will,  let  him  come."  "  To  you  O  men, 
I  call,  and  my  voice  is  to  the  sons  of  men." 
Prov.  viii.  4.  The  way  to  Jesus  is  gracious- 
ly laid  open  for  every  one  who  chooses  to 
come  to  him.  His  arms  of  mercy  are  ex- 
panded to  receive  the  coming  soul.  Fear 
not,  poor  sinner,  to  approach  him  he  will 
not,  on  any  account,  cast  thee  out.  John 
vi.  37.  He  does  not  receive  with  reluc- 
tance ;  no,  it  his  joy,  it  is  his  delight  to  save 
to  the  uttermost  all  that  come  unto  God  by 
him.  Consider,  the  painful  work  of  salva- 
tion is  now,  with  him,  for  ever  over.  His 
endearing  invitations  to  poor  heavy-laden 
sinners,  his  melting  expostulations  with 
them,  and  gracious  reception  of  them,  are 
left  on  record  as  the  warrant,  and  for  the 
encouragement  of  sinners ;  therefore,  the 
worst  of  such,  even  the  vilest  of  the  vile, 
may  come  and  apply  to  him  for  salvation 
from  sin  and  sorrow.  However  remote 
you  are,  however  great  the  distance  from 
him,  he  kindly  invites  you  to  view  him  as 
as  the  almighty  Saviour ;  saying,  "  Behold 
me  ;  Behold  me  !"  Isaiah,  Ixv.  1.  "  Look 
unto  me,  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth,  and  be 
ye  saved,  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none 
else."  Isaiah,  xlv.  22.  The  gracious  grant 
is  indefinite  ;  the  way  to  Jesus  is  open  and 
free  for  whosoever  will,  without  exception  ; 
nothing  that  God  has  done,  said,  is  in  its 
nature  an  obstacle.  None  can  in  truth  say 
they  desire  salvation,  but  may  not  apply  for 
it,  or  cannot  attain  it.  To  infer  that  per- 
sonal unworthiness,  or  any  scriptural  doc- 
trine, is  a  bar  in  their  way  to  Jesus,  is  either 
the  effect  of  strong  temptations,  or  owing 
to  the  want  of  attention  to  the  grace  of  God 
displayed  in  the  gospel.  There  is  no  pre- 
ventive bar  in  the  sinner's  way  to  the  Sa- 
viour, but  what  arises  from  a  carnal  heart ; 
such  as  impenitency  for  sin,  an  attachment 
to  self-righteousness,  and  an  avowed  avers- 
ion to  the  holy  perfections  of  God  and  his  sov- 
ereign methods  of  grace.  But  let  it  be  ob- 
served, that  a  grant  to  come  to  Christ  does 
not  support  a  claim,  or  give  a  right  to  con- 
clude they  shall  be  saved  by  him.  No,  such 
a  conclusion  is  only  inferrable  from  our  hav- 
ing really  believed  in  his  name ;  a  right  to  go 
to  Christ  is  no  proof  we  have  done  so.  What 
evidences  a  person's  being  a  true  believer  is 
quite  distinct  from  what  iiJarra?«/s  his  apply- 


ing to  the  Saviour:  the  latter  arises  from 
what  God  in  his  word  says  to  him ;  the  for- 
mer appears  from  the  change  which  is 
wrought  in  him.  To  put  persons,  therefore, 
examining  themselves  whether  they  have 
faith,  before  they  believe,  is  extremely  inju- 
dicious ;  and  to  encourage  professors  in  the 
persuasion  they  are  believers,  without  scrip- 
ture  evidence  of  an  internal  change,  is  aw- 
fully dangerous. 

It  would  be  a  great  advantage  to  inquir- 
ing souls,  and  discouraged  Christians,  as 
well  as  presumptuous  professors,  to  have 
right  ideas  of  the  nature  of  faith,  or  what 
it  is  to  believe  to  the  saving  of  the  soul. 
Faith  is  a  believing  the  Divine  testimony. 
For  he  that  believeth  not  maketh  God  a 
liar.  Faith  in  Christ  is  a  crediting  what 
the  scriptures  assert  concerning  him  ;  which 
may  be  comprised  in  the  following  three 
things  :  TViat  he  is,  what  he  is,  and  whose 
he  is.  The  first  is  absolutely  necessary ; 
for  saith  Jesus,  "Except  ye  believe  that 
I  am  he,"  viz.  the  real  and  true  Messiah, 
the  promised  Saviour,  "ye  shall  die  in  your 
sins."  But  it  is  not  enough  to  beheve  this, 
which  wicked  men  may  do ;  Simon  the  sor- 
cerer did,  and  devils  believe  it  and  tremble. 
These  evil  spirits  knew  him  to  be  Christ 
the  Son  of  the  living  God.  Luke  iv.  41. 
But  true  faith,  with  which  salvation  is  con- 
nected, consists  in  believing  likewise,  wliat 
he  is.  Truths,  respecting  his  person,  offi- 
ces, works,  and  relations,  may  be  assented 
to,  by  such  as  hath  no  faith  in  his  excellen- 
cy, but  have  an  enmity  against  what  he  is. 
But  to  them  that  believe  Christ  is  precious ; 
he  is  declared  to  be  the  chief  among  ten 
thousand,  and  altogether  lovely.  The  gra- 
cious soul,  heartily  believes  him  to  be  so, 
and  therefore  can  sincerely  adopt  the  lan- 
guage as  his  own.  His  personal  qualities, 
with  the  nature  and  design  of  his  work  and 
offices,  the  real  Christian  believes.  He  gives 
credit  to  the  Divine  testimony,  not  only  in 
respect  of  its  reality,  but  hkewise  its  holy 
nature  and  spirituaUentZency.  The  tidings 
concering  the  person  of  Christ,  and  his  in- 
finite fulness  of  merit  and  grace,  are  declar- 
ed to  be  good,  as  well  as  true ;  the  renew- 
ed soul  believes  them  to  be  so,  even  the  on- 
ly satisfying  portion  that  an  immortal  mind 
can  possess.  He  receives  them  as  every 
way  suited  to  his  present  circumstances,  as 
guilty  and  impure  ;  being  divinely  adapted 
to  render  him  holy  and  happy  for  ever. 
This  is  what  the  scripture  calls  an  embrac- 
cing,  when  true  faith  is  the  subject  under 
immediate  consideration.     See  Heb.  xi.  13. 

Saving  faith  is  differently  denominated 
in  scripture,  but  always  exactly  correspond- 
ing with  the  various  representations  of 
Christ  in  the  gospel.  Is  he  lifted  up  as  an 
object  to  be  beheld  ?  Believers  "  look  to 
him"  as  the  wounded  Jews  did  to  the  braz- 


88 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


en  serpent  lifted  up  in  the  wilderness  for 
their  relief  Is  he  a  "  gift  ?"  Faith  as  such 
"  receives"  him.  As  he  is  called  the  "  bread 
of  Ufe,"  believing  is  termed  an  "  eating  or 
hving  upon"  him.  Considering  him  as  a 
support,  faith  is  described  as  a  leaning  upon 
him.  He  is  called  a  faitliful  friend;  and 
faith  is  then  denominated  a  "  confiding  or 
trusting,"  in  him.  He  is  set  forth  as  a  "  re 
fuge,"  and  faith  is  then  termed  a  "  running 
or  flying"  to  him  for  safety.  He  is  repre- 
sented as  the  husband  of  his  people,  and 
then  ilieir  faith  is  called  giving  themselves 
to  him.  Many  more  instances  might  be 
produced  of  the  diversification  of  believing 
in  Christ,  according  as  its  object  is  repre- 
sented ;  for  the  purpose  of  setting  forth  the 
various  infinite  blessings  in  him,  and  bene- 
fits flowing  from  him,  who  is  the  real  be- 
lievers' aU  in  all.  But  I  hope  the  above 
few  instances  may  suffice  to  illustrate  the 
true  Christian's  belief  in  Jesus  respecting 
what  he  is ;  with  which  faith  salvation  is 
inseparably  connected  in  the  scriptures  of 
truth.  As  to  faith  in  the  third  sense  i.  e. 
Whose  he  is :  Faith,  or  believing  in  the  last 
sense,  if  right,  must  be  founded  on  the  Di- 
vine word  as  well  as  the  former ;  for  that 
must  sink  which  has  not  "  Thus  saith  the 
Lord"  for  its  support.  If  faith  be  a  believing 
the  Divine  testimony,  then  the  grand  inquiry 
ought  be,  who  the  scriptures  declare  to  be 
interested  in  Christ?  To  enforce  the  sol- 
emn inquiry,  and  lead  to  solid  satisfaction 
in  a  matter  so  infinitely  important,  we  may 
observe  two  things,  which  I  suppose  will 
readily  be  granted  by  every  person  of  com- 
mon understanding. 

1.  All  men  are  not  savingly  interested  in 
Christ,  for  some  are  declared  to  be  none  of  his. 

2.  No  man  is  described  as  belonging  to 
Christ  by  his  personal  name,  situation  in 
life,  external  profession,  natural  connections, 
or  descent ;  therefore  it  follow.?,  that  some 
other  description  of  the  persons  must  be 
sought  for,  distinct  from  the  above,  on  which 
the  belief  for  a  saving  interest  in  Christ 
may  be  founded. 

Who  then  have  a  right,  according  to 
scripture,  to  conclude  Christ  is  theirs,  and 
they  are  his  ?  Some  there  are  whose  com- 
mon reply  to  the  important  query  is,  Christ 
belongs  to  those  who  believe  themselves  sav- 
ingly interested  in  him.  But  the  query 
returns.  On  what  is  such  a  faith  or  belief 
founded?  If  their  right  to  Christ  arise 
from  believing  him  to  be  theirs,  they  had 
no  title  to  him  before  they  so  believed ; 
therefore  the  thing  was  false  when  they 
first  believed  it  true  ;  and  it  is  very  extraor- 
dinary indeed  that  a  falsehood  should  be- 
come a  truth,  by  its  being  confidently  btliev- 
■ed,  or  induslrionshj  propagated.  Faith 
makes  no  alteration  in  the  nature  of  the 
thing  believed.     What  is  t7'ue  does  not  be- 


come ^fee  because  it  is  discredited.  Nor  is 
it  possible  a  lie  should  change  its  nature,  and 
become  true,  however  a  person  may  strive 
to  keep  up  a  fti-m  persuasion  of  its  being  a 
truth,  and  labor  against  doubting  its  reali- 
ty. It  might  be  happy  lor  such  professors, 
whose  faith  is  founded  on  falsehood,  if  they 
could  be  made  ashamed  of  their  assurance, 
by  a  deep  conviction  of  their  being  under 
a  strong  delusion,  that  they  believe  a  lie, 
and  rejoice  in  a  thing  of  nought.  (See  2 
Thess.  ii.  11.  Amos  vi.  13.)  In  this  condi- 
tion, those  most  certainly  are,  who  believe 
Christ  is  theirs  without  any  scriptural  evi- 
dence to  support  persuasion.  But  alas !  tlie 
bands  of  such  are  generally  made  strong 
by  tJie  joy  that  accompanies  their  confi- 
dence ;  for,  taking  it  for  granted  their  faith 
is  right,  they  apply  to  themselves  the  prom- 
ises of  salvation,  and  think  it  would  be  a  sin 
to  doubt  of  their  safety,  and  a  much  great- 
er to  cast  aAvay  their  confidence,  which 
they  apprehend  will  meet  with  a  great  re- 
compense of  reward.  Such  despise  all  ev- 
idences of  a  change  of  heart,  and  of  the 
disposition  of  the  sovd,  as  legal  and  low : 
their  maxim  is.  The  u-eakerthe  evidence  the 
stronger  the  faith.  Some  of  the  class  reler- 
red  to  have  defined  faith  to  consist  in  a  be- 
lieving tliat  CTirist  died  for  my  sins  i7i  par- 
ticular. Such  a  definition,  to  be  sure,  is 
consistent  enough  with  tlie  sentiment  of 
universal  redemption.  For  all  who  believe 
that  doctrine  must  have  such  a  faith,  unless 
they  should  happen  to  doubt  their  being  of 
the  human  species.  But  that  faith  does 
not  ensure  the  salvation  of  any  man,  unless 
all  men  be  saved.  Nay,  if  the  sentiment 
aforesaid  be  granted,  the  salvation  of  no 
man  can  be  inferred  from  an  interest  in  the 
Saviour's  death,  because  each  of  those  in 
hell  (if  it  be  allowed  any  of  the  human 
race  are  there)  may  with  as  much  truth  as 
those  in  heaven,  say,  Jesus  loved  me,  and 
gave  himself  for  vie.  Such  a  faith  is  there- 
fore destitute  of  evidence  of  a  saving  in- 
terest in  Christ. 

Others  have  asserted  that  faith  is  a  be- 
lieving Christ  to  be  a  person^s  own,  without 
any  evidence  from  scriptures,  sense  or  rea- 
son. Be  not  discouraged,  ye  seeking  souls, 
with  the  boasted  attainments  of  such  be- 
lievers as  aforesaid,  who  glory  in  their 
freedom  from  doubts  about  their  soul's  sal- 
vation. You  have  a  more  sure  word  of 
prophecy,  to  which  ye  do  well  to  take  heed, 
as  to  a  light  shining  in  a  dark  place.  God 
has,  in  his  word,  given  a  full  description  of 
all  those  who  are  interested  in  Christ,  and 
are,  as  such,  heirs  of  his  salvation ;  those 
who  answer  the  description  have  a  right  to 
conclude,  that  through  the  grace  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  th ey  shall  be  saved.  Those  who  have 
not  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christy 
(however  they  may  make   their  boast  of 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


89 


Ood,  as  the  carnal  Jews  did,)  they  are  none 
of  his.  Rom.  viii.  9 ;  and  they  that  are 
Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh  with  the 
affections  and  lusts.  Gal.  v.  24 ;  they  give 
full  consent  to  the  death  of  sin,  and  heartily 
cry  respecting  all  their  iniquities,  Away 
with  them,  crucify  them.  They  wish  every 
sin  to  be  the  object  of  universal  contempt, 
and  would  gladly  put  them  to  open  shame. 
They  account  them  the  worst  enemies  to 
God  and  their  souls ;  and  such  is  their  en- 
mity against  those  grand  deceivers,  that 
nothing  can  satisfy  them  short  of  their  total 
destruction.  The  Spirit  of  God  in  the 
word,  in  describing  the  character  of  real 
saints,  hearetk  witness  with  our  spirits, 
which  are  conscious  of  a  real  change,  that 
we  are  the  children  of  God ;  and  if  chil- 
dren, then  heirs ;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint 
heirs  with  Christ  Jesus.  Rom.  viii.  16,  17. 
Therefote,  he  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of 
God,  hath  the  witness  in  himself  That  is, 
he  is  conscious  of  the  acts  of  his  own  soul, 
that  they  are  in  nature  and  kind,  however 
they  are  deficient  in  degree,  what  the  peo- 
ple of  God  in  the  scriptures  are  described  by. 
Every  Christian,  therefore,  habitually 
believes  that  such  persons  as  answer  to  the 
description  of  saints,  whether  themselves  or 
others,  shall  have  everlasting  life,  (and  that 
no  other  but  such  shall  be  saved.)  He  that 
believeth  not  God,  hath  made  him  a  liar, 
because  he  believeth  not  the  record  that 
God  gave  of  his  Son;  and  this  is  the 
record,  that  God  hath  given  to  its  eternal 
life  ;  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son ;  1  John,  v. 
10,  11.  There  is  a  cordial  believing  in 
Christ  respecting  both,  that  he  is,  and  what 
he  is,  and  likewise  respecting  whose  he  is ; 
in  reference  to  the  true  character  of 
those  interested  in  him,  before  the  believer 
may  be  fully  satisfied  respecting  his  own 
personal  claim  to  Christ.  The  apostle 
Paul,  writing  to  the  saints  at  Ephesus,  and 
speaking  of  himself  and  others  who  first 
trusted  in  Christ,  adds,  In  whom  ye  also 
trusted,  after  that  ye  heard  the  word  of 
truth,  the  gospel  of  ijour  salvation.  In 
whom  also  after  that  ye  believed,  ye  were 
sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise. 
Eph.  i.  13.  A  seal  is  a  visible  impression 
made  for  the  purpose  of  confirmation ;  the 
saints  were  not  confirmed  in  their  personal 
interest  in  the  promises,  till  after  they  trust- 
ed, or  believed  in  Christ.  Another  apostle, 
in  a  letter  to  the  people  of  God  in  general, 
says,  these  things  have  I  written  unto  you 
that  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of 
God,  that  ye  may  know  that  ye  have  eter- 
nal life ;  and  that  ye  may  believe  on  the 
name  of  the  Son  of  God.  1  John,  v.  13. 
He  had  in  the  letter  laid  down  several 
marks,  by  which  the  saints  are  distinguish 
ed  from  others,  such  as  obedience  to  God, 
haired  to  sin,  and  love  to  the  brethren,  and 
Vol.  a— L. 


hereby  (says  he)  we  knoio  that  we' know 
him.  Chap.  ii.  3.  The  weak  among  them, 
which  he  called  little  children,  he  was  con- 
fident, from  the  appearance  of  real  holiness, 
that  they  were  in  a  happy  and  safe,  condi- 
tion, having  their  sins  forgiven  for  Christ's 
sake.  Yet  these  were  not  fully  confirmed, 
though  they  had  believed  to  the  saving  of 
the  soul ;  therefore,  what  he  had  wrote  for 
their  serious  consideration,  was  in  order 
that  they  might  be  asstcred  of  eternal  life, 
being  included  among  those  of  whom  he 
speaks  in  the  preceding  verse.  That  have 
the  Son.  He  supposes  some  professors 
might  believe  without  evidence,  and  boldly 
say,  We  have  fellowship  with  God.  Chap, 
i.  6.  Says  another,  I  knoxo  him,  chap.  ii.  4, 
and  abide  in  him,  verse  6.  /  love  God. 
Chap.  iv.  20.  Yea,  he  supposes  some  pro- 
fessors might  boast  of  having  attained  to 
sinless  perfection,  chap.  i.  8.  But  without 
any  ceremony  he  pronomiceth  all  those  who 
claim  a  title  to  salvation,  without  evidence 
of  sanctification,  to  be  self-deceived,  and 
strangers  to  God  and  truth.  Chap.  i.  6,  ii. 
10,  iv.  20.  He  calls  them  to  the  bar  of  con- 
science, and  asserts  that  those,  and  those 
only,  whose  hearts  do  not  condemn  them, 
have  confidence  towards  God.  Chap.  iii. 
19,  21.  Every  true  Christian  is  possessed 
of  what  Jesus  terms  an  honest  heart.  Luke 
viii.  15.  They  would  not,  they  dare  not 
claim,  or  take  possession  of  what  is  not 
their  own ;  they  are  persuaded  those  who 
do,  will  be.rejected  at  last,  and  made  asham- 
ed of  their  hope  and  presumptuous  persua- 
sion. A  God  of  truth  can  never  require 
any  man  to  believe  a  falsehood  ;  nor  even 
any  thing  relating  to  a  fact  which  is  unre- 
vealed.  For  instance,  he  requires  men  to 
l)elieve  there  are  three  that  bear  record  in 
heaven,  and  that  these  three  are  one,  and 
the  union  of  two  natures  in  the  person  of 
Christ.  But  how  these  are  one,  being  not 
revealed,  is  neither  the  object  of  faith,  nor 
the  subject  of  human  understanding.  The 
support  of  faith  is  the  authority  and  fidelity 
of  God.  Hence  the  scriptures  are  called 
the  faithfid  word.  Tit.  i.  9  ;  the  true  saying 
of  God.  Rev.  xix.  9.  And  this  is  a  faith- 
ful saying,  (to  be  depended  upon  as  an 
established  fact,)  and  ivorthy  of  all  accep- 
tation, (being  fully  proved  to  be  infinitely 
good  as  well  as  true,)  that  Jesus  Christ 
came  into  the  world  to  save  siniiers.  1  Tim. 
i.  15.  Faith  therefore  includes  not  only  an 
assent  to  gospel  truths,  but  a  persuasion  of 
their  infinite  worth  and  transcendent  glory  ; 
and  personal  interest  therein  ariseth  trom 
the  evidence  of  having  received  the  truth  in 
the  love  of  it ;  for  faith,  objectively  consid- 
ered, or  as  it  respects  the  things  believed 
by  the  Christian,  is  a  compendium,  or  the 
substance  of  thingfe  hoped  tor,  as  published 
in  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 


90 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


Faith,  subjectively  considered,  consisteth  in 
the  evidence  of  things  not  seen  by  the  car- 
nal mind,  or  corporeal  eye.  Hcb.  xi.  1 : 
which  hidden  realities,  though  concealed 
from  the  wise  and  prudent,  are  revealed 
unto  babes.  Matt.  xi.  25 ;  and  every  one 
who  really  receives  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord, 
to  them  he  gives  power,  or  authority,  to 
become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  tliat 
believe  on  his  name.  However  weak  their 
faith  may  be,  they  are  possessed  of  that 
which  is  in  its  own  nature  an  evidence  that 
they  are  born  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will 
of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of 
God.  John,  i.  12,  13.  But  though  every 
heaven-born  soul  is  the  subject  of  what 
evidences  a  relation  to  God,  he  has  not  al- 
ways light  enough  to  discern  it.  Besides, 
a  view  of  the  depravity  of  his  heart  en- 
gages his  attention,  and  frequently  fills 
him  with  fear  that  he  is  not  passed  from 
death  unto  life.  Such  persons  are  referred 
to  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER    IL 

Conceiving  the  New  Birth. 

Some  gracious  people  are  greatly  dis- 
couraged because  they  cannot  ascertain 
the  time  when  they  passed  under  such  a 
change.  They  are  persuaded  of  the  truth, 
and  are  convinced  of  the  propriety  of  the 
Lord's  solemn  asseveration.  Verily^  verily, 
I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  he  horn  again, 
he  cannot  see,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God.  But  not  knowing  the  time 
when  they  were  born  again,  and  perhaps, 
through  confused  ideas  of  wliat  is  intended 
by  the  term,  they  are  kept  in  a  state  of  un- 
comfortable suspense,  and  their  progress  of 
vital  religion  is  retarded,  not  knowing  how 
to  determine,  or  by  what  rule  to  judge,  whe- 
ther they  are,  or  are  not,  born  again.  To 
such  persons  I  would  propose  the  following 
consideration : 

Do  you  know  the  exact  time  of  your 
natural  birth  ?  None  can  answer  they  do 
I'rom  their  own  knowledge  and  memory 
and  though  some  cannot  obtain  certain 
information  from  any  one  on  what  day.  or 
even  in  what  year  they  were  born,  yet  they 
do  not  doubt  of  the  fact.  As  effects  in 
natural  things  lead  back  to  their  respective 
causes,  and  are  infallible  proofs  of  their 
reality,  so  it  is  in  spiritual  affairs.  In  tliis 
.  manner  we  are  taught  in  scripture  to  pro- 
ceed, in  order  to  gain  assurance  respecting 
facts  which  fall  not  under  immediate  per- 
sonal observation.  As.  saith  the  apostle, 
every  house  is  builded  by  some  man;  as 
therefore  every  structure,  from  the  princely 
palace  to  the  meanest  cottage,  are  incon- 


testible  proofs  of  human  agency,  so  as 
saints  are  God's  workmanship,  created 
anew  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  habitations  of 
God  through  the  Spirit,  the  nature  of  the 
change  produced  in  them  claims  Jehovah 
for  its  author;  therefore,  as  the  apostle 
adds,  he  that  buildeth  all  things  is  God. 
Heb.  iii.  4.  The  great  inquiry  should  be, 
Whether  we  are  the  subjects  of  the  heav- 
enly birth  or  not?  for  as  to  the  time  when, 
it  is  an  immaterial  circumstance,  any  fur- 
ther than  as  related  to  the  question,  How 
old  art  thou?  As  it  is  not  necessary  to 
know  the  time  of  your  natural  birth,  in  order 
to  prove  your  proper  humanity,  neither  is 
the  knowledge  of  your  spiritual  birth,  as  to 
the  time  when,  at  all  needful  to  evidence 
your  true  Christianity ;  the  change  may  be 
demonstrably  evident,  though  the  time  when 
it  first  commenced  be  uncertain.  To  know 
whether  a  person  is  born  again,  it  should  be 
considered  that  the  work  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  upon  the  soul,  whereby  sinners  are 
denominated  new  creatures,  is  set  forth  by 
figurative  language.  As  there  are  new 
principles  or  dispositions  produced,  it  is 
called  a  creation.  "Created  in  Christ 
Jesus."  Eph.  ii.  10.  As  it  bears  resem- 
blance to  procreation,  it  is  therefore  called 
a  regeneration  and  a  new  birth.  These 
terms  are  used  for  the  purpose  of  illustrat- 
ing its  nature,  the  evident  and  plain  import 
of  which  are  to  point  out,  that  a  person  who 
is  the  subject  of  such  a  gracious  charge, 
feels  and  views  himself  to  be  in  such  cir- 
cumstances, in  a  spiritual  sense,  as  resem- 
ble the  natural  condition  of  an  uifant ;  for 
such  persons  feel  themselves  feeble  atid 
forlorn ;  they  are  convinced  of  their  utter 
inability  to  provide  for  the  least  of  their 
numerous  wants,  or  even  to  describe  them ; 
like  a  new-born  babe  they  desire  the  sincere 
milk  of  the  word,  which  they  relish,  taste 
the  sweetness  of,  and  are  nourished  by. 
They  are  dependent  entirely  on  the  Lord's 
care  and  kindness,  who  loves  them,  deals 
tenderly  with  them,  feeds  them  with  what 
is  convenient  for  them,  as  they  are  able  to 
bear  it,  clothes  them  with  the  robe  of  right- 
eousness, and  garments  of  salvation.  He 
teaches  them,  gradually,  the  things  relating 
to  the  kingdom  of  grace  into  which  they 
are  brought,  and  of  which  they  are  natu- 
rally ignorant ;  for  "  they  shall  all  be  taught 
of  God,  from  the  least  of  them  to  the  great- 
ost  of  them."  Isa.  liv.  13.  As  they  have  a 
disposition  for  spiritual  activity,  so  the  Lord 
increases  their  strength,  takes  them  by  the 
hand,  teaches  them  to  go.  Hos.  xi.  3.  As 
they  grow  in  acquaintance  with  their  heav- 
enly Father,  and  the  household  of  laith, 
they  feel  a  love  to  God,  a  fear  of  liim,  have 
their  dependence  upon  him,  and  are  desirous 
of  his  presence,  protection,  and  guidance. 
They  love  all  the  people  of  God,  and  those 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


91 


the  best  who,  as  they  think,  most  resemble 
him.  Those,  therefore,  who  are  thus  de- 
pendent upon  God,  humble  before  him, 
having  a  reUsh  for  Divine  things,  or,  in  a 
word,  dispositions  towards  God  of  a  filial 
nature,  becoming  a  child  to  his  father  and 
family ;  such  have  the  evidences  of  being 
born  again,  they  having  been  brought  with 
godly  simplicity  to  receive  tlie  kingdom  of 
heaven  as  a  httle  child,  without  which,  the 
Redeemer  has  declared,  no  man  can  in  any 
wise  enter  therein.  Luke,  xviii.  17.  Thus 
the  feeble  state  and  forlorn  condition  of  the 
Jews,  when  God  first  entered  into  covenant 
with  them  as  a  people,  and  they  became  his 
special  property  and  care,  is  illustrated  by 
an  infant,  Ezek.  xvi.  in  the  most  deplorable 
condition.  So  the  spiritual  experiences  of 
his  people,  both  sorrowful  and  sweet,  are 
represented  by  the  metaphor  of  a  helpless 
infant,  under  the  kind  care  of  its  loving 
compassionate,  and  prudent  parent.  Again 
such  bear  the  likeness  of  their  Father 
God ;  as  by  their  first  birth  they  partake  of 
the  image  of  the  earthly,  so  by  their  second 
birth  they  are  made  partakers  of  the  heav- 
enly ;  for  that  which  is  born  of  the  flesh,  is 
flesh ;  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit, 
is  spirit.  John,  iii.  6.  They  that  are  born 
again,  love  what  God  does,  and  hate  what 
he  abhors,  which  gradually  increaselh  as 
they  grow  in  grace,  or  to  maturity,  as  per- 
fect men  in  Christ  Jesus.  A  holy  disposi 
tion  therefore  an  infallible  proof  of  a  heav 
enly  descent,  or  that  such  are  born  again. 


CHAPTER    III. 

Concerning  Spiritual  Joys. 

Many  Christians  are  discouraged  on  ac- 
count of  their  not  having  been  favored  with 
such  strong  consolation  as  others  speak  of; 
and  some  are  stumbled  because  of  the  short 
duration  of  their  joy ;  and  in  both  the  above 
causes  perplexities  arise  about  the  real  dif- 
ference between  false  and  true  pleasure 
attending  religion.  Such  persons  would  do 
well  to  consider,  that  it  is  not  the  height  of 
consolation,  nor  the  length  of  its  continu- 
ance, which  proves  it  genuine,  or  of  a  true 
spiritual  nature:  some  of  the  Galatian 
church,  of  whose  gracious  state  the  apostle 
was  in  doubt,  spoke  of  great  blessedness. 
Gal.  iv.  15.  The  Israelites  sang  God's 
praise  with  great  delight  at  the  Red  Sea, 
but  soon  forgot  his  works,  and  rebelled 
against  his  authority;  the  stony  ground 
hearers  received  the  word  with  joy,  but  not 
haying  depth  of  root,  therefore,  when  tribu- 
lation came  for  the  word's  sake,  their  pleas- 
ure and  profession  died.  Even  Herod 
heard  John  with  gladness,  yet  clave  to  his 


sins:  and  Ezekiel  was  a  pleasant  song  to 
many  of  his  hearers  who  took  no  delight  in 
obedience  to  God.  It  is  possible  some  may 
hold  fast  their  self-deception,  and  go  down 
to  hell  with  a  lie  in  their  right  hand,  re- 
joicing in  a  thing  of  nought ;  for  a  hope  of 
dehverance  from  punishment  cannot  fail 
giving  pleasure  to  its  possessors ;  and  while 
the  pleasing  expectation  is  supported,  the 
degree  of  consolation  arising  from  a  false 
hope  may  be  equal,  yea,  superior  to  what  is 
produced  by  a  good  one.  Such  not  know- 
ing their  own  hearts,  and  the  infinite  evil  of 
sin,  are  therefore  not  plagued  like  other 
men.  Psal.  Ixxiii.  5,  14.  We  ought  seri- 
ously to  consider  from  what  our  comforts 
spring,  and  in  what  they  terminate,  in  order 
to  know  and  judge  of  their  true  nature  and 
kind:  false  comforts  frequently  arise  from 
a  partial  view  of  God's  salvation.  An  un- 
sanctified  soul  will  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  a 
deliverance  from  the  punishment  of  sin, 
simply  from  the  principle  of  self-love.  But 
mere  safety  does  not  satisfy  the  truly  gra- 
cious ;  all  such  likewise  want  to  have  tlie 
power  of  sin  subdued,  and  the  pollution  of 
sin  removed ;  their  habitual  prayer  to  God 
is,  "  Take  away  all  iniquity,  and  receive  us 
graciously."  Hosea,  xiv.  1,  2.  Pleasures 
therefore  arising  from  a  prospect  of  free- 
dom from  sorrow,  may  be  where  sin  main- 
tains a  full  dominion ;  "  I  shall  have  peace, 
(saith  one,)  though  I  walk  in  the  imagina- 
tion of  mine  heart,  to  add  drunkenness  to 
thirst ;  thus  he  blesseth  himself  in  his  heart, 
when  he  heareth  Jehovah's  tremendous 
curse."  How  awful  is  Heaven's  language 
to  such  a  daring  deluded  sinner !  "  The 
Lord  Avill  not  spare  him,  but  the  anger  of 
the  Lord  and  his  jealousy  shall  smoke 
against  that  man,  and  all  the  curses  written 
in  this  book  shall  lie  upon  him."  Deut. 
xxix.  19,  20. 

Again ;  false  joy  sometimes  ariseth  from 
the  manner  of  relief  being  brought  to  the 
mind,  but  true  pleasure  springs  from  the 
matter  apphed,  or  the  nature  and  suitable- 
ness of  truth  discovered.  The  suddenness 
of  relief  is  only  a  circumstance  in  itself, 
and  yet  some  seem  to  build  their  hope  of 
salvation  upon  it;  but  those  who  infer  such 
impressions  are  all  of  God,  and  absolutely 
safe,  forget  that  Satanical  influences  are 
compared  to  darts :  on  the  other  hand,  some 
unmercifully  censure  every  extraordinary 
relief  as  diabolical.  But  as  times  of  dread- 
ful temptations  and  overwhelming  sorrows 
are  periods  which  will  not  admit  of  delay ; 
and  when  viewed  in  tliat  Hght,  it  is  no  won- 
der the  soul  with  holy  vehemence  should 
cry,  "  Make  haste,  make  no  tarrying,  oh  my 
God ;"  and,  is  it  a  wonder  that  God  should 
hear  prayer,  or  be  found  a  present,  yea,  a 
very  present  help  in  time  of  trouble  ?  If 
not,  why  then  should  such  appearances  be 


92 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS, 


opposed  or  doubted?  The  Lord  flies  on 
the  wings  of  the  wind  for  the  help  of  Jesh- 
\irun,  and  may  he  not  avenge  lus  own  elect, 
who  cry  unto  him  day  and  night,  and  that 
speedily,  though  he  may  seem  to  bear  long 
with  them ;  tor  as  he  sendeth  forth 'his  com- 
mandment upon  earth,  his  word  rurmeth 
very  .swiftly  ?  Yea,  he  says,  '•  Before  they 
call,  I  will  answer ;  and  whilst  they  are  yet 
speaking,  I  will  hear."  Isaiah,  Ixv.  24. 
Daniel  Ibund  his  promise  verified  in  his 
experience ;  for  while  he  was  speaking  in 
prayer,  Gabriel  being  caused  to  fly  swiftly, 
touched  him,  and  told  him,  that  the  begin- 
ning of  his  supplication,  the  commandment 
came  forth,  in  obedience  to  which  he  ap- 
peared in  his  favor.     Dan.  ix.  21,  23. 

Those,  therefore,  are  not  to  be  censured 
or  discouraged,  who  have  found  that  ere 
they  were  aware  their  souls  were  made 
like  the  chariots  of  Aminadab ;  providing 
their  hope  leads  to  holiness,  and  their  peace 
and  pleasure  terminate  in  purity.  Many 
Christians  have  reason  to  admire  the  speedy 
manner  in  which  the  Lord  has  relieved 
them,  when  their  prospects  were  dismal, 
and  their  souls  with  horror  stood  trembling 
on  the  brink  of  eternal  woe ;  like  a  poor 
criminal  at  the  fatal  tree,  expecting  every 
moment  to  launch  into  eternity,  but  who  is 
happily  prevented  by  the  sudden  arrival  of 
a  reprieve  or  a  pardon  from  his  gracious 
sovereign.  He  admires  and  is  thankful  for 
the  speed  with  which  the  joyful  message 
came.  Notwithstanding  which,  he  does  not 
consider  the  manner  of  the  messenger's 
arrival;  but  the  tidings  brought  are  the 
principal  spring  of  his  joy,  anil  the  only 
foundation  ol"  his  present  security.  The 
posts  which  carried  the  cruel  edict  from  the 
Persian  court,  to  destroy  the  Jews  in  every 
province  were  hasted  by  the  king's  com- 
mandment, as  well  as  those  despatched  in 
their  favor ;  therefore  the  monarch's  inten- 
tion was  not  from  thence  discoverable. 
The  speed  with  which  a  message  is  carried 
does  not  prove  it  to  be  of  a  favorable  nature, 
nor  does  it  so  much  as  demonstrate  from 
or  to  whom  it  is  sent.  Neither  does  the 
manner  in  which  any  portion  of  scripture  is 
brought  to  the  mind,  determine  its  being 
the  language  of  God  to  that  person  in  par- 
ticular; the  mere  mode  of  impressions  is 
not  essential  to  spiritual  comfort,  conviction, 
or  instruction ;  yet  many  are  encouraged  or 
cast  down  more  from  the  manner  in  wliich 
impressions  are  made  on  tlieir  minds,  than 
from  the  matter  expressed,  or  the  nature 
and  tendency  of  truth  contained  in  the 
scriptures.  A  genuine  hope  in  God,  or  the 
enjoyment  of  pardon,  is  ever  accompanied 
with  self-diffidence  ;  such  as  are  so  favored, 
rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  put  no  conjidence 
in  the  jlesh.  Sacred  pleasure  is  not  only 
incomparably  superior,  but  of  a  nature  op- 


posite to  levity  and  camal  security ;  fervent 
love  to  God  will  be  excited  and  promoted 
by  it.  I  will,  says  David,  love  the  Lord, 
because  he  hath  heard  my  supplication  ; 
and  of  Mary  it  is  said,  she  loved  much  be  ■ 
cause  much  was  forgiven  her.  It  invigo- 
rates repentance  ;  "  tliey  shall  look  upon  me 
whom  they  have  pierced,  and  mourn,"  yea, 
"  shall  be  ashamed  and  confounded  when  1 
am  pacified  towards  them,  for  all  that  they 
have  done,  saith  the  Lord."  It  promotes 
humble,  cheerful,  and  universal  obedience ; 
the  language  of  such  a  soul  is,  "  Wliat  an» 
I?  or  what  was  my  father's  house,  that 
thou  shouldest  bring  me  hitherto  ?  How  is 
it,  Lord,  thou  shouldest  thus  manifest  thy- 
self !  What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  1 
I  will  run  the  ways  of  thy  commandments. 
Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul." 

In  regard  to  those  who  are  distressed 
about  the  fluctuation  of  their  enjoyments,  it 
may  be  a  relief  to  their  minds  to  consider 
that  God  "  went  up  from  Jacob  in  the  place 
where  he  talked  with  him."  Gen.  xxxv.  13. 
David's  mountain  stood  strong,  but  when 
the  Lord  hid  his  face,  he  was  troubled. 
Permanent  joy  is  not  to  be  expected  in  this 
world,  but  is  reserved  for  the  next.  What 
God  imparts  now,  is  designed  to  encourage 
and  forward  the  Christian  in  his  duty,  and 
so  to  profit  rather  than  to  please.  Again ; 
the  shorter  our  present  comforts  are,  the 
oftener  should  we  apply  to  the  God  of  all 
consolation  for  the  renewal  of  them  ;  saymg 
with  David,  "  Restore  unto  me  the  joys  of 
thy  salvation ;"  and  with  the  pensive  pro- 
phet, "  O  the  hope  of  Israel,  the  Saviour 
thereof  in  time  of  trouble,  why  shouldest 
thou  be  as  a  stranger  in  tlie  land,  and  as  a 
wayiaring  man,  that  turneth  aside  to  tarry 
for  a  night?"  Jer.  xiv.  8.  And  the  more 
watchful  should  we  be  lest  we  grieve  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  comforter,  and  cause  him 
to  withdraw  his  soul-cheering  influences. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Experience  of  Indwelling  Sin. 

A  DEEP  sense  of  internal  depravity,  or 
the  prevalency  of  sin  in  the  heart,  has  often 
been  very  stumbling  to  serious  Christians, 
who,  on  a  view  of  tlieir  vileness,  have  been 
ready  to  conclude  their  cases  are  both  sin- 
gular and  sad;  saya  the  discouraged  soul, 
''  If  I  be  a  Christian,  why  am  I  thus  ?" 

It  may  be  an  advantage  for  such  to  re- 
flect, that  a  soul-humbling  sense  of  sui,  and 
deep  abasement  before  God,  has  been  expe- 
rienced by  the  most  eminent  saints  recorded 
in  scripture,  as  is  evident  from  the  language 
they  have  used  on  the  subject  of  self-de- 
scription, saying,  "  Behold  I  am  vile,  I  abhor 


HELP     TO     Z I  OX'S     TRAVELLERS. 


93 


myself."  "  I  am  undone.  I  am  a  man  of 
unclean  lips."  "  I  blush  to  look  up  to  heav- 
en." "I  am  as  a  beast  before  thee." 
"  Surely  I  am  more  brutish  than  any  man, 
and  have  not  the  understanding  of  a  man." 
"In  me,  that  is,  in  my  flesh,  dwelleth  no 
good  thing.  I  am  carnal,  and  sold  under 
sin.  I  find  a  law  in  my  members  warring 
against  that  in  my  mind,  leading  me  into 
captivity."  "  Iniquities  prevail  against  me." 
"  Evil  is  present  with  me.  I  cannot  do  the 
things  that  I  would.  O  wretched  man  that 
I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me  ?"  "  We  are 
all  as  an  unclean  thing."  These,  with 
many  more  instances  which  might  be  pro- 
duced, demonstrate,  that  true  believers,  and 
they  only,  are  properly  acquainted  with  the 
plague  of  their  own  hearts.  Why  then 
should  the  Christian  be  discouraged  through 
feeling  himself  to  be,  what  those,  who  were 
eminent  for  godliness,  have  with  shame  and 
sorrow  acknowledged  they  were  ?  Besides, 
have  you  not  repeatedly  entreated  the  Lord 
to  search  and  try  you,  to  discover  what  was 
in  your  hearts?  And  shall  you  now  be 
stumbled  and  discouraged  because  he  has 
heard  and  answered  your  prayers?  And 
as  God  has  given  you  an  experience  similar 
to  what  was  once  the  case  of  those  who  are 
now  the  subjects  of  spotless  purity  and  per- 

f)etual  praise,  is  it  reasonable  to  conclude 
Irom  thence  you  are  not  the  subjects  of  a 
gracious  change  ?  You  may  rather  infer, 
that  if  the  Lord  had  been  pleased  to  have 
slain  you,  he  would  not  have  shown  you 
such  things  as  these.  Remember  the  whole 
need  not  a  physician,  but  those  that  are 
sick ;  and  grace  has  made  rich  provision 
for  healing  all  the  diseases  and  maladies  of 
the  mind.  Perhaps  every  good  man  will 
at  least  account  himselt^  of  all  others  the 
most  indebted  to  God  and  grace:  for  he 
feels  that  in  himself  which  he  does  not  cer- 
tainly know  is  in  any  other,  for  every  heart 
only  knows  its  own  bitterness.  By  such 
experiences,  the  Lord  is  training  his  people 
for  the  future  glory.  For,  accounting  them- 
selves, as  St.  Paul  did,  the  chief  of  sinners, 
1  Tim.  i.  15,  their  own  salvation  will  be  the 
matter  of  eternal  wonder,  every  one  view- 
ing his  own  deliverance  as  the  effect  of  a 
peculiar  exertion  of  Divine  power,  and  an 
uncommon  display  of  rich  superabounding 
grace.  Being  each  under  infinite  deficiency, 
respecting  their  personal  endeavors  to  extol 
the  great  Jehovah,  mutual  assistance  will 
be  entreated  in  the  work  of  praise ;  for  the 
language  of  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  to 
fellow  saints  frequently  is,  "  O  magnify  the 
Lord  with  me,  and  let  us  exalt  his  name 
together,"  Ps.  xxxiv.  3.  Go  on,  then,  ye 
blessed  of  the  Lord,  pressing  after  the  full 
possession  of  tliat  salvation  which  you  see 
the  absolute  need  of,  even  a  complete  de- 
liverance from  sin,  as  well  as  from  sorrow ; 


that  grace  which  has  rendered  sin  loath- 
some, and  Christ  lovely  in  your  view,  is 
sufficient  for  you.  In  a  perpetual  depend- 
ence on  which,  may  you  hold  on  your  way 
with  courage  and  caution,  till  you  arrive  at 
Zion's  celestial  gate  !  Then  shall  you  ob- 
tain joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sigh- 
ing shall  flee  away.    Isa.  xxxv.  10. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Erroneous  Views  of  ChiHstian  Doctrines. 

Another  class  of  Christians  present 
themselves  to  view,  whose  progress  is  re- 
tarded by  a  false  and  discouraging  repre- 
sentation of  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of 
grace ;  which  are  frequently  asserted  to  be 
inimical  to  experimental  religion,  and  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  supersede  personal 
hohness,  and  render  internal  conformity  to 
God  unnecessary-  Whatever  God  has 
revealed  in  his  Word,  we  may  be  sure  is 
worthy  of  himself,  and  advantageous  to  his 
people.  We  ought  diligently  to  inquire 
what  Jehovah  has  revealed  as  matter  of 
faith  and  obedience  ;  and  whatever  is  of  a 
divine  original  demands  our  reverent  atten- 
tion, cordial  reception,  and  cheerful  obedi- 
ence. It  is  the  height  of  arrogance  in  a 
puny  mortal  to  di.spute  with  his  Maker 
about  the  propriety  of  what  he  does  or  says. 
"  O  man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest  against 
God?"  Rom.  ix.  20.  However,  for  the 
relief  of  such  serious  minds  as  are  perplex- 
ed and  stumbled  in  consequence  of  the 
aforesaid  objections,  let  us  briefly  consider 
those  doctrines  which  are  generally  suppos- 
ed the  most  exceptionable  in  relation  to 
Christian  experience. 

First,  the  doctrine  of  imputation.  This 
is  not  hable  to  the  aforesaid  objection ;  for 
the  placing  of  the  Redeemer's  righteousness 
to  the  account  of  his  people  does  not  super- 
sede the  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the 
soul,  nor  render  unnecessary  holiness  of 
heart,  or  the  exercise  of  spiritual  graces. 
Imputation  is  not  a  transfusion.  It  makes 
no  alteration  in  the  internal  disposition.  If 
it  did,  our  sins  being  imputed  to  Christ 
would  have  tainted  his  holy  mind.  But 
though  sin  was  placed  to  his  account,  and 
the  Lord  laid  on  him  the  iniquities  of  us  all: 
though  He  was  made  sin  for  us,  that  he 
might  legally  suffer  in  our  stead  according 
to  law ;  yet  he  was  still  the  Holy  One,  Avho 
knew  no  sin  as  a  principle  in  him.  So 
Christ's  righteousness  "is  upon  and  towards 
those  who  believe,"  Rom.  iii.  22 ;  by  which 
they  are  freed  from  condemnation,  but  are 
not  thereby  made  inwardly  pure ;  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ  is  not  infused  as  a  holy 
principle  in  them,  but  put  upon  them  as  a 


94 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS, 


heavenly  robe.  Now  though  righteousness 
delivers  from  death,  and  entitles  to  life,  yet 
an  internal  disposition  suited  to  the  nature 
of  heavenly  fehcity  is  absolutely  necessary ; 
therefore  there  is  need  of  a  lil'e  of  grace 
here,  in  order  to  a  life  of  glory  hereafter ; 
and  indeed  they  differ  only  in  degree,  not 
in  nature  and  kind.  Hence  Jesus  says,  "  I 
give  unto  my  siiecp  eternal  life."  John,  x. 
28.  "  This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  may 
know  thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus 
Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent."  John,  xvii. 
3.  Men  need  a  righteousness  imparted,  as 
well  as  a  righteousness  imputed ;  the  inner 
man  of  the  heart  is  therefore  created  anew 
in  righteousness  and  true  holiness,  in  order 
to  the  enjoyment  of  true  happiness.  Being 
guilty,  there  was  a  necessity  of  Christ's 
fulfiUing  the  law  for  us,  but  when  perfect  in 
holiness,  the  righteousness  of  the  law  will 
be  fulfilled  in  us.  By  the  former  we  escape 
eternal  misery.  By  the  latter  we  have  a 
taste  for,  and  are  rendered  capable  of,  en- 
joying heavenly  felicity;  therefore  we  ought 
to  be  as  much  concerned  to  possess  a  meet- 
ness  for  heaven  as  a  right  to  it.  But  a  ca- 
pacity to  enjoy  does  not  give  a  title  to  en- 
joyment, in  reference  to  the  tilings  of  na- 
ture, nor  does  it  give  a  right  to  the  bless- 
ings of  grace.  A  man,  while  sick,  cannot 
enjoy  the  most  pleasing  inheritance.  Yet 
no  man  in  his  right  mind  ever  thought  the 
best  state  of  health,  or  the  firmest  constitu- 
tion, could  give  a  title  to  an  estate.  So  the 
behever's  claim,  or  entitling  righteousness 
to  future  glory,  does  not  depend  upon,  nor 
arise  out  of  his  own  personal  qualifications, 
though  there  is  a  necessity  of  perfect  holi- 
ness, in  order  to  complete  happiness. 
"  This  is  the  heritage  of  the  servants  of 
the  Lord;  and  their  righteousness  is  of  me, 
saith  the  Lord."  Isaiah,  xliv.  17.  In  an- 
swer to  the  solemn  question,  "  Who  shall 
ascend  the  hill  of  the  Lord,  and  who  shall 
stand  in  his  holy  place?"  it  is  said,  "he 
that  hath  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart — 
even  he  shall  receive  the  blessing  I'rom  the 
Lord,  and  righteousness  from  the  God  of 
his  salvation."  Ps.  xxiv.  4,  5.  The  be 
liever  therefore  longs  for  purity,  but,  after 
all  his  religious  attainments,  resolves  to  go 
through  life,  down  to  death,  and  home  to 
glory  "  in  tlie  strength  of  the  Lord  God, 
making  mention  of  his  righteousness,  and 
of  his  only."     Ps.  Ixxi.  16.     Again, 

Secondly ;  Some  are  ready  to  object 
against  the  efficacious  nature  of  Divine 
grace  in  conversion,  and  say  "that  con 
straining  grace  cannot  be  consistent  with 
the  natural  freedom  of  the  human  will. 
For  if  I  freely  clioose  the  things  of  God, 
how  is  my  choice  owing  to  divine  grace? 
And  if  I  be  impelled  by  the  power  of  grace, 
how  am  I  free  in  my  choice  ?" 

By  a  proper  attention  to  our  experience 


of  mental  acts,  whether  as  creatures  or 
Christians,  it  will  be  found  tliat  choosing  is 
giving  a  preference,  or  is  a  preferring  some 
persons  or  things  above  others.  The  pre- 
ference given,  or  choice  made,  is  the  effect 
of  their  appearing  to  us  more  agreeable,  or 
having  an  ascendency  in  our  esteem.  How- 
ever precious  or  excellent  any  thing  be  in 
itself,  yet  if  that  excellence  or  worth  be  not 
discovered,  it  does  not  become  the  object 
of  choice. 

Things  are  therefore  chosen  or  refused, 
esteemed  or  disesteemed,  according  as  they 
appear  to  the  understanding,  or  are  pre- 
sented to  the  mind's  view,  as  agreeable  or 
disagreeable.  Now,  as  the  natural  man 
cannot  know  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned, 
therefore  he  does  not  choose  them.  As 
facts  they  are  knowable  to  such ;  but  their 
Divine  beauty  and  spiritual  excellency  lie 
concealed  from  the  carnal  mind ;  therefore 
natural  things  are  freely  chosen  or  preferred 
to  spiritual,  being  more  agreeable  to  the 
mind  in  its  unrenewed  state.  But  when 
omnipotent  grace  begets  new  principles  in 
the  soul,  changes  the  heart,  and  opens  the 
understanding  to  behold  things  as  they 
really  are,  then  the  world  and  all  temporary 
good  sinks  into  nothing  and  vanity,  when 
compared  with  Christ  and  the  blessings  of 
the  gospel.  Now  the  will  which  before 
freely  chose  sinful  delights,  as  freely  choos- 
eth  the  one  thing  needful.  Christ,  in  whom 
sinners  saw  no  form  nor  comeliness  where- 
fore they  should  desire  him,  is  now  in  their 
esteem  the  chief  among  ten  thousand,  and 
altogether  lovely.  Now  they  freely  choose 
such  things  for  their  portion,  and  such  per- 
sons for  their  associates,  as  before  they  had 
an  utter  aversion  to.  Now  they  as  freely 
choose  the  paths  of  virtue  and  religion,  as 
before  they  did  those  of  vice  and  sensuality. 
If  there  be  such  an  alteration  experienced, 
need  I  ask  such  a  happy  soul,  "  Who  made 
thee  to  differ?"  1  Cor.  iv.  7.  Surely  such 
will  be  free  to  acknowledge  with  tlie  apos- 
tle, "  By  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I 
am."  1  Cor.  xv.  10.  If  so,  you  cannot 
consistently  object, 

Thirdly;  To  the  doctrine  of  election ;  for 
it  looks  upon  you  with  a  friendly  aspect,  and 
by  it  you  are  informed,  that  grace  was 
treasured  vip  for  you  in  Christ  Jesus  before 
the  world  began  ;  and  if  God  has  now  giv- 
en grace  to  you,  (the  certain  pledge  of 
glory,)  it  surely  will  not  be  offensive  to  be 
informed  heintendedto  do60,and  that  he  had 
it  in  reserve  for  yovi  before  he  bestowed  it 
upon  you.  You  will  not,  you  cannot  com- 
plain of  his  having  loved  you  too  soon,  or 
made  gracious  provision  for  you  too  early. 
No,  you  will  admire  and  adore  the  free  and 
distinguishing  grace  of  the  Fatlier.  who 
chose  you  in  particular,  from  everlasting, 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


m 


Bet  you  apart  for  himself,  and  preserved  you 
in  Christ  Jesus,  and  by  his  Spirit  called  you 
with  an  high  calling,  and  is  now  fitting  you 
for,  and  leading  you  to,  the  lull  enjoyment 
of  salvation  with  eternal  glory.  1  Tim.  ii. 
10.  "  Put  on,  therefore,  (as  the  elect  of 
God,  holy  and  beloved,)  bowels  of  mercies, 
kindness,  humbleness  of  mind,  meekness, 
long  suffering,"  which  you  are  under  the 
strongest  obligations  to  discover  to  your  fel- 
low-Christians and  fellow-creatures.  Ever 
remember  that  those  who  "are  a  chosen 
generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  an  holy  na- 
tion, a  peculiar  people,  should  show  forth 
the  praises  of  him  who  hath  called  them 
out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous  light." 
1  Pet.  ii.  9. 

This  doctrine  is  not  discouraging  in  its 
own  nature,  (however  it  may  be  represent- 
ed,) to  any  sincere  seeking  sinner.  Such 
are  not  called  to  produce  evidences  of  their 
election,  in  order  to  warrant  their  applica- 
tion to  Jesus  for  salvation.  No,  my  dear 
friends,  your  present  concern  is  now  to  have 
guilt  and  pollution  removed,  that  you  may 
stand  accepted  before  Jehovah's  bar.  To 
you  there  is  a  fountain  opened,  the  blood 
of  Jesus,  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin. 
Your  desire  of  coming  to  Christ,  under  a 
sense  of  the  absolute  need  you  are  in  of  a 
Saviour,  is  a  hopeful  sign  that  you  shall 
know,  if  you  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord. 
None  but  the  chosen  of  God  do  ever  heartily 
choose  religion  as  the  one  thing  needful; 
and  the  language  of  the  compassionate 
Saviour  is,  "  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me 
shall  come  to  me ;  and  him  that  cometh  to  me 
I  will  in  nowise  cast  out "  John,  vi.  37. 
Therefore  such  as  long  and  wait  for  the 
salvation  of  God,  through  sanctification  of 
the  spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,  whose  hearts'  desire,  is  to  be  found 
in  Christ,  and  without  blame  before  him  in 
love,  will  never  meet  with  a  disappoint- 
ment ;  for  he  who  cannot  lie  hath  said,  "  He 
will  regard  the  prayer  of  the  destitute,  and 
not  despise  their  prayer.  Psalm  cii.  17. 
He  satisfieth  the  longing  soul,  even  such 
as  (for  the  present,)  sit  in  darkness,  and  in 
the  shadow  of  death,  being  bound  in  afflic- 
tion and  iron.  Psalm  cvii.  9,  10.  Cordial 
ly  to  embrace  Christ,  and  dehberately  to 
take  up  his  cross  and  follow  him,  are  the 
genuine  effects  of  electing  love.  To  every 
such  soul  the  language  of  the  Lord  is, 
"  Yea,  I  have  loved  thee  with  an  everlasting 
love :  therefore  with  loving  kindness  have  I 
drawn  thee."  Jer.  xxxi.  3.  "  I  will  rest  in  my 
love,  I  will  rejoice  over  thee  with  singing." 
Zeph.  Hi.  17.  You  who  love  the  Lord,  and 
desire  to  be  entirely  and  eternally  devoted  to 
him,  you  know  and  are  sure  you  were  not 
naturally  so  disposed ;  and  if  so,  that  new 
covenant  promise  made  to  Immanuel  has 
been  fulfilled  in  your  favor,  "Thy  people 


shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power." 
Psalm  ex.  3.  He  sent  his  word  unto  Jacob, 
and  it  lighted  upon  Israel.  You  happy  souls, 
who  are  conscious  of  having  chosen  and 
elected  the  Lord  as  your  God,  need  not 
perplex  yourself  about  his  choice  of  you  as 
his  people.  But  know  that  the  Lord  has 
setapart  him  that  is  godly  for  himself ;  Psalm 
iv.  3.  Therefore,  blessed  is  the  man  whom 
the  Lord  hath  chosen,  and  caused  to  ap- 
proach unto  him :  Psalm  Ixv,  4.  For  the 
foundation  of  God  standeth  sure,  having 
his  seal.  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are 
his.  2  Tim.  ii.  19.  This  doctrine  is  a 
source  of  strong  consolation  to  them  who 
have  fled  for  refuge  to  Christ,  the  hope  set 
before  them.  Heb.  vi.  17,  18.  For  in  the 
midst  of  all  the  perplexing  difficulties  and 
trying  occurrences  in  this  fluctuating  world, 
such  may  triumph  in  the  hope  of  eternal 
life,  which  God  that  cannot  he  promised 
them  in  Christ  Jesus  before  the  world  be- 

n.  Tit.  i.  2.  For  yet  a  little  while,  and 
he  that  hath  said  he  shall  come,  will  come 
and  will  not  tarry;  then  shall  they  meet 
with  a  hearty  welcome  into  the  kingdom 
prepared  for  them  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world. 

Fourthly ;  If  discouragements  be  remov- 
ed respecting  the  doctrine  of  election,  it  is 
not  probable  that  redemption  will  be  view- 
ed in  a  light  unfavorable  to  weak  Chris- 
tians. Every  truth  relating  to  the  law  of 
God  or  the  gospel  of  grace,  if  properly 
stated,  will  be  disgustful  to  the  carnal  and 
unsanctified  mind.  But  those  who  are 
Christians  indeed,  though  they  may  be  ig- 
norant of  or  even  prejudiced  against,  die 
terms  by  which  truths  are  distinguished, 
yet  the  nature  of  truth  is  not  with  them  an 
object  of  aversion ;  as  personal  election  is 
not  prejudicial  to  such,  it  cannot  be  thought 
redemption  should  be  so. 

For  the  election  and  redemption  of  men 
are  inseparably  connected  in  scripture  as 
distinct  links  in  the  grand  chain  of  gospel 
truth ;  (he  personal  objects  and  end  are 
the  same  in  each,  and  Christ's  claim  to  his 
people  is  founded  on  both ;  "  Thine  they 
were,  and  thou  gavest  them  me.  I  pray 
not  for  the  world,  but  for  them  which  thou 
hast  given  me,  for  they  are  thine,  and  all 
mine  are  thine,  and  thine  are  mine."  John 
xvii.6,  9,10.  As  they  were  given  to  him 
so  they  were  purchased  by  him ;  they  were 
committed  to  his  care  as  sheep  to  a  shep- 
herd, and  he  laid  down  his  life  for  them. 
John,  X.  15.  "  The  flock  of  God  he  pur- 
chased with  his  own  blood."  Acts,  xx.  28. 
Called  "  the  precious  blood  of  Christ  as  of 
a  Lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot." 
1  Pet.  i.  18.  They  were  given  him  out  of 
the  world.  John,  xvii.  6.  And  he  redeem- 
ed them  from  among  men.  Rev.  xiv.  4. 
Out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  peo- 


96 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS, 


pie,  and  nation.  Rev.  iv.  9.  When  God 
chose  his  people,  he  foreknew  that  man 
wculd  fall,  and  the  whole  human  race  would 
lose  their  purity,  and  become  transgress- 
ors from  tlie  womb.  Isaiah,  xlviii.  8.  He 
therefore  chose  them  to  complete  salvation 
and  absolute  purity,  that  they  might  be  with- 
out blame  betbre  him  in  love.  Eph.  i.  4. 
Christ  in  whom  they  were  chosen,  and  to 
whose  care  they  ^verc  committed,  being 
constituted  the  Head  of  the  church,  he  be 
came  the  Saviour  of  the  body,  and  gave 
himself  for  it,  that  he  might  sanctify  and 
cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the 
word,  that  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a 
glorious  church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle, 
or  any  such  thing ;  but  that  it  should  be 
holy  and  without  blemish."  Eph.  v.  23,  25. 
26,  27.  Powerful  operations  of  grace  in 
and  upon  the  church  and  chosen  of  God, 
by  which  they  are  purified  and  made  meet 
for  heaven,  are  necessarily  connected  with 
the  redemption  which  Jesus  obtained  for 
them  by  his  precious  blood.  Divine  justice 
was  satisfied  with  the  stipulated  price,  and 
infinite  power  secures  the  purchased  pos- 
session ;  such  a  redemption  is  suitable  to 
Christians  of  every  rank,  and  discouraging 
lo  none,  if  its  nature  be  known  properly,  or 
what  is  included  in  it  be  duly  considered. 

Those  who  come  to  Christ  consider  them- 
selves as  criminals  justly  condemned,  and 
therefore  in  absolute  need  of  a  pardon. 
*■•  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  is  the 
language  of  each ;  and  where  should  such 
look  for  relief  but  to  the  Saviour,  "  in  whom 
we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  the 
forgiveness  of  sins,  according  to  the  riches 
of  his  grace?"  Eph.  i.  7.  Gracious  souls 
are  conscious  of  having  grievously  depart- 
ed from  God.  "All  we  like  sheep  have 
gone  astray,  we  have  turned  every  one  to 
his  own  way ;"  Isaiah,  liii.  6 ;  and  have 
trespassed  against  our  God.  But  Jesus, 
to  whom  the  flock  belonged,  has  made  sat- 
isfaction for  the  damage  sustained ;  for  the 
Lord  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  His 
people  know  tliey  have  trespassed  and  are 
unaole  to  make  a  recompense ;  for,  being 
poor,  they  have  nothing  to  give  unto  him 
against  whom  they  have  trespassed.  Numb. 
V.  7.  But  in  this  doctrine  Jesus  is  repre- 
.sented  as  the  kind  and  compassionate  kins- 
man who  engaged,  that  for  the  trespass  of 
his  people  a  recompense  should  be  made 
\mto  the  Lord.  He  was  therefore  wounded 
for  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for 
our  iniquities,  and  redeemed  us  from  the 
curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us. 
Gal.  iii.  13.  Do  they  consider  themselves 
afar  off  from  God,  and  desire  to  be  a  peo- 
ple near  unto  the  Lord  ?  How  cheering  to 
such  is  the  docrrino  of  redemption !  Wliero- 
fore  remember  ye,  saith  Paul  to  the  jsaints 
in  his  day,  "that  ye  were  without  Christ, 


being  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Is* 
rael,  having  no  hope,  and  without  God  in 
the  world  ;  but  now  in  Christ  Jesus,  ye  who 
sometimes  were  afar  off  are  made  nigh  by 
the  blood  of  Christ."  Eph.  ii.  12,  13.  For 
Christ  suffered  for  sins,  the  just  lor  the  un- 
just, (not  that  he  might  only  open,  or  jiut  us 
into  a  way  in  which  we  might  possibly  at- 
tain to  glory)  but  that  he  might  bring  us  to 
God.  1  Peter,  iii.  18.  In  this  the  saints 
triumph  in  Heaven,  and  of  this  they  sing, 
saying,  "  Thou,  art  worthy  to  take  the  book, 
and  to  open  the  seals  thereof;  for  thou  wast 
slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy 
blood."  Rev.  v.  9.  Cheer  up,  ye  discour- 
aged souls,  for  with  the  Lord  there  is  mer- 
cy, and  with  him  is  plenteous  redemption, 
and  he  will  redeem  Israel  from  all  his  ini- 
quities.    Psalm  cxxx.  7,  8. 

Consider  the  Redeemer's  priesthood  and 
power  are  unchangeable.  Wherefore  he  is 
able  also  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that 
come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liv- 
eth  to  make  intercession  for  them.  Heb. 
vii.  24,  25.  Yon  who  are  now  the  servants 
of  God,  were  once  slaves  to  Satan  and  sin, 
serving  divers  lusts  and  pleasures ;  where- 
fore the  great  deliverance  and  happy  change 
are  entirely  owing  to  the  efficacy  of  redemp- 
tion. 

How  thankful  ought  we  to  be,  who  are 
made  freeirom  such  an  awful  state  of  bon- 
dage ;  "forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  ye  were 
not  redeemed  with  corruptible  things,  as 
silver  and  gold,  from  your  vain  conversa- 
tion received  by  tradition  from  your  fatlier.^;, 
but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ."  1 
Pet.  i.  18. 

That  peculiar  and  particular  redemption 
of  which  Christ  is  the  author,  cannot  justly 
be  deemed  discouraging  to  any  who  are 
sensible  of  their  misery,  and  long  for  de- 
liverance ;  because  those  who  are  declared 
in  scripture  to  be  personally  interested  in 
this  special  blessing,  are  described  by  qual- 
ities of  mind  and  exercises  of  soul,  many 
of  which  the  weakest  Christians  knows  and 
feels  himself  to  be  the  subject  of;  such  as 
a  conscious  sense  of  spiritual  depravity, 
debt,  and  danger,  joined  with  an  approba- 
tion of  Jesus,  and  desires  after  those  bless- 
ings which  result  from  his  merits  and  medi- 
ation. 

May  saints  rejoice  in,  and  sinners  seek 
after  this  great  redemption,  which  consist- 
eth  in  a  deliverance  from  the  curse  of  the 
law,  (Gal.  iii.  13,)  from  all  iniquity,  (Tit.  ii. 
14,)  from  the  tyranny  of  Satan,  (1  John,  iii. 
8.  Isaiah,  xlix.  25,)  the  spirit  of  bondage, 
(Heb.  ii.  15,)  the  sting  of^  death,  the  ruins 
of  mortality,  (Hosea,  xiii.  14,)  and  from 
wrath  to  come,  (1  Thes.  i.  10.)  From 
these  few  considerations,  the  certain  salva- 
tion of  ail  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  may 
be  safely  inferred,  for  the  redemption  is  not 


I 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS: 


97 


only  copious,  but  durable ;  all  its  blessings 
are  stamped  with  eternity,  for  Jesus  has  ob- 
tained eternal  redemption  for  us.  Heb.  ix. 
12.  Therefore  ol"  the  way  of  holiness  it  is 
asserted  by  the  lip  of  truth,  that  "  the  re- 
deemed of  the  Lord  shall  walk  there,  and 
the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall  return  and 
come  to  Zion  witli  songs  and  everlasting 
joy  upon  their  heads ;  they  shall  obtain 
joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sighing 
shall  flee  away."  Isaiali,  xxxv,  9, 10.  Once 
more. 

Fifthly.  The  doctrine  of  final  persever- 
ance can  scarce  be  thought  discouraging  to 
the  saints,  and  none  but  such  ought  to  be 
encouraged  to  hope  they  shall  be  saved. 
Those  who  are  entered  upon  a  journey,  and 
are  very  desirous  of  a  safe  arrival,  will  not 
count  it  a  disadvantage  to  have  a  faithfid 
and  infallible  guide,  who  will  watch  over 
them  night  and  day,  and  never  leave  them, 
but  conduct  them  through  every  difficulty 
they  may  meet  with.  Is  it  reasonable  to 
suppose  they  will  be  discouraged  to  hear 
that  ev«ry  thing  is  previously  prepared  by 
a  kind  friend  that  went  on  purpose,  as  theii 
forerunner  for  their  accommodation  while  on 
the  road,  and  their  joyful  entrance  and 
welcome  reception  to  those  mansions  where 
they  wish  to  dwell  for  ever  ? 

Would  it  sink  the  courage  of  a  soldier, 
or  cause  him  to  enter  the  field  of  battle 
with  reluctance,  because  he  is  given  to  ua 
derstand,  that  no  one  who  draws  the  sword 
in  favor  of  his  sovereign  shall  be  slain,  but 
shall  assuredly  gain  a  glorious  victory,  and 
return  with  songs  of  triumph  to  the  grand 
metropolis,  the  seat  of  royalty,  and  there  in 
the  midst  of  millions  ol"  joylul  spectators 
receive  every  mark  of  honor  and  approba 
tion  which  can  be  desired  from  the  king? 

Would  the  loving  spouse,  who  is  at  a 
vast  and  dangerous  distance  from  her  royal 
husband,  be  distressed,  because  he  has  con 
certed  measures  for  her  honorable  arrival 
at  his  palace,  and  sent  both  his  cliariot  and 
his  guards  to  conduct  her  home  with  a  mes 
sage,  assuring  her  he  cannot  be  satisfied 
without  her  presence,  and  to  see  her  a  part- 
ner with  him  on  his  throne  1 

If  the  above  cannot  be  supposed,  how 
then  can  Christians  be  cast  down  by  that 
which  ensures  their  final  salvation  and  the 
fulfilment  of  all  their  vast  desires?  The 
doctrine,  if  properly  understood,  cannot  be 
deemed  in  its  own  nature  disadvantageous 
to  any  man,  though  it  be  frequently  abused, 
as  every  other  part  of  revelation  is,  and 
likewise  its  Divine  Author.  It  does  not  en- 
courage sloth,  or  suppose  the  exercise  of 
grace  unnecessary,  and  caution  needless. 
No,  it  is  "  through  faith  and  patience  they 
inherit  the  promises."  The  intention  and 
design  ol  the  great  and  precious  promises 
are  to  encourage   a  close   adherence    to 

Vol.  3.— M. 


Christ,  and  a  continuation  in  well  doing,  as 
connected  with  eternal  life.  And  it  is  a 
stimulating  motive  not  to  be  idle,  when  they 
know  their  labor  shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the 
Lord.  1  Cor.  xv.  58.  To  know  that  the 
doctrine  is  a  trutli,  I  need  only  say.  Search 
the  scriptures,  which  testify  of  Christ's  near 
relation  to  tiiem :  the  strength  of  his  love 
towards  them ;  the  infinite  price  he  gave 
for  them ;  the  change  he  has  wrought  in 
them,  and  the  declaration  he  has  made 
concerning  them,  that  where  he  is  they  shall 
be,  and  because  he  lives  they  shall  live 
also. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Mysteries  of  Providence. 

Many  Christians  have  been,  and  are 
stumbled  and  much  discouraged  because  of 
God's  providences  appearing  in  various  in- 
stances contrary  to  his  promises.  To  con- 
sider them  as  real  opposites,  the  good  man 
knows  would  be  daring  infidelity.  But  not 
being  able  to  reconcile  them  as  relating  to 
himself,  he  therefore  is  ready  to  conclude, 
that  as  providences  are  gloomy  and  appear 
against  him,  he  has  no  right  to  interpret 
the  promises  of  God  in  his  favor.  It  may 
be  a  relief  to  such  to  observe. 

First;  Jehovah's  proceedings  are  ex- 
tremely mysterious.  "  His  ways  are  in  the 
sea,  and  his  footsteps  are  not  known."  As 
the  Governor  of  the  world,  "Clouds  and 
darkness  are  round  about  him,"  the  most 
penetrating  creature  cannot  pry  into  his 
deep  and  vast  designs.  To  impeach  his 
conduct  is  the  greatest  insolence,  to  pre- 
scribe to  him  rules  of  propriety,  is  horrid 
presumption.  We  ought  to  "  be  still,  and 
know  that  he  is  God,"  and  does  all  things 
well ;  therefore  as  relating  to  his  will  and 
operations,  we  may  truly  say,  Whatever  is, 
is  best.  The  history  of  Joseph  is  a  striking 
proof  of  the  mystery  of  Providence ;  the 
Lord's  kindness  to  him  at  last  appeared, 
notwithstanding  all  the  awful  consequences 
attending  his  brethren's  cruelty ;  through 
ignominy  he  was  brought  to  honor ;  through 
slavery,  to  liberty  and  authority  ;  yea,  by 
means  of  an  irksome  prison  he  was  advanced 
to  the  splendor  of  a  palace.  Therefore  let 
discouraged  Christians  wait  with  patience, 
till  they  see  in  what  their  trials  may  termi- 
nate ;  wherein  a  decision  is  difficult  and 
dangerous,  a  suspension  of  judgment  is  pru- 
dent and  safe;  therefore  judge  nothing  be- 
fore the  time. 

Secondly;  Consider,  good  and  great  men 
have  frequently  been  mistaken  when  they 
have  ventured  to  pass  judgment  on  the  pro- 
ceedings of  God.  David  thought  he  should 
one  day  die  by  the  hand  of  Saul.    Provi- 


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HELP    TO    Z  ION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


dence  wore,  for  a  time,  such  a  gloomy  aspect, 
that  he  concluded  the  prophecies  and  prom- 
ises respecting  him  would  never  be  accom- 
phshed,  and  tliat  the  mesfjcngers  of  God 
were  liars.  Jacob,  in  a  trying  period,  said 
of  Divine  dispensations,  '•  All  these  tilings 
are  against  me."  And  yet  those  very  prov- 
idences brought  him  into  such  a  state  of 
honor,  comlbrt,  and  tranquility,  as  he  never 
before  enjoyed.  This  is  furdier  evident 
from  good  Asaph's  query,  "  Will  the  Lord 
cast  oft'  lor  ever :  will  he  be  favorable  no 
more '?  Is  his  mercy  clean  gone  for  ever  ? 
Doth  his  promise  fail  for  evermore  ?  Hath 
God  forgotten  to  be  gracious '?  Hath  he  in 
his  anger  shut  up  his  tender  mercies  ?" 
Psalm  Ixxvii.  7,  8.  And  so  awful  and  in- 
tricate were  the  Divine  proceedings  toward 
holy  Job,  that  he  appeared  to  his  friends  as 
a  singular  object  of  God's  displeasure.  Yea, 
he  himself  verily  thought  the  Lord  counted 
him  as  an  enemy,  and  treated  him  as  such. 
You  who  tiiink  there  is  no  sorrov/  like 
unto  your  sorrow,  attend  to  the  lamenta- 
tion 01  that  holy  man  of  God,  which  he  ut 
tered  in  the  anguish  of  his  spirit,  and  the 
complaint  which  he  made  in  the  bittcrnes 
of  his  soul,  recorded  in  chap.  vii.  from  verse 
3,  chap,  xiii  24,  27,  chap.  xvi.  and  chap,  xix 
6,  21 ;  and  yet  before  the  commencement 
of  his  trials,  and  after  their  accomplish- 
ment, Jchovali  declares  him  to  have  been  not 
only  truly  religious,  but  the  most  eminent  oi 
all  his  servants  then  on  earth ;  and  Jeremi- 
ah, who  with  remarkable  courage  pleaded 
on  Heaven's  behalf  against  a  revolted,  God- 
provoking  nation,  tiiough  he  had  sweet  in 
tercourse  with  ti\e  Most  High,  yet,  through 
a  complication  of  difficulties  and  trying  dis 
pensations,  he  said,  "  Surely  against  me  is 
he  turned."  Lam.  iii.  3.  Such  discour 
agements  have  not  only  attended  some  few 
individuals  who  have  been  called  to  bear 
the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day,  but  have 
accompanied  the  people  of  God  in  general, 
while  m  this  vale  of  tears;  for  "  Zion  said, 
the  Lord  hath  forsaken  me,  and  my  Lord 
hath  forgotten  me."  Lsaiah  xlix.  14.  The 
above,  and  many  more  instances  of  the  like 
kind,  are  left  on  sacred  record,  not  for  our 
inntation,  but  admonition :  these  mournful 
proofs  of  human  weakness  may  serve  to  con 
vince  us  of  our  incapacity  to  discover,  in 
dark  dispen-sations,  tlie  harmony  and  con 
section  between  the  kindness  of  God's 
heart,  and  tlie  operations  of  liis  hand ; 
likewise  of  the  necesssity  of  walking  by  faith, 
and  not  by  sight  Those,  therefore,  "  who 
are  in  darkness,  and  have  no  light,"  are 
graciously  invited  and  kindly  encouraged 
to  '-trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  stay 
themselves  upon  their  God."  Isaiah,  li.  10. 
"  You  have  heard  of  the  jiatience  of  Job, 
and  liave  seen  the  end  ol"  the  Lord,  that 
ibe  Lord  is  very  pitiful  and  of  tender  mer- 


cy." May  the  discouraged  Christian  then 
come  to  the  same  resolution,  which  that 
eminent  man  of  God,  did,  saying,  "  Though 
he  slay  me,  yet  I  will  trust  in  him."  Job, 
xiii.  15.     Consider, 

Thirdly ;  That  by  such  trying  providen- 
ces the  Lord  discovers  tp  his  people  what 
is  in  their  hearts  (see  Deut.  viii,  2,)  by  which 
their  humility  and  repentance  are  promoted, 
and  their  dependence  on  God  increased  ; 
they  are  thereby  put  upon  sell-examination, 
in  order  to  know  why  the  Lord  contendeth 
with  them :  each  one,  therelbre,  with  sol- 
enni  seriousness,  is  brought  to  interrogate 
conscience,  saying.  What  have  I  done? 
And  seeing  the  absolute  necessity  of  direct- 
ion, support,  and  pardon,  they  become  more 
frequent  and  fervent  in  prayer.  Like  Jacob, 
they  retire  from  the  world  to  wrestle  with  , 
God ;  and  being  encouraged  by  his  pre- 
cious promises,  are  therefore  resolved  not 
to  let  him  go  without  a  blessing ;  therefore 
they  cry  unto  him  day  and  night,  (Luke, 
xviii.)  praying  without  ceasing.  And  many 
kind  interpositions  of  Providences  are  re- 
corded in  sc.ipture,  and  are  still  experienc- 
ed by  his  people,  who  have  by  adverse  dis- 
pensations been  stirred  up  to  seek  tlie  Lord 
with  their  whole  hearts.  When  Jacob  wept 
and  made  supplication  to  his  God,  the  ter- 
rible prospect  of  his  brother's  approaching 
him  at  the  head  of  a  furious  army,  breath- 
ing vengeance,  was  changed  into  a  melting 
scene  of  tender  friendship  and  aflisction. 
Esau's  dreadful  designs  were  at  once  dis- 
missed ;  and  instead  of  killing,  he  salutes 
his  brother  with  kisses  of  kindness,  and  gen- 
erously oilers  his  service  for  his  future  pro- 
tection. 

Thus  providences  are  in  fact  designed  to 
fulfil  the  promises  of  God  in  a  way  which 
prepares  the  minds  of  his  people  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  i'avor  he  intends  to  confer ; 
so  that  God's  wisdom,  as  well  as  his  good- 
ness, power,  and  veracity,  becomes  the  ob- 
ject of  admiration;  for  thereby  the  Lord 
makes  crooked  things  straight,  and  rough 
places  plain,  humbles  and  yet  lielps,  discov- 
ers the  corruption  of  the  human  heart ;  and 
thus  from  a  sense  of  meanness  and  misery, 
difficulty  and  danger,  deliverances  appear 
more  conspicuously  the  effects  of  wonder- 
ful grace. 

Tims  God  trieth  tJje  righteous  by  a  sus- 
pension of  promised  mercies,  which  delays 
are  often  interpreted  as  denials,  through 
the  prevalency  of  unbelief.  But  let  tried 
Christians  consider  tlie  conduct  of  Provi- 
dence towards  the  heirs  of  promise,  as  re- 
corded in  scripture,  in  order  to  the  support 
of  hope,  and  a  patient  waiting  for  Christ. 
Abraham  Avas  kept  waiting  five-and-twcnty 
years,  and  then  with  joy  embraced  the  prom 
ised  son.  Again,  consider,  promised  mer- 
cies frequently  arc  mibtakcn  in  their  first 


HELP    TO    Z  ION'S     TRAVELLERS. 


99 


appearance,  through  their  being  viewed  by 
the  eye  of  sense  and  reason,  as  clothed 
with  the  garb  of  misery.  The  choicest 
mercies  have  commonly  come  in  disguise  ; 
therefore  who  can  by  present  appearances 
know  what  is  good  lor  a  man  in  this  hfe, 
all  the  days  of  his  vain  life  which  he  spend- 
eth  as  a  shadow?  Eccles.  vi.  12.  How- 
ever, it  is  evident,  from  an  impartial  survey 
of  Jehovah's  conduct,  that  the  methods  he 
takes  to  accomplish  his  own  gracious  de- 
signs, and  his  people's  holy  desires,  are  all 
worthy  of  himselt,  though  frequently  the 
very  reverse  of  tlie  plans  of  finite  wisdom ;  as 
remarkably  evidenced  in  his  dealings  with 
Abraham,  Jacob,  Joseph,  Moses,  David, 
Daniel,  and  many  others  whose  religious 
characters  shine  as  stars  of  the  first  magni- 
tude in  the  horizon  of  grace. 

Fourthly ;  Another  spring  of  perplexity 
arising  in  the  minds  of  many,  respecting 
the  providences  of  God,  is,  mistaken  views 
of  the  nature  of  Divine  promises.  Spirit- 
ual blessing  promised  m  the  scriptures  are 
frequently  construed  as  including  certain 
degrees  of  temporal  felicity.  Such  an  in- 
terpretation prevailed  among  the  disciples 
of  Christ;  and  being  disappointed  in  their 
hopes  of  such  enjoyments,  therefore  sorrow 
filled  their  hearts,  the  expectation  of  earthly 
dignity  and  worldly  splendor  beclouded 
their  minds,  and  darkened  their  understand- 
ing respecting  the  spiritual  glories  of  Christ, 
the  nature  of  his  kingdom,  and  designs  of 
his  death.  Though  there  Avas  an  inconsis- 
tency and  real  contrariety  in  nature  be- 
tween the  proceedings  q(  God  and  his  ^ro??t- 
ises  as  interpreted  by  them,  yet  afterwards, 
when  favored  with  a  clearer  understanding 
of  the  scriptures,  they  saw  a  happy  harmo 
ny,  and  an  inseparable  connection  between 
them,  and  rejoiced  in  the  accomplishment 
of  the  promises  of  God,  which  were  all 
found  yea  and  amen  in  Christ  Jesus.  To 
prevent  the  like  mistake  among  believers 
in  future,  the  apostle  to  the  Hebrews  points 
out  the  various  trying  providences  attend- 
ing the  worthies  of  old ;  who  wandered 
about  in  sheep  skins  and  goat  skins,  being 
destitute,  afflicted,  tormented,  but  through 
faith  and  patience  are  now  inheriting  the 
promises.  Therelbre,  having  nothing  of 
this  world  is  not  inconsistent  with  inherit- 
ing all  things  which  relate  to  the  world  to 
come.  The  Lord  has  promised  to  ])rovide 
tor  his  people's  real  wants  in  this  life.  He 
hath  said,  "  Thy  bread  shall  be  given,  and 
thy  water  shall  be  sure  ;"  "  your  heavenly 
Father  knoweth  you  have  need  of  these 
things."  "He  careth  lor  you," — but  he 
hath  not  described  the  quality  or  quantity 
of  earthly  good,  with  which  you  shall  be 
fed.  Poverty,  yea  extreme  poverty,  has 
been  the  lot  of  many  who  were  evidently 
Uie  heirs  of  glorv.     The  churches  of  Christ 


in  Macedonia  were  in  deep  poverty.  Yet 
many  of  the  children  of  God  were  poorer 
than  they,  to  whose  relief  the  said  churches 
contributed,  even  beyond  their  power,  of 
which  the  apostle  Paul,  who  was  a  witness, 
bears  record,  2  Cor.  viii.  1,  2,  3,  4,  5.  "  And 
unto  the  church  in  Smyrna  write  these 
things,  saith  the  first  and  the  last,  which 
was  dead  and  is  alive,  I  know  thy  works 
and  tribulation  and  poverty,  but  thou  art 
rich."     Rev.  ii.  8,  9. 

"  Hearken,  my  beloved  brethren,  (saith 
a  compassionate  follower  of  Jesus,)  hath 
not  God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world,  rich 
in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom,  which 
he  hath  promised  to  them  that  love  him?" 
James,  ii.  5.  The  same  inspired  writer  even 
supposes  a  brother  or  sister  to  be  naked, 
and  destitute  of  daily  food,  ver.  15.  Such 
have  therefore  been  spoken  of  by  the  ap- 
pellation of  poor  saints,  Rom.  xv.  26.  A 
distressed  saint  may  lie  at  the  door  of  a 
rich  sinner  without  receiving  a  crumb  of 
relief,  and  appear  as  if  forsaken  by  God  and 
man.  But  oh,  how  great  the  change ! 
How  vast  the  dilference  in  eternity !  He 
who  seemed  as  if  neglected  by  Heaven 
and  earth,  ascends  at  death  to  glory  and  to 
Abraham's  bosom ;  while  the  sumptuous 
living  sinner  sinks  down  to  liell,  and  being 
in  torment,  asks  in  vain  lor  a  drop  of  water 
to  cool  his  scorched  tongue.  But  of  Laza- 
rus, it  is  said  with  an  air  of  sacred  pleas- 
ure, NOW  he  is  comforted.     Again, 

Fifthly ;  Some  have  great  discourage- 
ments and  perplexity,  arising  from  the  fail- 
ure of  what  they  have  consiilered  as  special 
and  direct  promises  made  to  them  in  par- 
ticular, as  relating  to  the  path  of  duty,  or 
the  enjoyment  of  some  tuture  good.  The 
persuasion  of  promises  being  made  to  them 
in  particular  arose  perhaps  from  some  por- 
tion of  scripture  being  impressed  on  their 
mind,  the  terms  and  language  of  which 
were  exactly  suitable  to  what  they  had 
been  seeking  the  Lord  about,  and  therefore 
deemed  expressive  of  his  mind  in  that  par- 
ticular ;  the  failure,  therefore,  of  these,  dis- 
courages their  hope  respecting  the  fulfil- 
ment of  those  which  relate  to  their  eternal 
salvation.  For  the  relief  of  such  I  would 
observe,  that  though  it  is  not  denied  but  in 
some  special  cases  the  Lord  may  have  fa- 
vored some  of  his  people  with  intimations 
of  his  mind  in  the  manner  aforesaid,  never- 
theless there  is  commonly  danger  and  dis- 
appointment attending  such  a  construction 
of  scripture  in  ordinary  atfairs ;  for  we  need 
no  new  revelation  to  point  out  the  path  of 
dut}^,  the  scriptures  being  sufficient  for  such 
a  purpose,  and  a  more  sure  word  of  proph- 
ecy than  any  thing  referred  to  above.  A 
criminal  curiosity  to  pry  into,  or  sinful  anx- 
iety to  know  future  events,  the  Lord  in 
mercy  may  reprove  in  his  people,  by  dis- 


100 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


appointments.  The  design  of  the  promises 
ol'  God  is  to  encourage  faith  and  hope  in 
tlie  Lord,  tliat  he  will  provide  what  he  sees 
necessary  lor,  and  give  what  is  good  to 
those  who  fear  him  ;  but  not  to  mal<e  a  pre 
vious  discover^'  in  what  munner  he  will  sup 
port  and  supply.  Even  Moses,  the  man  of 
God,  seems  to  have  been  mistaken  in  re 
gard  to  the  time  when,  and  the  means  by 
which  the  Lord  intended  to  accomplish  the 
deliverance  of  his  people  Irom  the  bondage 
of  Egypt ;  for  when  he  defended  the  injur- 
ed Israelite,  and  avenged  him  that  was  op- 
pressed, he  supposed  his  brethren  would 
have  understood  how  that  God  by  his  hand 
would  have  delivered  them,  but  they  un- 
derstood not ;  Acts,  vii.  25.  And  instead 
of  his  being  then  embraced  as  a  dehverer, 
he  was  informed  against,  and  banished  as 
a  delinquent.  He  continued  in  a  state  of 
exile  ibr  forty  years  ;  and  afterwards,  when 
the  Lord  sent  him  from  Midian  to  Pharaoh, 
to  demand  in  his  name  Israel's  release,  in- 
stead of  deliverance,  their  bondage  was  in- 
creased, and  his  conduct  they  severely  cen- 
sured ;  on  which  account  he  returned  unto 
the  Lord,  and  said,  "  Lord,  wherefore  hast 
thou  so  evil  entreated  this  people?  Why 
is  it  thou  hast  sent  me  ?  For  since  I  came 
to  Pharaoh  to  speak  in  thy  name,  he  hath 
done  evil  to  this  people  ;  neither  hast  thou 
delivered  thy  people  at  all ;"  Exod.  v.  21 — 
23.  And  when  providences  turned  up  con- 
trary to  what  Jeremiah  expected,  he  in  the 
bitterness  of  his  soul  uttered  these  awful 
words:  "O  Lord,  thou  hast  deceived  me, 
and  I  was  deceived."  Jer.  xx.  7.  From 
the  above  instances  it  is  evident  that  per- 
sons may  be  in  some  cases  disappointed  in 
their  most  sanguine  expectations  in  regard 
to  the  dispensations  of  God  in  this  lite,  and 
yet  the  foundation  of  their  hope  remain  un- 
shaken in  reference  to  eternal  salvation. 
May  Christians  be  cautious,  and  not  use 
the  word  of  the  Lord  in  such  a  manner, 
and  for  such  purposes,  as  were  never  in- 
tended !  To  interpret  the  designs  of  God. 
from  detached  sentences,  either  impressed 
on  the  mind,  or  as  first  presented  to  the  eye 
on  opening  the  sacred  volume,  is  very  inju- 
dicious, and  has  an  entangling  tendency ; 
therefore,  as  the  apostle  says,  "  We  do  not 
cease  to  pray  for  you,  and  to  desire  that  ye 
miight  be  filled  -with  the  knowledge  of  his 
will  in  all  wisdom  and  spiritual  widersland- 
ingy  Col.  i.  9.  In  order  to  which  may 
you  be  enabled  to  compare  spiritual  things 
with  spiritual;  1  Cor.  ii.  13.  Col.  iii.  1(3. 
"  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  in  all 
wisdom." 

May  we  all  consider  that  the  mistakes  of 
eminent  saints  are  recorded,  not  for  our 
imitation,  but  our  admonition,  arid  to  pre- 
vent overwhelming  despondency  on  view- 
ing our  own  mistakes,  and  to  show  the  ne- 


cessity of  a  strict  careful  examination  of 
ourselve.s,  fervent  application  to  God,  an 
humble  dependence  on  him,  connected  with 
cheerful  obedience  to  him,  and  a  patient 
waiting  for  him.  "  For  whatsoever  tilings 
were  written  aforetime,  were  written  for 
our  learning;  that  we,  tlirough  patience 
and  comfort  of  the  scriptures,  might  have 
hope."     Rom.  xv.  4. 


PART     III. 

PRACTICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

[There  are  several  stumbling-blocks  in  the 
way  of  Zion's  travellers,  which  are  more 
properly  classed  under  the  head  of  "  prac- 
tical difficulties"  than  under  either  of  the 
preceding ;  viz.  such  as  arise  out  of  the 
sinful  conduct  of  professors  of  religion, 
the  enmity  of  the  world,  and  the  heresies 
of  false  religionists.  These  impediments 
in  tlte  way  to  heaven  will  now  be  briefly 
considered.] 


CHAPTER  I. 
Sins  of  Professors. 

The  disposition  and  conduct  of  some 
professors  of  religion  is  very  stumbling  to 
serious  inquirers  after  the  way  in  which 
they  should  walk. 

First;  A  proud  censorious  spirit,  con-» 
demning  the  weak  as  worthless,  and  treat- 
ing inferiors  with  an  air  of  contempt,  is 
very  trying  and  discouraging.  But  who 
hatli  despised  the  day  of  small  things? 
God  does  not,  therefore  men  ought  not ; 
and  it  is  certain  a  humble  Christian  cannot. 
Let  the  Aveak  and  discouraged  Christian- 
contemplate  the  compassionate  Saviour,' 
who  will  not  break  the  bruised  reed,  nor 
quench  the  smoking  flax.  The  lambs  he 
will  lay  in  his  bosom,  and  gently  lead  those 
that  are  with  young,  and  to  them  who  have 
no  might  he  will  increase  strength ;  the 
strongest  believer  was  once  ababe  in  Christ; 
the  tallest  cedar  once  was  not  superior  to 
the  lowest  shrub ;  and  the  stoutest  oak 
was  once  in  as  tender  a  state  as  a  feeble 
straw.  How  unreasonable  then  to  despise 
the  weak,  seeing  those  who  have  arrived 
lo  the  highest  eminence  in  religion,  in  what- 
ever sense  they  may  be  said  to  be  great, 
yet  their  beginnings  were  but  small.  Those, 
therefore,  who  are  strong,  ought  to  bear  the 
infirmities  of  the  weak,  and  not  to  please 
themselves.    Support  the  weak,  is  the  Lord's 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


101 


express  command.  Hence,  says  the  apos- 
tle, "  let  us  not  therefore  judge  one  another 
any  more,  but  judge  this  rather,  that  no 
man  put  a  stumbHng-block,  or  an  occasion 
to  fall,  in  his  brother's  way."  Rom.  xv.  13. 
Secondly  ;  Loose  professors  are  extreme- 
ly pernicious;  of  such  the  apostle  spake 
with  weeping,  and  pronounced  them  ene- 
mies to  the  cross  of  Christ.  By  them  saints 
are  discouraged  and  sinners  hardened ; 
through  them  the  good  ways  of  God  are 
evil  spoken  of,  and  religion  reproached,  the 
righteous  traduced,  and  the  name  of  the 
Lord  blasphemed.  When  professors  fall 
into  sin,  the  cry  of  the  profane  is.  This  is 
their  religion.  But  ihe  established  Chris- 
tian with  sigliing  says ;  No,  such  miscar- 
riages are  owing  to  its  absence.  But  weak 
believers  are  not  only  grieved,  but  silenced 
and  confounded :  and  when  those  who  are 
eminent  for  God  are  overcome  by  the  de- 
ceitfulness  of  sin  or  the  violence  of  tempta- 
tion, Christians  in  general  are  alai'med,  as 
when  a  standard-bearer  faintetla ;  and  some 
are  thereby  for  a  time  so  discouraged,  that 
they  dare  not  profess  religion,  fearing  they 
should  likewise  act  an  unbecoming  part, 
and  deeper  wound  its  reputation.  Thus 
they  linger,  though  they  love,  not  daring  to 

Eroceed  for  fear  of  falling.  Others,  to  avoid 
eing  sharers  in  reproach,  sigh  and  go  back- 
wards into  a  state  of  pretended  neutrality. 
Again,  some  notorious  transgressors,  term- 
ed sinneTS  in  Zion,  when  reproved  ibr  tlieir 
sins,  and  admonished  according  to  Christ's 
direction  given  in  the  scriptures,  and  espe- 
cially such  as  are  excluded  from  church 
communion  on  account  ol"  their  abomina- 
tions, will,  from  a  spirit  of  revenge,  join 
affinity  with  the  world,  and  Satan  like,  turn 
accusers  of  the  brethren  with  whom  they 
were  connected,  and  of  whom  they  will 
speak  all  manner  of  evil.  Such  impenitent 
apostates,  stooping  to  the  low  office  of  cooks 
in  the  devil's  kitchen,  will  frequently  dress 
up  the  imperfections  of  professors  of  reli- 
gion, so  as  to  gratify  the  taste  of  the  un- 
godly, to  whom  the  sins  of  the  saints  afford 
high  entertainment,  and  on  which  the  pro- 
fane frequently  feast  with  sweet  satisfaction, 
as  saith  the  Lord ;  "  They  eat  up  the  sin 
of  my  people,  and  they  set  their  heart  on 
their  iniquity."  Hos.  iv.  8,  9.  In  conse- 
quence of  which  those  Avho  sigh  for  the 
abounding  abominations  of  the  land,  and 
are  active  for  God  in  Zion,  become  the  de- 
rision of  fools,  and  the  song  of  the  drunk- 
ards; on  which  account  they  frequently 
adopt  David's  lamentation,  who  on  the  like 
occasion  said ;  "  Woe  is  me,  that  I  sojourn 
in  Mesech,  that  I  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Ke- 
dar."     Psalm  cxx.  5. 

Such  things,  it  is   confessed,  are  very 
trying;  but  shall  religion  be  deserted  be- 


cause it  is  dishonored?  No,  God  forbid j 
the  Lord's  cause  is  good  and  honorable. 
Christ  and  religion  are  no  worse  for  being 
betrayed,  denied,  or  misused.  Shall  the 
rebellion  of  some  be  urged  in  favor  of  dis- 
loyalty to  our  heavenly  Sovereign  ?  Ought 
we  to  be  inactive  because  others  are  indo- 
lent? Or  resolve  not  to  be  true,  because 
they  are  treacherous  ?  When  Christ  was 
deserted  by  various  pretended  friends,  he 
addressed  his  few  remaining  followers  thus : 
"  Will  ye  also  go  away  ?"  To  which  Peter 
replied  in  the  name  of  the  rest ;  '•  Lord,  to 
whom  should  we  go  ?  thou  hast  the  words 
of  eternal  life."  May  every  lover  of  Jesus 
be  in  like  manner  resolved  to  adhere  to  him ! 
How  rational  the  resolution !  How  becom- 
ing the  determination  in  every  point  of 
view !  For  Jesus  is  possessed  of  every 
thing  relating  to  eternal  life :  he,  and  he 
only,  can  satisfy  and  save  the  immortal  soul. 
Is  sin  dreaded  as  aforesaid  ?  Let  such  con- 
sider which  is  the  most  likely  method  to  be 
kept  from  its  prevalency.  Surely  those 
whose  daily  cry  is.  Hold  me  up  and  then  I 
shall  be  safe,  cannot  with  calmness  con- 
clude, that  those  are  most  likely  to  be  heard 
of  God  and  kept  from  sin  who  disregard 
his  authority,  and  live  in  the  neglect  of  du- 
ty. A  prevailing  sense  of  weakness  is  no 
indication  of  danger ;  no,  pride  goeth  be- 
fore destruction,  and  a  haughty  spirit  before 
a  fall.  The  Christian  ought  to  consider, 
the  fewer  they  are  that  engage  heartily  in 
the  cause  of  real  religion,  and  the  greater 
the  opposition  made  to  it,  the  more  is  his 
assistance  needed.  May  such  resolve  "  to 
go  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord  God,  making 
mention  of  his  righteousness,  and  of  his 
only."  Though  you  proceed  witli  tremb- 
ling steps,  the  Lord  can  make  you  say  and 
sing  with  holy  triumph,  "  The  bows  of  the 
mighty  men  are  broken,  and  they  that  stum- 
bled are  girt  with  strength."  "The  God 
of  Israel  is  he  that  giveth  strength  and 
power  unto  his  people ;  blessed  be  God." 
1  Sam.  ii.  4.  Psalm  Ixviii.  35.  Those  who 
continue  cool  spectators,  caring  for  none  of 
these  things,  would  do  well  to  consider  that 
the  Lord  allows  of  no  neutrality  in  the  im- 
portant and  perpetual  contest  between  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven  and  that  of  hell,  but 
says,  "  He  that  is  not  for  us,  is  against  us." 
He  abhors  a  state  of  indifference  in  matters 
of  religion.  "  I  would,"  says  he,  "  thou 
wert  cold  or  hot ;  so  then  because  thou  art 
lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will 
spew  thee  out  of  my  mouth."  Rev.  iii.  15, 
16.  How  alarming  the  language  in  Debo- 
rah's song  respecting  those  of  the  afore- 
said disposition  and  conduct!  "Curse  ye 
Meroz  (said  the  angel  of  die  Lord,)  curse 
ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof,  because 
they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to 


102 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


the  help  of  the  Lord  aE^ainst  the  mipfhty." 
Judges,  V.  23.  May  llie  supine  Clirislian 
hear  aiid  fear  I 


CHAPTER  II. 

Enmity  of  the  World. 

Some  are  stumbled  on  account  of  the 
cross,  or  the  reproach  and  persecution  at- 
tending religion.  A  prospect  of  sutVering 
\\\  their  persons,  projierty,  or  cliaractci',  is 
grievous  to  nature  and  trying  to  grace.  In 
regard  to  rcj)ruaches  Ironi  men,  we  may 
observe,  those  who  do  not  deserve  them, 
need  not  dread  them.  "  II'  ye  be  reproach- 
ed ibr  the  name  of  Christ,  liappy  are  ye, 
for  the  spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  rcsteth 
upon  you  ;  on  tlicir  part  he  is  evil  spolcen 
of,  but  on  your  part  he  is  glorified."  1  Pet. 
iv.  14.  '•  Cruel  mockings.  reproaches,  and 
persecutions"  (Heb.  xi.  36,  38)  have  been 
the  lot  of  the  righteous  in  every  age,  who 
are  generally  called  to  endure  a  great  fight 
of  afflictions  as  soon  as  they  are  illuminated, 

Eartly  whilst  they  are  made  a  gazing-stock, 
oth  by  reproaches  and  afflictions,  and 
partly  whilst  they  become  companions  of 
thcni  who  are  so  used.  Heb.  x.  33.  "  If 
any  man  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus, 
he  must  sutler  persecution ;  for  as  of  old, 
he  tliat  was  born  after  the  flesh  lerse- 
cuted  him  that  Avas  born  atler  the  Spirit, 
even  so  it  is  now."  Gal.  iv.  29.  But  al- 
though such  treatment  is  very  trying,  yet 
consider  how^  much  more  dreadful  arc  the 
frowns  of  God  and  the  stings  of  conscience. 
Jehovah's  smiles  will  compensate  lor,  and 
infinitely  outweigh  the  revilings  of  men,  or 
the  rage  of  the  devil;  yet  a  little  Avhile, 
and  the  wicked  shall  cease  from  troubling, 
and  the  weary  shall  be  at  rest.  "Heark- 
en unto  me  (saith  the  Lord,)  ye  tliat  know 
righteousness,  the  people  in  whose  heart  is 
my  law.  Fear  ye  not  the  reproach  of  men, 
neither  be  ye  afraid  of  their  revilings,  for 
the  moth  shall  eat  them  up  like  a  garment, 
and  the  worm  shall  eat  them  like  wool ; 
but  my  righteousness  shall  be  tor  ever,  and 
my  salvation  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion." Isaiah,  Iviii.  7,  8.  Attend,  O  dis- 
couraged Christian,  to  the  Saviour's  cheer- 
ing language.  He  says,  "  Blessed  are  ye 
wlien  men  shall  hate  you,  nnd  wlien  tliey 
shall  separate  you  from  their  company,  and 
shall  reproach  you,  and  cast  out  your  name 
as  evil,  for  the  Son  of  man's  sake.  Rejoice 
and  leap  for  joy ;  for  behold  your  reward  is 
great  in  heaven."  Luke,  vi.  22.  Accord- 
ingly we  find  the  apostles  "  rejoiced  that 
they  were  comited  wortliy  to  suffer  shame 
for  his  name's  sake ;"  "  therefore  (says 
Paul)  I  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  in  re 
preaches,  in  ncceseities.  in    distresses,  for 


Christ's  sake ;  for  when  I  am  weak,  then 
am  I  strong."  2  Cor.  xii.  10.  Wherefore 
let  no  man's  heart  fail  him  because  of  these 
things,  nor  be  discouraged  because  of"  the 
way :  the  Lord  is  able  to  make  you  rejoice 
in  tribulation,  through  which  you  must  en- 
ter the  kingdom,  and  at  last  will  crown 
your  conflicts  with  victory,  and  turn  your 
pensive  sighs  into  perpetual  songs.  Keep 
in  view  the  blessed  Jesus  as  your  pattern, 
who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not 
again ;  return  not  railing  for  railings,  but 
pity  and  pray  for  them  who  despitefully  use 
you  and  persecute  you,  saying,  Father,  for- 
give them,  for  tjiey  know  not  what  they  do. 
Take  care  you  are  neither  ashamed  of  re- 
ligion, nor  a  shame  to  it;  therefore  in  all 
things  be  ye  circumspect,  consider  him 
that  endured  such  contradiction  of  sinners 
against  him.self,  lest  ye  be  wearied  and  iaint 
in  your  minds.  As  he  through  the  hope 
set  before  him  endured  the  cross,  and  des- 
pised the  shame,  (Heb.  xii.)  tlierelbre  arm 
yourself  likewise  with  the  same  mind;  H 
Pet.  iv.  ],)  and  having  put  on  the  whole 
armor  of  God,  stand  fast  in  tlie  faith,  quit 
yourselves  like  men,  be  strong  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  lift  up  your  banners,  and  fight 
the  good  fight  of  faith.  The  heroic  Paul, 
when  he  rcconnoitered  the  host  of  invete- 
rate foes,  and  viewed  surrounding  difficult- 
ies and  approaching  dangers,  said,  "  None 
of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I 
my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might 
finish  my  cour.se  with  joy;"  and  W'hen 
methods  of  prudence  were  proposed  by  his 
vi^eeping  friends,  to  aviod  impending  dan- 
ger, he,  considering  tlie  advice  inconsist- 
ent with  Christian  duty  and  dignit})-,  replied 
with  warmth  and  holy  vehemence,  "  What 
mean  ye  to  weep,  and  break  mine  heart? 
tor  I  am  readj^  not  to  be  bound  only,  but 
also  to  die  at  Jerusalem  for  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus."  Acts,  xx.  24 ;  xxi.  13 ;  2  Cor. 
iv.  17.  His  heavy  trials,  which  continued 
through  life,  he  considered  as  light  and 
short,  when  compared  with  the  durable  de- 
lights in  a  future  world,  even  a  far  more 
exceeding  and  eterncil  weight  of  glory. 
Then  those  who  have  faithfully  followed 
the  Lord  through  difficulties,  dangers,  and 
death,  Avill  meet  with  peculiar  approbation 
and  distinguished  honors  ;  then  tlie  Cap- 
tain of  our  salvation  shall  recount  his  worth- 
ies ;  Nahum,  ii.  5 ;  Rev.  vii.  14  ;  wlio  will 
appear  with  the  ensigns  of  victory  and  the 
trophies  of  triumph  in  the  new  Jerusalem, 
of  whom  the  applauding  inhabitants  will 
with  joy  sing.  These  are  they  which  came 
ont  of  great  tribulation.  Then  the  trial  of 
your  faith  will  be  found  more  precious  than 
gold  which  perisheth.  The  believing  He- 
brews therefore  took  jojiully  the  spoiling 
of  their  goods,  knowing  that  in  heaven 
they  had  a  more  enduring  s\ibstance ;  and 


HELP     TO     Z  ION'S     TKAVELLERS. 


103 


Moses  chose  to  suffer  affliction  with  the 
people  of  God,  esteeming  the  reproach  of 
Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of 
Egypt :  for  he  had  respect  unto  the  recom- 
pense of  reward.  James,  v.  11.  "  Behold, 
we  count  them  happy  who  endure ;"  "  for 
in  due  time  ye  sliall  reap,  ii'  ye  faint  not;" 
'•  therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye 
steadfast,  unmoveable,  always  abounding 
in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye 
know  that  your  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the 
Lord."     1  Cor.  xv.  58. 


CHAPTER    III. 
Errors  of  False  Religionists. 

[The  errors  of  false  religionists  are  of 
two  kinds,  speculative  and  practical ;  and 
when  the  former  are  cherished  they  infalli- 
bly produce  the  latter. 

First ;  Speculative  errors  present  difficult- 
ies.] Some  are  prevented  attending  to 
practical  rehgion,  by  being  told  believers 
are  not  in  any  sense  under  the  law.  By 
the  law  we  are  frequently  to  understand 
the  covenant  of  works,  or  that  compact 
and  agreement  which  a  God  of  kindness 
and  condescension  made  witli  Adam,  as  the 
public  head  and  representative  of  his  off- 
spring. Adam  was  under  a  natural  and 
nexessary  obligation  to  obey  liis  Maker's 
will,  and  was  absolutely  dependent  on  God's 
sovereign  pleasure  for  the  continuance  of 
his  happy  existence.  A  right  to  everlast- 
ing life  he  could  never  have  procured  by 
his  most  ardent  affection  and  strict  obedi- 
ence to  God  and  his  law;  the  Lord  there- 
fore kindly  connected  the  promise  of  life 
with  man's  natural  duty,  and  threatened 
death  in  case  of  failure.  Thus  Adam's 
motives  to  obedience  were  increased,  being 
made  a  trustee  for  his  numerous  descend- 
ants. In  that  covenant  a  small  and  easy 
test  of  his  subjection  to  God  was  fixed 
upon.  Nothing  more  than  a  prohibition  of 
one  tree,  wliile  the  vast  and  various  produc- 
tions in  the  garden  of  God  were  hberaily 
granted  for  his  pleasure  and  profit.  In  the 
midst  of  which  likewise  flourished  that 
whicii  was  an  emblem  and  pledge  of  the 
promi-sed  blessing,  called  7V/e  7'/'te  of  Lifi;^ 
which  would  serve  to  confirm  his  taith  ui 
his  covenant  God,  and  invigorate  his  hope, 
that  his  obedience  might  be  secured,  in  or- 
der to  the  enjoyment  of  the  gracious  re- 
ward, and  that  he  might  escape  the  threat- 
ened punishment.  But,  alas  !  notwithstand- 
ing the  said  agreement  was  so  advantag- 
eous in  its  nature,  it  was  broken  by  our 
tirst  parent,  whereby  all  right  to  life,  on 
the  footing  of  law.  was  for  ever  forfeited, 


according  to  that  covenant ;  and  death,  the 
threatened  penalty,  was  incurred,  not  only 
respecting  his  own  person,  but  his  posteri- 
ty also.  "  Wherefore,  as  by  one  man  sin 
entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin, 
so  death  passed  upon  all,  lor  that  all  have 
sinned."  Rom.  v.  12.  Through  the  of- 
fence of  one  many  be  dead,  v.  15 ;  lor  by 
one  man's  offence  death  reigned.  By  the 
offence  of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all 
men ;  tor  by  one  man's  disobedience,  many 
were  made  sinners ;  v.  16  to  19.  The  apos- 
tle proves  there  was  a  covenant  or  law  be- 
fore that  given  by  Moses,  according  to 
which  the  whole  human  race  were  under 
the  sentence  of  condemnation;  for  until  the 
law  (given  on  Mount  Sinai)  sin  was  in  the 
world ;  but  sin  is  not  imputed  where  there 
is  no  law.  Nevertheless,  death  reigned 
from  Adam  to  Moses,  even  over  them  that 
had  not  sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's 
transgression;  Rom.  v.  13,  14.  The  law  of 
Moses  was  not  given  that  sinners  miglit  ob- 
tain life  byit;  for  by  the  law  is  the  knowledge 
of  sin  ;  Rom.  iii.  20.  It  was  added  because 
of  transgressions,  (Gal.  iii.  19,)  that  the  of- 
fence might  abound,  (Rom.  v.  20,)  that  ev- 
ery mouth  may  be  stopped,  and  the  whole 
world  may  become  guilty  before  God ; 
therefore  by  the  deeds  of  the  law,  there 
shall  no  flesti  be  justified  hi  his  sight.  Rom. 
in.  19,  20.  That  no  man  is  justified  by  the 
law  in  the  sight  of  God  is  evident ;  for  the 
just  siiall  live  by  his  faith,  and  the  law  is 
not  of  faith,  but  tlie  man  that  doth  them 
shall  live  in  them.  Gal.  iii.  11.  12.  But 
whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and 
yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all. 
James,  ii.  10 ;  for  considering  the  law  as  a 
covenant,  one  sin  destroys  a  title  to  legal 
life,  and  exposes  the  guilty  to  its  awful  pen- 
alty :  for  as  many  as  are  of  the  works  of 
the  law,  are  under  the  curse ;  for  it  is  writ- 
ten. Cursed  is  every  one  that  continuelh 
not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the 
hook  of  the  law  to  do  them.  Gal.  iii.  10 ; 
Deut.  xxvii.  26.  Believers,  therefore,  are 
not  inidcr  the  law  as  a  covenant ;  their  ex- 
pectation of,  and  right  to,  eternal  life,  does 
not  rise  from  their  personal  obedience,  nor 
is  their  hope  of  freedom  from  punishment 
luunded  on  any  compensation  wliich  tliey 
have  made  or  can  make  for  their  crimes ; 
through  Christ  they  are  dead  to  the  law  as 
promising  life,  or  punishing  with  death ; 
they  are  neither  under  its  promise  nor  its 
penalty:  their  covenant  comiection  with 
the  law  is  dissolved,  and  a  marriage  to 
Christ  commenced,  that  they  might  bring 
forth  fruit  unto  God.  Sec  Rom.  vii.  verse 
1  to  7.  That  real  believers  are  not  under 
the  laic,  hat  under  grace,  is  an  undeniable 
truth.  But  it  is  equally  evident,  thcij  are 
not  vrithout  law  to  God,  but  under  the  lave 


1U4 


HELP    TO    ZIOiN'S    TRAVELLERS. 


to  Christ.  That  there  is  no  contradiction 
in  these  scriptural  propositions  will  appear, 
it"  we  consider  the  Ibllowing  things : 

First ;  That  by  tlie  term  law,  we  are  to 
understiind  the  rule  of  moral,  and  likewise 
positive  obedience.  Moral  obedience  aris- 
eth  from  our  natural  connection  with  God, 
(as  the  Author  of  our  existence,)  and  with 
our  fellow-creatures,  and  consisteth  in  su- 
preme love  to  God,  and  an  equal  love  to  our 
neighbor  as  to  ourselves ;  so  that  the  whole 
law  is  comprehended  in  love.  Moral  com- 
mands arise  from,  and  are  founded  on,  the 
natural  propriefy  and  fitness  of  things,  and 
theretbreare  bindingonallrational  creatures 
in  this  world  and  that  Avhich  is  to  come. 
Whilst  the  relation  continues  between  the 
Creator  and  his  creatures,  their  obligation  to 
love  him  as  their  chief  good,  and  to  live  to  his 
honor  as  their  ultimate  end,  can  never 
cease ;  the  law,  therefore,  by  which  such 
love  and  obedience  are  entorced,  cannot 
possibly  vary.  Jehovah  does  not  demand 
our  highest  love  merely  because  of  his  au- 
thority over  us,  but  because  of  his  own 
infinite  excellency  and  relation  to  us.  He 
does  not  become  the  only  proper  object  of 
our  supreme  love  because  he  hath  com- 
manded us  so  to  love  him,  but  his  being  the 
only  Jit  object  of  our  superlative  affection 
is  the  reason  why  he  reqviires  it.  The  moral 
law  does  not  make  any  duty  fitting  and 
proper,  but  declares  and  requires  what  is 
BO.  Moral  commands,  tlaerefbre,  differ 
from, 

Secondly,  positive  appointments ;  the  lat- 
ter arise  simply  from  the  will  of  God,  and 
are  therefore  alterable  in  their  nature,  being 
altogether  dependent  on  his  pleasure  and 
sovereign  determination ;  the  propriety  of 
moral  obedience,  the  light  ot  natLire  or 
riglit  reason  may  discover.  But  no  idea 
can  be  formed  of  positive  obedience,  but  in 
consequence  of  Divine  revelation ;  the  for- 
mer is  due  from  every  creature,  whether 
angelic  or  human  ;  the  subjects  of  the  lat- 
ter are  particularly  described  in  the  holy 
scriptures.  Thus  the  Avhole  code  of  cere- 
monial laws  was  confined  to  Israel,  as  a 
shadow  of  good  things  to  come,  and  was 
done  away  in  Christ,  who  was  the  substance 
which  these  laws  tended  to  exhibit,  and  the 
end  in  which  they  terminated.  But  the 
moral  law  ever  was,  and  ever  will  be, 
equally  binding  on  all :  it  being  the  rule  of 
thtit  love  and  obedience  which  Jews  and 
Gentiles  naturally  owe  to  Jehovah,  the  su- 
preme good  and  tbuntain  of  existence ;  and 
to  each  other,  considered  as  his  offspring. 
Notwithstanding  the  ceremonial  law  under 
the  Old  Testament  was  accomplished  in 
Christ,  and  done  away  by  his  death,  he 
then,  as  it  were,  nailing  it  to  his  cross,  yet 
many  Jews  who  believed  in  Jesus  continued 
much  attached  to  the  ehadow,  though  the 


substance  was  come.  The  apostles,  there- 
fore, labored  to  prove  the  abrogation  of  that 
law  by  which  those  ceremonial  observances 
became  binding  on  the  church  of  God,  in 
the  former  dispensation.  These  appoint- 
ments had  been  revered  and  justly  esteem- 
ed, and  they  were  to  Israel  very  beneficial 
lor  two  purposes :  to  humble  them  under  a 
sense  of  pollution  and  guilt,  and  liability  to 
punishment,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the 
covenant  of  works,  to  which  they  had  a 
retrospect  view ;  and  to  direct  their  faith 
and  hope  to  the  appointed  Saviour  and 
promised  Messiah.  The  law  was  therelbre 
to  them  as  a  school-master  unto  Christ. 
But  after  Christ  was  come,  they  were  no 
longer  under  a  school-master.  Gal.  iii.  24, 
25.  Those  painful  and  tedious  appoint- 
ments becoming  unprofitable,  the  great 
apostle  labored  to  convince  these  Judaizing 
believers,  that  they  were  not  under  that 
law.  They  were  under  no  law  as  giving  a 
tide  to  salvation ;  for  if  there  had  been  a 
law  given,  (of  any  kind,)  which  could  have 
given  life,  verily,  righteousness  should  have 
been  by  the  law;  (Gal.  iii.  21;)  and  the 
gospel  J  w^ould  have  been  overturned,  and 
the  death  of  Christ  quite  unnecessary. 
With  gr^eat  difficulty  were  the  Jews  brought 
off  from  the  ceremonial  observances  in  the 
days  of  the  apostles ;  therefore,  those  in- 
spired penmen,  in  speaking  of  the  church 
of  Chri.st  as  delivered  from  the  law,  and 
those  tedious,  painful,  and  now  unprofitable 
appointments,  which  were  abrogated  and 
done  away,  make  use  of  the  most  contemp- 
tuous terms  when  speaking  of  the  subject ; 
calling  them  beggarly  elements,  carnal  or- 
dinances, &c.  But  the  duties  of  the  moral 
law  are  enforced  by  the  strongest  motives. 
In  that  law  Paul  delighted  after  the  inner 
man  ;  and  the  charge  of  making  it  void 
through  the  faith  of  the  gospel  he  denies 
with  holy  vehemence,  and  rejects  Uie  very 
idea  with  indignation.  Do  we  then  make 
void  the  law  through  faith  ?  God  forbid : 
Yea,  we  establish  the  law.  Rom.  iii.  31. 
See  a  sermon  on  this  text,  by  the  Rev.  C. 
EvATvs,  entitled,  The  Law  established  by 
the  Gospel ;  Dr.  Gill  on  the  Law  in  the 
Hand  of  Christ ;  and  Mr.  Booth's  Death 
of  Legal  Hope,  &c.* 

Thirdly ;  From  the  universal  extent  of 
the  moral  law,  the  apostle  proves  that  Gen- 
tiles as  well  as  Jews  were  tmder  sin,  and 


■  The  ordinances  of  baptism  and  tlie  Lord's  supper 
arc  of  a  positive  nature,  and  dependent  entirely  on  the 
will  of  God,  as  revealed  in  the  scriptures  of  truth  ;  there 
the  suhjects  are  delineated,  tlie  manners  of  administra- 
tion pointed  out  and  illustrated,  the  end  and  design  of 
each  ordinance  e.vplained,  and  their  duration  in  the 
church  till  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  abundantly 
confirmed.  The  moral  law,  though  distinct  from,  yet  is 
connected  with,  and  runs  through  every  positive  institu- 
tion; whereby  obedience  to  them  is  enforced  on  all 
those  who  are  described  as  proper  subjects,  which  be- 
lievcrb  Would  do  well  to  consider. 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


105 


therefore  exposed  to  punishment;  that  a' 
title  to  Ufa  could  not  arise  from,  or  spring 
out  of  human  obedience,  because,  according 
to  the  rule  of  righteousness,  every  one  is 
found  culpable.  Being,  therefore,  con- 
demned for  dispositions  and  acts  contrary 
to  law,  consequently  by  the  deeds  of  the 
law  no  flesh  living  could  be  justified  :  a  be- 
liever's title  to  life,  and  exemption  from 
punishment,  springing  from  another  source. 
Therefore,  such  are  said  not  to  be  under 
the  law,  but  under  the  administration  of 
grace ;  for  the  law  is  the  ministration  of 
death  to  every  transgressor,  and  by  it 
indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  an- 
guish are  denounced  against  every  soul  of 
man  that  doth  evil,  of  the  Jew  first,  and 
also  of  the  Gentile.  But  our  dear  Imman- 
uel  having  fulfilled  its  precepts  and  endured 
its  penalty  in  favor  of  his  people,  has  there- 
by delivered  them  from  deserved  pvmish- 
ment,  and  given  them  a  right  to  life,  found- 
ed on  his  infinite  merits.  Believers  are 
therefore  delivered  from  the  law  as  a  cove- 
nant From  it  life  is  not  expected  by  them, 
nor  by  it  death  inflicted  upon  them  as  afore- 
said, because  they  are  not  under  the  law, 
but  under  the  powerful  influences,  encour- 
aging promises,  and  copious  blessings  of 
grace.  However  they  do  not,  they  cannot 
from  thence  infer,  that  their  obligation  to 
love  and  obey  God  is  thereby  diminished, 
but  on  the  contrary,  infinitely  increased. 

If  any,  professing  godliness,  deny  the 
law  of  the  Lord  as  the  rule  of  obedience, 
charity  obliges  us  to  hope  their  meaning  is 
injudiciously  expressed ;  for  some  people's 
words  and  ideas  are  extremely  unsociable. 
and  keep  at  a  vast  distance,  and  differ  so 
much,  that  a  reconciliation  is  scarcely  ever 
expected.  But  those  who  deliberately 
maintain  believers  are  not  binder  the  Jaw  as 
a  rule  of  life,  and  act  from  such  a  princi- 
ple, give  full  evidence  that  they  are  grossly 
ignorant  of  (not  to  say  at  enmity  with)  the 
nature  of  God,  his  government,  and  gos- 
pel. A  more  pernicious  sentiment,  or  a 
greater  absurdity,  was  never  invented,  than 
the  aforesaid  Antinomian  tenet.  It  tends 
to  destroy  every  idea  of  good  and  evil,  of 
right  and  wrong,  by  denying  the  existence 
or  use  of  that  by  which  the  nature  of 
thoughts  and  actions  is  tried  and  discov- 
ered. It  renders  believers  incapable  of 
sorrowing  for  sin,  eitlier  as  in  or  done  by 
themselves  or  other  Christians.  For  where 
there  is  no  law,  there  is  no  transgression. 
It  makes  penitence  an  infaUible  mark  of 
impiety,  and  delight  in  the  law  of  God  a 
delusion ;  it  tends  '  to  prevent  a  believer 
from  praying  for  Divine  direction ;  because, 
however  he  wander,  he  is  never  wrong,  nor 
ever  in  danger  of  stepping  aside  out  of  the 
path  of  duty,  being  not  obliged  to  walk  in 
any.    A  beUever  must  not  pray  to  be  kept 

Vol.  3.— N. 


from  evil;  lest  it  grieve  him,  for  sin  he 
cannot,  do  what  he  may,  sin  being  a  trans- 
gression of  the  law.  Nor  can  he  ask  God 
to  forgive  him  his  debt,  being  confident  he 
does  not  owe  his  Lord  one  farthing.  What- 
ever may  have  been  the  case  heretofore,  he 
being  now  a  lawless  person,  no  demand 
can  be  made  upon  him.  In  a  word,  Anti- 
nomianism  teaches  a  believer  neither  to 
fear  God  nor  to  regard  man  ;  for,  according 
to  it,  he  cannot  be  guilty  of  offending  the 
one  nor  of  injuring  the  other  ;  for  as  there 
is  no  law,  cruelty  is  not  prohibited,  nor 
kindness  required ;  but  truth  and  treachery, 
profanity  and  piety,  love  and  hatred,  are 
equally  agreeable  in  believers. 

"  But,  brethren,  ye  have  not  so  learned 
Christ,  if  so  be  that  ye  have  heard  him,  and 
been  taught  of  him  as  the  truth  is  in  Jesus." 
Eph.  iv.  20,  2L  You  will  not  only  rejoice 
in  your  relation  to  the  Lord,  but  each  be- 
liever ought  to  consider  himself  as  under 
infinite  obligation  to  love  him,  to  obey  him, 
and  to  adhere  to  him,  becoming  the  nature 
of  his  connections  with  him,  even  as  a  sub- 
ject to  a  sovereign;  (]  Thes.  ii.  12;  Col.  i. 
10 — 13;)  a  spouse  to  her  husband;  ^Eph. 
V.  23,  29 ;)  a  soldier  to  his  general ;  (2 
Tim.  ii.  3;)  a  servant  to  his  master;  (1 
Pet.  ii.  16  ;  Rom.  vi.  16 — 22 ;)  and  as  a 
child  to  a  tender  compassionate  parent. 
Be  ye,  therefore,  followers  of  God  as  dear 
children.  Eph.  v.  i.  "  We  beseech  you, 
brethren,  and  exhort  you  by  the  Lord  Jesus, 
that  as  ye  have  received  of  us  how  you 
ought  to  walk,  and  to  please  God,  so  ye 
will  abound  more  and  more,"  knowing  that 
the  law  is  good,  if  a  man  use  it  lawfully. 
1  The^.  iv.  1 ;  1  Tim.  1.  8.  "  For  this  is  a 
faithful  saying.  That  they  which  have  be- 
lieved in  God  should  be  careful  to  maintain 
good  works.  These  things  are  good  and 
profitable  to  men."  Tit.  iiL  8.  "  And  let 
every  one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ 
depart  from  iniquity."  2  Tim.  ii.  29.  Noth- 
ing is  more  evident  than  that  believers  are 
not  under  the  covenant  of  works,  but  under 
grace.  But  what  then  ?  Shall  we  sin  be- 
cause we  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under 
grace?     God  forbid  !     Rom.  vi.  15. 

Secondly.  [Practical  errors  present  hin- 
derances.  First ;]  Though  darkness  and 
doubts  respecting  the  moral  law  be  removed, 
others  are  stumbled  in  respect  of  the  Lord's 
positive  appointments ;  partly  through  the 
neglects  of  some,  and  the  contemptuous 
manner  in  which  others  treat  the  sacred 
ordinances  of  the  gospel,  Avho  are  notwith- 
standing had  in  reputation  for  religion. 
Young  Christians  are  commonly  much  in- 
fluenced by  those  they  value  and  have  a 
veneration  for;  and,  therefore,  wlien  they 
observe  such  who  have  long  known  and 
loved  the  Lord,  living  in  the  neglect  of  gos- 
pel ordinances,  they  are  ready  to  conclude, 


106 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


that  for  them  to  take  the  lead  of  such  emi- 
nent Christians  would  be  rash  and  precipi- 
tate ;  and  have  the  appearance  of  pride  and 
ipresumption.  They,  therefore,  through 
lalse  modesty,  or  real  fear,  keep  back  from 
telling  what  God  has  done  for  their  souls, 
and  making  a  visible  profession  of  Christ 
in  his  solemn  appointments.  By  delays, 
their  zeal  for  Christ  and  the  love  of  their 
espousals  are  greatly  abated,  and  then  ob- 
jections in  abundance  arise  against  its  being 
their  particular  duty  on  account  of  not  hav- 
ing such  a  hvely  frame  of  mind  as  is 
thought  necessary  for  such  solemn  proceed- 
ings. Thus,  through  their  neglects,  others 
are  discouraged  and  prevented  bearing  a 
testimony  for  Jesus,  as  he  has  directed  those 
that  love  him  should. 

For  the  relief,  direction,  and  animation 
of  such  discouraged  believers,  I  would  pro- 

{)ose  to  their  serious  consideration  the  fol- 
owing  things  : 

First ;  the  kindness  of  Christ  in  abolish- 
ing the  vast  number  of  ceremonial  obser- 
vances which  were  binding  upon  the  church 
in  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  and  which  were 
to  Israel  difficult,  painful,  and  very  expen- 
sive, called  theretore  a  yoke  of  bondage  ; 
and  as  he  has  appointed  only  two  positive 
ordinances  to  be  observed  by  his  followers 
under  the  gospel,  viz :  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper,  how  ungrateful  is  it  to  re- 
fuse obedience  or  a  compliance  with  what 
is  so  mild,  so  merciful,  when  compared  with 
what  he  made  the  indispensable  duty  of 
those  whose  privileges  were  inexpressibly 
inierior  to  yours ! 

Secondly ;  Though  inquiring  Christians 
ought  to  regard  tlie  conduct  ol'  others,  and 
are  directed  to  go  by  the  footsteps  of  the 
Jiock,  and  to  be  Ibllowers  of  them,  who 
through  faith  and  patience  inherit  the  pro- 
mises, yet  none  are  to  be  imitated  further 
than  they  are  followers  of  Christ,  however 
eminent  they  are  or  may  appear  to  be. 
The  more  eminent  a  man  is  for  piety  and 
talents,  the  more  pernicious  is  his  example 
when  he  is  remiss  in,  or  forsakes  the  path 
of  duty.  Perhaps  some  would  have  remon- 
strated against  the  detestable  contrivance 
to  change  Jehovah's  glory  into  the  simili- 
tude of  an  ox,  had  not  Aaron,  the  saint  of 
God  and  priest  of  the  Most  High,  entered 
deep  into  the  design.  But  as  things  were, 
the  people  acquiesced  witii  pleasure,  and 
danced  for  joy.  Had  their  elevation  been 
a  sure  sign  ot  God's  approbation,  all  would 
have  been  well ;  for  the  congregation  had 
a  very  comfortable  time,  a  delightful  op- 
portunity, till  tliey  were  interrupted  by  Mo- 
ses, who,  though  naturally  weak,  yet  re- 
buked the  transgressors  with  pungent 
severity.  Dead  flies  cause  the  ointment  of 
the  apothecary  to  send  forth  a  stinking 
aavor,  t,o  doth  a  Uttle  folly  him  that  is  in 


reputation  for  wisdom  and  honor.  Ec.  x.  1. 
Therefore  call  no  man  master  on  earth,  re- 
lating to  sacred  things.  It  is  the  example 
and  authorit)'  of  Christ,  your  Master  in 
heaven,  who  is  Zion's  King,  which  yon  are 
conscientiously  to  regard.  You  oUght  to 
love  and  respect  all  that  love  Jesus,  bat  at 
the  same  time  consider  you  serve  the  Lord 
Christ.  And  it  is  to  your  own  Master  you 
stand  or  fall.  To  him  only  are  you  accoun- 
table. None  can  prove  they  have  a  dispen- 
sation granted  under  his  hand  for  the  neglect 
or  changing  any  of  his  appointments ;  and 
indeed  none  to  plead  for  the  power  of  grant- 
ing indulgences  in  his  name,  save  the  man 
of  sin,  and  those  delegated  by  him.  But 
even  supposing  others  to  have  obtained 
such  a  dispensation,  what  proof  can  be 
given  that  yoic  are  included  in  the  grant  ? 
Stand  not,  therefore,  O  believer,  waiting  to 
see  what  this  or  the  other  good  man  may 
resolve  to  do,  nor  perplex  your  mind  about 
Christ's  conduct  to  them.  Think  of  Christ's 
reply  to  Peter  when  he  was  so  inquisitive 
about  his  brother  John,  saying,  "  Lord,  what 
shall  this  man  do  ?"  How  keen,  and  yet  how 
kind  was  the  Redeemer's  answer  to  the  im- 
pertinent querist !  "  If  I  will  that  he  tarry 
till  I  come,  liTiat  is  that  to  thee  ?  follow  thou 
me.''''    John  xxi.  22. 

Thirdly ;  Consider,  the  Divine  authority 
is  not  to  be  trifled  Avith.  Two  sons  of  Aaron 
were  struck  dead  for  daring  to  deviate  from 
the  Lord's  command.  And  Moses,  the 
man  of  God,  had  like  to  have  lost  his  life 
through  his  postponing  a  matter  of  duty, 
probably  in  compliance  with  the  solicita- 
tions of  his  spouse.  Perhaps  you  may  be 
told  by  some,  that  an  attendance  to  such 
appointments  is  unnecessary,  as  tliey  are 
not  saving  ordinances.  It  might  not  be 
amiss  to  inquire  of  such  people,  What  are 
saving  ordmances  ?  Where  are  they  to  be 
found  ?  If  none  are  saving,  then,  according 
to  tlie  objection,  none  ought  to  be  attended 
to.  No  works  of  righteousness  should  be 
performed,  because  salvation  is  not  of  works, 
but  of  grace.  It  is  astonisliing  such  a 
mongrel  maxim  should  ever  be  used  by 
those  who  abhor  Antinomian  liberty,  and 
Arminian  legality,  seeing  the  nature  of 
both  are  therein  united.  It  is  the  genuine 
ofl'spring  of  those  two  very  opposite  and 
equally  absurd  sentiments.  Has  Jesus  in 
very  deed  lost  all  his  authority,  that  his 
appointments  should  sink  into  insignifican- 
cy? and  has  Christ  done  so  little  for  his 
people,  that  they  are  under  no  manner  of 
obligation,  out  of  gratitude,  to  act  for  him? 
Has  the  love  of  Jesus  lost  its  constraining 
influence?  And  ought  Christians  to  be 
really  indifferent  about  serving  God  any 
further  than  they  can  merit  by  it? 

Is  the  dying  request  of  dear  friends  usu- 
ally regarded  by  the  surviving  relativee? 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS, 


107 


And  shall  not  our  best  friend,  our  dear  dy- 
ing Immanuel,  be  listened  to  with  cordial 
aftection,  when  he  appointed  the  ordinance 
of  the  Supper,  saying,  "  This  do  in  remem- 
brance of  me !"  Afterwards  he  sent  from 
heaven,  by  the  apostle  Paul,  a  renewal  of 
his  request  to  the  churches.  See  1  Cor.  xi. 
23.  His  ordinances  are  his  palaces  where 
he  shows  his  glory,  and  feasts  with  his  peo- 

Sle,  saying,  "Eat,  O  friends,  drink,  yea, 
rink  abundantly,  O  beloved."  Come  for- 
ward, then,  ye  friends  of  Jesus,  follow  his 
example,  and  receive  the  land  memorials  of 
his  love. 

Secondly;  Divine  requirements  being 
superior  to  the  ability  of  men  in  their  pres- 
ent fallen  condition,  have  been  exceedingly 
perplexing  to  many ;  especially  such  as 
leel  themselves  without  strength,  which 
the  scriptures  declare  them  to  be  for  whom 
Christ  died,  (Rom.  v,  6,)  and  to  whom  he 
says.  Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing ;  John, 
XV.  5 ;  whose  experience  of  their  utter  ina- 
bility and  absolute  dependence  on  the  Lord 
coincides  with  what  the  apostle  expresses 
concerning  himself  and  his  brethren,  who 
were  even  able  ministers  of  the  New  Tes- 
ment.  Their  language  is,  Who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things?     2  Cor.  ii.  16. 

We  are  not  sufficient  of  ourselves  to 
think  any  thing  as  of  ourselves,  but  our 
sufficiency  is  of  God.  2  Cor.  iii.  5,  6. 
From  a  consciousness  of  personal  inability, 
joined  with  a  conviction  of  their  absolute 
and  necessary  obligation  to  obedience,  arise 
various  difficulties  relating  to  the  equity  of 
God  in  requiring  that  of  his  creatures 
which  he  knows  and  declares  is  not  in  their 
power  to  perform.  To  assert  and  maintain 
that  men  have  an  inherent  power  to  turn  to 
God  and  embrace  the  gospel,  and  glorify 
him  in  a  course  of  holy  obedience  to  his 
law,  without  the  infusion  of  supernatural 
principles,  is  to  oppose  the  positive  declara- 
tions of  God's  word  respecting  the  necessity 
of  regeneration,  and  the  impossibility  of 
those  who  are  in  the  flesh  doing  any  thing 
pleasing  and  acceptable  to  God.  See  Rom. 
viii.  5,  8.  But  those  who  oppose  the  doc- 
trine of  free  grace  are  constrained  to  plead 
for  the  power  of  man  to  love  and  obey  God, 
representing  men's  inability  as  absolutely 
inconsistent  with  scriptural  commands  and 
exhortations  to  obedience  and  faith  ;  these, 
on  the  one  hand,  declaim  with  an  air  of^ 
triumph  on  the  absurdity  of  .supposing  God 
to  require  impossibilities  ;  in  which  those 
heartily  concur  who  hold  the  truth  in  un- 
righteousness, and  represent  men  as  quite 
blameless,  though  disobedient,  because 
they  have  no  power  of  themselves  to  obey. 
Various  methods  have  been  taken  to  apolo 
gize  for  man's  imperfections,  and  extenuate 
his  guilt.  As  men  are  naturally  disaffected 
to  God,  it  is  no  wonder  thev  should  enrloav- 


or  to  new  model  his  government  according 
to  their  different  inclinations,  in  order  to 
keep  conscience  easy,  and  support  a  pleas- 
ing expectation  of  future  happiness  without 
holiness ;  or  being  beholden  to  his  clemency 
and  grace.  Every  opposition  to  the  gos- 
pel, every  false  scheme  of  divinity,  agree 
in  supposing  the  law  of  God  naturally  too 
severe ;  and  that  it  ought  to  be,  if  possible, 
accommodated,  and  rendered  agreeable  to 
men's  present  condition ;  though  they  great- 
ly differ  as  to  the  manner  how  it  may  be 
accomplished.  And  those  who  think  the 
law  of  God  cannot  be  altered  or  explained 
so  as  to  .suit  the  carnal  mind,  and  having  an 
equal  aversion  to  internal  purity  as  to  the 
law  which  requires  it,  therefore  plead  for  an 
exemption  and  total  deliverance  from  its 
hateful  authority,  esteeming  it  a  peculiar 
privilege  to  settle  if  possible  in  the  province 
of  Antinomianism  ;  a  state  so  far  from  God, 
that  the  wretched  inhabitants  suppose  his 
dominion  does  not  extend  to  them.  All  false 
systems  unite  in  proof  of  one  important  truth, 
which  is,  that  till  God's  law  be  approved  of, 
as  just  in  all  its  demands  and  awful  denun- 
ciations, the  gospel  will  never  be  properly 
understood  and  cordially  embraced ;  which 
the  following  brief  remarks  may  perhaps 
Rofficiently  evince,  as  well  as  prepare  the 
way  to  a  solution  of  the  difficulty  in  ques- 
tion. 

First;  Some  confidently  assert  that  on 
the  failure  of  man  in  his  obedience,  the  per- 
fections of  God  obliged  him  to  alter  the 
constitution  of  his  government  so  far,  as 
that  there  was  no  need  at  all  of  Christ's 
death  to  procure  an  exemption  from  punish- 
ment. That  repentance  and  pardon  are 
connected  by  the  law  of  natural  equity. 
That  Christ  came  not  to  make  a  reconciha- 
tion  for  iniquity,  but  only  as  a  pattern  of 
acceptable  obedience,  and  to  confirm  his 
doctrine  by  sealing  it  with  his  blood.  But, 
in  confirmation  of  the  truth  for  which  he 
was  condemned,  Christ  could  have  prayed 
to  his  Father,  who  would  have  sent  more 
than  twelve  legions  of  angels  to  have  deli- 
vered him  from  death.  But  how  then  (said 
he)  should  the  scriptures  be  fulfilled,  that 
thus  it  must  be,  (Matt.  xxvi.  53,  54,)  for 
without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  re- 
mission. Heb.  ix.  22.  Admitting  Christ 
came  only  as  an  example,  will  it  not  follow 
that  the  law  which  he  came  to  obey  re- 
quired purity  of  nature  and  perfect  obedi- 
ence ;  seeing  our  pattern  was  the  subject  of 
both  ?  If  the  law  did  not  require  perfect 
obedience,  but  repentance  was  substituted 
and  accepted  in  its  stead,  and  Christ  came 
to  set  us  an  example  hoio  we  might  obtain 
salvation  ;  is  it  not  natural  to  infer,  that  in 
order  to  his  being  a  proper  pattern  to  us 
for  such  a  purpose  and  end,  he  should  have 
been  deficient  in  his  obedience,  and  the  sub- 


108 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


ject  of  sincere  repentance?  and  thtis  have 
demonstrated  for  our  encouragement  and 
imitation,  that  though  he  was  imperfect  as 
we  are,  yet  by  being  penitent,  he  obtained 
forgiveness  of  all  his  imperfections.  This 
scheme,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  so  far  as 
relates  to  acceptance  with  God,  entirely  ex- 
cludes the  necessity  of  Christ;  he  being 
neither  a  proper  pattern  to  show  men  how 
they  might  obtain  salvation,  nor  its  procur- 
ing author.  However  by  such  a  rejection 
of  Jesus  the  scriptures  are  fulfilled,  which 
eay,  If  there  had  been  a  law  which  could 
have  given  life,  verily  righteousness  had 
been  by  the  law.  Gal.  hi.  21.  And  if 
righteousness  came  by  the  law,  then  Christ 
is  dead  in  vain.  Gal.  ii.  21.  If  the  death 
of  Christ  was  entirely  in  vain,  his  laying 
down  his  life,  when  there  was  no  need  for 
it,  cannot  be  deemed  an  example  worthy  of 
our  imitation ;  for  no  man,  however  heroic, 
has  a  right  to  throw  away  his  life  to  no 
purpose.  So  far  from  its  being  virtuous, 
such  conduct  would  not  only  be  imprudent, 
but  extremely  sinful.  Can  we  suppose 
Christ  came  into  our  world  on  a  needless 
errand,  and  shed  his  blood  in  vain  7  Yet 
shocking  as  the  supposition  is,  it  must  be 
granted,  as  an  established  fact,  if  tliere 
was  any  law  existing  which  could  have 
given  life.  For  nothing  could  be  more  evi- 
dent, than  that  if  men  could  have  answered 
the  demands  of  the  law,  there  would  have 
been  no  need  of  the  obedience  and  death  of 
Jesus,  according  to  the  reasoning  of  the 
great  apostle,  whose  judgment  in  divinity 
few  will  care  to  dispute.  This  system, 
therefore,  tends  to  embarrass,  instead  of 
solving  the  question,  respecting  the  equity 
of  God  in  requiring  that  of  his  creatures 
which  they  are  now  unable  to  perform. 

Secondly ;  Some  suppose  the  difficulty 
would  be  removed  if  it  might  be  allowed 
that  Christ  by  his  death  procured  or  en- 
gaged the  Father's  love  to  sinners,  so  far 
as  to  obtain  a  relaxation  of  that  law  under 
which  they  originally  were,  and  establish 
a  milder  system  of  government  suited  to 
the  condition  of  his  rebellious  subjects. 
But  this  plea  is  quite  inadmissible,  because 
the  love  of  God,  from  which  salvation 
springs,  was  the  cause  of  Christ's  coming 
to  die  for  transgressors.  "  God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son." 
John,  iii.  16.  '•  In  this  was  manifested  the 
love  of  God  towards  us,  that  God  sent  his 
Son  into  the  world,  that  we  might  live 
through  him."  John.  iv.  9.  "  Hereby  we 
perceive  the  love  of  God,  because  he  laid 
down  his  hfe  for  us."  Chap.  iii.  16.  Christ 
did  not  procure  a  new  remedial  law,  because 
that  law  under  which  sinners  are,  requires 
perfect  obedience,  on  pain  of  perpetual 
punishment.  "Cursed  is  every  one  that 
continueth  not  in  all  things  written  in  the 


book  of  the  law  to  do  them,  and  as  many 
as  are  o>l  the  works  of  the  law  are  under 
its  curse."  Gal.  iii.  10.  The  law  under 
which  sinners  are,  is  that  according  to 
which  the  world  stands  condemned  as  crim- 
inal at  Jehovah's  bar,  and  by  the  deeds  of 
which  no  flesh  shall  be  justified  in  his  sight. 
Rom.  iii.  19,  20.  Those  who  think  a  relax- 
ation of  the  law  is  obtained,  ought  to  point 
out  wherein  the  abatement  consisteth,  that 
men  might  keep  in  a  happy  medium,  and 
not  presume  to  go  beyond  nor  fall  short  in 
obedience  to  its  precepts.  Will  the  Lord 
indeed  allow  men  to  have  other  gods  be- 
sides himself,  or  :o  worship  him  in  a  way 
contrary  to  what  he  has  appointed  ?  Will 
he  hold  them  guiltless  that  take  his  name 
in  vain  ?  May  people  now  lawfully  forget 
to  keep  holy  the  sabbath  day  ?  Has  Christ 
released  men  from  their  natural  obligations 
to  parents  ?  Or  given  them  a  license  to 
murder,  to  live  in  uncleanness,  and  falsely 
to  accuse  their  neighbors,  or  covet  what  is 
the  property  of  others  ?  If  moral  com- 
mands continue  in  lull  force,  as  is  abund- 
antly evident  from  the  New  Testament, 
wherein  then  does  the  alteration  consist? 
Does  the  law  cease  to  take  cognizance  of 
the  heart,  and  being  less  spiritual  is  it 
therefore  more  agreeable  to  the  carnal 
mind  ?  If  that  be  the  case,  how  can  me7i~ 
tal  acts  be  condemned  by  it,  which  the 
scriptures  positively  declare  they  are  ?  Im- 
pure desires  are  by  it  deemed  adultery; 
hatred,  murder;  and  covetousness,  idola- 
try. See  Matt.  v.  2S  ;  2  Pet.  ii.  14  :  1  John, 
iii.  15 ;  Col.  iii.  5.  The  language  of  Chris- 
tians in  the  apostolic  day  was,  We  know 
the  law  is  spiritual.  Rom.  vii.  14.  It  is 
holy,  just,  and  good.  Rom.  vii.  12.  I  de- 
light in  it  after  the  inward  man,  says  Paul, 
verse  22,  so  then  with  my  mind  I  serve  the 
law  of  God,  verse  25.  The  law  of  which 
the  apostle  spoke,  and  in  which  he  dehghted 
was  that  which  slew  him,  that  command- 
ment which  was  ordained  to  life,  (but  as  a 
criminal,)  he  found  to  be  unto  death.  Verse 
10,  11.  He  was  delivered  from  it  as  a  cov- 
enant, but  under  it  as  an  unalterable  law, 
verse  6,  7 ;  as  a  covenant  it  became  weak, 
(that  it  could  not  give  life  to  the  sinner,) 
not  weak  in  its  own  nature,  much  less  wick- 
ed, but  weak  through  the  flesh.  What  it 
could  not  therefore  do  in  favor  of  the  guilty, 
was  done  by  Jesus,  who  did  not  blame  the 
law,  but  justified  and  satisfied  its  demands, 
and  condemned  all  opposition  to  it,  even  sin 
inthe flesh.  Rom.  viii.  3.  The  law  under 
which  Christians  are,  requires  truth  in  the 
inward  parts  as  much  as  ever,  and  cannot 
alter  whilst  Jehovah  remains  the  same :  for 
God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him 
mixst  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
John,  ii.  24.  If  then  both  the  matter  and 
spiritual  nature  of  moral  obedience  remain 


HELP     TO     Z  ION'S     TRAVELLERS. 


109 


the  same,  notwithstanding  men's  inability, 
it  is  evident  the  law  by  which  obedience  is 
enforced  is  not  altered,  and  that  a  new 
remedial  law  is  a  fiction.    Besides,  if  the 


and  hid  my  Lord's  money."  Mutt.  xxv. 
24.  Sinners  in  general  think  their  case 
would  not  be  so  extremely  bad  as  the  scrip- 
tures assert  and  they  frequently  fear,  were 


law  became  unrighteous  when  its  subjects  they  fairly  dealt  with.  Instead  of  taking 
became  ungodly  (which  would  be  blasphe-jblame  and  shame  to  themselves,  their  pow- 
my  to  suppose,)  God  would  certainly  have  ers  are  employed  to  find  out  other  methods 
repealed  it,  and  not  sent  his  Son  to  honor ito  appease  conscience,  and  support  hope, 


an  unjust  law,  at  the  expense  of  his  blood 
Finally:  If  the  Divine  law  ceaseth  to 
require  perfect  obedience,  saints  will  at  last 
rise  in  obedience  superior  to  the  law  under 
which  they  are ;  for  the  spirits  of  just  men 
will  be  made  perfect,  and  when  so  they  will 
love  God  more  than  he  desires  they  should, 
unless  the  law  rise  and  fall  in  its  require- 
ments according  to  the  inclination  of  its 
subjects,  on  which  absurd  hypothesis  the 
notion  of  a  new  law  seems  to  be  founded. 
The  gospel  exhibits  new  motives  to  love 
and  obedience,  and  graciously  conveys  new 
principles,  in  consequence  of  which  saints 
yield  to  God  new  obedience,  and  by  his 
authority  attend  to  nev/  positive  ordinances, 
for  new  and  special  purposes ;  and  are  ac- 
cepted of  God,  and  approach  him  under 
new  characters,  in  a  new  and  living  way ; 
and  are  encouraged  by  new  and  better 
promises,  in  consequence  of  the  new  and 
well  ordered  covenant  of  grace,  under  which 
they  are.  But  though  he  make  all  things 
new  in  respect  of  acceptance  with  him,  and 
enjoyment  of  him  and  old  things  pass  away 
in  favor  of  them  who  inhabit  the  new  Jeru- 
salem, yet  as  God  is  the  same,  without  va- 
riableness, in  his  own  adorable  perfections, 
infinite  beauty,  and  boundless  authority,  he 
cannot  theretbre  alter  his  moral  law,  con- 
sidered simply  as  a  law,  without  giving  up 
his  claim  to  Deity,  because  moral  obhga- 
lions  arise  from  that  natural  connection  and 
relation  subsisting  between  God  and  ration- 
al creatures,  considered  as  the  productions 
of  his  power.  Hence  it  is  that  no  altera- 
tion in  them  can  possibly  diminish  their  ob- 
ligations to  him. 

"  Our  revolt  was  a  practical  declaration 
that  he  was  not  by  nature  God,  nor  worthy 
to  be  glorified  as  God.  To  give  up  the  law 
in  favor  of  his  rebellious  creatures,  must 
therefore  be  the  same  in  effect,  as  for  God 
to  give  up  his  own  divinity,  and  ungod  him- 
self in  the  sight  of  all  his  dominions,  to 
gratify  a  rebel."*  It  is  no  new  thing  for 
professors  of  religion  to  show  an  inclination 
to  excuse  themselves,  and  throw  the  blame 
upon  God;  a  certain  wicked  and  slotliful 
servant,  when  called  to  an  account  by  his 
master,  could  say,  "  Lord,  I  knew  thee  to 
be  an  hard  man,  reaping  where  thou  hast 
not  sown,  and  gathering  where  thou  hast 
not  strewed,  and  I  was  afraid,  and  went 


*  S^e  Mr.  Joseph  Bellamy  on  the  Xature  ami  Glnrv  of 
the  Gospel,  page  21, 


than  that  which  is  set  before  them  in  the 
gospel.     Therefore, 

Thirdly;  Some  apprehend  the  difficulty 
may  be  solved  by  supposing  a  certain  de- 
gree of  grace  bestowed  on  all  men,  in  order 
to  enable  them  to  perform  what  is  necessary 
to  the  enjoyment  of  God's  friendship  and 
favor.  But  the  difficulty  is  rather  increased 
than  diminished  by  this  contrivance.     For, 

If  such  degrees  of  grace  be  necessary  to 
enable  men  to  obey,  and  render  their  diso- 
bedience inexcusable,  it  necessarily  suppos- 
es, that  unless  such  a  degree  of  what  isf 
called  common  grace  was  given  them  of 
God,  they  could  not  have  been  judged 
blameable  for  the  want  of  obedience.  If 
they  were  not  blameable  before,  or  antece- 
dent to  the  supposed  grace  being  bestowed, 
they  certainly  were  not  liable  to  punish- 
ment. And  if  not  liable  to  punishment 
before  they  had  this  common  grace  confer- 
red on  them,  how  is  this  common  grace  an 
advantage?  seeing  that  without  it  they 
were  safe,  but  the  possession  of  it  has  ren- 
dered their  state  at  best  precarious. 

Again ;  if  such  grace  be  given  not  so 
much  for  their  advantage,  as  to  vindicate 
Jehovah's  character,  which  is  by  some  sup- 
posed to  be  the  design  of  it  (tor  men,  being 
not  culpable  without  it,  but  in  consequence 
of  it,  could  have  done  very  well  had  it  never 
been  bestowed ;  for  where  there  is  no  blame, 
no  punishment  can  in  equity  be  inflicted ;) 
I  say  if  this  common  grace,  or  light  within, 
or  whatever  name  it  may  be  called  by,  be 
given  for  the  purpose  of  vindicating  the 
character  of  God  as  a  lawgiver  and  judge, 
it  is  necessarily  implied  or  pre-supposed, 
that  without  such  a  bestowment,  his  con- 
duct would  have  been  liable  to  censure  and 
impeachment,  and  not  at  all  capable  of 
being  defended  as  equitable  and  just. 

Further ;  If  without  the  impartation  of 
the  aforesaid  grace,  men  would  have  had 
cause  to  complain  of  unfair  dealing,  what 
is  called  common  grace  is,  in  fact,  no  other 
than  a  common  debt,  which  God  could  not 
justly  withhold  from  any  man.  Thus  the 
doctrine  of  common  grace  represents  the 
Lord  as  neitlier  generous  nor  just.  It  is 
the  same  as  saying.  If  God  will  please  to 
do  us  justice,  we  will  out  of  complaisance 
call  it  grace.  But,  as  a  proof  of  esteeming 
what  we  call  grace  a  proper  debt,  and  no 
real  favor,  we,  in  our  hearts,  verily  account, 
and  are  bold  to  declare  that  without  such  a 
'  bestowment,  we  should  have  had  cause  for- 


no 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


ever  to  complain  of  harsh  treatment.  Thus 
it  appears  that  all  erroneous  systems,  how- 
ever widely  they  differ,  agree  in  tacitly 
charging  God  and  his  law  with  injustice  in 
condemning  for  sin  ;  and  tliat  the  enmity 
of  carnal  men  is  such,  that  they  cannot  be 
reconciled  to  his  government  unless  certain 
concessions  be  made  on  his  part  to  obtain 
their  forgiveness  of  the  supposed  injury. 
However,  it  is  evident,  that  approving  views 
of  the  requirement  ol'  God's  law  are  abso- 
lutely necessary,  in  order  to  admiring  views 
of  the  grace  in  his  gospel.  For  where  con- 
demnation would  be  unjust  an  acquittal  is 
no  favor ;  and  where  obedience  is  not  due, 
it  cannot  be  justly  demanded. 

Fourthly ;  Another  method  of  account- 
ing for  God's  requring  perfect  obedience  of 
imperfect  men,  is  the  consideration  of  our 
being  represented  by  Adam  in  the  cove- 
nant which  was  made  with  him.  The  rea- 
soning of  many  eminent  men  has  been 
thus : — "  We  had  in  Adam  full  and  ade- 
quate ability  every  way  proportionable  to 
the  nature  and  extent  of  duty ;  and  though 
men  have  lost  their  power  to  obey,  God 
has  neither  lost  nor  given  up  his  authority 
to  command :  therefore  it  is  our  duty  to  ex- 
ert not  only  the  strength  we  are  now  pos- 
sessed of,  but  likewise  tlie  strength  we 
should  have  had,  supposing  our  first  pa- 
rent had  continued  in  that  state  of  purity 
and  power." 

That  Adam  was  the  covenant  head  of  his 
posterity,  appears  evident  from  the  scrip- 
tures, and  1  hope  has  been  proved  under 
another  particular  head.  And  that  ad- 
vantages and  disadvantages  naturally  re- 
sult from  representation,  according  as  rep- 
resentatives act  in  their  public  character, 
none,  I  presume,  will  deny.  The  covenant 
made  with  our  first  parent  was  most  cer- 
tainly a  righteous  constitution ;  and  had 
the  condition  been  performed,  we  should  all 
have  admired,  not  only  the  equity,  but  the 
kindness  of  the  compact.  But,  as  success 
does  not  make  a  transaction  equitable,  nor 
does  a  failure  constitute  a  stipulation  wrong 
which  is  naturally  right,  we  may  rest  sat- 
isfied, that  it  was  impossible  for  an  infinitely 
holy  God  and  an  innocent  creature  to  en- 
ter into  an  agreement  essentially  wrong. 
Therefore,  we  ought  to  be  forever  silent,  in 
respect  of  censure  and  complaint. 

Though  this  last-mentioned  method  of 
accounting  for  the  Lord's  requiring  of  us 
what  is  superior  to  our  present  power  be  less 
exceptionable  than  any  of  those  before  re- 
ferred to,  yet  it  does  not  seem  to  come  fully 
to  the  point,  or  cast  sufiicient  light  upon  the 
subject;  for  it  seems  contrary  to  the  com- 
mon or  known  rules  of  justice  and  equity, 
to  punish  on  the  account  of  not  performing 
what  is  iiaturaUy  impossible  to  be  perform- 
ed. 


Hence,  some  who  have  endeavored  to 
hold  up  the  doctrines  of  grace  as  objects 
of  ridicule  and  contempt,  have  boldly  as- 
serted, that  according  to  tliese  doctrines, 
future  judgment  would  be  a  tnere  farce. 
For  that  God  might  as  justly  punish  slow 
moving  animals  lor  deficiency  in  swii'tness, 
and  those  for  not  flying  who  have  no  wings 
to  fly  with,  nor  in  any  respect  formed  for 
such  a  motion,  as  to  punish  men  for  not 
doing  what  they  cannot  possibly  accomplish, 
but  is  as  much  above  their  power  as  to 
create  a  world.  Such  kind  of  checks  the  ad- 
herents to  truth  have  frequently  met  with. 
And  such  reasoning,  or  rather  declamation, 
has  been  very  stumbling  to  weak  Chris- 
tians. Some  have  been  severely  tried  by 
the  above  misrepresentation  of  gospel  truths, 
and  tempted  to  think  what  they  dare  not 
uiter. 

For  the  relief  of  such,  I  would  propose 
to  their  calm  and  candid  consideration  a 
distinction  between  natural  and  moral  ina- 
bility which  seems  necessary  to  be  well 
understood  in  order  to  obtam  consistent 
views  of  Divine  revelation,  relating  to  the 
requirements  of  God's  righteous  law  and 
the  nature  of  his  precious  gospel. 

By  natural  inability,  is  intended  a  want  of 
a  natural  capacity  or  opportunity  to  know 
and  do  what  is  commanded,  or  an  absolute 
defect  in  the  natural  powers  of  a  man's 
mind  or  body,  by  which  he  is  rendered  in- 
capable of  acting  although  his  will  were 
bent  upon  the  performance  of  his  duty. 
Whatever  totally  prevents,  or  is  an  abso- 
lute obstruction  in  the  way  of  a  person's 
knowing  or  doing  any  thing,  which  renders 
the  acquirement  impossible,  though  he  be 
ever  so  desirous  of  accomplishing  it,  is 
what  I  wish  to  have  considered  as  included 
in  natural  inabilitj\ 

Moral  inability  consists  in  a  disinclination 
to  what  is  good,  or  a  dislike  of,  and  aver- 
sion to,  what  God  has  made  a  person's  du- 
ty. That  I  may  be  properly  understood,  I 
would  further  observe,  tliat  by  natural  pow- 
er and  ability,  is  intended,  the  possession  or 
enjoyment  of  such  power  and  properties 
of  soul  and  body,  as  are  necessary  for  the 
purpose  of  mental  and  corporeal  actions, 
and  being  in  a  situation  suitable  for  the  ex- 
ertion of  them. 

By  moral  ability  is  intended  a  suitable  dis- 
position, which  consists  in  a  holy  inclina- 
tion, a  propensity  of  mind  to  what  is  truly 
good.  To  illustrate  and  point  out  the  pro- 
priety and  utility  of  the  above  distinction, 
ibr  the  relief  of  entangled  minds,  I  shall  en- 
deavor to  demonstrate, 

First,  Tliat  natural  inability,  as  above 
stated,  is  not  a  criminal  defect ;  and  that, 

Secondly,  Moral  inability  is  inseparably 
comiected  with  fault,  and  cannot  possibly 
be  considered  as  an  excuse  or  palliation  of 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


Ill 


blame,  but  on  the  contrary,  that  a  man  is 
culpable,  because  of  his  inabihty  to  obey ; 
or  that  criminality  increases  in  proportion 
to  the  degree  of  moral  impotency. 

That  natural  inability  is  not  a  criminal 
defect,  or  culpable  deficiency,  will  perhaps 
appear  evident,  if  the  following  observa- 
tions be  duly  attended  to. 

First;  Though  men's  powers  of  mind 
and  body  are  no  doubt  greatly  impaired  by 
the  fall,  or  the  entrance  of  sin,  yet  the 
scriptures  do  not  seem  to  intimate  that 
weakness  in  either  is  sinful ;  they  are  spok- 
en of  as  pitiable  infirmities,  but  never  as 
punishable  faults.  Therefore  it  is  written, 
As  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord 
pitieth  them  that  fear  him.  He  considers 
our  frame,  and  remembers  we  are  but  dust. 
Parents,  by  whose  pity  the  Lord  illustrates 
his  own,  know  how  to  make  the  distinction 
respecting  their  children,  and  would  be 
cruel  if  they  did  not.  Supposing  a  son  in 
the  height  of  some  criminal  proceeding 
should  break  his  legs,  would  it  not  be  deem- 
ed cruel,  not  only  to  punish  him  for  the 
criminal  action  by  which  he  came  by  his 
disaster,  but  for  his  not  walking,  which  he 
would  be  very  glad  to  do  if  he  could.  Upon 
this  self«evident  principle  of  equity,  Mephi- 
bosheth  founded  his  plea,  when  accused  by 
his  servant  of  disloyalty  to  King  David  his 
sovereign.  He  loved  David's  person  and 
government,  and  he  pleaded,  that  his  not 
accompanying  him  in  a  time  of  trouble, 
when  he  fled  before  his  unnatural  son,  was 
not  owing  to  disaffection,  but  Thy  servant 
is  lame. 

It  is  not  the  sin  of  the  blind  that  they  do 
not  read  the  scriptures ;  nor  are  the  deaf 
blameable  ibr  not  hearing  the  sound  of  the 
gospel :  nor  the  dumb  culpable  on  account 
of  their  not  pleading  for  God.  Nor  is  it 
the  duty  of  any  to  work  or  war  with  their 
hands  who  have  none.  Nor  are  any  blan>- 
ed  for  being  sick,  though  it  should  be  unto 
death.  The  reason  is,  because  they  could 
not  be  or  do  otherwise  if  they  woidd. 
Though  Paul's  bodily  presence  was  weak, 
and  his  speech  contemptible,  yet  he  did  not 
consider  himself  criminal  on  that  account; 
but  rejoiced  in  his  infirmities,  yea,  most 
gladly  rejoiced  in  them,  that  the  power  of 
Christ  might  rest  upon  him ;  but  he  did  not 
rejoice  in  his  sins. 

Secondly;  Deficiency  or  weakness  in 
mental  powers  is  not  criminal;  for  was 
that  the  case,  the  weakest  men  would  be 
the  most  wicked,  and  those  who  are  supe- 
rior in  natural  parts  would  always  excel  in 
piety,  which  is  contrary  to  fact,  as  founded 
on  observation  and  revelation.  Men  are 
dead  in  sin,  but  that  death  does  not  con- 
sist m  a  deprivation  of  natural  faculties. 
When  rationality  is  absent,  the  words  and 
actions  oJ  such  people  are  never  deemed 


punishable,  because  they  are  not  account- 
ed criminal.  But  if  the  fault  lay  in  natural 
weakness,  the  less  understanding  and  rea- 
son a  person  is  possessed  of  at  any  time, 
the  greater  would  be  his  crimes.  And  in- 
stead of  not  being  punished  for  injuring 
others,  such  ought  to  be  punished  with 
greater  severity  on  that  account. 

Thirdly ;  In  regeneration  the  Holy  Spirit 
does  not  create  new  facidties,  or  bestow  a 
new  set  of  natural  powers ;  he  does  not 
produce  "  a  new  head,  but  a  new  heart." 
by  infusing  new  principles  and  holy  dispo- 
sitions. But  ii'  a  deficiency  in  natural  pow- 
ers was  the  fountain  of  fault,  or  the  source 
of  blame,  from  whence  criminal  actions 
proceed,  there  would  be  a  necessity  for  the 
production  of  new  faculties,  or  otherwise  a 
removal  of  their  natural  deficiencies.  And 
if  so,  the  surest  evidences  of  a  gracious 
change  would  be  a  strong  memory,  a  fertile 
imagination,  a  fund  of  wit,  and  a  profound, 
deep  vmderstanding,  or  clear  ideas,  and 
strong  reasoning.  In  short,  an  assemblage 
of  fine  brilliant  parts  would,  in  tliat  case, 
be  the  best  proof  of  true  holiness.  And 
thus  the  devil  might  perhaps  be  admired 
for  his  purity  for  according  to  that  mode  of 
reasoning  Satan  might  be  proved  a  delightful 
saint.  No  greater  natural  powers  are  ne- 
cessary to  love  God,  than  to  hate  him ;  to 
serve  him,  than  to  oppose  him.  Therefore 
God  does  not  require  more  of  any  man 
than  the  right  use  of  what  he  hath.  And 
surely  it  is  not  wrong  to  require  what  is 
right.  God  does  not  require  any  thing  un- 
reasonable ;  he  requires  only  what  he  has 
a  right  to,  and  deserve ;  even  all  the  heart, 
all  the  soul,  and  all  the  strength.  He  does 
not  require  in  point  of  degree  the  like  of 
all ;  for  "  to  whom  much  is  given,  of  them 
he  requires  the  more."  Luke,  xii.  48.  It 
is  each  one's  all  that  he  demands  ;  he  does 
not  require  his  creatures  to  be  alike  strong 
in  mental  powers :  he  never  intended  they 
should.  Angels  excel  in  strength  ;  but  he 
requires  all  his  rational  creatures  to  love 
and  serve  him,  with  all  the  strength  they 
have.  He  could  not  require  more  with 
equity  to  his  creatures,  nor  dispense  with 
less  injustice  to  himself.  He  requires  no- 
thing naturally  impossible  to  be  performed. 
He  has  not  made  any  thing  the  duty  of  his 
creatures  which  exceeds  their  natural  abil- 
ity, nor  does  he  punish  them  for  not  acquir- 
ing or  doing  what  is  naturally  beyond  their 
power  to  perform.  As  men's  natural  capa- 
cities and  situations  are  very  different,  he 
does  not  therefore  requre  all  men  to  be  alike 
knowing,  nor  does  he  require  knowledge 
above  and  beyond  the  means  of  informa- 
tion. He  does  not  condemn  those  Avho 
hav^e  no  revelation,  for  not  knowing  what 
i.s  only  knowable  by  revelation  ;  nor  expect 
of  those  who  have  the,  scriptures  to  know  a 


112 


HELP    TO    ZION-S    TRAVELLERS. 


tittle  more  tlian  is  revealed  by  them.  Hence, 
as  to  those  things  which  are  only  revealed 
as  matters  of  fact  that  they  are  ignorant 
how  they  are,  is  not  the  sin  of  any  man. 
Though  God  exhorts  to  liberality,  yet  none 
are  required  to  give  liberally  who  have  no- 
thing to  bestow.  Duty  is  ever  mca.sured  by 
natural  ability;  and  where  that  i.s  wanting, 
the  Lord  accepts  of  a  willing  mind.  See 
2  Cor.  viii.  12.  Where  the  disposition  is 
right,  and  the  design  or  intention  good,  the 
want  of  ability  to  act  as  intended,  excul- 
pates the  person  from  a  charge  of  criminal- 
ity in  tliat  respect.  In  a  word,  the  good 
man  is  not  blameable  because  he  cannot  do 
so  much  for  God  as  he  would ;  nor  is  the 
bad  man  commendable,  because  he  cannot 
do  evil  according  to  his  will  and  desire. 
Many  wicked  men  would  be  greater  villains 
than  they  are,  if  they  knew  how.  But 
though  they  have  not  ability  or  opportunity 
to  act  agreeably  to  their  inclinations,  none 
surely  will  commend  them  on  that  account. 
See  Acts,  xxiii.  12.     1  Kings,  viii.  18. 

As  commendation  and  blame  do  not  re- 
sult from  natural  ability  or  inability,  but 
from  dispositions  and  voluntary  acts,  there- 
fore Jehovah's  conduct  stands  evidently 
clear  from  the  imputation  of  injustice  or 
cruelty,  seeing  his  requirements  are  pro- 
portionate to,  and  are  nothing  more  than 
a  right  use  of  the  natural  powers,  and  the 
privileges  his  creatures  possess.  His  com- 
mands are  not  grievous  in  their  own  nature, 
whatever  they  be  to  our  corrupt  minds. 
They  are  agreeable,  and  suited  to  the  nat- 
ural powers  of  men,  however  contrary  and 
disgustful  to  tiicir  natural  inclinalions. 

Secondly  ;  If  we  attend  seriously  to  mor- 
al inability,  we  shall  discover  thereby  the 
awful  condition  in  which  men  naturally  are, 
and  the  absolute  necessity  of  omnipotent 
grace  to  deliver  them  from  a  state  evidently 
helpless,  and  truly  deplorable.  For  such 
cannot  love  God,  nor  contribute  in  the 
least  to  their  own  deliverance ;  and  yet 
tiieir  criminality  is  equal  to  their  inability. 
A  sinner  while  unrenewed  by  grace  can- 
not love  God,  obey  the  law,  or  embrace  the 
gospel.  Because  the  carnal  mind  is  enmi- 
ty against  God,  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the 
law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  he.  Rom. 
viii.  7.  The  wicked  will  not  seek  after  God  : 
God  is  not  in  all  his  thoughts.  Psalm  x.  4. 
Such  do  not  like  to  relain  God  in  their 
Jiearts  ;  therefore  desire  not  the  knowledge 
of  his  ways.  Rom.  i.  23 ;  Job,  xxi.  14. 
Yea,  they  treat  him  with  scorn  and  disdain. 
Wiierefore  do  the  wicked  contemn  God  ? 
P.salm  X.  13.  They  being  the  subjects  of 
dispositions  contrary  to  his  holy  nature,  are 
therefore  alienated  from  the  life  of  God, 
and  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins.  Epii. 
ii.  1  ;  chap.  iv.  18.  The  natural  man  is 
blind  to  the  moral  excellency  and  beauty  of 


God ;  to  the  spiritual  glories  of  Christ  and 
his  kingdomi  He  has  no  perception  of  the 
things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  neither  can  he 
know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned. 1  Cor.  ii.  14.  As  unconverted 
sinners  cannot  be  subject  to  the  law  of  God, 
so  they  cannot  embrace  the  gospel.  Jesua 
himself  has  declared  it  impossible  while 
they  continue  in  that  state,  saying,  "No 
man  can  come  unto  me,  except  the  Father 
which  hath  sent  me  draw  him."  John,  vi. 
44.  "  The  Spirit  of  truth  the  world  can- 
not receive."  John,  xiv.  17.  "  Why  do 
ye  not  understand  my  speech  ?  Even  be- 
cause ye  CANNOT  hear  my  word."  John, 
viii.  4.3.  "  Their  ear  is  uncircumcised,  and 
they  CANNOT  hearken."  (The  reason  is 
added,  not  as  owing  to  natural,  but  moral 
inability,  for)  "behold  the  word  of  the  Lord 
is  unto  them  a  reproach,  they  have  no  de- 
light in  it."  Jer.  vi.  10.  Their  hearts  are 
destitute  of  spiritual  emotions,  and  compar- 
ed to  stone;  (Ezek.  xxxvi.  26;)  even  to 
the  adamant,  (Zech.  vii.  12,)  which  is  hard- 
er than  flint,  (Ezek.  iii.  9,)  and  which  natu- 
raUsts  have  said  cannot  be  broken  till  steep- 
ed in  the  blood  of  a  goat.*  So  then  they 
that  are  in  the  flesh  cannot  please  God, 
(Rom.  viii.  8,)  being  under  the  sole  power 
and  dominion  of  dispositions  averse  to  his 
nature  and  will. 

They  cannot  love  and  obey  God,  till  they 
are  inclined  so  to  do ;  and  no  man  can  be 
so  disposed  to  love  God.  till  he  view  him 
as  an  agreeable  object.  And  God  never 
was  agreeable  to  a  carnal  mind,  it  being 
enmity  against  him,  on  which  account  it  is 
not,  CANNOT  be  subject  to  him.  Rom.  viii. 
7.  Such  will  neglect  and  despise  God, 
while  they  continue  to  prefer  other  things 
before  him.  Those  therefore  who  are  lov- 
ers of  pleasures  more  than  lovers  of  God, 
cannot  possibly  esteem  him  as  the  chief 
good ;  and  unless  he  be  loved  as  such,  he 
is  not,  as  God,  loved  at  all.  Those  who  love 
the  praise  of  men  more  than  the  praise  of 
God,  CANNOT  seek  the  honor  which  cometh 
from  him  only.  For  every  one  if  not  pre- 
vented, will  undoubtedly  pursue  what  he 
prefers,  or  act  according  to  his  prevailing 
inclinations.  Those,  therefore,  could  not 
believe  in,  or  adhere  to  the  humble  Jesus, 
who  were  ambitious  of  human  honor.  To 
such  he  said  how  can  ye  believe  which  re- 
ceive honor  one  of  another  ?    John,  v.  44. 

But  some  may  ask,  "May  not  such  per- 
sons love  God,  repent  and  believe  the  gos- 
pel if  they  will  ?"  Answer,  "  Most  certain- 
ly they  may  if  they  choose  to  do  so."  There 
is  nothing  to  prevent  their  doing  so,  where- 
ever  the  gospel  is  publislied,  but  their  own 
criminal  dispo.sitions.  There  is  no  bar  in 
their  way.   but  the    wickedness    of   their 


*  Flin.  Nat.  Hist,  book  37,  chap  1. 


HELP     TO     ZION'S     TRAVELLERS, 


113 


hearts.  Whosoever  will  are  invited  to 
come  and  take  of  the  waters  of  life  freely. 
Rev.  xxii.  17.  They  have  faculties  or  pow- 
ers of  mind  adequate  to  what  God  requires 
of  them.  It  is  not  owing  to  the  want  of 
natural  ability,  as  before  stated,  but  they 
have  no  moral  ability  to  perform  what  is 
good ;  their  impotency  consists  in  an  aver- 
sion to  the  things  of  God.  When  that  is 
removed  the  difficulty  is  over.  For,  where 
God  is  loved,  sin  will  be  hated,  Christ  ad- 
mired, and  the  gospel  will  be  received  and 
embraced,  with  cordial  affection  and  faith. 
But  while  men  are  in  a  carnal  state,  they 
cannot  choose  what  is  spiritually  good ;  for 
that  would  suppose  them  capable  of  choos- 
ing what  they  do  not  approve  of,  or  of  pre- 
ferring what  they  do  not  esteem,  but  to 
which  they  have  a  fixed  aversion.  Whilst 
a  person  sees  no  comeliness  in  Christ,  where- 
fore he  should  desire  him.  he  cannot  possi- 
bly choose  him  as  the  chief  among  ten 
thousand — his  all  in  all ;  which  believers 
do.  Nor  can  he  hate  sin  till  it  become  dis- 
agreeable to  him,  or  sincerely  seek  the  sal- 
vation of  God  till  he  feels  he  wants  it,  and 
knows  its  worth. 

The  question  therefore  should  rather  be, 
Whether  any  unrenewed  person  ever  did, 
or  possibly  can  choose  to  love  God,  hate  sin, 
and  cordially  embrace  the  gospel  ?  For, 
if  none  while  in  that  state  or  condition  ever 
did  or  ca7i,  make  such  a  choice,  a  willing- 
ness to  such  a  case  is  not  supposable.  If 
unconverted  persons  may  love  God,  repent, 
and  truly  believe  in  Jesus,  conversion  would 
be  needless  so  tar  as  it  relates  to  such  well- 
disposed  persons  ;  for  true  believing  peni- 
tents shall  be  saved.  And  if  so,  such  may 
be  in  heaven  who  never  were  born  again, 
contrary  to  the  express  and  solemn  declar- 
ations of  the  Saviour,  Except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God ; 
except  ye  be  converted  and  become  as  lit- 
tle children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  John,  iii.  3,  5,  7.  Matt. 
xviii.  3.  And  if  unregenerate  persons  may 
love  God,  and  obey  the  gospel,  how,  and 
by  what,  are  we  to  distinguish  between 
those  who  are  regenerated  and  those  who 
are  not  ?  If  they  cannot  be  distinguished 
who  turn  themselves,  from  those  whose 
hearts  are  turned  and  changed  by  the  Lord, 
the  apostle's  question  to  Christian  converts, 
IVho  maketh  thee  to  differ?  would  be  quite 
impertinent.  We  are  taught  by  the  uner- 
ring word,  that  there  is  a  great  likeness  to, 
and  as  close  a  connection  between  men's 
voluntary  actions  and  their  internal  princi- 
ples, as  between  the  nature  of  a  tree  and 
the  kind  of  fruit  it  bears,  or  a  fountain  and 
its  streams.  Matt.  vii.  16,  20;  James  iii. 
11,  12.  When  a  corrupt  fountain  sends 
forth  pure  streams ;  and  thorns,  brambles, 
and  thistles,  produce  figs  and  grapes  ;  when 

Vol.  3.— O. 


the  whole  course  of  nature  is  quite  revers- 
ed, then,  and  not  before,  may  we  expect  a 
carnal  man  to  choose  spiritual  things. 

But  it  may  be  replied,  that  as  man  is  a 
free  agent,  he  has  power  to  choose  what 
and  tohen  he  thinks  proper.  That  man  is 
a  free  agent  cannot  be  denied,  consistently 
with  his  being  accountable  for  his  own  ac- 
tions. Man's  free  agency  consisteth  in  a 
power  or  capacity  to  compare  ideas  and  to 
give  a  preference  to  what  appears,  all 
things  considered,  to  be  most  agreeable  to 
himself  Perfect  freedom  consisteth  in  a 
man's  acting  agreeably  to  his  own  inclina- 
tion, without  any  compulsion  or  restraint 
A  man,  therefore,  being  a  free  agent,  will 
act  agreeably  to  his  own  mind ;  therefore 
free  agency  is  a  farther  confirmation  of 
man's  moral  inability.  For,  as  Divine 
things  are,  in  their  very  nature,  disagree- 
able to  the  unrenewed  sinner  ;  therefore  as 
a  free  agent  he  will,  and  cannot  but  choose 
the  contrary,  as  being  agreeable  to  the  de- 
sires and  bent  of  his  soul.  If  it  be  said, 
"Man  has  a  determining  power  over  his 
own  will,  and  therefore  his  will  acts  as  he 
directs  it,  and  consequently  he  is  capable 
of  making  a  commendable  and  virtuous 
choice :"  this  indeed  is  the  dernier,  or  last 
resort  of  most  .sensible  Arminians.  It  does 
not  seem  very  intelligible  to  talk  of  a  pow- 
er over  a  power,  resolving  to  resolve,  or 
directing  tliat  by  which  a  man  is  guided, 
and  leading  what  he  follows.  However, 
granting  all  that  can  be  desired,  yet  man's 
moral  inability  remains  just  as  before  stated. 
For  supposing  a  man  to  direct  his  will  what 
to  choose,  he  is  sure  to  direct  it  to  choose 
that  which  he  thinks  is  best,  or  what  is 
most  agreeable  to  himself  The  choice, 
therefore,  which  he  is  supposed  to  direct 
his  will  to  make,  cannot  possibly  be  in  fa- 
vor of  true  religion,  while  spiritual  things 
are  disagreeable  to  him ;  which  they  will 
continue  to  be  as  long  as  his  heart  is  unre- 
newed by  grace.  For  the  first  supposed 
act  of  his  mind,  by  which  the  subsequent 
act  of  his  will  is  directed,  must  be  accord- 
ing to  the  light  in  which  he  views  the  ob- 
jects to  be  chosen  ;  and  while  he  does  not 
view  the  glory  and  superlative  excellence 
of  Divine  things,  he  cannot  give  a  prefer- 
ence to  them  ;  for  that  would  be  preferring 
what  he  disesteems.  And  till  he  prefers 
them  he  cannot  order  his  will  to  choose 
them.  Thus  it  appears  that  every  wicked 
man  is  held  by  the  cords  of  his  sins.  Prov. 
V.  22.  He  feedeth  on  ashes  ;  a  deceived 
heart  hath  turned  him  aside,  that  he  can- 
not deliver  his  soul,  nor  say.  Is  there  not  a 
lie  in  my  right  hand?  Isaiah,  xliv.  20. 
That  this  awful  state  of  moral  inability 
and  death,  is  a  blameable  condition,  or  a 
criminal  defect,  will  appear  from  the  follow- 
ing observations. 


114 


HELP    TO    ZIOi\'S    TRAVELLERS. 


1.  It  is  voluntary  and  free.  Men  are  not  I  appears  that  what  he  did  was  either  the  eT- 
compelled  to  sin  contrary  to  their  incliiia-  feet  of  compulsion,  or  witJi  an  ill  design, 
lions ;  but  the  hearts  of  the  sons  of  men  Mordecai  was  not  under  any  real  obhgation 
are  set  in  them  to  do  evil,  Eccles.  viii.  11.  ,to  Haman.  though  he  was  by  liim  arrayed 
Their  language  is,  "We  have  loved  stran-jin  royal  apparel,  and  brought  through  the 
gers,  and  after  them  will  we  go."'  Jer.  ii.  city  on  horseback,  who  Ukewise  proclaimed 
25.  "  As  for  the  word  thou  hast  spoken  to  before  him,  "  Thus  shall  it  be  done  unto  the 
us  from  the  Lord  we  will  not  hearken  unto  man  whom  the  king  delighteth  to  honor  1" 
thee."  Jer.  xliv.  18.  "Israel  (saith  the  because  what  he  did  was  co/iirnry  to  his  in- 
luord)  would  have  none  of  me."  Psalm  clination  or  choice,  being  coOTpeZ/erf  through 
kxxi.  11.  "I  called  but  they  gave  me  no  fear  of  the  king's  displeasure.  Nor  were 
answer ;  all  the  day  long  have  I  stretched  Joseph's  bretliren  commendable,  though 
out  my  hand  to  a  disobedient  and  gainsay-  they  were  instruments  of  his  advancement 
ing  people,"'  (Rom.  x.  21.)  "  which walketh  in  Egypt;  because,  though  tliey  sent  him 
in  a  way  that  was  not  good,  after  their  own  thither,  they  meant  it  for  evil.  The  devil's 
thoughts"  (Isa.  Lsv.  2.)  •■which  said  unto  testimony  in  favor  of  Christ's  filial  relation 
God,  Depart  from  us ;  and  what  can  the  to  God  did  not  entitle  him  to  commendation 
Almighty  do  for  them  ?  Depart  from  us.  as  Peter's  did,  though  equally  true,  full,  and 
for  we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  expUcit,  because  Peter's  confession  was  vol- 
ways.  What  is  the  Almighty  that  we  untary,  and  his  intention  good.  He  meant 
should  serve  him ;  and  what  profit  should ,  thereby  to  honor  his  Lord  ;  but  Satan's  ac- 
we  have  if  we  pray  unto  him  ?'  Job.  xxii.  knowledgment  was  either  the  etfect  of  con- 
17;  chap.  xxi.  11.  14.  "We  will  not  h<i.\e\straint,  or  done  with  a  design  to  sihA*  the 
this  man  to  reign  over  us."  The  result  of  Saviour's  reputation.  See  Matt  xvi.  16  j 
their  consultation  aganst  the  Lord,  and  his  ^  Luke.  iv.  41. 

anointed,  is,  "Let  us  break  their  bands  I  Hence  it  appears,  that  the  criminal  con- 
asunder  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us."  i  duct  of  creatures  is  the  eflfect  of  their  choice ; 
Psalm  ii,  3.  Now  if  men  are  accountable  sinl'ul  actions  are  voluntary' and  free.  There- 
for any  of  their  actions,  they  must  be  so  for  fore  no  man  will  be  found  more  sinful  than 
those  which  are  voluntary.  Involuntari/ he  chose  to  he  ;  and  if  any  actions  are  purv- 
acts  are  not  of  a  crimvud  nature ;  they  do  ishable  or  commendable,  it  must  be  those 
not  discover  a  bad  disposition.  A  good  j  which  were  voluntarily  pertbrmed ;  and 
man  (like  Peter)  may  be  bound  by  violent  consequently  the  strength  of  a  propensity 
hands,  and  carried  whither  he  would  not.  I  to  e\-il,  or  a  moral  inability'  to  do  good,  can- 
In  that  case  it  is  not  his  fault,  though  he  j  not  properly  be  pleaded  in  favor  of  sinners, 
be  found  in  company  with  men  of  the  most  or  as  an  extenuation  of  guilt.  But, 
abandoned  characters,  being  there  contrary  \  2.  Every  apologj^  in  favor  of  delinquents, 
to  his  choice  or  inclination.  A  gracious  founded  on  moral  inabiht}-,  is  not  only  ab- 
person  may  possibly  be  delirious,  and  when  solutely  inadmissible  according  to  every 
so,  or  in  fits  of  conNTilsion,  may  injure  him- i  rule  of  equity,  but  has  a  direct  tendency  to 
self  or  his  friends;  as  such  frequently  dis-i confirm  the  charge  of  culpability,  and  to 
cover  the  greatest  antipathy  to  those  whom  j  rivet  the  fetters  of  guilt.  Men  are  natu- 
they  most  highlj-  esteemed  when  in  their; rally  disposed  to  cover  their  transgressions, 
right  minds  :  yet  such  actions,  though  verj'l as  Adam;  (Job,  xxxi.  33:  Gen.  iii.  12,) 
detrimental,  are  never  deemed  crimi)uil.: and  fix  the  charge  of  blame  elsewhere; 
because  they  are  not  then  considered  as  I  and  tlirough  confounding  or  blending  the 
efiFects  of  a  bad  disposition,  but  as  proceed- idea  of  what  is  moral,  with  what  is  natural, 
ing  Irom  disorders  in  the  animal  frame. .they  endeavor  to  keep  their  consciences 
Acts  of  a  natvire  much  less  \iolent  and  in- 'easy  in  sin,  from  such-like  excuses  as  the 
jurious,   are  accounted    punishable    when  following: 

there  is  evidence  they  are  entirely  roZwHf  art/  "If  men's  propensity  to  evil  be  such  as 
and  free,  or  arise  from  a  bad  design.  In- (that  they  cannot  love  and  obey  Grod  with- 
voluntary  actions  may  occasion  much  grief ;  out  being  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus, 
when  reflected  upon;  but  a  person  cannot  they  are  rather  the  objects  of  pity  tlian  of 
be  said  to  repent  of  them,  any  more  than  a  1  blame ;  therefore  we  ought  not  to  be  con- 
man  can  repent  because  he  has  not  had  ajdemned  for  what  we  cannot  help." 
f roper  perspiration,  or  a  regular  pulse.  To  make  this  soothing  inference  consist- 
'raise  and  blame,  rewards  and  punish- 'ent,  these  words  ought  to  be  added;  i.e. 
ments,  are  only  connected  with  those  actions  [  if  we  would.  Then  it  would  be  a  good  plea 
which  are  the  fruit  of  internal  volitions. ,  in  favor  of  involuntary  actions,  or  natural 
Therefore  no  man  will  be  punished  inrther  inability ;  for  none  are  condemned  for  not 
than  he  is  sinful,  and  no  action  deemed  sin-, doing  what  they  could  not  possibly  pertbrm 
fill  which  is  not  the  effect  of  choice.  Nor  if  they  would ;  but  as  it  respects  moral  ina- 
is  any  man  praiscworthv,  whatever  good  bility,  it  is  just  the  reverse ;  for  the  preva- 
may  result  to  others  from  his  conduct,  if  it  lency  of  inclination,  or  alrength  o(  propea- 


HELP     TO     ZIO-N-S     TRAVELLERS. 


115 


sity  to  good  or  evil,  is  the  verj*  thing  from  j 
whence  degrees  in  each  proceed,  and  are 
inferred.  Moral  evil  is  that  which  God 
naturally  and  necessarily  hates,  and  volun- 
tarily abhors.  His  propensitj-  to  puriiy  is 
irifinite  aind  invariable.  He  therefore  takes 
no  pleasure  in  our  obedience  to  his  own 
appointments  when  peformed  in  a  sinful 
manner ;  he  said  to  backshdden  Israel 
•■  Incense  is  an  abomination  to  me ;  the 
new  moons  and  sabbaths,  the  callling  of 
assembhes,  I  cannot  away  with ;  it  is  ini- 
quity, even  the  solemn  meeting ;  your  new 
moons  and  your  appointed  feasts  my  soul 
hateth ;  they  are  a  trouble  to  me,  I  am 
weary  to  bear  them."  Isaiah,  i.  13,  14. 
As  no  mail  who  is  the  sii>ject  of  common 
sense  will  infer  that,  becAse  Jehovah  has 
an  infinite  strong  propensity  to  purity,  and 
cannot  but  hate  sin,  therelbre  he  is  not  ghri- 
oug  in  holiness  ;  or  that  because  he  cannot 
lie,  cannot  deny  himself,  therefore  there  is 
no  need  to  resolve  with  David  to  praise  kis^ 
truth.  Psalm  Ixsi.  22.  Who  then,  with 
the  least  regard  to,  or  possessing  any  share , 
of  reason,  truth,  and  decenc}-,  can  thus 
plead  ?  i  am  not  rery  had.  because  I  hate 
a  very  greai  and  constant  axersion  to  uhat 
is  good. 

If  an  intense  love  to  sin.  and  hatred  to 
holiness,  do  constitute  innocence,  or  free- 
dom from  blame  :  those  who  are  the  great- 
ext  enecaies  to  God  and  all  righteousness. 
or  most  evidently  belong  to  the  children  of 
the  devil  are  the  lea^t  Uable  to  punishment 

If  disinclination  to  dutv"  does  free  a  per-, 
son  from  obhgation  to  obe*iience.  a  slothful! 
servant  would  have  an  unanswerable  argu- 
ment in  tavor  of  his  conduct ;  for  he  might 
say,  (and  no  doubt  could  give  a  sufficient 
proof  il'  necessary.)  that  he  never  loted\ 
work  in  his  lile,  that  he  always  had  an  aver-\ 
sion  to  hard  labor,  and  cannot  yet  be  recon-i 
ciled  to  it  being  coivtrary  to  his  inclination  ;! 
and  that  to  which  he  alxcays  found,  as  fari 
as  he  can  remember,  an  inward  jLced  re-| 
luctance.  He  might  add,  Sir.  when  I  find 
work  agreeable  to  me,  I  will  attend  to  it:! 
but  tiU  then,  you  cannot  be  so  unreasona-, 
ble  as  to  blame  me,  seeing  we  are  taught' 
to  consider  that  even  in  matters  of  religion,  j 
nothing  is  dtJty  further  than  there  is  a  cor-\ 
responding  disposition.  I  love  to  look  on,' 
whilst  others  labor,  and  I  hope  you  will  al- 
low me,  without  offence,  to  act  according 
to  my  natural  inclination.  The  haughty 
6er\-ant  might  likewise  say.  You  will  aJlow 
me,  I  hope  sir.  to  do  eis  I  please,  for  I  never 
did  love  control ;  I  was  always  of  an  ambi- 
tioug  temper,  and  have  even  now  a  strong  \ 
inclination  and  intense  desire  after  honor  \ 
and  authority.  I  irish  you  would,  and 
therefore  I  cannot  but  hope  you  will  con-j 
aider  yourselC  in  future,  as  under  my  direc-, 


tion.  Must  the  notorious  thief  be  acquit- 
ted, because  he  has  been  long  vmder  the 
power  of  a  strong  incUnation  to  injure  his 
neighbors  ?  or  the  murderer  be  deemed  less 
guilty,  because  of  his  cruel  disposition? 
Were  such  a  principle  allowed,  moral  (Gov- 
ernment would  be  overturned ;  everj-  one 
might  do  as  he  pleases  without  liabihty  to 
punishment,  especially  those  of  the  vilest 
dispositions.  And  if  so,  perhaps  none 
would  deserve  less  punishment  than  the 
devil. 

But  it  may  be  said,  ••  Our  aversion  to 
God  ha^  been  transmitted  to  us  from  our 
first  parents  ;  and  being  bom  so,  therefore 
we  hope  favor  will  be  shown,  as  our  per- 
sonal guilt  is  thereby  diminished."'  Were 
pit}-  pleaded  for,  on  account  of  natural  ina- 
bility, or  a  natural  defect  and  affliction,  at- 
tending either  our  mental  or  bodily  powers, 
the  reasonableness  of  the  plea  would  read- 
ily be  grantexi,  and  evidently  appear.  But 
sin  is  a  moral  defect  and  cannot  be  com- 
mitted contrary  to  a  person's  consent  or 
without  a  criminal  inclination.  The  above 
extenuating  plea  is  only  a  false  gloss.  Its 
genuine  sense  is  the  same  as  il'  a  person 
should  say,  when  indicted  lor  high  treason, 
■•  I  am.  it  is  true,  deemed  a  traitor,  but  I 
hope  it  will  be  considered  as  an  extenua- 
tion of  mj'  crime,  that  I  am  the  offspring 
and  seed  of  evil  doers;  my  family  in  all 
their  respective  generations  have  been  reb- 
els against  their  sovereign.  I  have  there- 
fore only  acted  as  they  have  done  who  are 
my  progenitors.  I  hope  I  sheill  be  favora- 
bly dealt  with,  as  mv  disloyalty  (if  it  must 
be  so  termed)  is  a  tamily  disposition.  Be- 
sides, what  I  have  done,  arose  from  a  root- 
ed enmity  in  my  heart  to  the  kivLg.  his  ad- 
herents, and  government,  for  which  I  ought 
not  to  be  censured,  as  my  ancestors  always 
discovered,  as  I  have  done,  an  inclination 
to  overturn  the  constitution  ;  and  if  possi- 
ble to  dethrone  the  sovereign,  and  bring 
him  and  all  his  children  and  subjects  into 
perpetual  contempt.  And  moreover,  as  my 
temper  and  disposition  are  such,  I  cannot 
submit  to  his  authority,  nor  be  beholden  to 
his  clemency  ;  having  a  rivetted  aversion  in 
my  heart  to  what  he  is,  has,  does,  and  says. 
If  therefore  my  oitn  enmity,  or  my  fathers, 
against  the  sovereign  and  his  subjects  have 
any  influence  to  exculpate  or  diminish  the 
charge  of  guilt  which  doubtless  ougM  to 
be  allowed  in  my  favor,  I  hope,  according 
to  the  law  of  equity,  my  punishment  (if  any 
be  justly  inflicted)  will  be  very*  small."  If 
it  would  be  an  affront  to  common  sense,  and 
contrary-  to  every  rule  of  equity  amongst 
men  to  plead  an  ejcemption  from  pimish- 
ment  on  account  of  the  delinquent's  tile 
disposition,  or  that  of  his  ancestors,  how 
awful  then  is  the  deception  oi  those  who  ap- 


116 


HELP    TO    ZION'S    TRAVELLERS. 


prehend  they  cannot  be  treated  by  God  as 
criminals,  because  of  moral  inability,  or  the 
badness  of  their  hearts. 

Besides,  if  the  vileness  of  men's  hearts, 
or  their  abominable  dispositions,  free  them 
from  blame,  or  secure  them  from  punish- 
ment, they  cannot  accoimt  them  to  be  bad 
hearts,  seeing  their  present  peace  and  fu- 
ture hope  depend  upon  them.  They  are 
not,  it  seems,  injurious  hearts,  but  extreme- 
ly beneficial,  providing  they  be  but  suffi- 
ciently vile.  Such  persons  would  not  know 
how  to  go  on  in  religion  as  they  do — they 
could  not  sin  without  sorrow,  hope  without 
holiness,  believe  without  evidence,  and  re- 
joice in  a  thing  of  novght ;  but  through  the 
help  of  a  bad  heart.  They  do  not  think 
them  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  despe- 
rately wicked,  and  that  for  the  badness  of 
them  they  are  accountable  to  God.  They 
consider  their  base  hearts,  and  vile  dispo- 
sitions, as  their  best  friends,  which  justify 
and  sanctify  their  omissions  of  duty,  and 
commission  of  sins,  as  trifling.  The  gos- 
pel libertine,  yea,  the  whole  tribe  of  indo- 
lent, light,  and  trifling  professors,  seem  to 
consider  and  use  what  tliey  call  their  bad 
heart,  as  a  dark  room,  or  concealed  ware- 
house, where  they  hope  to  hide  their  crimes, 
which,  as  fast  as  are  committed,  are  remov- 
ed thither  in  expectation  of  never  being 
found,  or  exposed  to  view,  being  secured  by 
the  lock  of  strong  delusion  under  the  care 
o\^  carnal  confidence,  who  carries  the  key  of 
presumption,  and  is  lord  of  all  the  lumber. 

But  how  very  different  are  the  declara- 
tions of  God,  who  says,  "  The  sacrifice  of 
the  wicked  is  abomination,  how  much  more, 
when  he  bringeth  it  with  a  wicked  mind  ?" 
Prov.  xxi.  27.  "  He  hath  said  in  his  heart, 
God  hath  forgotten  ;  he  hideth  his  face  ;  he 
will  never  see  it.  Thou  wilt  not  require 
it."  See  Psalm  x.  11—15.  "  These  things 
hast  thou  done,  and  I  kept  silence ;  thou 
thoughtest  that  I  was  altogether  such  a  one 
as  thyself;  but  I  will  reprove  thee,  and  set 
them  in  order  before  thine  eyes."  Psalm 
1.  21.  "Yea,  also  the  heart  of  the  sons  of 
men  is  full  of  evil,  and  madness  is  in  their 
heart,  while  they  live,  and  after  that  they 
go  to  the  dead." — "  But  know  thou  that  lor 
all  these  things  God  will  bring  thee  into 
judgment."     Eccl.  ix.  3;  xi.  9. 

To  conclude, 

It  is  hoped  the  above  remarks  may, 
through  a  Divine  blessing,  help  entangled 
Christiaris,  respecting  the  following  impor- 
tant particulars : 

1.  To  behold  and  admire  the  equity  and 
justice  of  Jehovah's  government,  in  requir- 
ing nothing  above  the  capacity,  or  natural 
ability,  of  his  creatures ;  and  yet  continu 
ing  the  equitable  demand  of  perfect  obedi 
ence,  and  not  altering  his  law  in  the  least, 
to  suit  the  has?  dispositions  of  his  rebellious 


subjects,  which  would  have  destroyed  every 
idea  of  authority,  and  sunk  the  reputation 
of  God. 

2.  The  necessity  of  the  almighty  opera- 
tions of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  changing  the 
bias  and  dispositions  of  men,  by  regenera- 
ting or  creating  them  anew  in  Christ  Jesus, 
and  working  in  them  to  will  and  to  do  of  his 
owm  good  pleasure.  For  till  the  sinner's 
disposition  be  changed,  till  he  be  born  again, 
and  become  a  new  creature,  he  can  have 
no  true  love  to  God,  no  spiritual  delight  in 
his  law,  no  approving  views  of  Christ  and 
his  glorious  gospel.  And  yet  the  change 
produced  does  not  destroy  the  natural  free- 
dom of  the  human  will ;  but  he  acts  differ- 
ently t>om  choice  to  what  he  did  before. 

3.  By  the  distinction  between  natural  and 
moral  ability,  sovereign  grace  is  not  only 
defensible  against  every  artful  attack,  but  it 
appears  infinitely  great  and  absolutely  free. 
In  every  respect  it  is  truly  wonderful,  be- 
cause those  who  are  saved  were  not  only 
miserable,  but  inexcusably  criminal,  and  as 
such  under  the  sentence  of  eternal  death, 
from  which  there  could  not  have  been  the 
least  hope  of  deliverance  had  not  grace 
provided  relief  If  the  several  parts  of  the 
great  salvation  be  surveyed,  even  from  its 
rise  to  its  final  consummation,  it  will  appear 
entirely  of  pure  grace,  infinite,  unmerited 
compassion,  and  astonishing  mercy,  which 
could  not  be  the  case  if  moral  death  was 
not  a  blameable  state.  Those  who  want  to 
see  the  subject  of  grace  treated  in  a  mas- 
terly manner,  and  set  in  a  clear  convincing 
light,  I  would  recommend  to  their  perusal  a 
book,  entitled  The  Reign  of  Grace,  by  Mr. 
A.  Booth,  London. 

4.  Thereby  scriptural  exhortations  to  re- 
pentance and  faith  appear  quite  consistent, 
which  could  never  be  defended  if  criminal- 
ity arose  from  natural,  and  not  moral  ina- 
bility. For  in  that  case,  it  would  be  equally 
ridiculous  to  call  sinners  to  repentance,  as 
to  exhort  a  blind  man  to  repent  of  his  con- 
tinuance so  long  in  darkness,  and  never  be- 
holding the  surrounding  beauties  of  crea- 
tion ;  and  no  less  absurd  than  to  attempt  to 
convince  the  dead  of  the  crime  of  indolence, 
for  lying  so  long  in  the  grave,  when  their 
help  is  so  much  needed  both  for  work  and 
war.  While  sin  i.s  viewed  as  consisting  in 
a  natural  defect,  or  a  deficiency  in  the  natu- 
ral powers,  penitency  can  never  appear 
reasonable  and  right.  For  a  man  to  pre- 
tend to  repent,  when  at  the  same  time  he 
considers  his  fault  to  lie  in  a  natural  defect, 
which  he  cannot  possibly  help,  if  he  would, 
is  like  a  deaf  man  considering  himself  as 
exceeding  criminal  because  he  did  not  hear 
to-day,  but  is  resolved  he  will  not  be  guilty 
of  the  like  sin  to-morrow.  It  indeed  seems 
to  suppose,  or  require,  a  very  great  defect 
in  a  man's  understanding,  to  be  able  to  con- 


HELP     TO     ZION'S     TRAVELLERS, 


117 


elude,  that  such  a  repentance  is  what  the 
scripture  recommends,  and  the  godly  pos- 
sess. But  genuine  repentance  or  sorrow 
for  sin  appears,  from  the  consideration  of 
voluntary  depravity,  rational,  and  every 
way  fitting ;  because  duty  is  not  at  all  pro- 

Eortioned   to   our  moral   inability,   or  less 
inding  because  of  our  disinclination  to 
good. 

5.  The  doctrine  of  natural  and  moral 
ability  is  calculated  to  afford  and  administer 
much  encouragement  to  seeking  souls,  and 
to  comfort  those  who  are  really  devoted  to 
Christ ;  for  as  none  can  come  unto  him  but 
such  whom  the  Father  draws,  therefore 
spiritual  desires  after  Jesus,  and  delight  in 
religion,  are  evidences  of  a  gracious  change, 
holy  dispensations,  or  a  new  heart. 

You  whose  gifts  are  small,  and  natural 
powers  are  weak,  be  not  distressed  on  those 
accounts ;  for  real  grace  is  much  superior 
to  the  best  abilities  and  most  brilliant  parts. 
Therefore,  rejoice,  that  the  Lord  hath 
shown  you  a  more  excellent  way.  Who 
hath  despised  the  day  of  small  things  ? 
The  profane  world  and  proud  professors 
may;  but  God  will  not.  Those  who  love 
the  Saviour,  to  whom  his  person,  blood,  and 
obedience,  are  precious,  and  his  ways  plea- 
sant, and  whose  desire  is  to  walk  humbly 
with  God  in  the  paths  of  purity,  though 
they  freqaently  stumble,  and  are  often  dis- 
couraged, yea,  though  they  fall.  They  shall 
not  utterly  be  caM  down;  (Psal.  xxxvii.  24,) 
but  shall  hold  on  in  their  way,  and  grow 
stronger  and  stronger ;  (Job.  xvii.  9.)  For 
the  strength  and  guide  of  Israel  hath  said, 
"  The  wayfaring  men,  though  fools,  shall 
not  err."  "  They  shall  obtain  joy  and  glad- 
ness, and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee 
away."  Isaiah,  xxxv.  8,  10.  Those  who 
are  not  able  to  plead  on  God's  behalf,  but 
love  to  think  upon  his  name,  are  precious  in 
his  sight.  And  they  shall  be  mine,  saith 
the  Lord,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up  my 
jewels.  Mai.  iii.  16,  17.  Therefore  fear 
not,  worm  Jacob. 

6.  The  strong  believer,  however  enriched 
with  gifts  and  grace,  is  thereby  led  to  vari- 
ous humbling  and  profitable  considerations. 
However  great  his  natural  abilities  are,  he 


is  as  much  under  a  perpetual  necessity  to 
look  to,  and  rely  upon  the  Lord,  for  gracious 
influences,  as  those  of  the  weakest  capacity ; 
for  a  person  may  possess  strong  mental 
powers  and  be  morally  weak.  Grace  may 
be  languid  and  low,  where  natural  gifts  are 
lively  and  strong. 

Whilst  the  Christian  is  the  subject  of  sin, 
and  a  propensity  to  sin  is  felt,  he  will  see 
the  necessity  of  perpetual  watchfulness,  re- 
pentance, and  prayer,  and  often  cry,  with 
holy  Paul,  O  wretched  man  that  I  am ! 
For  though  he  is  not  under  the  sole  domin- 
ion of  sin,  yet  he  feels  and  laments  a  crimi- 
nal backwardness  to  good,  and  a  proneness 
to  evil.  So  that  when  he  would  do  good, 
evil  is  present  with  him.  He  being  the 
subject  of"  two  opposite  dispositions,  there- 
fore he  cannot  do  the  things  that  he  would. 
His  resolutions  are  feeble  and  his  comforts 
fluctuate,  because  his  affections  are  unsta- 
ble, being  sanctified  but  in  part.  Some- 
times they  mount  to  heaven,  and  seem  fixed 
on  things  above,  but  anon  they  drop  down 
to  earth  and  sense ;  and  then  he  complaint-, 
and  prays  as  David  did,  saying,  "  My  soul 
cleavelh  to  the  dust,  quicken  thou  me."  He 
feels  and  is  assured,  that  without  Christ  he 
can  do  notlung ;  yet  that  inability  of  which 
he  is  sensible,  he  does  not  consider  as  an 
excuse  for  the  neglect  of  duty  or  commis- 
sion of  sin.  He  does  not  bless  himself  that 
he  has  got  a  bad  heart,  where  he  may 
safely  deposit  his  iniquities,  and  thereby 
keep  his  conscience  calm. 

But  the  sin  of  his  heart  is  the  sorrow  of 
his  soul,  and  his  perpetual  plague.  It  is  the 
object  of  his  hatred,  and  the  subject  of  his 
secret  and  unfeigned  lamentation :  because 
the  good  man  is  taught  to  consider  moral 
defects  as  inexcusable  faults. 

He  longs  for  heaven,  because  it  is  a  place 
of  purity  where  he  shall  be  free  from  sin  as 
well  as  from  sorrow.  While  in  the  body, 
he  considers  himself  neither  where  nor  as 
he  would  be ;  therefore  his  desire  is  to 
depart  and  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  bet- 
ter. And  as  he  which  testijieth  these  things 
saith.  Surely  I  come  quickly :  his  heart  re- 
plies, "Amen,  even  so  come,  Lord  Je- 
sus." 


THE   END. 


OPf,", 


^^C.  APR 


THE 


DEATH  OF  LEGAL  HOPE. 


By  ABRAHAM  BOOTH. 


For  I  through  the  law  am  dead  to  the  law,  that  I  might  live  unto  God. — Gal.  ii.  19. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  words  which  contain  the  important 
subject  o^  the  Ibllowing  essay,  being  part 
of  that  epistle  which  was  written  by  Paul 
to  the  Galatian  churches,  it  may  not  be 
improper,  by  way  of  introduction,  to  ob- 
serve, that  in  the  epistle  to  those  churches, 
we  have  an  ancient  piece  of  sacred  con- 
troversy ;  and  that  the  truth  vindicated  in 
it,  is  interesting  to  the  last  degree.  For 
the  great  question  here  debated  is,  in  the 
words  of  Job,  "  How  shall  man  be  just 
with  God  ?"  Job  ix.  2.  In  the  manage- 
ment of  which  controversy,  the  great  apos- 
tle proceeds,  under  the  conduct  of  the  un- 
erring Spirit,  with  all  the  Jire  of  godly 
zeal ;  Gal.  iii.  1 ;  with  all  the  affection  of 
the  tender  parent;  Gal.  iv.  19;  with  all 
the  meekness  of  heavenly  wisdom ;  James 
iii.  13 ;  and  (I  will  not  say  with  all  the  ac- 
curacy of  logical  disputation,  but,  which  is 
infinitely  superior,)  with  all  the  precision 
of  divine  truth. 

Paul  was  an  indefatigable  laborer  in  the 
vineyard  of  Jesus  Christ  and  a  successful 
preacher  of  the  everlasting  gospel.  He 
was  abundantly  useful  in  the  execution  of 
his  apostolic  office,  in  turning  multitudes 
of  sinners  "  from  darkness  to  light,  and 
from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God."  Yet, 
after  all  his  unwearied  labors,  and  all  his 
unparalleled  success,  he  did  not  assume 
the  least  share  of  the  honor.  His  language 
is,  "not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God  which  was 
with  me."  Nor  was  he  backward  to  ac- 
knowledge, after  all  the  sufferings  which 
he  had  sustained,  and  all  the  works  that 
he  had  performed,  for  the  sake  of  his  di- 
vine Master,  that,  as  a  saint,  he  was  "  less 
than  the  least;"  as  a  sinner,  he  was  the 
first  and  "  the  chief"  Eph.  iii.  8.  1  Tim. 
i.  15.  Perfectly  sensible  that  he  was  utter- 
ly unworthy  in  the  sight  of  his  Maker,  and 
that  the  hope  of  his  soul  had  no  support 
but  sovereign  grace,  as  revealed  in  Jesus  ; 
being  well  acquainted  with  the  infinite  pu- 
rity of  a  righteous  God,  and  the  sublime 


demands  of  his  holy  law ;  he  could  accede 
to  no  terms  of  acceptance,  nor  acquiesce 
in  any  doctrine  which  did  not  provide  as 
well  for  the  hotwr  of  divine  justice,  as  for 
the  safety  of  the  guilty  soul  which  did  not 
maintain  the  rights  of  a  holy  law,  and  dis- 
play the  riches  of  unbounded  grace.  Such 
was  the  faith  he  possessed,  and  such  was 
the  doctrine  he  preached. 

These  truths  were  dispensed  by  him 
among  the  Galatians,  and  with  a  consider- 
able degree  of  success.  Sinners  were  con- 
verted, and  churches  formed  in  Galatia,  by 
the  instrumentality  of  this  excellent  man. 
For  a  time,  they  lived  in  mutual  peace,  and 
regarded  the  doctrine  which  Paul  had 
taught,  as  of  heavenly  origin.  They  re- 
joiced in  hope  ;  they  ran  well.  Gal.  v.  7, 
and  seemed  to  bid  fair  for  obtaining  the 
prize.  Such  were  their  happy  circumstan- 
ces, for  some  time  after  they  received  the 
gospel. 

But,  alas,  how  soon  the  face  of  things 
was  altered  !  Gal.  i.  6.  How  soon,  as  to 
many  of  them,  were  their  views  of  the 
grace  of  God,  and  of  their  justification  be- 
fore him,  darkened  !  For  Satan,  that  arch- 
enemy of  God  and  man — Satan,  that  im- 
placable foe  to  human  happiness,  quickly 
began  to  sow  the  seeds  of  destructive  error, 
and  to  raise  up  instruments  to  propagate  a 
perverted  gospel.  He  "  transformed  him- 
self into  an  angel  of  light,"  and  pleaded 
the  necessity  of  obedience  to  the  law,  in 
order  to  acceptance  with  God.  Thus  were 
they  deceived,  under  a  specious  pretence 
of  greater  sanctity,  and  a  more  than  ordi- 
nary zeal  for  the  divine  commands.  The 
righteousness  of  Christ,  which  Paul  had 
described  as  the  "  one  thing  needful"  for 
the  justification  of  sinners,  and  which  they 
had  before  regarded  as  the  only  ground  of 
their  hope,  they  were  afraid  to  trust,  sup- 
posing it  insufficient.  They  were  taught 
by  the  false  apostles,  and  were  persuaded, 
in  their  own  deceived  hearts,  that  they  were 
under  a  necessity  of  seeking  a  supplement- 
al^ aid  from  their  own  duties. 

This  doctrine,  so  pattering  to  their  own 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


119 


vanity,  so  favorable  to  human  worthiness, 
and  without  a  professed  denial  of  Christ 
and  his  work,  they  received  with  all  readi- 
ness. For  it  is  much  more  agreeable  to 
the  pride  of  nature,  and  a  far  more  respect- 
able and  popular  way  of  seeking  acceptance 
with  God,  to  use  our  own  skill,  and  exert  our 
own  endeavors,  as  co-efficients  with  divine 
grace  and  the  great  Redeemer,  than  to  rely 
entirely  on  the  righteousness  of  another,  and 
be  beholden,  solely  beholden,  to  a  foreign, 
undeserved  assistance.  They  entered, 
therefore,  on  a  vain  pursuit  of  happiness, 
in  this  plausible  and  self-pleasing,  but  de- 
lusive method.  They  clave  to  the  law. 
They  relied  on  their  own  duties,  as  co- 
partners with  Jesus,  in  performing  the 
greatest  of  all  works,  in  obtaining  the  no- 
blest of  all  blessings,  their  justification  be- 
fore the  Almighty.  The  awful  consequen- 
ces of  which  were,  they  embraced  another 
gospel;  made  void  the  necessity  of  the 
death  of  Christ ;  and  virtually  renounced 
all  interest  in  him.  Gal.  i.  6,  ii.  21,  v.  2,  4. 
By  such  a  procedure  they  became  debtors 
to  do  the  whole  law,  and  were  obnoxious 
to  its  dreadful  curse.  Gal.  v.  3,  iii.  10. 
And,  having  discarded  the  glorious  truth 
which  Paul  preached,  they  traduced  his 
character,  they  renounced  his  fellowship, 
and  treated  him  as  their  enemy.  Gal.  iv.  16. 
Such  were  the  malignant  effects  of  re- 
ceiving a  corrupted  gospel.  These  effects 
the  good  apostle  beheld  with  a  mixture  of 
indignation  and  sorrow.  Against  their  de- 
structive and  fatal  mistakes,  he  therefore 
takes  up  his  pen,  and  makes  a  resolute 
stand.  The  false  apostles  he  considers  as 
their  greatest  enemies ;  and  as  being,  in  a 
peculiar  manner,  accursed  of  God.  Gal. 
1.  8,  9.  He  makes  it  appear,  by  such  a  de- 
termined opposition  to  their  plausible  and 
prevailing  tenets,  that  when  the  capital 
truths  of  the  gospel  were  corrupted,  the 
peace  of  the  Christian  injured,  and  the 
souls  of  men  endangered,  he  had  no  fear 
of  the  hideous  charge  and  popular  clamor 
of  "bigotry  to  his  own  way,"  or  "rashness 
and  a  want  of  charity  for  others."  In  this 
respect,  as  in  his  ministerial  conduct  in 
general,  he  is  worthy  of  imitation  by  all 
the  succeeding  servants  of  Christ  in  every 
age.  For,  though  it  be  their  indispensable 
duty  to  "hold  the  truth  in  love,"  and  to 
"follow  peace  with  all  men."  yet,  when  the 
great  doctrines  of  divine  revelation  are 
perverted  or  denied,  then  they  are  called 
in  providence,  then  they  are  required  by 
the  command  of  God,  and  the  love  which 
they  bear  to  the  Lord  Redeemer,  to  "  con- 
tend earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints."  Nor  ought  they  to  rtgard 
the  persons  of  men,  or  fear  the  consequen- 
ces which  may  attend  a  zealous  and  pru- 
dent defence  of  the  truth. 


Happy  had  it  been  for  the  church  of 
Christ  in  the  following  ages,  if  the  errors 
espoused  and  propagated  by  those  ancient 
judaizing  teachers  had  ceased  to  exist, 
from  the  time  that  their  strenuous  patrons 
left  the  stage  of  action.  But,  alas,  the 
same  temper  and  spirit  still  continue,  and 
still  prevail !  True  it  is  that  names  are 
changed,  and  the  terms  of  the  question 
then  in  debate  are  greatly  altered.  Now, 
none  professing  Christianity  pretend  to 
maintain  the  necessity  of  circumcision,  in 
order  to  acceptance  with  God.  That  is 
now  universally  esteemed  an  obsolete  rite ; 
though,  by  some  of  old,  accounted  of  great 
importance  under  the  Christian  economy. 
The  same  principle,  notwithstanding,  on 
which  those  judaizing  Christians  proceed- 
ed in  maintaining  the  necessity  of  circum- 
cision, is  still  retained,  and  operates  in  va- 
rious ways. 

The  grand  question  then  was — In  what 
does  that  righteousness  consist,  for  the  sake 
of  which  alone  a  sinner  may  be  justified 
before  God?  And  the  matter  in  contro- 
versy between  Paul  and  his  opponents, 
was —  Whether  the  obedience  of  Christ, 
without  any  addition  whatever,  was  that 
very  righteousness  ?  Or,  whether  some  do- 
ings or  endeavors  of  their  own,  were  not 
necessary  for  that  important  p^irpose? 
Paul  maintained  the  fomier ;  the  Jewish 
zealots  the  latter.  To  this  one  point  may 
the  disputations  of  Paul  with  the  deceived 
Galatians,  on  the  article  of  justification,  be 
reduced ;  as  is  obvious  from  the  contents 
of  his  epistle  to  them. 

As  the  same  dispute  still  continues  in 
the  world,  and  as  the  words  which  afford 
matter  for  the  present  essay,  are  happily 
adapted  to  cast  light  on  this  very  interest- 
ing subject,  it  may  be  no  unpleasing,  per- 
haps no  unprofitable  employ,  to  consider 
the  capital  ideas  contained  in  them,  in  the 
following  sections.  And  may  the  unerring 
Spirit  illuminate  the  mind,  and  guide  the 
pen  of  the  writer — that  he  may  not  prove 
an  ignorant  patron  of  error,  but  a  well- 
informed  advocate  for  truth.  May  the 
same  infallible  Guide  smile  on  this  feeble 
attempt  for  the  good  of  the  reader !  That 
the  consciences  of  the  unawakened  may 
be  alarmed — the  minds  of  the  ignorant 
instructed  —  the  hearts  of  the  disconsolate 
comforted  —  and  faith  and  holiness  promot- 
ed in  all  into  whose  hands  these  pages  may 
come. 


SECTION     I. 

What  law  it  is  to  which  the  Apostle  was  dead. 

Our  first  inquiry  must  be.  What  law  it 
is  the  apostle  designs  when  he  eaye,  "  I  am 


120 


DEATH    OF     LEGAL     HOPE. 


dead  to  the  law  ?"  We  may  obtain  satis- 
faction in  this  inquiry,  by  consulting  the 
context.  Great  reason  there  is  to  conclude, 
that  the  law  intended  here,  is  the  same  he 
repeatedly  mentions  in  the  sixteenth  verse 
of  the  chapter.  And  it  is  evident  that  is 
the  moral  law.  For  that  is  the  law  to 
which  we  are  universally  inclined  to  look 
for  justification  and  life ;  though  by  it  we 
can  never  obtain  those  invaluable  bless- 
ings. 

When  a  sinner  is  awakened  out  of  car- 
nal security,  and  his  conscience  is  alarmed 
with  a  sense  of  guilt,  he  naturally  looks  to 
some  devout  and  penitential  exercises  of 
his  heart,  or  some  pious  and  beneficient 
actiotis  of  his  life.  Some  doings  or  en- 
deavors of  his  own,  engage  his  attention ; 
and,  for  a  while,  yield  a  feeble  support  for 
his  hope.  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?" 
is  his  language.  With  this  the  apostle 
was  perfectly  acquainted.  He  therefore 
repeatedly  affirms,  "That  by  the  works  of 
the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified."  Rom. 
iii.  20.  Gul.  ii.  16.  This  being  an  article 
of  great  importance,  and  the  legal  bias  of 
our  minds  being  so  apt  to  lead  us  astray, 
he  does  not  content  himself  with  barely 
asserting  that  we  cannot  be  justified  by  it; 
but  he  also  assigns  the  reason.  Affirming 
that  it  is  impossible  for  the  law  to  justify 
any  of  the  children  of  Adam,  because  "it 
is  become  weak  through  the  flesh,"  Rom. 
viii.  3,  or  the  corruption  of  nature.  Hu- 
man depravity  renders  a  perfect,  personal 
conformity  to  the  divine  law,  utterly  im- 
practicable ;  and  without  a  complete  obe- 
dience, justification  by  it  is  absolutely  im- 
possible. 

That  it  is  the  moral  law  he  here  designs, 
appears  from  the  opposition  there  is  be- 
tween the  works  of  that  law  of  which  he 
speaks,  and  the  faith  of  Jesus.  •'  Know- 
ing that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works 
of  the  law,  but  by  the  faitJi  of  Jesus  Christ !" 
But  that  law,  and  the  works  of  it,  to  which 
the  faith  of  Christ  is  directly  opposed,  is 
the  moral  law.  For  as  to  the  ceremonial 
law,  it  contained  a  principal  part  of  the 
gospel  of  the  ancient  church.  Christ  in 
liis  person  and  offices  ;  Christ  in  his  grace 
and  work  ;  was  prefigured  in  it,  and  signi- 
fied by  it.  To  him  it  had  an  invariable 
respect,  and  in  him  it  had  its  final  comple- 
tion. Yes,  believer,  that  very  Jesus  whom 
you  love  and  adore;  that  very  grace  in 
which  you  trust  and  rejoice,  were  in  that 
law  exliibited  as  the  hope  of  guilty  sin- 
ners, and  the  joy  of  enlightened  saints. 
Consequently,  the  ceremonial  law  cannot 
be  considered  as  set  in  direct  opposition, 
by  the  apostle,  to  Christ  and  faith  in  him. 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  it  is  the  moral 
law  he  intends,  when  he  says,  "I  am  dead 
to  the  law."     For  it  may  be  placed  in  such 


a  contrasted  view,  with  tlie  greatest  pro- 
priety. This  law  and  the  works  of  it,  are 
directly  opposite  to  grace  and  faith  in  a 
Redeemer.  It  makes  not  the  least  com- 
fortable discovery  to  a  miserable  sinner. 
It  knows  nothing  of  pardoning  mercy.  It 
says  not  a  word  about  atoning  blood.  Be- 
ing the  formula  of  that  covenant  which 
was  made  with  man  in  a  state  of  innocence, 
it  makes  not  the  least  abatement  in  point 
of  duty ;  nor  the  least  provision,  in  a  way 
of  mercy,  in  case  of  failure.  Perfect  obe- 
dience is  its  constant  demand ;  an  obedi- 
ence, personal  and  perpetual.  Whatever 
mercy  the  sinner  wants,  whatever  bless- 
ings God  bestows,  is  provided  in  another 
covenant,  are  dispensed  in  another  way. 

Again :  That  the  moral  law  is  here  in- 
tended, appears  from  a  parallel  passage  in 
the  writings  of  Paul,  relating,  as  here,  to 
his  own  experience.  "  I  was  alive  without 
the  law  once  ;  but  when  the  commandment 
came,  sin  revived  and  I  died.  Rom.  vii.  9. 
I  was  alive:  I  supposed  myself  righteous, 
I  thought  myself  safe,  in  virtue  of  my  own 
obedience.  But  I  was  then  without  the 
late;  I  was  far  from  being  acquainted 
with  its  vast  extent,  and  high  demands. 
For  when  the  commandment  came,  shining 
on  my  understanding  in  its  purity,  and  op- 
eratinsT  on  my  conscience  with  power,  sin 
revived  and  I  died  to  all  self-righteous 
hopes.  Thus  the  letter,  the  law  that  was 
inscribed  with  God's  own  hand  on  tables 
of  stone,  killeth  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  6,  7  ;  as  the 
infallible  author,  in  another  epistle,  asserts. 
Such,  then,  is  the  law  to  which  the  apostle 
was  dead.  And,  however  strange  the  doc- 
trine may  appear  to  the  self-righteous  pro- 
fessor, we  may  venture  to  affirm,  that  no 
man,  after  all  his  resolutions  and  all  his 
efforts,  can  ever  experience  a  sense  of  par- 
don, or  enjoy  peace  in  his  conscience ;  can 
either  live  to  God  in  holy  obedience  here, 
or  have  a  well-gro\inded  hope  of  glory 
hereafter,  till  he  knows  what  it  is  to  be 
dead  to  the  law.  This  truth  we  shall  en- 
deavor to  prove  and  illustrate  in  the  follow- 
ing pages. 


SECTION     II. 

Unregenerate  Sinners  alive  to  the  Late,  as 
a  Covenant. 

The  moral  law  may  be  considered  either 
as  a  covenant  of  works,  or  as  a  rule  of 
co7idurt.  In  the  latter  of  these  respects,  it 
is  unchangeable  as  that  relation  between 
God  and  man,  on  which  it  is  founded,  and 
therefore,  never  to  be  disregarded  ;  as  we 
shall  endeavor  to  show  in  its  proper  place. 
In  the  former,  it  may  be  considered  not 


DEATH    OF     LEGAL    HOHE. 


121 


only  as  prescribing  duty,  but  as  promising 
a  reward,  on  condition  of  perfect  obedience, 
and  as  guarded  by  a  penal  sanction,  de- 
nouncing eternal  death  against  every  of- 
fender. To  the  law,  thus  considered,  the 
apostle  says,  "  I  am  dead." 

When  a  person  is  described  as  dead  to 
the  law,  it  is  supposed  and  implied  that  he 
was  once  alive  to  it ;  that  his  hopes  of  jus- 
tification and  life  by  it,  are  now  exiinct- 
and  that  as  a  covenant  it  ceases  to  have 
any  further  demands  upon  him,  or  to  de 
nounce  any  ihreatenings  against  him.  We 
shall  make  the  Jirst  of  these  particulars 
the  subject  of  our  inquiry  in  the  present 
section. 

When  the  apostle  says,  "  I  am  dead  to 
the  law,"  the  expression  implies,  that  he 
was  once  alive  to  it.  Death  is  a  privation 
of  life.  No  man  therefore  can,  with  pro- 
priety, be  said  to  be  dead  to  the  law,  if  he 
never  was  alive  to  it.  Before  regeneration, 
all  men  are  alive  to  the  law:  or,  in  other 
words,  they  seek  justification  by  it.  Their 
hopes  are  founded  upon  it ;  their  expecta- 
tions of  acceptance  with  God  and  lite  eter- 
nal, arise  from  their  obedience  to  it.  Such 
are  the  expectations  of  every  unregenerate 
man.  This  is  the  way  which  nature  teach- 
es: this  is  a  method  which  pride  encour- 
ages. 

Man  being  originally  formed  for  a  cove- 
nant of  works,  and  fitted  to  live  by  his  own 
righteousness;  being  endued  with  capaci- 
ties and  powers  to  persevere  in  holiness, 
and  to  enjoy  happiness  by  such  a  constitu- 
tion ;  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  should,  now 
fallen,  and  while  unregenerate,  have  no 
idea  of  living  to  God,  and  obtaining  salva- 
tion by  a  covenant  of  a  quite  different 
kind.  Our  first  parents,  while  innocent, 
having  no  need  of  that  merciful  provision 
which  is  made  for  the  guilty,  in  the  cove- 
nant of  grace,  had  no  revelation  of  it. 
Consequently,  after  the  fall,  they  could 
have  no  conception  of  any  such  thing,  any 
I'urther  than  the  great  Creator  was  pleased 
to  reveal  it  to  them.  And  as  all  the  hu- 
man race  are  tlie  posterity  of  that  apos- 
tate pair ;  and  as  we  descend  from  them, 
as  formed  for  a  covenant  of  works,  and  as 
breakers  of  it ;  so  we  not  only  derive  a 
corrupt  nature  from  them,  and  are  obnox- 
ious to  divine  wrath;  Eph.  ii.  3;  but  also 
naturally  cleave  to  the  legal  covenant  as 
that  which  is  suited  to  the  feeble  ray  of 
nature's  light,  and  those  principles  on  which 
we  act,  so  soon  as  reason  dawns.  And 
though  nothing  but  sad  disappointment  has 
attended  man's  endeavors  in  this  way  ;  yet, 
not  being  acquainted  with  any  otlier  sup- 
port against  despair,  when  guilt  pains  his 
conscience,  his  pride  still  flatters  him  with 
a  prospect  of  better  success,  by  means  of 
new  improvements  in  such  attempts.     Yes, 

VoL  3.— P. 


no  sooner  are  we  conscious  of  guilt,  and 
alarmed  with  apprehensions  of  impending 
ruin,  then  we  flee  to  the  law  for  relief. 
Sorrow  for  our  past  transgressions,  and 
sincere  obedience  for  the  future  ;  forsaking 
our  former  evil  courses,  and  espousing  the 
cause  of  religion ;  are  esteemed  the  most 
probable  means  of  procuring  the  pardon 
of  sin,  and  the  salvation  of  our  immortal 
souls.  Especially,  if  we  have  some  re- 
spect to  the  general  mercy  of  God,  and  a 
partial  regard  to  the  atonement  of  Christ, 
as  suj)plying  the  defects  attending  our  own 
obedience,  and  inclining  the  Deity  to  make 
proper  allowances,  and  be  propitious  to  us, 
in  regard  to  our  many  unavoidable  infirm- 
ities. 

Ready  we  are  to  imagine,  that  as  a  law 
requires  obedience,  and  promises  a  reward 
to  the  performer  of  it,  a  sincere  endeavor 
to  do  the  best  we  are  able,  in  our  present 
circumstances,  (though  we  can  scarcely 
hope  to  arrive  at  perfection)  will  be  conde- 
scendingly regarded  by  a  merciful  God  ; 
regarded  as  an  undoubted  indication  of  an 
upright  heart,  and  a  sufficient  foundation 
on  which  to  proceed,  in  applying  to  us  the 
merits  of  Jesus  Christ.  Thus  we  make 
our  well-meant  endeavors  to  obey  the  law, 
a  kind  of  pedestal,  on  which  the  general 
mercy  of  God,  and  the  conditional  merit 
of  Christ,  may  be  erected  to  display  them- 
selves with  advantage,  in  rewarding  the 
worth}',  and  distinguishing  those  who  have 
already  so  well  distinguished  themselves 
as  the  observers  of  the  law,  and  the  friends 
of  piety.  And,  in  case  of  a  relapse  into 
open  and  scandalous  sins,  they  who  are 
alive  to  the  law,  suppose  the  remedy  is 
obvious.  They  readily  conclude  that  there 
must  be  some  additionals,  in  kind,  number, 
or  degree,  to  their  penitential  and  religious 
exercises.  For  instance,  sorrowing  more 
bitterly,  praying  more  fervently,  giving 
alms  more  liberally,  and  performing  every 
religious  duty  with  a  greater  punctuality 
and  warmer  zeal.  Thus  tliey  think  to  com- 
mute with  divine  justice,  or  to  quit  scores 
for  their  offences  by  Iheir  duties. 

In  consequence  of  such  a  procedure, 
they  are  either  elated  with  pharisaical 
pride,  or  overwhelmed  with  desponding 
fears — with  pharisaical  prid^,  when  pos- 
sessed of  a  high  conceit  of  the  excellence 
of  their  duties,  and  the  safety  of  their  state. 
When  they  imagine  themselves  to  have 
performed  the  conditions  required,  be  they 
greater  or  less,  they  cannot  but  congratu- 
late themselves  on  their  happy  attainments 
in  holiness,  and  the  glorious  prospects 
they  have  in  view.  Their  own  free-will, 
and  the  strength  of  their  moral  powers, 
are  the  idol  to  which  they  bow,  the  god 
whom  they  adore.  "  They  offer  sacrifice 
to  their  own  net,  and  burn  incense  to  their 


322 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


own  drag."  Hab.  i.  16.  They  look  down 
upon  the  common  herd  of  mankind  with  a 
supercihous  disdain,  wondering  in  them- 
selves, that  creatures  of  an  immortal  make 
should  actsoignohly  and  beneath  the  man  ; 
that  they  should  not  assert  their  native 
dignity  as  rational  beings,  and  should  per- 
form their  part  no  better,  as  moral  agents. 
Supposing  that  it  only  requires  a  good  res- 
olution, in  the  immoral  and  profane,  to  break 
ott'  their  vilest  courses  ;  to  attain  virtuous 
Jiabits  ;  to  perform  the  conditions  required, 
in  order  to  eternal  happiness ;  and,  finally, 
to  receive  the  promised  reward. 

Or,  admitting  they  do  acknowledge  their 
obligations  to  divine  assistance,  in  attain- 
ing their  virtuous  habits,  in  irerforming 
their  righteous  acts,  and  in  making  them- 
selves dirt'er  from  others,  and  even  from 
Iheir  former  selves;  yet,  while  they  are 
looking  to  tliese  holy  qualities  and  right- 
eous deeds,  as  being  either  the  cause  or 
condition,  more  or  less,  of  their  acceptance 
with  God,  or  interest  in  Jesus  Christ;  they 
are  alive  to  the  law,  and  debtors  to  perform 
the  whole.  However  amiable  in  their 
tempers  and  conduct,  or  excellent  in  their 
characters  among  their  fellow-creatures; 
however  they  may  please  themselves,  oi- 
be  applauded  by  others,  their  state,  in  the 
estimate  of  heaven,  is  the  same  with  his  in 
the  parable,  who  said,  "  God,  /  thank  thee 
I  am  not  as  other  n)en."  The  aggravated 
fault  and  fatal  mistake  of  the  pharisee,  did 
not  consist  merely,  nor  principally,  in  pre- 
ferring his  own  state  to  that  of  other  men 
in  general,  or  of  the  publican  in  particular; 
for  ho  expressly  acknowledged  his  obliga- 
tions to  preventing  ami  assisting  grace, 
which  enabled  him  to  avoid  the  sins,  and 
practise  the  duties  he  mentions.  For, 
surely,  it  never  can  be  esteemed  such  an 
aggravated  crime,  for  a  man  of  religious 
character  and  becoming  conduct,  when  he 
Feflects  on  the  vicious  practices  of  many, 
which  render  them  a  nuisance  to  society. 
and  a  pest  to  the  public,  to  say,  "God  / 
thank  thee  that  I  am  not  guilty  of  such 
enormous  crimes ;  that  I  am  not  abandon- 
ed to  such  evil  courses,  and  lost  to  all  sense 
of  things  divine.  The  seeds  of  those 
abominable  iniquities.  I  acknowledge,  are 
deeply  sown  in  my  constitution ;  and,  that 
they  have  not  sprung  up  to  such  a  malig- 
nant height,  is  owing  to  thy  restraining 
grace."  Such  language  may  be  used  by 
the  humblest  Christian,  or  the  highest  saint, 
■without  giving  anyaoccasion  for  blame. 

The  fault,  the  awful  mistake  of  the  phar- 
isee, principally  lay  in  trusting  to  that  dif- 
ference, in  pleading  that  preference,  in  the 
important  article  of  justification  before 
the  tremendous  Jehovah.  Here  he  was 
chargeable,  as  an  extravagant  boaster. 
Here  he  was  condemnable^  as  .a  vile  of- 


fender. In  the  momentou.'?  afTair  of  accept- 
ance with  his  ofiended  Maker,  he  should 
have  ranked  himself  with  the  worst  of 
publrc.ans,  and  the  most  aljandoned  villains. 
He  ought  to  have  considered  himself  as 
having  iw  other  righteousness  on  which  to 
depend,  than  what  would  be  equal  to  their 
wants,  and  bring  salvation  to  their  souls, 
were  it  applied  to  them.  For  in  that  grand 
concern,  the  eternal  Sovereign  has  no  re- 
gard to  any  thing  short  of  an  absuhdely 
perfect  rigbteo\jsnes9.  Of  this  the  phari- 
see was  destitute,  as  well  as  the  publican. 
Whatever  difference  may  subsist  belweerf 
man  and  man,  as  to  their  moral  character 
and  religious  performances,  it  has  not  the 
least  concern  in  their  justification.  Of  this 
the  poor  deluded  self-justifier  was  ignorant. 
For  though  ho  did  not  pretend  that  he  was 
naturalhj  any  better  than  others;  though 
he  did  not  pretend  that  his  works  were 
meritorious,  or  done  in  his  own  strength  f 
yet  he  supposed  that  he  had,  by  the  assist- 
ance of  grace,  performed  the  condition  on 
which  the  pardon  of  his  sins,  and  his  ac- 
ceptance with  God,  were  suspended.* 

Such  was  the  state  of  this  pharisee ;  and 
such,  at  the  best,  are  the  hopes  of  all  who 
are  alive  to  the  law.  When  they  think  of 
appearing  belbre  the  great  Judge  of  the 
world,  they  look  to  their  own  holy  desires 
and  pious  endeavors,  to  relieve  their  anx- 
ious minds.  In  this  way  is  their  peace  of 
conscience,  such  as  it  is,  obtained.  This  is 
the  method  in  which  they  seek  to  make 
and  preserve  their  peace  with  that  sove- 
reign Being  whose  majesty  they  have  af- 
fronted, and  whose  laws  they  have  broken. 
To  the  law  they  appeal,  and  by  it  they 
must  stand  or  fall. 

When,  on  the  other  hand,  this  way  of 
seeking  comfort  fails  to  afibrd  relief;  when 
a  reflection  upon  their  pious  performances 
and  penitential  exercises  yields  no  conso^ 
laiion ;  then  a  sense  of  guilt  overwhelms 
them  with  desponding  fears.  The  cove- 
nant of  grace,  with  all  its  cheering  promi- 
ses, the  blood  of  Immanuel,  with  all  its  in- 
finite merit,  are  overlooked  by  them  ;  or,  il" 
not  entirely  overlooked,  will  afibrd  them  no 
peace,  while  alive  to  the  law.  For  as  it  is 
the  righteousness  of  the  law  alone  with 
which  they  are  acquainted,  so  it  is  in  that 
righteousness  they  desire  to  be  found.  It 
is  that  on  which  they  principally  rely  ;  and, 
without  that,  they  esteem  every  other  thing 
insufficient.  Persuaded  they  may  be  that, 
as  their  own  obedience  is  greatly  imper- 
fect, so  they  cannot  be  saved  without  some 
assistance  i'rom  him  who  hung  on  the  cross, 
or  without -s^o/He  gracious  indulgence  from 
the  mercy  of  God ;  but,  at  the  same  time, 
neither  the  atonement  of  Christ,  nor  the 


*  See  Dr.  Owen  on  Justificatiou,  Cliap.  xvii. 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE, 


123 


mercy  of  heaven,  will  support  (heir  minds, 
any  further  than  they  suppose  themselves 
to  have  performed  the  condition,  or  come 
up  to  the  terms  on  which  they  imagine 
that  assistance  is  granted,  and  this  mercy 
exercised.  So  that  all  their  hopes  and  all 
their  comforts,  are  ultimately  resolved  into 
their  own  duties— into  that  by  which  they 
suppose  themselves  to  differ  from  the  alto- 
gether worthless  and  vile. 

Hence  it  is  evident  that  the  peace  of 
conscience  which  such  persons  enjoy,  is 
founded  in  their  ignorance  of  the  evil  of 
fsin,  and  the  wrath  it  deserves.  When, 
therefore,  at  any  time,  its  infinite  demerit 
appears  to  a  greater  degree  than  common, 
their  consciences  are  pressed  with  guilt, 
and  racked  with  terrors.  Amazement 
seizes  their  minds,  and  horror  chills  their 
felood.  Their  cry  is,  "Who  among  us 
shall  dwell  with  the  devouring  fire?  Who 
among  us  shall  dwell  with  everlasting 
burnings?"  Isaiah  xxxiii.  14.  And  if 
some  fresh  opiate  be  not  administered  to 
■conscience,  or  the  Spirit  of  God  do  not  di- 
vorce them  from  the  law,  and  show  them 
a  better  covenant,  their  "souls  will  choose 
strangling  rather  than  life."  Such  is  the 
case  of  a  sinner,  who  is  alive  to  the  law, 
when  guilt  burdens  the  soul,  and  conscience 
sharpens  her  sting, 

■  Let  the  thoughtless  sinner,  and  the  self- 
righteous  professor,  consider  their  state, 
and  reflect  on  these  alarming  facts.  Wheth- 
er my  reader  be  the  one  or  the  other,  his 
state  is  dangerous.  Is  he  one  of  those 
careless  inorlals  whose  whole  time  is  em- 
ployed in  making  provision  for  the  present 
life,  and  to  fulfil  the  lusts  of  the  flesh? 
He  is  no  less  under  the  law,  he  is  no  less 
obnoxious  to  its  awful  curse,  though  he 
think  not  at  all  about  it.     But  can  you  rest. 

0,  thoughtless  sinner !  can  you  be  satisfied 
in  such  a  condition?  Can  you  imagine 
that  your  Almighty  Maker  and  Supreme 
Judge,  will  be  forever  as  forgetful  of  you, 
as  you  are  at  present  forgetful  of  him  and 
his  worship  ?  Can  the  Omniscient  overlook 
you?  or  can  he  who  declares,  "I  will  by 
no  means  clear  the  guilty,"  suflTer  you  to 
sin  wiih  impunity?  No!  while  his  nature 
is  holy,  and  his  word  is  true ;  while  he 
hates  sin,  and  has  power  to  punish,  it  can 
never  be.  You  may  sleep  in  your  sins  for 
a  time,  but,  if  grace  prevent  not,  your 
damnation  will  not,  cannot  slumber.  2  Pet, 
ii.  3.  And  dreadful  indeed  will  be  your 
condilion,  if  you  continue  to  sleep  (ill  fire 
and  brimstone  awaken  you.  "  Consider 
this,  ye  that  forget  God,  lest  he  tear  you  in 
pieces,  and  there  be  none  to  deliver !"     Ps. 

1.  22.  The  rich  man  in  the  parable,  being 
'•in  hell,  lifted  up  his  eyes."  Then  were 
his  eyes  opened.  The  bewitching  pleas- 
urea  of  the  world  had  lulled  hie  conscience 


asleep.  His  elevated  station  in  life  became 
a  continual  prompter  to  hi.s  vanity,  and  en- 
abled him  to  riot  in  the  luxuries  of  sense. 
Earthly  things  engrossed  his  whole  atten- 
tion, engaged  his  whole  life,  and  left  hint 
no  time  to  think  about,  tlie  state  of  his 
soul,  or  the  God  who  made  fiim.  The 
downward  road  in  which  he  walked,  being 
broad  and  easy,  and  mnch  frequented,  he 
forgot  to  ask  himself  where  it  would  ter- 
minate, till  his  fleeting  moments  were  ali 
elapsed,  and  his  state  was  utterly  ^iespe- 
rate.  Thus  l>e  became  a  damned  soul  and 
lost  his  all,  before  he  apprehend-ed  his  dan- 
ger. Beware,  reader,  lest  this  should  be 
your  case !  May  the  ■children  of  this 
world,  and  the  sons  of  carnal  pleasure,  be 
effectually  warned  by  this  dreadful  catas- 
trophe of  their  unhappy  brotlier;  that  they 
come  not  into  the  sanre  place  of  black  de- 
spair and  endless  torment! 

Or  is  my  reader  a  serious  person,  and 
possessed  of  an  abiding  concern  for  his 
immortal  soul  ?  Permit  me  to  ask,  are  you 
alive  to  the  law,  and  seeking,  by  a  sincere 
obedience  to  it,  to  gain  acceptance  with 
the  high  and  holy  God  ?  If  so,  hear  your 
doom  ;  behold  your  danger.  For  thus  the 
Lord  and  the  Lawgiver  determines  the 
case:  "As  many  as  are  of  the  works  of 
the  law,  are" — what?  pardoned?  accept- 
ed? blessed?  Far  from  it.  They  are  on 
the  contrary,  '■^ tinder  a  curse!'"'  Gal.  iii. 
10.  "  Amazing  !"  cries  one,  "  that  avowed 
rebels  against  God,  and  the  open  breakers 
of  his  law ;  that  they  who  publish  their 
sins,  as  Sodom,  and  hide  them  not,  as  Go- 
morrah; that  all  such  should  be  under  a 
curse,  appears  equitable  ;  but  that  persons 
who  are  '•  of  tlie  works  of  the  law,'  who 
sincerely  endeavor  to  perform  his  com- 
mands, and  are  looking,  in  this  rational 
and  popular  way,  for  acceptance  and  eter- 
nal life,  that  they  should  be  in  such  an  aw- 
ful situation,  is  quite  inconceivable,  and 
highly  unreasonable." 

To  which  it  may  be  replied :  that  all  who 
are  "  of  the  works  of  the  law,"  are  under 
it  as  a  covenant.  As  such,  it  requires  per- 
fect obedience,  and  perfect  obedience  it 
must  have,  or  there  is  no  justification  by  it. 
Now  the  apostle,  in  this  alarming  passage, 
takes  it  for  granted  that  every  man  has 
sinned,  and  broken  the  law.  Consequent- 
ly, they  who  are  under  it  as  a  covenant, 
not  having  abstained  from  every  sin  forbid- 
den, and  performed  every  duty  required 
by  it,  its  penal  sanction  lies  against  them; 
it  denounces  a  curse  upon  them ;  the  awful 
declaration,  therefore,  is  the  language  of 
strict  propriety  ;  is  the  voice  of  truth  itself. 
How  often   shall  the  Most  High  declare, 

that  no  flesh,"  that  no  mortal,  "  shall  be 
justified  before  God,  by  the  deeds  oi'  the 
law."  or  by  his  own  obedience  to  it,  before 


124 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE, 


you  credit  the  solemn  assertion,  or  believe 
the  humbling  truth?  Is  the  condition  of 
your  justification  so  small,  or  your  ability 
BO  great,  that  nothing  will  serve  but  you 
must  perform  it  yourselves?  Remember, 
ye  deluded  mortals  1  remember,  that  par- 
don of  sin  is  a  blessing  so  immensely  rich ; 
acceptance  with  the  infinite  Jehovah  is  a 
favor  so  extremely  high ;  that  if  all  the 
cattle  on  a  thousand  hills  were  your  own, 
and,  together  with  the  first-born  of  your 
bodies,  were  devoted  to  God  in  a  burnt- 
offering,  to  make  an  atonement  for  the  sin 
of  your  souls ;  were  you  to  give  all  your 
goods  away  to  feed  the  poor,  and  your 
bodies  to  be  burned ;  all,  all  would  be  en 
tirely  unavailing  to  procure  either  the  one 
or  the  other.  For  a  righteous  God  cannot 
accept  the  performances  or  the  offerings  of 
a  sinful  creature,  as  a  compensation  for  the 
injury  done  by  his  crimes.  Besides,  it  is 
the  province  of  grace,  and  the  work  of 
Christ  alone,  to  obtain  the  pardon  of  sin, 
and  render  our  persons  accepted.  This  is 
the  capital  truth  of  the  Bible ;  the  central 
point,  in  which  all  the  lines  of  divine  reve- 
lation terminate.  Yet  if,  after  all,  you  will 
appeal  to  the  law,  to  the  law  you  must  go. 
But  remember  that,  in  so  doing,  Christ 
shall  profit  you  nothing.  Gal.  v.  2,  4.  So 
that  you  have  no  alternative,  but  to  keep  it 
perfectly,  or  die  eternally. 


SECTION     III. 

Believers  dead  to  the  law,  considered  as  a 
covenant. 

We  have  seen,  in  the  preceding  section, 
that  unregenerate  sinners  are  alive  to  the 
law,  as  a  covenant.  We  now  proceed  to 
show,  that  believers  are  dead  to  it,  under 
that  consideration.  "  I  am  dead  to  the 
law;  ye  are  dead  to  the  law,"  says  the 
apostle.     Gal.  ii.  19.     Rom.  vii.  4. 

As  all  who  are  alive  to  the  law  are  seek- 
ing justification  by  it ;  as  their  expectations 
of  acceptance  with  God  may  be  ultimately 
resolved  into  some  doings  or  endeavors  of 
their  own ;  some  gracious  habits  or  heav- 
enly qualities,  of  which  they  suppose  them- 
selves to  be  the  subjects  ;  so  they  who  are 
dead  to  the  law,  are  entirely  divorced  from 
every  such  expectation.  Though  they  are 
well  acquainted  with  the  beauty  of  holiness, 
and  far  from  despising  a  regular  conduct ; 
though  ihey  would  exert  their  utmost  efforts 
in  a  way  of  duty  to  God,  and  earnestly  de 
Bire  to  bear  a  greater  conformity  to  the 
Redeemer's  image ;  yet  they  consider  these 
things  as  standing  in  another  place,  and  as 
designed  to  answer  a  very  different  purpose, 
from  that  of  being  causes  or  conditions, 


more  or  less,  of  their  justification.  Ye-a, 
whatever  assistance  they  may  have  from 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  in  performing  religious 
duties;  or  whatever  attainments  they  may 
make  in  holiness,  through  a  divine  influ- 
ence ;  they  consider  those  duties  and  this 
holiness,  as  totally  distinct  from  that  right- 
eousness on  which  they  depend  ;  from  that 
obedience  by  which  they  are  justified. 

Once,  indeed,  they  were  of  another  mind, 
and  viewed  things  in  a  very  difierent  light. 
Time  was,  when  they  thought  highly  of 
their  own,  thought  meanly  of  their  Sav- 
iour's righteousness.  But,  by  the  agency 
of  the  divine  Spirit,  and  the  instrumentali- 
ty of  the  divine  law,  their  case  is  happily 
altered.  They  are  brought  to  see  their 
abject  poverty,  and  to  acknowledge  their 
utter  unworthiness. 

Is  the  reader  desirous  of  knowing  by 
what  means  a  sinner  becomes  dead  to  the 
as  a  covenant?  The  great  apostle 
informs  us,  when  he  says,  "  I  through  the 
law  am  dead  to  the  law."  The  moral  law, 
the  hand  of  the  Spirit,  is  the  honored 
instrument  of  producing  the  happy  change. 
By  it  the  awakened  sinner  discerns  the 
immaculate  purity  of  the  divine  nature, 
and  the  consummate  rectitude  of  the  divine 
will.  Its  precepts  and  prohibitions,  con- 
taining a  complete  system  of  duty,  are  be- 
held by  him  as  entirely  correspondent  with 
the  perfections  of  the  infinite  Jehovah.  He 
beholds  the  unalienable  rights  of  the  great 
Legislator,  in  the  demands  of  his  law; 
and  a  discovery  of  that  perfect  correspond- 
ence which  there  is  between  the  require- 
ments of  the  law  and  the  eternal  rights  of 
the  Deity,  evinces  to  his  conscience  the 
holiness  and  transcendent  excellence  of 
the  law.  Possessed  of  such  a  conviction, 
the  sinner  beholds,  not  only  its  unblemish- 
ed purity,  but  also  its  vast  extent.  He  is 
obliged  to  acknowledge  that  it  requires 
truth  in  the  inward  parts;  that  it  extends 
to  all  the  thoughts  and  all  the  desires  of  the 
heart.  That  it  demands  not  only  a  course 
of  obedience,  unblamable  in  the  eyes  of 
men,  but  a  purity  of  desire,  and  a  spiritu- 
ality of  affection,  a  rectitude  of  design,  and 
a  perpetual  series  of  action,  without  a  fail- 
ure and  without  a  flaw,  in  the  sight  of  the 
heart-searching  God. 

By  the  law,  he  comes  to  see  the  nature 
and  the  evil  of  sin.  Sin  is  "a  transgres- 
sion of  the  law ;"  a  contrariety  to  the  re- 
vealed will,  and  to  the  holy  nature  of  God. 
Nor  does  it  only  manifest  what  sin  is,  in 
itself,  but  also  what  it  deserves.  It  reveals 
the  wrath  of  God  against  all  ungodlinesa 
and  unrighteousness  of  men ;  against  ev- 
ery, the  least  departure  from  absolute  per- 
fection. It  denounces  an  awful  curse,  and 
unsheaths  the  sword  of  divine  justice 
against  every  transgressor.     Its  language 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


125 


is,  "Cursed  is  every  one  that  continuethlthority,  and  heard  it  denouncing  vengeance, 


not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the 
book  of  the  law,  to  do  them."  It  fastens  a 
charge  of  guilt  on  the  sinner's  conscience, 
and  binds  him  over  to  eternal  torment. 

And  as  the  law  teaches  a  sinner  the  ho- 
liness of  the  divine  nature,  and  the  super- 
lative evil  of  sin ;  so  he  is  brought  to  ac- 
knowledge the  equity  of  that  sentence  de- 
nounced against  him,  and  the  righteousness 
of  God  in  the  damnation  of  the  guilty. 
His  mouth  is  stopped ;  he  pleads  guilty  be- 
fore his  Judge.  Sin,  he  sees,  is  an  infinite 
evil,  and  justly  deserves  everlasting  pun- 
ishment. He  is  convinced  that  if  the  sen- 
tence of  death  pronounced  upon  him  were 
to  be  executed  in  all  its  rigor,  he  should 
have  no  right  to  complain.  His  language 
is,  "  the  law  is  worthy  of  God  ;  my  Maker 
is  righteous;  damnation  is  my  dae."  Be- 
holding the  aggravations  of  his  sins,  and 
the  imperfections  of  his  duties,  the  deprav- 
ity of  his  heart,  and  the  spirituality  of  the 
law.  he  despairs  of  ever  obtaining  the  fa- 
vor of  God,  or  peace  for  his  conscience,  by 
any  future  endeavors.  He  sees  with 
amazement,  and  confesses  with  grief,  the 
pride  and  the  folly  of  his  former  expecta- 
tions of  righteousness  and  life  by  the  law. 
He  lies  low  at  the  foot  of  sovereign  mercy. 
Fully  convinced  of  his  absolute  need  of  a 
Saviour,  who  can  give  the  law  it  demands, 
and  rescue  his  perishing  soul  from  destruc- 
tion ;  who  can  satisfy  the  claims  of  justice, 
and  exercise  boundless  mercy;  he  is  con- 
tent to  be  saved  by  the  righteousness  of 
another,  and  to  be  forever  indebted  to  free, 
distinguishing,  infinite  grace. 

Let  us  hear  the  great  teacher  of  the 
Gentiles  deliver  his  own  experience  in 
reference  to  this  very  thing:  "I  was  alive 
without  the  law  once ;  but  when  the  com- 
mandment came,  sin  revived  and  I  died." 
Rom.  vii.  9.  /  ioas  alive ;  elated  with  a 
fond  conceit  of  my  inherent  excellences 
and  moral  endowments,  I  imagined  myself 
safe,  I  thought  myself  happy.  But,  when 
this  delusive  persuasion  possessed  my 
heart,  I  was  without  the  law.  Though  for 
it  I  professed  the  highest  regard  ;  though 
to  it  I  endeavored  to  conform  my  life ;  I 
was  entirely  ignorant  of  its  spiritual  na- 
ture, and  without  the  least  knowledge  of 
its  true  design.  As  the  most  learned  and 
admired  doctors  of  the  age  had  taught,  I 
supposed  that  a  superficial  observance  of 
the  duties  it  enjoins,  and  an  outside  for- 
bearance from  the  things  it  prohibits,  were 
all  it  required.  Matt.  v.  21,  22,  27,  28,  33, 
34,  43,  44.  BiU  wheti  the  commandment 
came — when  I  saw  its  immaculate  purity, 
as  an  image  of  the  divine  holiness,  and  be- 
held its  extensive  demands,  as  a  transcript 
of  the  divine  will ;  when  I  viewed  it  as  de- 
manding perfection,  with  a  sovereign  au- 


as  with  the  voice  of  God,  against  every, 
the  least  offence,  then  sin  revived.  A  clear 
and  lively  sense  of  sin  penetrated  my  very 
soul.  I  saw  myself  chargeable  with  innu- 
merable transgressions.  I  felt  myself  sub- 
ject to  many  abominable  corruptions.  My 
heart,  of  whose  purity  I  was  before  so 
ready  to  boast,  I  found  to  be  "  deceitful 
above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked." 
The  best  of  my  actions,  in  which  I  was 
wont  to  confide,  appeared  but  splendid 
sins,  and,  in  reference  to  my  justification 
before  God,  I  despised  them  "  as  filthy 
rags."  In  consequence  of  which,  /  died. 
My  self-righteous  hopes,  which  before  had 
reared  their  heads  alofi,  were  now  dashed 
in  the  dust.  The  sentence  of  death,  aa 
the  desert  of  sin,  pronounced  by  the  law,  I 
acknowledged  to  be  just.  All  my  pleas, 
and  all  my  expectations  of  life  by  the  law, 
were  then  struck  dead.  Nor  did  I  only 
renounce  my  past  performances  and  pres- 
ent attainments,  as  insufficient  and  deplor- 
ably defective  in  the  account  of  a  holy  God, 
and  in  the  eye  of  his  righteous  law ;  but 
also  despaired  of  ever  doing  any  thing  in 
future,  by  any  assistance  whatever,  to  win 
the  favor  of  my  Judge,  or  obtain  accept- 
ance before  him.  So  that  every  self-right- 
eous support  was  entirely  removed,  and 
every  avenue  to  comfort,  by  my  own  obe- 
dience, was  eternally  barred. 

Thus  it  was  with  Paul,  after  all  his  sin- 
cerity and  all  his  obedience,  before  conver- 
sion ;  and  thus  it  is  with  every  sinner  who 
is  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  true 
God,  and  discerns  the  purity  of  the  divine 
law.  For  no  man  beholds  the  grace  of  the 
gospel,  who  does  not  acknowledge  the 
equity  of  the  law.  We  shall  never  consid- 
er salvation  as  divinely  free.,  till  we  cordial- 
ly confess  our  condemnation  to  be  entirely 
just.  But  when  the  purity  of  the  Lawgiver 
is  seen  in  the  flaming  holiness  of  his  law, 
when  it  denounces  its  curse  against  the 
sinner,  and  his  own  conscience,  being  stung 
with  guilt,  confirms  the  dreadful  sentence, 
and  with  an  awful  emphasis  replies,  "thou 
art  the  man" — then  the  relief  provided  by 
grace  and  revealed  in  the  gospel,  is  beheld 
with  an  ardent  desire — is  embraced  with 
exuberant  joy.  Thus,  by  the  agency  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  the  law  subserves  the  gra- 
cious design  of  the  gospel.  The  right- 
eousness and  terror  of  the  legal  sanction 
are  happily  useful,  to  illustrate  the  freeness, 
and  proclaim  the  sovereignty  of  saving 
grace. 

The  sinner  being  brought,  by  divine 
teaching,  to  see  the  insufficiency  of  his 
own  obedience,  and  to  renounce  his  former 
hopes,  as  being  no  other  than  a  "refuge  of 
lies,"  is  filled  with  anxious  inquiries,  how 
he  may  escape  the  wrath  to  come.    Hav- 


126 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


ing  tried  every  expedient  which  presented 
itself  to  his  mind,  as  any  way  proper  to 
afford  relief  to  his  guilty  conscience,  and 
finding  them  all  to  fail,  he  is  ready  to  faint 
with  fear,  and  sink  in  despondency.  He 
drops  every  pretension  to  personal  worthi- 
ness, and  freely  acknowledges  himself  the 
chief  of  sinners.  So  far  is  he  from  ad- 
vancing a  claim  to  heaven,  on  the  footing 
of  duty  performed,  that  he  is  amazed  he 
was  not  long  since  transmitted  to  hell  for 
his  crimes.  But  grace  forbids  that  he 
should  be  overwhelmed  in  despair.  That 
same  Spirit,  by  whose  omnipotent  agency 
he  was  divorced  from  the  law,  leads  him 
to  Jesus.  And  now,  that  sovereign  mercy 
to  which  he  submitted  with  such  reluctance, 
appears  with  a  winning  aspect.  Now, 
that  boundless  grace  which  he  had  so  long 
despised,  shines  with  peculiar  glory.  To 
that  mercy,  as  revealed  in  the  atonement, 
he  flees,  like  a  murderer  pursued  by  the 
officers  of  justice,  or  like  the  unhappy  man 
slayer  of  old,  before  the  avenger  of  blood ; 
and  on  this  grace,  as  reigning  by  Jesus 
Christ,  he  rests  his  all  for  eternity.  Now 
the  everlasting  covenant  begins  to  unveil 
its  infinite  stores  to  his  ravished  view;  and 
the  gospel  pours  its  healing  balm  into  his 
wounded  conscience.  The  crucified  Jesus 
is  now  his  only  hope.  That  he  "  may  win 
Christ,  and  be  found  in  him,"  is  all  his  sal- 
vation and  all  his  desire.  Riches  and  hon- 
ors, crowns  and  kingdoms,  are  little,  are 
nothing  to  him,  compared  with  an  interest 
in  the  Redeemer.  Being  -'dead  to  the 
law,"  he  renounces  himself  in  every  view, 
and  reflects  on  his  former  ignor;ince  and 
Pharisaical  pride  with  the  greatest  amaze- 
ment and  the  deepest  self-abhorrence. 
Finding  an  all-sufficiency  in  the  adored 
Immanuel,  not  only  1o  supply  his  wants, 
but  to  make  him  infinitely  rich  and  eternal- 
ly happy,  he  rests  completely  satisfied. 
The  perfect  obedience  of  his  divine  Sub- 
stitute, which  is  revealed  in  the  gospel  and 
received  by  faith,  being  that  in  which  Je- 
hovah himself  delights,  Isaiah  xlii.  21,  is 
an  adequate  ground  for  his  strongest  confi- 
dence, and  an  inexhaustible  source  for  hi.-? 
publimest  joy.  Such  is  the  state,  and  such 
are  the  views  of  all  who  are  dead  to  the 
law. 

Having  such  a  discovery  of  the  divine 
purity  and  divine  law,  he  is  far  from  boast- 
ing over  the  vilest  of  men,  or  the  most  in- 
famous wretches.  The  more  he  knows  of 
God.  of  the  violated  law.  and  of  his  own 
einful  state,  the  more  is  he  convinced  that 
he  has  re;ison  to  say,  "  behold  I  am  vile !'" 
Yet,  at  the  same  time,  he  dare,  as  in  the 
presence  of  God,  contemplate  the  holy 
commandment,  and  give  conscience  her  full 
scope,  without  fear  of  confusion ;  being 
••veli    persuaded,    however    aggravated   a 


charge  may  be  brought  against  him,  that 
grace  has  provided,  and  the  gospel  reveals 
a  righteousness  which  is  quite  sulTicient  to 
declare  the  justice  of  God  in  justifying 
him,  even  in  the  worst  view  he  can  have 
of  himself;  nay,  which  is  incomparably 
more,  in  the  worst  view  in  which  he  can 
appear  before  the  Omniscient.  Though 
he  once  imagined  that  the  idea  of  a  just 
God,  and  the  fear  of  eternal  misery,  were 
absolutely  inseparable,  yet  he  now  reveres 
the  former,  without  dreading  the  latter. 

That  every  real  saint  is  dead  to  the  law, 
and  that  his  whole  hope,  as  to  justification, 
centres  in  the  mercy  of  God  and  the  merit 
of  Christ,  in  the  grace  of  the  covenant  and 
the  blood  of  the  cross,  appears  from  the 
scriptures  with  superior  evidence.  Out  of 
a  multitude  of  instances  recorded  in  the 
Bible,  we  will  select  a  few.  We  will  ask 
some  of  the  most  excellent  saints  that  ever 
adorned  a  religious  profession  in  any  age 
of  the  world,  or  in  any  nation  of  men,  on 
what  their  hopes  of  acceptance  with  God 
were  founded?  And  we  shall  find  that 
their  uniform  answer  will  be,  "  not  on  any 
thing  in  us,  nor  on  any  thing  done  by  us ; 
but  on  that  glokious  Person,  and  on  his 
FINISHED  WORK,  who  is  the  desire  of  all 
nations,  and  the  salvation  of  all  the  ends  of 
the  earth." 

Job,  we  know,  was  a  saint  of  no  inferior 
rank.  He  was  no  le.ss  exemplary  for  hia 
piety,  than  remarkable  for  his  affhctions, 
and  the  patience  with  which  they  were  suf- 
fered. He  was  favored  with  peculiar  man- 
ifestations of  the  divine  will,  and  .Tehovah 
himself  declared  there  was  "none  like  him 
in  the  earth."  This  eminent  saint  could  not 
be  ignorant  of  the  real  worth  of  his  person- 
al obedience,  nor  of  the  place  in  which  it 
ought  to  stand.  No ;  this  obedience  he 
found  occasion  to  plead,  and  speaks  of  it  as 
an  article  of  great  importance.  But  where, 
and  on  what  account?  Not  before  the 
great  Sovereign  of  the  universe,  and  in 
order  to  acceptance  with  him ;  but  before 
his  fellow-mortals,  and  in  vindication  of  his 
own  sincerity. 

When  his  friends,  mistaking  his  case,  and 
not  being  well  acquainted  with  the  methods 
of  providence,  charged  him  with  being  a 
hypocrite,  and  inferred  from  tlie  variety  and 
severity  of  his  sutfcrings  that  he  must  needs 
be  a  wicked  man,  he  pleaded  in  defence  of 
himself  the  excellence  of  his  conduct  and 
the  utility  of  his  life.  He,  as  the  apostle 
James  requires,  proved  the  reality  of  his 
faith  and  the  sincerity  of  his  profession,  by 
his  works.  He  knew  that  a  different  con- 
duct from  the  carnal  and  profane,  was  the 
only  thing  that  could  evidence  to  the  world 
file  superiority  of  his  state  in  the  sight  of 
God,  or  free  his  profession  from  the  charge 
of  hypocrisy.     To  this,  therefore,  he  ap- 


DEATH     OF    LEGAL     HOPE. 


127 


peals.  This  he  strenuously  and  justly  pleads 
against  the  charge  of  his  mistaken  friends, 
in  his  long  controversy  with  them. 

But  when  tiie  inquiry  is,  how  shall  man 
be  jusl  loith  God,  or  justified  before  him  ? 
and  what  he  is  to  plead,  on  what  he  is  to 
rely,  for  that  purpose?  then  he  considers 
tlie  state  of  the  question  as  entirely  altered. 
The  venerable  saint  well  knew  that  as  he 
was  before  a  higher  tribunal,  and  in  the 
presence  of  a  Judge  who  searches  the  heart, 
so  the  righteousness  pleadable  there,  must 
be  as  much  superior  to  what  was  sufficient 
in  the  former  case,  as  the  tribunal  at  which 
he  stood  was  more  awful,  the  Judge  more 
holy,  or  the  event  more  important.  For 
who  can  stand,  in  any  righteousness  of  his 
own,  before  so  holy  a  God,  before  so  right- 
eous a  Judge  ?  There  he  knew  that  noth- 
ing short  of  'perfection  would  be  admitted, 
and  that  by  nothing  less  could  he  be  justi- 
fied. He,  therefore,  entirely  renounces  his 
former  plea.  He  drops  every  pretension  to 
personal  holiness.  And,  so  far  from  ad- 
vancing a  claim  on  the  Deity,  he  pours  out 
sorrowiul  confessions  of  his  original  pollu- 
tion and  actual  transgressions.  "  Behold,  I 
am  vile  !"  is  his  language.  "  I  abhor  my- 
self," as  the  filthiest  of  creatures,  as  the 
basest  of  cruninals,  "and  repeut  in  dust 
and  ashes."  Job,  xi.  4,  xlii.  6.  Here  we 
see — not  the  Samaritan  woman,  not  the 
Philippian  jailor,  not  the  thief  on  the  cross — 
but  the  most  eminent  saint  of  his  day,  and 
one  of  the  holiest  men  that  ever  lived :  here 
we  see  him  bearing  the  marks  of  deep  hu- 
miliation and  sorrow,  and  in  tlie  attitude  of 
a  miserable  sinner !  His  language  is  ex- 
pres.?ive  of  one  whose  conscience  is  smitten 
with  an  alarming  sense  of  guilt,  who  depre- 
cates deserved  vengeance,  and  implores  a 
free  pardon ;  of  one  who  considers  himself 
perfectly  on  a  level,  in  the  sight  of  God,  as 
to  justification  before  him,  with  the  publican 
in  the  parable ;  and  as  having  no  other 
refuge  for  his  guilty  soul,  nor  any  other 
plea  to  make  than  that  poor  publican  had. 
Divine  mercy,  manifested  in  a  living  Re- 
deemer, was  the  only  hope  of  holy  Job ; 
and  the  same  free  mercy,  revealed  in  the 
atonement,  was  the  hope  and  the  plea  of 
the  profligate  publican.  Job.  xix.  25 — 27 ; 
Luke,  xviii.  13. 

Such  also  was  the  conduct  of  the  man 
after  God's  own  heart.  "  Enter  not  into 
judgment  with  thy  servant,  for  in  thy  sight 
ehall  no  man  living  be  justified.  Ps.  cxliii. 
2.  Language  this,  very  strongly  expressive 
of  the  mind  of  one  who  is  dead  to  the  law. 
Tiiese  words  plainly  indicate  that  David's 
heart  was  deeply  impressed  with  an  awful 
sense  of  Jehovah's  immaculate  purity,  the 
imperfections  attending  his  own  obedience, 
the  extensive  demands  of  the  holy  law,  and 
the  terror  of  that  sentence  which  ^^-ae  hie 


j  righteous  desert,  and  must  unavoidably  be 
passed  upon  him,  if  tried  by  that  sublime 
standard  of  duty,  and  according  to  the  tenor 
I  of  his  own  conduct.  And  it  is  very  observ- 
able that  when  the  Psalmist  thus  deprecates 
the  awful  trial,  he  considers  and  styles  him- 
self a  servant  of  God.  But  though  he  as- 
sumes the  honorable  character,  he  is  far 
from  pleading  his  services,  or  trusting  to  hi.s 
own  obedience  for  justification.  Nay,  he 
peremptorily  affirms  that,  before  the  Lord, 
710  man,  no  servant  of  his,  can  be  justified. 
To  these  words  the  apostle  refers  when  he 
so  often  declares,  "by  the  deeds  of  the  law 
shall  no  flesh  be  justified."  This  is  a  capi- 
tal truth.  And  till  this  truth  be  cordially 
embraced,  till  the  propriety  and  foundation 
of  it  be  clearly  seen,  no  one  can  form  a 
proper  idea  either  of  the  character  of  Jesus, 
or  the  grace  of  the  gospel ;  can  either  see 
his  danger,  or  seek  for  relief. 

With  this  leading  truth,  the  sweet  singer 
of  Israel  was  thoroughly  acquainted. 
Hence  it  gains  admittance  into  another  of 
his  devout  odes  and  inimitable  composition.^, 
in  which  he  also  inibrms  us  what  was  the 
rock  of  his  hopes  and  the  source  of  his  joy. 
These  are  his  words :  "  ^^  thou,  Lord, 
shouldst  mark  iniquities,  O,  Lord,  who  shall 
stand  ?  But  there  is  forgiveness  with  thee, 
that  thou  mayest  be  feared."  Ps.  cxxx.  3,  4. 
Instructive,  important  saying !  Most  hap- 
pily calculated  to  rebuke  the  pride  of  self- 
righteous  confidence,  and  raise  the  hopes 
of  desponding  sinners.  Here  the  Lord's 
anointed  flees  for  salety  to  sovereign  grace, 
and  draws  his  comfort  from  pardoning  mer- 
cy. Being  dead  to  the  law,  having  all  his 
expectations  of  being  justified  by  it  entirely 
extinguished,  he  looks  to  another  covenant, 
and  has  resource  to  another  plea.  Having 
the  awful  judgment  in  view,  and  consider- 
ing the  issue  of  such  an  exact  scrutiny,  he 
trembles  at  the  thought  of  appearing  before 
his  immortal  Judge,  in  his  own  obedience. 
For  in  such  a  way  of  proceeding,  "  who 
shall  stand  ?  who  can  be  acquitted  ?"  Not 
one  of  a  thousand ;  not  one  of  a  million ; 
not  one  of  all  the  human  race.  And  were 
it  not  for  that  forgiveness  which  is  with  God, 
and  is  dispensed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
not  only  the  hope  of  David,  but  that  of 
every  sinner,  would  have  been  entirely  and 
eternally  eclipsed.  But  this  forgiveness 
being  worthy  of  God,  proceeding  from  the 
infinite  riches  of  grace,  and  equal  to  the 
wants  of  the  most  enormous  transgressor, 
behold,  there  is  hope  for  the  vilest !  For- 
giveness !  charming  word  !  Forgiveness 
WITH  God,  with  him  against  wdioin  we  have 
sinned,  with  him  who  has  authority  to  par- 
don, as  well  as  power  to  punisb  ;  solid  foun- 
dation for  your  hopes,  O,  trembling  sinner! 
Believing  this  declaration,  building  on  this 
basis,  what  should  hinder,  or  who  has  a 


128 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


right  to  forbid,  that  our  hopes  should  rise 
sublime  to  heaven?  that  they  should  be 
firm  as  the  divine  declaration,  and  bright  as 
the  sun  in  his  meridian  glory  ?  Yes,  be- 
liever, this  is  your  unalienable  right ;  this  is 
your  inestimable  privilege.  For  that 
"strong  consolation"  the  Lord  is  so  willing 
to  bestow,  and  tor  which  he  has  made  such 
ample  provision,  is  designed  for  all  those 
"  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  on 
the  hope  set  before  them."  Heb.  vi.  IS. 
For  such  who  have  cdready  fled,  for  such 
who  are  now  Jleeing  to  Jesus,  the  ap- 
pointed refuge ;  the  immutability  of  the 
divine  counsel,  the  irrevocableness  of  the 
divine  promise,  and  the  solemnity  of  the 
divine  oath,  are  all  engaged  to  secure  their 
happiness  and  raise  their  joy. 

Would  the  reader  be  more  fully  persuad- 
ed that  the  royal  prophet  was  dead  to  the 
hiw?  let  him  read  the  description  which 
David  gives  of  the  blessed  man,  and  con- 
sider his  words.  No  man  can,  with  pro- 
priety, be  called  blessed,  but  he  who  is  in  a 
pardoned  state  and  accepted  of  God  ;  and 
this  the  Psalmist  intimates.  For  till  his  sins 
be  pardoned  and  his  person  accepted,  he  is 
under  a  curse,  and  obnoxious  to  wrath. 
How,  then,  does  that  experienced  saint  and 
infallible  author  describe  the  blessed  man? 
and  to  what  does  he  ascribe  his  justifica- 
tion ?  To  a  personal  or  an  imputed  righte- 
ousness ?  Does  he  attain  this  blessed  and 
happy  state,  does  he  enjoy  this  great  and 
precious  privilege  in  consequence  of  keeping 
the  law,  or  because  he  has  performed  a 
sincere,  though  imperfect  obedience  ?  No 
such  thought  was  conceiv^ed  in  the  Psalm- 
ist's mind ;  no  such  thing  drops  from  his 
pen.  His  words  are,  "  blessed  is  be  whose 
transgression  is  forgiven,  whose  sin  is  cov- 
ered. Blessed  is  the  man  unto  whom  the 
Lord  imputeth  not  iniquity,  and  in  whose 
spirit  there  is  no  guile."  Ps.  xxxii.  1,  2. 
The  blessed  man  is  here  described  as  one 
who  is  in  himself  a  polluted  sinner ;  an  iti- 
solvent  debtor ;  and  deeply  pressed  in  his 
conscience  with  the  weight  of  his  guilt.* 
And  his  blessedness  arises,  not  from  his  own 
duties,  or  his  well-meant  endeavors  to  keep 
the  law,  but  from  the  pardoning  love  of 
God,  tlie  purifying  blood  of  Jesus  and 
the  sanctifying  operations  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  His  blessedness  consists  in  being 
cleaiised  from  his  loathsome  defilement,  the 
non-imputation  of  his  enormous  debt,  the 
removal  of  his  intolerable  burden,  and  the 
renewal  of  a  right  spirit  within  him.  The 
last  of  which  particulars  is  not  the  cause  or 


'  The  llircp  terms  used  in  the  text  to  express  the  p;ir- 
donng  mercy  of  Gi)il,L'ive  us  tlicso  three  ideas  cifM  i.m 
.8*1  forth,  in  a  more  alTectlng  view,  it.s  various  iiKdii;nity  ; 
and  at  thff  same  time  to  represent,  in  a  more  strikins  liglil, 
the  complicated  wretchedness  of  that  man  whose  sins 
are  not  forgiven,  and  to  aliow  llie  superior  excellence  of 
a  free  pardon. 


condition  of  the  former,  but  an  evidence  of 
their  being  enjoyed. 

The  observation  which  Paul  makes  on 
this  evangelical  and  comfortable  text,  is 
full  to  our  purpose.  He  informs  us  that  the 
design  of  David  in  these  words  is,  to  "  de- 
scribe the  blessedness  of  the  man  unto 
whom  God  imputeth  righteousness  without 
works."  Rom.  iv.  6,  7,  8.  Righteousness 
imputed  —  righteousness  without  works  ! 
An  odd  kind  of  phrases  in  the  account  of 
many.  Uncouth  and  mysterious  to  all  who 
are  alive  to  the  law,  and  seeking  justifica- 
tion by  it;  but  quite  intelligible  and  highly 
comforting  to  such  as  are  dead  to  the  law ; 
to  such  who  believe  in  Jesus,  as  the  "justi- 
fier  of  the  ungodly,"  and  venerate  his 
charming  name,  "the  Lord  our  righte- 
ousness." To  such  persons  the  phrases 
are  replete  with  marrow  and  fatness.  Such 
divine  declarations  feast  their  very  souls. 
For  they  are  the  words  of  grace  and  the 
language  of  love.  By  them,  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Holy  Spirit,  their  anxious 
inquiries  about  acceptance  with  the  eternal 
Sovereign  are  satisfied.  Being  conscious 
that  they  have  no  righteousness  of  their 
own,  and  equally  certain  that  without  a 
perfect  obedience  to  the  divine  law  they 
cannot  be  justified,  they  must  have  sunk  in 
despair,  if  such  a  provision  had  not  been 
made  by  sovereign  grace ;  if  such  a  right- 
eousness had  not  been  performed  by  their 
wonderful  Substitute,  as  that  which  is  here 
designed.  But  a  righteousness  without 
works ;  having  no  dependence  upon,  being 
entirely  detached  from,  their  own  duties  of 
every  kind ;  being  complete  in  itself,  and 
intended  for  their  use ;  this  is  the  righte- 
ousness they  want:  a  righteousness  im- 
puted. Being  performed  for  them  by  Jesus, 
as  their  representative,  and  placed  to  their 
account  by  a  gracious  God,  this  brings  it 
near  to  their  souls,  makes  it  warrantable 
for  them  to  call  it  their  own.  and  glory  in  it. 

Let  us  once  more  attend  to  the  dictates, 
and  consider  the  conduct  of  Paul,  in  refer- 
ence to  this  affair.  That  he  was  "  dead  to 
the  law,"  those  important  words  which  con- 
tain the  subject  of  this  essay,  expressly  as- 
sert. That  he  had  no  expectation  of  life 
and  happiness  from  his  own  obedience  to 
it ;  and  that  his  whole  hope  was  resolved 
into  the  sovereign  grace  of  God  and  tlie 
perfect  work  of  Christ ;  are  things  extreme- 
ly evident  from  all  his  invaluable  writings. 
A  few  of  those  passages  in  which  these  fun- 
damental truths  are  either  expressly  assert- 
ed or  strongly  implied,  shall  now  be  consid- 
ered. 

In  his  controversial  epistle  to  the  deceiv- 
ed Galatians,  he  forms  a  striking  contrast 
between  the  works  of  the  law  and  faith  in 
Jesus.  Thrice  he  mentions  the  works  of  the 
laWf  and  thrice  he  excludes  them  from  hav- 


DEAtH     OF     LEGAL     HOPE. 


129 


ing  any,  the  least  concern  in  our  justifica- 
tion.    With  equal  frequency  he  mentions 
the  faith  of  Christ,  and  as  often  asserts 
that  we  are  justified  by  it.*     These  are  his 
words :     "  We  who  are  Jews   by  nature, 
and  not  sinners  of  the  Gentiles,  knowing 
that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of 
the  law,  but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  that 
we  might  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ, 
and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law :  for  by 
the  works  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justi- 
fied."    Gal.  ii.  15,  16.     We  who  are  Jews 
hy  nature,  and  not  sinners  of  the  Gentiles — 
we,  who  are  the  children  of  Abraham,  and 
the  peculiar  people  of  God — to  whom  the 
sacred  oracles  were  committed,  who  have 
the  ordinances  of  divine  worship,  and  whose 
situation  in  all  respects  is  greatly  superior 
to  that  of  the  ignorant,  profligate,  idola- 
trous Gentiles — we,  who  possess  so  many 
advantages,  in  comparison  with  the  benight 
ed  heathen,  and,  were  such  a  thing  practi 
cable,  have  all  the  encouragement  which 
any  person  could  have,  to  expect  justifica- 
tion by  our  own  obedience ;  yet  we  have 
renounced  every  hope  of  that  kind ;  well 
knowing  thai  a  man,  whether  Jew  or  Gen 
tile,  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law  j 
being  fully  persuaded  that  he  is  not  accept- 
ed of  God  on  account  of  any  works  which 
he  has  done,  by  any  assistance  whatever, 
but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  j  by  relying 
on  him  as  the  end  of  the  law  for  rigliteous- 
ness.  and  believing  on  him  as  the  justifier 
of  the  ungodly.     Rom.  x.  4,  iv.  5.     Eveti 
we,  possessing  such  a  conviction,  and  acting 
under  such  a  persuasion,  have  believed  in 
Jesus    Christ;    have    renounced   our   own 
righteousness,  as  being  absolutely  insufli- 
cient,   and  betaken  ourselves  to    tJie  Lord 
Messiah,  under  the  humbling  character  of 
guilty,  helpless,  perishing  sinners ;  and  with 
this  professed  design,  that  v)e  might  be  jus- 
tified by  the  faith  of  Ch/ist,  and  not  by  the 
works  of  the  law — that  our  sins  might  be 
pardoned,  and  our  persons  accepted,  in  this 
truly  evangelical  way  ;  no  longer  desiring, 
nor  any  more  attempting  to  seek  these  su- 
perlative blessings  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
whether  they  be  moral  or  ceremonial.     And 
good  reason  we  have  to  drop  every  such 
pursuit— /or  God  himself  has  declared,  and 
it  stands  on  everlasting  record,  to  confound 
every  proud  attempt  to  establish  our  own 
obedience ;  that   by  the  works   of  the   law 
shall  no  flesh  be  justified.     So  that  whether 
we  regard  the  divine  declaration  recorded 
by  the  Psalmist,  Psalm  cxliii.  2,  or  wheth- 
er we  advert  to  the  manifold  imperiections 
attending  our  best  performance.?,  we  are 


That  i.s,  not  by  the  principle,  or  the  exercise  of  faith, 
but  by  the  object  of  it;  which  ia  Christ  and  his  right- 


eousness 

Vol.  3 


-a 


fully  assured  that  we  never  shall,  that  we 
never  can  be  justified  by  them.  Such  is 
the  purport  of  this  apostolic  testimony. 

In  this  instructive  text  the  zealous  apos- 
tle states,  asserts,  and  defends  the  truth  for 
which  we  plead,  in  the  most  emphatical 
and  reiterated  manner.  This  one  passage, 
therefore  if  considered  in  connection  with 
the  scope  and  design  of  the  whole  epistle, 
and  the  state  of  the  Galatian  churches  at 
the  time  in  which  it  was  written  and  ad- 
dressed to  them,  may  be  justly  esteemed  a 
decisive  proof  of  the  point.  A  decisive 
proof  that  no  man  ever  was  accepted  of 
God,  that  no  man  ever  caii  be  justified  be- 
fore him,  by  any  holiness  of  which  he  is 
the  subject,  or  on  account  of  any  Avorks 
which  he  has  performed;  and,  consequently 
that  every  true  beUever  is  "dead  to  the 
law." 

The  views  of  a  man  who  is  alive  to  the 
law,  and  the  hope  of  one  who  is  dead  to  it, 
are  finely  described  by  the  same  infallible 
author,  in  his  consolatory  and  instructive 
letter  to  the  church  at  Philippi.  These 
things  he  illustrates  in  his  own  experience 
and  conduct.  The  support  of  his  hope, 
and  the  views  which  he  had  before  conver- 
sion, he  compares  with  what  he  after  en- 
joyed. While  alive  to  the  law,  and  before 
conversion,  the  privileges  of  his  birth,  as  a 
son  of  the  renowned  Abraham,  and  his  cir- 
cumcision according  to  the  divine  command; 
the  zeal  which  he  had  for  the  traditions  of 
his  fathers,  and  the  strictness  of  his  profess- 
ion as  a  pharisee  ;  his  punctual  perform- 
ance of  ceremonial  institutions,  his  un- 
blameable  conduct  in  the  sight  of  men,  and 
his  sincere  obedience  to  the  moral  law ; 
v/ere  the  things  which  he  counted  his  great- 
est gain,  as  constituting  the  foundation  of 
his  hope  of  eternal  life.  These  were  the 
ground  of  his  self-righteous  confidence,  and 
the  fuel  of  his  pharisaical  pride.  And  if 
trusting  in  these  things  had  been  lawful  or 
safe  for  any  man,  no  one  had  greater  ad- 
vantages or  a  fairer  pretence  than  Saul  the 
pharisee  had.     Philip,  iii.  4. 

But  when  apprehended  by  omnipotent 
grace,  Phil.  iii.  12,  and  dead  to  the  law,  he 
builds  on  another  foundation,  and  speaks  a 
very  different  language.  Then  he  declares 
that  all  those  things  which  he  once  account- 
ed his  highest  gain,  he  now  esteems  not 
only  mean,  in  comparison  with  Christ,  but 
loss  itself  With  an  air  of  great  solemnity, 
and  as  going  to  utter  a  truth  of  the  last  im- 
portance, he  adds,  "Yea,  doubtless,  and  I 
count  all  things  but  loss,  for  the  excellency 
of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord ; 
for  whom  I  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things, 
and  do  count  them  but  dung,  that  I  may 
win  Christ,  and  be  found  in  him  ;  not  hav- 
ing mine  ovm  righteousness,  which  is  of  the 
law,  but  that  v/hich  is  through  the  faith  of 


130 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE, 


Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God 
by  faith."     PhiHp.  iii.  8,  9. 

Let  us  briefly  consider  the  several  claus- 
es of  this  remarkable  text.  Yea,  doubt- 
less— I  affirm  it  without  the  least  hesitation, 
and  am  determined  to  abide  it.  That  I 
count  ALL  THINGS,  whether  they  be  birth- 
privileges  or  Pharisaical  zeal,  ceremonial 
rites  or  moral  duties — these,  all  these,  not- 
withstanding their  splendid  appearance  to 
an  eye  tinctured  with  Jewish  prejudices,  I 
count  but  loss.     Yea,  I  do  not  only  thus  re- 

Jmdiate  all  my  privileges,  and  all  my  per- 
brmances  belbre  conversion,  but  ail  my 
apostolic  gilts,  and  all  my  Christian  graces .: 
all  that  I  have  and  all  that  I  do,  I  esteem  of 
no  avail  in  the  grand  article  of  justification. 
These  things,  though  abundantly  useful 
and  highly  excellent,  when  standing  in 
their  proper  places,  and  referred  to  suita- 
ble ends,  are  little,  are  nothing,  are  loss 
itself,  compared  with  the  eaxellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Chr-ist  Jesits  my  Lord.  Such 
is  the  love  I  bear  to  my  Saviour,  and  such 
the  esteem  I  have  for  his  righteousness,  that 
for  his  sake  /  have  gladly  suffered  the  loss 
of  all  things  which  1  once  so  highly  prized. 
And  however  strange  it  may  appear  to  a 
mind  leavened  with  legal  pride.  I  again  de- 
clare that  I  count  them  despicable  as  the 
sordid  scraps  which  are  thrown  to  the  dogs, 
and  loathsome  as  dtmg,  which  is  cast  out  of 
sight.  Such  is  the  amount  of  my  perform- 
ances, and  such  my  estimate  of  them,  if  set 
in  competition  with  Jesus,  and  presuming 
to  stand  in  the  place  of  his  righteousness. 
It  is,  therefore,  now  my  principal  desire  and 
Bupreme  concern  that  I  may  win  Christ,  as 
quite  sufficient  to  supply  all  my  wants,  and 
render  me  completely  and  eternally  happy. 
That  so,  when  the  Judge  ascends  the  throne, 
and  wrath  makes  inquisition  for  blood — 
when  none  but  the  perfectly  righteous  shall 
be  able  to  stand,  I  may  be  found-  in  him, 
the  Beloved.  Eph.  i  6.  For,  being  thus 
found,  my  acceptance  is  certain,  my  salva- 
tion is  sure.  Not  having,  not  depending 
upon  or  pleading  mine  own  righteousness, 
which  is  of  the  law  ;  my  inherent  holiness 
with  which  I  am  endued  as  a  Christian, 
and  those  righteous  acts  I  have  been  ena- 
bled to  perform,  in  compliance  with  the  sa- 
cred precepts,  and  with  a  view  to  the  glory 
of  God ;  but  being  adorned  with,  and  de- 
pending upon  that  glorious  obedience  which 
ts  thrmigh  the  faith  of  Christ ;  which  was 
finished  by  him,  is  revealed  in  the  gospel 
and  received  by  faith.  Even  that  obedi- 
ence which,  to  denote  its  absolute  perfec 
tion  and  the  manner  in  which  the  sinner  en- 
joys it  to  his  comfort,  is  called  the  right 
E0USNES9  OF  GoD  BY  FAITH.  Thus  Ga- 
maliel's pupil,  thus  the  apostle  of  Christ 
delivers  his  faith,  and  describes  the  founda- 
tion of  his  hope  of  future  acceptance.    And 


this  declaration  he  made  on  purpose  to 
guard  the  Philippian  converts  against  the 
subtle  attacks  of^  Judaizing  teachers,  Phil- 
ip, iii.  1,  2,  who  strenuously  contended  that 
something  more  was  necessary  to  justifica- 
tion, than  the  righteousness  of  the  divine 
Redeemer,  and  a  reliance  upon  it — which 
consideration  renders  the  argument  from 
this  passage  the  more  strongly  conclusive 
in  proof  of  the  point  in  hand. 

Let  us  hear  another  infallible  teacher 
and  faitliful  follower  of  the  Lamb,  when 
delivering  not  his  own  private  sentiments 
but  the  faith  of  the  church,  and  in  the  name 
of  all  the  apostles.  A  controversy  being 
raised  about  the  necessity  of  circumcision 
in  order  to  salvation,  which  was  carried  on 
by  the  Jewish  zealots  with  no  small  degree 
of  warmth,  and  not  without  much  disturb- 
ance to  the  peace  of  believers ;  and  the 
apostles  and  elders  being  convened  at  Jeru- 
salem to  consider  the  unhappy  affair,  Peter, 
after  mentioning  various  things,  concludes 
with  a  short  but  comprehensive  declaration, 
of  his  own  faith,  and  the  faith  of  the  church 
general.  Let  us  attentively  hear  his 
words,  and  diligently  consider  their  import. 
For  he  speaks  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  de- 
livers the  mind  of  Christ.  He  speaks  on  a 
weighty  occasion,  and  to  determine  an  im- 
portant controversy.  The  controversy  in 
fact  was,  whether  Jesus  only  should  have 
the  glory  of  the  sinner^s  salvation,  or  wheth- 
er human  endeavors  and  human  worthiness 
ought  not  to  share  it  with  him  ?  Thus  the 
contest  lay  between  the  grace  of  God  and 
the  pride  of  man ;  and  thus  it  still  contin- 
ues, however  the  terms  of  the  question  may 
be  varied,  or  whatever  disguises  may  be 
put  on  it. 

The  decision  given  to  this  controversy  in 
those  times,  and  what  will  be  always  valid, 
is  contained  in  the  following  words  :     "  But 

WE  BELIEVE    THAT    THROUGH    THE  GRACE  OF 

OUR  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  shall  be  sav- 
ed." Acts  XV.  11.  Salvation  is  that  all- 
comprehensive  blessing  which  the  awaken- 
ed sinner  wants.  Let  this  be  granted,  and 
his  desires  are  satisfied;  he  can  have  no 
more.  For  it  includes  a  complete  deliver- 
ance from  every  evil,  and  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  every  good.  Now  this  infinitely 
glorious  blessing  is  expressly  said  to  be  hy 
grace — and  grace  is  free  favor.  In  the 
sacred  writings  it  is  directly  opposed  to  all 
works  and  worthiness.  Nor  can  it  be  other- 
wise. For  where  works  and  worthiness 
come  into  consideration,  there  the  province 
of  grace  ceases.*  When,  therefore,  it  is 
affirmed  by  the  oracle  of  heaven,  that  we 
are  saved  by  grace,  we  are  led  to  conclude, 
that  our  own   duties,  however  sincere  or 


'  Gratia  non  erit  gratia  ullo  ruodo,  nisi  sit  gratuitaom^ 
Di  modo.    Acta  Synod.  Dordrtch.    Par.  III.  p.  211. 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE, 


131 


however  diversified,  have  no  part  in  the 
wonderful  work.  But  thsit  favor,  free,  sov- 
ereign favor,  is  all  in  all.  The  foundation 
of  the  spiritual  temple,  and  of  our  eternal 
happiness,  was  laid  in  the  riches  of  grace. 
The  stones  are  polished,  and  the  super- 
structure is  reared  by  the  hand  of  omnipo- 
tent grace.  And  when  the  last  stone  in  the 
magnificent  edifice  shall  be  laid,  it  will  be 
with  shoutings,  "  grace  !  grace  unto  it  !" 
Zech.  iv.  7.  It  was  free,  sovereign  grace 
which  distinguished  the  vessels  of  mercy, 
in  the  eternal  decree  of  election.  The  rea- 
son why  they  were  chosen  rather  than  oth- 
ers, is  to  be  resolved,  not  into  any  difference 
there  was  originally  between  them  and 
those  who  finally  perish,  nor  into  any  good 
works  ibreseen,  but  into  tlie  sovereign  will 
of  him  who  says,  "  I  will  have  mercy  on 
whom  I  will  have  mercy."*  The  same 
grace  was  concerned  in  the  constitution  of 
the  everlasting  covenant  of  peace,  which 
was  made  with  Christ,  as  tlie  head  of  the 
chosen  seed,  and  treasuring  up  all  spiritu- 
al blessings  in  him.  on  their  behalf.  Eph. 
i.  3.  1  Tim.  i.  9.  Our  redemption  by  his 
blood,  our  regeneration,  justification,  adop- 
tion, sanctification,  perseverance,  and  final 
felicity,  all  spring  from  the  same  infinite 
source,  and  are  all  ascribed,  in  the  volume 
of  mspiration,  to  the  same  original  and 
glorious  cause. 

And  as  Christ  is  the  great  trustee  of  the 
covenant  of  grace,  and  the  grand  reposito- 
ry, of  all  the  blessings  of  grace,  so  infinite 
grace  is  manifested  in  him  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  reflect  a  glory  on  all  the  perfec- 
tions of  Deity,  as  well  as  to  secure  salva- 
tion to  all  its  objects.  And  as  it  was  an 
act  of  unutterable  condescension,  and  an 
evidence  of  boundless  love  in  the  Son  of 
God,  to  undertake  the  arduous  work,  and 
_  become  incarnate  that  he  might  accomplish 
it,  so  we  are, with  the  greatest  propriety,  said 
to  be  saved  by  his  grace  ;  as  in  the  text  un- 
der consideration — "  we  believe  that  through 
the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we 
shall  be  saved."     We  believe — we  are  fully 

*  RoiD.  ix.  15.  The  doctrine  of  sovereig7i  distiv.guish- 
ing grace.,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  is  too  generally  ex- 
ploded as  a  fiction.  It  is  now  discarded,  as  not  fitted  to 
gain  the  assent  of  the  free  inquirer,  in  so  enlightened 
and  polite  an  a^e  as  the  present.  The  opposers  of  it 
generally  plead  its  supposed  inconsistency  with  the  ideas 
we  naturally  have  of  the  perfections  of  the  Supreme 
Being.  But  the  reason,  the  true  reason  is  its  inconsist- 
ency with  the  pri'rf?  of  man.  and  the  opinion  of  human 
worthiness,  which  so  generally  prevail.  And  here,  it 
must  be  owned,  there  is  an  entire  and  eternal  repugnan- 
cy. Thai  being  cordially  received,  these  must  fall  to  the 
ground,  as  Dagon  before  the  ark.  Hence  it  is  that  we 
are  naturally  so  loth  to  embrace  this  humbling  truth. 
Yea.  some  there  are  who  freely  confess  that  salvation  is 
by  Christ  only,  and  through  his  imputed  righteousness, 
who  are  not  easily  brought  to  admit  the  doctrine  of  eter- 
nal, personal,  and  unconditional  election  into  titeir  creed 
And.  though  their  experience  may  plead  for  it,  though 
their  other  avowed  sentiments  m&y  involve  it— yet  they 
dispute  against  it,  as  commonly  and  justly  staled  by 
Calvinists,  and  endeavor  to  load  it  witli  hoi-rid  conse- 
quences.   This  the  writer  of  these  pages  knows  by  ex- 


persuaded,  and  rest  in  it  as  a  certain,  sa- 
cred, and  most  comfortable  truth — that 
though  our  state  be  extremely  miserable, 
and  our  persons  absolutely  unworthy ; 
though  we  have  forfeited  every  blessing, 
and  deserve  every  curse  ;  yet,  through  the 
grace,  the  unmerited  favor  and  boundless 
benignity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  shall 
be  saved;  He  being  a  person  of  infinite 
dignity,  has  performed  a  work  ol"  infinite 
value,  in  virtue  of  which  we  shall  be  com- 
pletely saved :  saved,  while  here,  from  the 
curse  of  the  law  and  the  dominion  of  Sa- 
tan ;  saved  hereafter,  from  the  being  of  sin 
and  the  damnation  of  hell — so  perfectly 
saved  as  to  fear  no  evil ;  so  perfectly  bless- 
ed as  to  want  no  good.  Such  a  salvation 
did  grace  provide ;  such  a  salvation  does 
Christ  perform. 

In  this  truly  apostohcal  creed,  which  was 
delivered  by  Peter  and  recorded  by  Luke, 
the  grace  of  God,  and  the  work  of  our  Lord, 
are  all  in  all.  And  as  it  ascribes  our  whole 
salvation  to  the  undertaking  of  Jesus,  so  it 
secures  the  whole  glory  to  hjs  adorable 
name.  The  avowed  belief  and  the  com- 
fortable hope  of  the  primitive  Chiistians 
being  contained  in  it,  we  have  a  striking  in- 
stance, and  an  irrefragable  proof,  that  they 
were  dead  to  the  law ;  that  the  peace  of 
their  minds  in  time,  and  their  hopes  of  bliss 
in  eternity,  did  not  arise  from  their  own 
obedience,  but  from  that  revelation  of  di- 
vine grace  which  is  made  in  the  gospel — 
that  sovereign  grace  which  richly  provided 
every  blessing,  and  freely  furnishes  every 
requisite,  necessary  to  everlasting  bliss. 

Having  considered  Ihis  apostolical  con- 
fession of  faith,  as  it  is  preserved  for  our  in- 
struction in  the  most  authentic  history  of 
the  primitive  Christian  church,  let  us  once 
more  advert  to  the  writings  of  Paul.  We 
have  already  heard  him  declare  that  he 
was  "dead  to  the  law."  We  have  also 
heard  him  loudly  proclaim  the  excellence 
of  that  righteousness  by  which  he  was  jus- 
tified, and  in  which  he  desired  to  be  found ; 
and  seen  him  carefully  describe  the  foun- 

perience,  to  his  grief  and  shame.  Through  the  ignor- 
ance of  his  mind,  the  pride  of  his  heart,  and  the  preju- 
dices of  his  education  ;  he,  in  his  younger  years,  often 
opposed  it  with  much  warmth,  though  with  no  small  de- 
gree of  weakness.  But,  after  an  impartial  inquiry,  and 
many  prayers,  he  found  reason  to  alter  his  judgment. 
He  found  it  to  be  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  and  a  dictate 
of  the  unerring  Spirit.  Bein-j  thus  patronized,  he  re- 
ceived the  once  obnoxious  sentiment  under  a  full  con- 
viction of  its  being  a  divine  truth.  And  now  he  consid- 
ers the  eternal,  disciiminating  love  of  God,  in  the  choice 
of  his  people,  as  the  original  source  of  all  those  spiritual 
blessings  they  here  enjoy ;  of  all  that  glory  they  hereaf- 
ter expect.  To  the  distinguishing  love  of  the  Father, 
to  the  redeemitig  blood  of  tlie  Son  ;  to  the  almighty  agen- 
cy and  sanctifying  operations  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  he 
now  desires  to  ascribe  the  unrivalled  honor  of  a  com- 
plete, eternal  salvation.  In  the  firm  belief  of  this  glori- 
ous and  comprehensive  truth,  he  desires  to  lire  ;  enjoy- 
ing the  sweet  consolations  arising  from  it,  he  desires  to 
die.  And  if  tlie  Lord  thus  favor  him,  he  does  not  fear 
but  his  life  will  be  vseful.  in  some  degree — his  death 
peaceful,  and  his  end  salvation. 


132 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


dation  on  which  the  most  guilty  may  safely 
rest  the  weight  of  their  immortal  concerns. 
Let  us  now  observe  him  bitterly  lamenting 
over  his  unhappy  brethren  after  the  flesh. 
These  are  his  affecting  words,  which  are 
introduced  with  a  solemn  appeal  to  heaven, 
"  /  have  great  heaviness  and  conlinual  sor- 
row in  my  heart,  for  my  brethren,  my  kins- 
men according  to  the  flesh.''''  To  which  he 
adds,  '•  my  hearts  desire  and  prayer  to  God 
for  Israel  is,  that  they  might  be  saved." 
Rom.  ix.  2,  3,  x.  1.  What  was  the  cause 
of  this  inconsolable  grief?  Were  they 
scandalous  in  their  lives,  and  atrociously 
wicked  ?  Had  they  renounced  the  worship 
of  God  and  sunk  into  practical  atheism  ? 
Far  from  it.  The  persons  over  whom  he 
laments,  had  a  "  zeal  of  God,"  and  earnest- 
ly "  followed  after  righteousness  ;"  were 
sincere  in  their  profession,  and  diligent  in 
the  pursuit  of  eternal  happiness.  Of  this 
Paul  was  a  witness,  and  this  he  openly  tes- 
tifies. Rom.  X.  2,  ix.  31.  In  what,  then, 
did  their  fatal  mistake  consist?  For  the 
popular  maxim,  and  the  reason  on  which  it 
is  ibunded,  are,  '•  Be  sincere.  Perform  ev- 
ery duty  to  the  utmost  of  your  power  and 
the  best  of  your  knowledge,  and  you  shall 
obtain  the  favor  of  God  and  the  fruition  of 
heaven.  For  it  cannot  be  supposed  that 
where  the  heart  is  sincere  in  the  worship  of 
God,  and  the  conduct  regular  in  the  sight 
of  men,  a  person's  state  can  be  bad,  what- 
ever may  be  his  doctrinal  sentiments." 
Such  is  the  voice  of  general  opinion,  but 
not  of  divine  revelation.  For  if  this  maxim 
were  founded  in  truth,  there  would  have 
been  no  occasion  for  the  apostle's  heartfelt 
sorrow  over  those  of  his  brethren  he  here 
mentions.  If,  therefore,  we  would  pay  a 
due  deference  to  the  judgment  of  Paul,  as 
an  infallible  guide,  and  credit  the  account 
which  he  gives  of  his  kinsmen,  and  his  sor- 
row for  them,  we  must  conclude  that  the 
maxim  is  false,  and  the  reason  on  which  it 
is  founded,  a  dangerous  mistake.  And 
consequently,  supposing  a  man  to  act  in 
perfect  conformity  to  it,  his  state  might  yet 
be  extremely  awful,  and  his  end  eternally 
miserable. 

The  Jews,  over  whom  the  compassionate 
apostle  wept,  were  alive  to  the  law,  and 
seekingjustification  by  it.  Though  sincere 
in  a  religious  profession,  and  punctual  in 
their  attendance  on  divine  institutions,  they 
were  utterly  ignorant  of  the  gospel,  and 
despisers  of  the  great  Redeemer.  That 
"sure  foundation"  which  Jehovah  had  laid 
in  Zion  for  the  salvation  of  his  people,  was 
rejected  by  them  as  insufficient,  and  became 
to  them  "  a  rock  of  offence."  Rom.  ix.  33. 
They  "followed  after  the  law  of  righteous- 
ness," with  sincerity  and  zeal ;  but  its  terms 
were  too  high,  and  its  conditions  too  hard 
for  them  to  perform,  so  that  they  could  not 


attain  justification  by  it.  For  (hey  sought 
that  capital  blessing,  not  by  faith  in  their 
promised  Messiah,  "  but  as  it  were  by  the 
works  of  the  law."  Rom.  ix.  31,  32.  They 
"  had  a  zeal  of  God,"  and  a  concern  for  his 
worship;  but  not  according  to  "know- 
ledge," as  their  conduct  plainly  showed. 
"  For  they  being  ignorant  of  God's  "  right- 
eousness"— of  the  perfect  purity  of  his  na- 
ture, and  the  extensive  demands  of  his  law, 
"  and  going  about,"  or  seeking  by  every 
likely  expedient,  "to  establish  their  own 
righteousness,"  as  the  condition  of  life — 
"have  not  submitted  themselves  to  the 
righteousness  of  God."  Such  was  the  un- 
warrantable opinion  they  had  of  their  own 
imperfect  duties,  and  so  great  was  the  pride 
of  their  hearts,  that  they  would  not  accept 
of  that  complete  righteousness  which  was 
appointed  of  God  and  provided  by  him  ; 
even  that  righteousness  which  is  able  to 
justify  in  the  most  desperate  cases,  and  in 
which  their  offended  Maker  is  well  pleased. 
Isa.  xlii.  21.  Would  we  know  more  par- 
ticularly what  obedience  it  is  that  deserves 
the  glorious  character?  The  apostle  in- 
forms us :  "  For  Christ  is  the  end  of  the 
law."  All  that  it  requires,  he  performed ; 
all  that  it  threatens,  he  underwent.  And 
this,  all  this  was  done  and  suffered,  not 
merely  to  set  us  an  example,  but  "  for  right- 
eousness ;"  a  real,  perfect  righteousness. 
As  such  it  is  accounted  by  the  law,  and 
accepted  by  the  Lawgiver.  Nor  was  it 
designed  for  the  benefit  of  him  who  per- 
formed it;  but  it  was  designed  for  sinners, 
and  is  freely  imputed  "  to  every  one  that 
believeth,"  without  any  respect  of  persons, 
or  any  regard  to  worthiness.  Rom.  x.  3,  4. 
To  this  matchless  obedience,  the  self- 
righteous  Jews  would  not  submit.  Being 
ignorant  of  their  real  state,  and  in  the  warm 
pursuit  of  acceptance  with  the  infinite  Sove- 
reign, by  their  own  duties,  they  were  un- 
willing to  admit  the  thouffht  of  being  in- 
debted to  grace,  or  beholden  to  such  an 
assistance.  To  look  for  justification  by  the 
righteousness  of  one  whom  their  rulers  had 
agreed  to  execrate,  and  condemned  as  wor- 
thy of  death ;  to  expect  salvation  through 
believing  in  one  who,  loaded  with  infamy 
and  racked  with  torture,  expired  on  a  cross ; 
this  they  esteemed  highly  absurd.  A  sal- 
vation by  such  unpromising  means,  and 
granted  in  such  a  singular  way,  as  left  no 
room  for  their  splendid  duties  to  make  a 
figure  and  shine  conspicuous,  as  co-partners 
in  the  affair ;  such  a  salvation  they  would 
not  accept — they  thought  themselves  war- 
ranted from  their  hearts  to  despise.  Nor 
would  they  acknowledge  that  Jesus,  the 
crucified,  Avas  their  promised  Messiah ; 
though  the  time  in  which  he  appeared,  the 
doctrines  he  taught,  and  the  works  which 
he  did,  all  attested  his  divine  mission,  and 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


133 


afforded  the  brightest  evidence  in  support  I  bottom?     Is  that  your  plea  at  the  throne  of 
of  his  claim  to  the  character.     Thus  they  grace ;  and  is  it  your  ardent  desire  to  be 


rejected  his  person,  doctrine,  and  work 
And  as  ignorance  of  the  holiness  of  God, 
the  purity  of  his  law  and  the  evil  of  sin, 
laid  a  Ibundation  for  that  proud   opinion 


found  in  it  when  standing  at  the  great  tri- 
bunal? There,  reader,  you  must  shortly 
stand,  before  a  Judge  whose  eyes  are  "  as 
a  flame  of  fire,"  and  with  whom  "  is  terrible 


they  entertained  of  the  excellence  of  their  [majesty."     Examine,  therefore,  the  state  of 
'   "  '  ■    ■  ■         1  •    ^i-_!  your  soul,  and  cultivate  an  acquaintance 

with  Jesus  Christ.  The  fruits  of  an  in- 
creasing acquaintance  with  him,  are  truly 
desirable  and  unspeakably  precious.  For 
the  more  you  behold  of  his  personal  glories 
and  perfect  obedience,  the  less  will  you  be 
inclined  to  cleave  to  the  law,  or  depend  on 
your  own  defective  duties.  This  is  a  cer- 
tain truth,  and  confirmed  by  all  Christian 
experience.  For  though  you  will  not  be 
inclined  to  reject  the  law  as  a  rule  of  con- 
duct, or  to  neglect  duty  as  an  evidence  of 
your  cordial  submission  to  divine  authority, 
and  of  gratitude  for  benefits  received  and 
blessings  expected,  yet  you  will  have  a 
meaner  opinion  of  all  that  you  do,  and  a 
stronger  confidence  in  the  work  of  your 
Saviour.  Besides,  the  peace  you  enjoy 
will  be  steadier,  and  the  works  you  perform 
will  be  more  spiritual.  Your  peace  will  be 
steadier :  for  the  more  clearly  you  see  the 
dignity  of  him  who  made  your  peace,  the 
greater  will  the  worth  of  that  work  appear 
by  which  it  was  made.  Consequently  your 
dependence  upon  it  will  be  more  firm  ;  your 
rejoicing  in  it  will  be  more  constant.  Your 
duties  will  be  more  sjnritual :  for  in  propor- 
tion as  your  views  of  the  infinite  all-suffi- 
ciency of  the  divine  Mediator  increase,  so 
will  your  love  to  him.  "  Beholding,  as  in  a 
glass,  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  we  are  chang- 
ed into  the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glo- 
ry." And  as  the  love  of  God  is  the  princi- 
ple of  all  acceptable  obedience,  in  propor- 
tion as  that  generous  principle  is  more 
lively  and  active,  duty  will  be  performed 
with  greater  delight  and  diligence,  and  it 
will  also  be  more  certainly  referred  to  its 
proper  end,  tlie  glory  of  the  ever  blessed 
God, 
Yes,  believer,  in  such  a  procedure  you 


own  duties,  and  as  that  issued  in  their  re 
jection  of  the  Lord's  Messiah,  so  the  same 
ignorance  and  pride  cause  the  generality 
now  to  reject  his  imputed  righteousness,  as 
an  unnecessary  thing ;  even  when  they  do 
not  proceed  to  that  daring  infidelity  which 
pours  open  contempt  on  his  person  and 
character.  Hence  we  may  safely  conclude, 
that  all  the  supine  negligence  about  eter- 
nal things  which  appears  in  the  world,  and 
all  that  disregard  which  is  shown  to  Christ 
and  his  work,  where  the  gospel  revelation 
ehines,  proceeds  from  ignorance — ignorance 
of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  the  righteousness  oi^ 
God  in  his  law. 

And  now,  reader,  are  you  "  dead  to  the 
law  ?"  Are  all  your  expectations  and  all 
your  desires  of  justification  by  it  extinct? 
Remember,  it  is  one  thing  to  acknowledge 
a  truth  in  theory,  and  another  to  live  under 
its  practical  influence.  Many  there  are 
who  have  learned,  in  a  doctrinal  Avay  that 
beJievers  are  dead  to  the  law,  who  yet,  in 
the  dispositions  of  their  hearts  and  in  their 
own  experience,  were  never  divorced  i>om 
it.  Their  legal  apprehensions  and  slavish 
fears,  their  mercenary  views  in  the  perform- 
ance of  duty,  and  their  self-elating  thoughts, 
when  they  imagine  they  have  performed  it 
well,  are  evidences  that  they  cleave  to  the 
law.  These,  when  habitual,  are  a  convin- 
cing proof  that  they  are  alive  to  it,  that 
they  are  still,  in  a  partial  way,  seeking  tlieir 
peace  and  happiness  from  their  own  obe- 
dience.* 

Again  :  What  think  you  of  the  Redeem- 
er's righteousness  ?  Have  you  a  superla- 
tive esteem  for  it,  and  is  it  with  you  the 
"  one  thing  needful  ?"  Do  you  repose  your 
confidence  in  that  only,  for  acceptance,  and 
venture  your  all  for  eternity,  on  that  single 

■  Hero  it  may  be  proper  to  obsei-ve,  tl;at  the  real  be- 
liever, even  after  a  Ions;  experience  in  the  ways  of  God, 
is  too  ready  to  look  to  disown  frames  an  3  dunes  for  that 
peace  anil  cotnfort  wtiich  nothing  but  the  blood  of  Christ 
and  Ihe  testimony  of  the  Spirit  can  pos-ibly  give.  A  le- 
gal bias  of  mini  is  so  natural  to  us,  and  our  views  of  ilie 
Saviour  and  his  glorious  righteousness  are,  at  the  best, 
Eo  contracted,  that  we  often  lose  sisrht  of  the  excellent 
object  before  we  are  aware.  The  candid  reader  and  ex- 
perienced Christian  will  not  be  offended  if  I  here  intro- 
duce a  paragraph  extracted  from  the  life  of  a  minister  of 
the  gospel  in  the  last  century;  as  it  may,  in  some  de- 
gree, both  illustrate  and  confirm  this  observation.  The 
minister  to  whom  I  refer,  was  Mr.  Owen  Stockton,  a  part 
of  whose  experience  is  contain t^d  in  Ihe  following  words: 
"  I  find  that  though  in  my  judgmeiil  and  profession  I  ac 
knowledi;e  Christ  to  be  my  righteousness  and  peace,  yet 
upon  examination  I  observe  that  my  heart  hath  done 
quite  another  thing;  and  that  secretly  I  have  gone  about 
to  establish  my  own  righteousness,  and  have  derived  my 
comfort  and  i)eace  from  my  men  actings.  For  when  I 
have  been  disquieted  by  the  acting  of  my  sins,  that  which 
Jiath  recovered  me  to  my  former  peace  haUi  not  been 


that  I  coujdfiiid  God  speaking  peace  through  the  blood  of 
Christ,  but  rather  from  the  intermission  of  temptation, 
and  the  cessation  of  those  sins.  When  1  have  been 
troubled  at  an  evil  frame  of  heart,  I  do  not  find  that  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  hath  been  my  consolition ;  but 
that  which  has  relieved  me,  as  far  as  I  can  find,  was,  th.it 
afterwards  I  have  found  myself  in  a  better  temper.  Hav- 
ing been  in  trouble  and  perplexity,  I  have  read  the  .scrip- 
ture, gone  to  prayer,  and  in  doing  these  I  have  been  re- 
lieved ;  yet  I  do  not  find  that  at  such  times  I  had  a  real, 
true,  living  communion  with  God  in  such  duties,  or  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  did,  in  those  duties,  reveal  to  me  my 
interest  in  Christ,  and  so  quiet  my  conscience.  Hence 
I  come  to  see  what  great  need  I  have,  and  that  it  is  of 
singular  use  to  watch  over  my  soul  in  all  its  ways,  both 
in  reference  to  sin,  that  I/a// not  into  it ;  and  when  fallen 
what  the  carriage  and  actings  of  my  soul  are  at  such  a 
time  ;  whether  I  flee  for  relief  to  God  in  Christ  or  lo  my 
own  Works.  For  as  Satan  keeps  some  alienated  from 
God  by  the  gross  pollutions  of  the  world,  so  others  from 
Christ,  by  their  establishingarighteousnessof  theirowi;. 
O,  Lord  !  break  thou  thi.s'  snare  for  me."  In  Beart'a 
Etem.  Law  and  Ever.  Ooap.    Part.  i.    Pref.  p.  16,  16. 


134 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


will  find  your  spiritual  account,  and  grace  [ 
shallhavethe  glory.  Faith  will  grow  firmasj 
the  deep-rooted  cedar,  Col.  ii.  7.  Eph.  iii.  | 
17,  and  nope  bright  as  the  day.  Love  will| 
expand  the  heart,  and  holiness  blossom  as 
the  rose.  The  life  will  be  vocal  to  the  Re- 
deemer's praise,  and  death  even  death  it- 
sell",  peaceful  in  his  soft  embrace. 

"  Reveal  blessed  Jesus !  reveal  thy  glory 
to  mine  eye,  and  shed  abroad  tliy  love  in 
my  heart.  Cause  me  to  rest  completely 
satisfied  in  thy  undertaking,  as  the  fulfilling 
end  of  the  law.  and  enable  me  to  live  upon 
thy  inexhaustable  fulness.  Empty  me  of 
every  sell-dependence,  and  make  me  truly 
humble.  Show  me  the  beauty  of  holiness, 
as  delineated  in  thy  most  perfect  pattern  ; 
and  help  me  to  copy  it  in  my  own  conduct. 
Raise  my  affections  to  heavenly  things, 
and  grant  me  the  abiding  earnest  of  my 
eternal  inheritance.  Then,  though  in  a  sin- 
ful world  and  a  militant  state,  though  har- 
rassed  with  bodily  pain,  or  pinched  with 
worldly  poverty,  I  shall  not  only  be  safe 
but  happy.  The  slavish  fears  of  damna- 
tion shall  be  far  distant,  and  the  beams  of 
celestial  joy  shall  shine  into  my  soul.  Then, 
ye  sons  of  sensuality  and  children  of  pride, 
ye  may  take  your  sordid  pleasures  and 
boast  of  your  tinsel  honors.  I  shall  neither 
covet  your  lawless  mirth,  nor  envy  your 
sounding  titles.  Being  dead  to  the  law  and 
alive  to  my  God,  being  safe  in  the  hands 
of  my  Saviour,  and  blest  with  a  sense  of  his 
love,  having  death  in  remembrance,  and 
heaven  in  view,  I  despise  your  mean  pur- 
suits, and  abhor  your  illicit  enjoyments. 
While  the  world  are  satisfied  with  the  feath- 
er of  fading  honors,  and  the  froth  of  per- 
ishing pleasures,  be  it  thy  concern,  O,  my 
soul !  to  glorify  him  who  died  for  thee  and 
rose  again.  Then  shall  substantial  pleas- 
ures be  thy  present  enjoyment,  and  unfad- 
ing honors  thy  eternal  crown." 


SECTION    IV. 
Of  the  law,  as  dead  to  believers. 

Having  shown  that  believers  are  dead  to 
the  law,  we  shall  now  consider  the  law  as 
dead  to  them. 

Whoever  is  dead  to  the  law  as  a  cove- 
nant, the  law,  under  that  consideration,  is 
dead  to  him.  As  the  relation  is  mutual, 
while  it  subsists  at  all,  so  is  the  death.  Con- 
sidered as  the  offspring  of  Adam,  we  are 
born  under  the  law,  as  a  covenant ;  we 
look  to  it  for  life,  and  continue  in  tliat  situ- 
ation while  unregenerate.  But  when  the 
Spirit  of  God  enlightens  the  mind  to  dis 
cem  our  state,  and  awakens  the  conscience 
to  apprehend  our  danger,  all  our  expecta 


tions  of  life  by  our  own  obedience  being 
blasted,  and  having  fled  to  Jesus  Christ  as 
"  the  end  of  the  law,"  and  taken  shelter 
under  another  covenant,  we  are  no  longer 
under  it,  as  prescribing  the  condition  of 
Ufe,  nor  any  more  liable  to  its  awful  curse. 
It  is  dead,  and  our  deliverance  from  it  is 
complete  and  glorious. 

This  comfortable  truth  we  are  taught,  by 
the  pen  of  inspiration,  in  the  epistle  of  Paul 
to  the  Romans.  Thus  we  read — "  Know 
ye  not  brethren  (for  I  speak  to  them  that 
know  the  law)  how  that  the  law  hath  do- 
minion over  a  man  as  long  as  it  liveth.* 
For  the  woman  which  hath  an  husband,  is 
bound  by  law  to  her  husband,  so  long  as 
he  liveth;  but  if  the  husband  be  dead,  she 
is  loosed  from  the  law  of  her  husband. 
So  then,  if  while  her  husband  liveth,  she 
be  married  to  another  man,  she  shall  be 
called  an  adultress ;  but  if  her  husband  be 
dead,  she  is  free  from  that  law ;  so  that  she 
is  no  adultress,  though  she  be  married  to 
another  man.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye 
also  are  become  dead  to  the  law  by  the  body 
of  Christ,  that  ye  should  be  married  to 
another,  even  to  him  who  is  raised  from  the 
dead.  But  now  we  are  delivered  from  the 
law,  that  being  dead  wherein  we  were 
held."  Rom.  vii.  1,  2,  3,  4,  6.  On  this  re- 
markable passage  we  may  observe  that  the 
divine  law,  by  a  usual  figure  of  speech,  is 
described  as  a  person.  It  is  compared  to  a 
husband,  to  whom  some  are  married,  and 
to  whom  others  are  dead.  To  the  law,  in 
its  covenant  form,  men  naturally  cleave,  as 
a  wife  to  her  husband.  They  look  to  it  for 
life,  and  on  it  tliey  depend  for  salvation. 
Their  hopes  of  happiness  and  fears  of 
misery  rise  and  fall  in  exact  proportion  to 
that  obedience  which  they  suppose  them- 
selves to  perform,  in  conformity  to  its  com- 
mands, or  the  consciousness  they  have  of 
their  disobedience  to  it.  Such  expecta- 
tions and  fears  prove  that  they  are  alive  to 
it ;  and  that  implies  that  it  is  alive  to  them. 
And  while  alive  to  them,  it  has  dominion 
over  them. 

This  dominion  of  the  law  is  absolute.  It 
extends  to  all  the  powers  of  the  mind,  and 
all  the  members  of  the  body ;  to  all  the  im- 
aginations of  the  heart,  and  all  their  effects 
in  the  life :  and  it  requires,  on  the  dreadful 
peril  of  incurring  its  severest  displeasure, 
and  suffering  its  heaviest  curse,  that  all 
these  in  every  instance,  and  perpetually, 
should  perfectly  correspond  with  its  right- 
eous demands.  This  the  apostle  illustrates 
in  the  following  manner :  "  For  the  woman 
which  hath  an  husband,  is  bound  by  the 
law  to  her  husband,  so  long  as  he  livetli." 


*  That  the  apostle  here  designs  the  law,  not  the  man, 
ha8  been  obscn-ed  by  many.  And  so  understood,  it 
seeiris  iiiurh  better  lo  a^rpf  with  the  following  illuatra- 
lion,  and  with  the  Bcope  of  the  place  in  geueial. 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE, 


135 


In  like  manner,  all  who  are  alive  to  the  law, 
and  married  to  it,  are  bound  to  obey  it  in  all 
things,  so  long  as  it  lives.  Nothing  but  death 
can  dissolve  the  obligation.  Either  the  law,  as 
a  husband,  must  die  to  the  sinner,  or  the 
sinner,  as  wedded  to  the  law,  must  die  to 
all  expectations  of"  justification  by  it,  before 
he  can  be  loosed  from  its  commands,  as 

{)rescribing  the  condition  of  life,  or  be  freed 
rom  its  tremendous  threatenings.  And  that 
this  twofold  death  takes  place,  as  to  the  law 
and  the  regenerate  man,  the  unerring  wri- 
ter proceeds  to  assert :  "  But  if  her  hus- 
band be  dead,  she  is  loosed  from  the  law 
of  her  husband."  As  that  relation  on  which 
the  law  of  marriage  was  founded,  is  entire- 
ly dissolved  and  extinct  by  the  husband's 
death,  so  the  law  itself  must  unavoidably 
and  absolutely  cease,  together  with  all  its 
consequences.  And  as  the  wife  has  no 
further  expectations  of  assistance  from  him, 
he  being  dead,  so  she  has  no  longer  any 
fear  of  incurring  his  displeasure.  And  be- 
ing thus  set  free  from  her  former  husband, 
she  is  entirely  at  liberty  to  "  marry  another 
man,"  without  being  chargeable  with  the 
crime  of  adultery. 

Now  the  apostle  proceeds  to  apply  the 
comparison.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  just 
such  is  your  case.  The  law,  as  a  husband, 
was  once  alive,  and  had  dominion  over  you, 
but  now  it  is  dead.  Ye  also  were  once 
alive  to  the  law,  but  are  now  become  dead 
to  it.  Having  seen  its  infinite  purity,  and 
felt  its  killing  power,  2  Cor.  iii.  6,  7,  ye  were 
obliged  to  acknowledge  that  ye  could  not 
be  justified  by  it.  Forced,  though  reluc- 
tant, ye  quitted  your  self-righteous  hopes. 
But,  having  heard  the  glorious  gospel,  and 
being  enabled,  by  the  sacred  Spirit,  to  be- 
hold the  body  of  Christ,  that  body  which 
the  Son  of  God  assumed  when  he  conde- 
scended to  be  made  under  the  law :  and 
viewing  the  glory  of  that  obedience  which 
he  wrought  out,  and  the  greatness  of  those 
sufferings  which  he  underwent  in  that  im- 
maculate body,  to  satisfy  the  law  and  jus- 
tify sinners ;  with  the  utmost  readiness  ye 
renounced  your  own  righteousness.  Hav- 
ing found  Jesus,  the  pearl  of  great  price, 
and  in  him  all  that  you  want,  ye  freely  re- 
linquished your  former  pleas.  Thus  ye  be- 
came dead  to  the  law,  that  ye  should-  be  mar- 
ried to  another  and  a  better  husband ;  even 
to  HIM  who  died  on  the  cross  to  atone  for 
your  sins,  and  is  raised  from  the  dead  to 
present  you  complete.  Yes,  my  brethren, 
that  adorable  Person  is  now  become  the 
object  of  your  strongest  affection  and  your 
chaste  regards.  To  him  ye  look  tor  every 
assistance ;  on  him  ye  depend  for  all  your 
salvation.  This  being  our  happy  case,  we 
are  now  delivered  from  the  law.  Its  do- 
minion over  us  is  entirely  ceased.  It  has 
no  more  authority  to   demand  obedience 


from  us,  more  or  less,  as  the  condition  of 
life ;  or  to  denounce  a  curse  upon  us  for 
disobedience.  Nor  can  it  be  otherwise 
with  us,  as  believers,  or  with  the  law  as  a 
covenant.  For  the  inspired  author  adds, 
as  a  reason  of  his  former  assertion,  that 
being  dead  wherein  we  were  held.  We 
were  bound  by  the  law  to  sinless  obedience. 
That  was  the  least  it  required.  And  for 
non-performance  it  held  us  accursed.  Thus 
we  were  held  by  it  and  under  it.  But  now 
it  is  dead.  The  obligation  we  were  under 
to  perfect,  personal  obedience,  as  the  con- 
dition of  life,  is  therefore  cancelled.  Nor 
are  we  any  longer  obnoxious  to  its  penal 
sanction ;  for  we  "  are  not  under  the  law, 
but  under  grace."  Happy  deliverance  ! 
Wonderful  change !  Such  is  the  purport 
of  this  important  paragraph. 

Nor  has  the  law,  as  a  covenant,  the  least 
room  to  complain ;  for  this  way  of  deliver- 
ance from  its  high  demands  and  awful  sanc- 
tion, is  as  equitable  in  itself  as  it  is  com- 
fortable to  the  believer.  Its  precepts 
were  not  given,  nor  its  curse  denounced  in 
vain.  For  though  the  chosen  of  God  were 
utterly  unable  to  perform  the  one  or  suffer 
the  other,  in  their  own  persons,  yet,  in  their 
Head  Representative,  and  Surety,  its  pre- 
cepts were  inviolably  kept,  and  on  him  its 
curse  was  fully  executed.  It  was  entirely 
on  their  behalf  that  the  Eternal  Word  be- 
came incarnate.  It  was  in  their  name  and 
in  their  stead  that  he  obeyed  the  commands 
of  the  law,  and  suffered  its  penalty.  And 
all  this  being  according  to  the  eternal  com- 
pact, in  the  counsels  of  heaven,  and  to 
manifest  the  riches  of  divine  grace  in  the 
salvation  of  the  guilty,  it  is  imputed  to 
them,  they  are  invested  with  it.  Theirs  it 
was,  in  Ihe  design  of  God,  before  they  had 
a  being,  or  time  began ;  which  secured 
from  final  condemnation.  Theirs  it  is,  in 
the  happy  enjoyment,  when  dead  to  the 
law,  which  frees  them  from  slavish  fears, 
which  produces  in  them  a  holy  liberty  and 
heavenly  joy.  Theirs  it  is  to  justify  and 
save  ;  to  render  complete  in  the  eye  of  the 
law,  and  eternally  blessed  in  the  fruition  of 
God. 

While  sinners  are  alive  to  the  law,  and 
the  law  has  dominion  over  them,  its  requi- 
sitions are  high  and  its  language  is  terrible ; 
for  "  whatsoever  things  the  law,"  as  a  cov- 
enant, '■  saith,  it  saith  to  them  that  are  un- 
der the  law."  But,  when  dead  to  it,  and 
when  they  commence  believers,  it  address- 
es them  in  a  milder  tone,  and  with  sweeter 
accents.  Viewing  them  in  Jesus  Christ, 
their  exalted  head,  its  pacific  language  is,  "  I 
own  myselfentirelyfulfilled;  I  acknowledged 
myself  completely  satisfied.  True  it  is,  my 
nature  is  not  in  the  least  altered ;  my  re- 
quirements are  not  at  all  abated  ;  my  end, 
as  commanding,  is  still  a  perfect  righteoutc 


136 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


ness ;  Rom.  x.  4,  my  end,  as  violated,  is  still 
extreme  pvmishment.  Gal.  iii.  10.  1  can- 
not but  require  perfect  love  to  God,  pcrfert 
love  to  man,  and  perfect  holiness,  both  in 
heart  and  life.  Never  abating  the  least  tittle 
of  these  demands,  I  denounce  tiie  cur-se  on  ev- 
ery offender,  and  on  the  least  departure  from 
absolute  perfection.  But  here  believers,  is 
your  safety,  and  this  is  your  comfort,  that  my 
precepts  have  been  fully  obeyed  by  Jesus, 
your  substitute.  This  obedience  I  consider 
as  far  superior  to  the  spotless  innocence  of 
your  first  father,  while  in  the  bowers  of  par- 
adise, or  the  sanctity  of  angels  in  the  glory 
of  heaven.  It  is  possessed  of  infinite  worth, 
and  by  it  I  am  highly  magnified.  Isa.  xlii. 
21.  This  is  your  comfort,  believers,  that 
the  curse  due  to  your  sins  has  been  execut- 
ed on  your  most  holy  Surety ;  and  his  suf- 
ferings were  more  than  tantamount  to  your 
eternal  misery.  And  as  he  performed  tliat 
matchless  obedience,  and  underwent  those 
unparalleled  sufferings,  in  your  nature,  and 
professedly  in  your  stead,  I  am  thoroughly 
satisfied,  and  you  are  completely  justified. 
Now,  though  I  cannot  dispense  with  the 
least  fault,  or  connive  at  any  infirmity,  yet  I 
behold  all  your  faults  laid  on  Immanuel ; 
I  behold  all  his  righteousness  put  upon  you  ; 
and  on  his  account  I  acquit  you  from  guilt : 
I  accept  you  as  righteous,  and  pronounce 
you  worthy  of  eternal  life.  Hail,  ye  high- 
ly favored  of  the  Lord  !  Ye  are  wise  ;  ye 
are  safe ;  ye  are  happy !  My  Author 
and  your  God  has  pronounced  you  blessed  ; 
and  shall  I  seek  to  reverse  it?  Your  Re- 
deemer has  died,  your  Redeemer  is  risen  ; 
and  shall  I  dispute  whether  satisfaction  was 
made  ?  How  shuU  I  curse  whom  theL  ord  hath 
not  cursed  ?  Or  how  shall  J  defy  whom  the 
Liordhatlinotdejied?"  Such  is  the  language 
of  the  divine  law  to  him  that  believes  in 
the  Lord  Redeemer ;  and  in  this,  justice 
herself  acquiesces,  while  both  agree  to 
expedite  and  ascertain  his  eternal  salva- 
tion.* 

What  reason,  then,  has  the  believer  to  re- 
joice "  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glo- 
ry ?"  To  rejoice,  not  in  himself,  but  in  the 
Lord  his  RiGHTEorsNE.ss.  Joy  in  the  Lord 
is  his  exalted  privilege.  Philip,  iv.  4,  and 
thankfulness  to  God  should  be  his  constant 
business.  For  in  the  Redeemer's  obedi- 
ence he  is  not  only  pardoned  and  freed  from 
puni.shinent,  but  is  also  the  object  of  divine 
complacency.  Though  in  himself  loath- 
some with  impurity,  and  foul  as  the  dung- 
hill, laden  with  guilt  and  obnoxious  to  ruin, 
yet,  being  interested  in  this  most  excellent 
righteousness,  and  vested  with  this  most 
beautiful  robe,  he  is  pronounced  righteous 
by  infinite  justice,  and  declared  absolutely 

■  Hervey's  Letters  to  W.-Blf)-,  jjp    134.  136. 


fair  in  the  eye  of  Omniscience.  Numb; 
xxiii.  21.  Jer.  i.  20;  Cant.  iv.  7.  Eph.  v. 
27.  Col;  i.  22;  While  alive  to  the  law,  the 
righteousness  ill  which  he  trusted  was  but 
"  filth)^  rags."  It  could  neither  procure  par- 
don for  his  sins,  nor  peace  for  his  con- 
science ;  neither  adorn  him  for  the  glory 
of  heaven,  nor  screen  him  from  the  ven- 
geance of  hell.  But  this — being  wrought, 
finished,  and  infinitely  ennobled,  by  our  in- 
carnate God,  this,  O  believer  is  all  in  all. 
By  this  you  have  pardon  of  sin,  and  peace 
with  your  Maker ;  are  delivered  from  death, 
and  entitled  to  glory.  This  renders  you 
meet  for  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lambj 
and  in  it  you  shall  shine  to  all  eternity. 

And,  lest  any  awakened  sinner  should 
complain — "  though  the  righteousness  be 
infinitely  glorious,  it  is  quite  out  of  my 
reach,"  be  it  observed,  that  the  righteous- 
ness itself,  and  all  the  blessings  connected 
with  it,  are  gifts  of  the  freest  grace.  And 
they  are  all  designed,  not  to  distinguish 
merit,  but  to  enrich  the  indigent  and  relieve 
the  miserable.  Come  then,  trembling  sin- 
ner, seeing  your  poverty  and  feeling  your 
misery,  you  have  an  indisputable  right  to 
rely  on  the  righteousness  and  expect  the 
blessings.  The  divine  declaration  excludes 
none,  no,  not  the  vilest,  that  are  wilhng  to 
come  to  Jesus.  John  vi.  37.  Matt.  xi.  28, 
The  most  enormous  crimes,  and  tlie  great- 
est unworthiness,  are  no  objection  at  all, 
on  the  part  of  the  Saviour.  Why,  then, 
should  they  be  a  discouragement  to  you? 
Remember,  awakened  sinner,  that  it  is 
GRACE  to  which  you  must  apply  for  relief ; 
and  grace,  in  tlie  very  nature  of  things,  has 
no  concern  but  with  the  unworthy.  Is  it 
salvation,  a  great  salvation,  you  want? 
Who  then  are  the  proper  objects  of  such 
a  favor  ?  The  holy  ?  the  righteous  ?  those 
who  can  help  themselves  ?  No  :  but  the 
the  guilty ;  the  miserable ;  the  damna- 
ble. These — let  the  desponding  hear  and 
rejoice  I  and  let  the  mouth  of  proud  infidel- 
ity be  forever  stopped — these  are  the  prop- 
er objects  of  a  great,  a  free,  a  divine  sal- 
vation. On  such,  grace  will  be  magnified. 
From  such,  Immanuel  will  have  the  glory 
which  is  due  to  his  sacred  and  charming 
name,  Jesus.  May  the  Lord  the  Spirit, 
whose  office  it  is  to  lead  into  all  truth,  and 
to  glorify  Christ,  dii-ect  my  reader's  inqui- 
ries, and  satisfy  his  doubts.  May  he  die 
to  the  law  and  all  sell-righteous  hopes. 
Tiien  shall  the  law  be  dead  to  him ;  and, 
I  being  married  to  the  heavenly  Bridegroom, 
I  interested  in  liis  ])erson,  and  endowed  with 
I  his  riches,  he  shall  "bring  forth  fruit  unto 
God."  Rom.  vii.  4.  His  soul  shall  be  peace- 
ful, and  his  life  useful.  He  shall  be  attend- 
ed here  with  inviolable  safety  ;  hereafler  he 
sliall  enjoy  unutterable  bliss. 


DEATH    OP    LEGAL    HOPE. 


137 


SECTION    V. 

Believers  dead  to  the  law,  that  they  might 
live  to  God. 

Some,  perliaps,  may  be  ready  thus  to  in- 
fer: "If  blievers  are  dead  to  the  law,  and 
the  law  be  dead  to  tliem,  they  are  quite  at 
liberty  to  live  as  they  please.  They  may 
sin  without  control  from  the  law,  and  with- 
out any  remorse  of  conscience.  Their  own 
obedience  not  being  a  condition  of  their 
pardon  and  justification,  having  no  liand  in 
procuring  the  favor  of  God,  or  the  salva- 
tion of  their  souls ;  tliere  is  no  occasion  for 
it.  They  may  launch  out  into  licentious- 
ness, and  their  state  be  equally  sate,  their 
end  equally  happy,  as  if  they  were  diligent 
in  the  performance  of  duty,  and  strictly 
self-denying."  In  answer  to  such  an  ignor- 
ant cavil,  and  in  confutation  of  such  a  talse 
Surmise,  I  shall  only  observe,  that  the  great 
apostle  has  drawn  a  very  different  conclu- 
sion from  the  same  premises.  For  he  says, 
"I  am  dead  to  the  law,  that  I  might" — 
what?  commit  iniquity  with  greediness,  and 
sin  with  impunity.?  By  no  means:  but 
<'that  I  might  live  onto  God." 

The  glory  of  God  is  the  ultimate  end  of 
our  existence  itself,  and  of  ail  we  enjoy.* 
All  the  dispensations  of  his  providence,  and 
all  the  blessings  of  grace,  perfectly  harmo- 
nize in  accomplishing  the  grand  design. 
But  the  blessings  of  grace,  being  much 
more  glorious  in  themselves,  more  benefi- 
cial to  us,  and  truly  astonishing  in  the  man- 
ner of  their  communication,  are  more  fully 
adapted  to  answer  that  sacred  purpose. 
In  such  a  light  the  believer  views  them. 
As  calculated  to  answer  so  high  an  end,  he 
delights  in  them,  and  is  thankful  for  them. 
And,  as  living  to  God  is  his  duly,  so  he  es- 
teems it  his  privilege,  and  desires  to  make 
it  his  constant  business. 

The  persons  of  whom  we  speak  are  said  to 
iioe.  They  live,  not  only  an  animal  and  a 
rational,  but  also  a  spiritual  life.  This  life 
they  received  from  Christ.  As  it  is  writ- 
ten, "  the  hoar  is  coming,  and  now  is,  when 
the  dead"  in  sin  "  shall  hear  the  voice  of 
the  Son  of  God,  and  they  that  hear  shall 
live."  John  v.  25.  And  as  they  received 
their  life  from  him,  so  it  is  maintained  by 
him.  Its  continuance,  vigor,  and  exercise, 
depend  on  their  union  with  him,  and  the 


•  This  capital  trutli  is  here  taken  for  granted  ;  but  if 
therei'ier  .h-iire  lo  SPe  it  demonsiratcil.  he  iii:iv  recfive 
satisfaction  by  a  careful  perusal  of  tiie  late  Mr.  Jonalhai 
El-vtr.l's  Dissert  UKin,  entiiled  God's  las'.  End  in  th' 
Crca'ion  of  ihe  World;  or  by  consultin,'  Siapferi,  In^fi- 
tfwni-s  Th'o'^.  Pn'rm.  TJnlvers.  Tom  I  Cap.  Ill  § 
4«— 193.  Toin.  IV.  Cap.  XV.  §  267.  The  latter  of  these 
perforinances,  included  in  five  octavo  vols.,  is  in  my  hum- 
b'e  oninion  a  valuable  work,  though  little  known  in  tliis 
country. 

Vol.  3.— R. 


communications  of  grace  from  him.  John 
xiv.  19.  They  live  by  faith.  For  thus 
saith  the  Lord,  the  just,  the  truly  righteous, 
shall  live;  shall  enjoy  all  their  comtbrt  and 
perform  all  their  obedience  byfailh.  Rom, 
i.  17.  And  that  we  might  not  be  at  a  loss 
to  determine  what  faith  it  is  by  which  they 
live,  the  apostle  intbrms  us,  when  he  says, 
"  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who 
loved  me  and  gave  himself  for  me."  GaL 
ii.  20.  /  live  by  the  faiih  of  him  whose 
love  to  me  was  great,  unparalleled,  and  ab- 
solutely inexpressible  in  any  other  way  than 
by  its  amazing  effects,  in  giving  himself  up, 
as  a  surety  for  me,  to  the  stroke  of  justice 
and  the  death  of  the  cross.  It  is  from  him, 
as  my  glorious  Substitute,  I  derive  my 
peace  ;  it  is  on  him,  as  absolutely  complete, 
1  depend  for  my  all. 

Again :  They  live — not  to  themselves,  in 
the  gratification  of  their  sinful  appetites — 
not  to  the  world,  in  conforming  to  its  cor- 
rupt customs,  and  seeking  their  happiness 
in  it — but  to  God.  As  they  live  a  life  of 
failh  on  the  adored  Redeemer,  which  at"- 
tbrds  peace  to  their  souls,  so  they  live  a 
life  of  obedience  to  their  heavenly  Father, 
which  brings  glory  to  his  eternal  name. 

This  obedience  includes  a  real  love  to 
him,  and  a  conscientious  conformity  to  his 
commands.  It  include.s  a  real  love  to  him. 
The  Christian  loves  God,  us  he  is  in  him- 
self, an  infinitely  amiable  Being;  and  as  he 
is  to  him,  an  ianaitaly  gracious  and  benefi- 
cent Being.  He  v/ho  does  not  love  the 
Lord,  certainly  cannot  live  to  him.  For  we 
cannot  be  said,  with  propriety,  to  live  to 
any  particular  person,  or  for  any  particular 
end,  unless  our  affections  be  set  on  the  per- 
son, anil  the  bent  of  our  desire  be  to  attain 
the  end.  But  as  the  sinner  who  is  dead 
to  the  law,  as  the  behever  who  is  married 
to  Jesus,  beholds  the  glory  of  God  in  the 
person  and  work  of  the  Saviour,  so  he  can- 
not but  love  him  with  a  supreme  affection. 
The  attributes  of  Deity  shining  through  that 
wonderful  medium,  and  the  veil  of  ignor- 
ance and  unbelief  being  removed,  he  bows 
bafore  the  infinite  Majeyty,  and  reveres  his 
transcendent  perfections,  as  thus  di.^playe;L 
In  the  great  Immanuel  they  all  appear,  aw- 
fully glorious,  yet  supremely  amiable,  Oa 
the  cross,  as  an  amazing  theatre,  he  be- 
holds "mercy  and  truth  meeting  together, 
righteousness  and  peace  kissing  each  other." 
There  he  beholds  veracity  executing  her 
severest  threatenings  with  an  impartial 
hand,  and  love  performing  her  choicest 
promises  with  the  greatest  alacrity.  Jus- 
tice tasserting  her  rights,  and  mercy  dispens- 
ing her  pardons.  Tremendous  wrath  re- 
vealed, and  sovereign  grace  exalted.  It  is 
here  he  learns  the  divine  character — "the 
JUST  God  and  the  Saviour." 

Beholding  the  condescension  and  love  of 


138 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE 


the  suffering  Surely,  and  his  amazing  trans- 
actions on  the  cross,  he  at  once  adiniros  his 
person  and  confides  in  liis  work.  He  ad- 
mires his  person,  as  altogetlier  lovely ;  he 
confides  in  liis  work,  as  tibsohUely  complete. 
In  Jesus  he  beholds  tlie  glory  of  the  true 
God.  This  glory  attracts  his  adoring  re- 
gards, and  commands  the  sincerest  love. 
The  more  he  sees  of  his  God,  the  more  he 
loves  him.  And  it  is  his  greatest  concern 
tliat  he  does  not  love  him  w'ifh  a  more  in- 
tense and  steady  affection.  The  burden  of 
his  soul  frequently  is,  that  he  should  be 
guilty  of  such  ingratitude  to  that  sublime 
and  beneficent  Being  whose  infinite  excel- 
lencies deserve  all  possible  love ;  whose 
boundless  grace  and  inuuense  liberality  to 
an  unworthy  object,  lay  him  under  addi- 
tional and  eternal  obligations  to  make  a 
complete  and  everlasting  surrender  of  his 
heartand  hisall  tohim.  The  loveof  Godbe- 
ing  shed  abroad  in  his  heart  by  the  Holy  Spir- 
it, he  loves  andadores  his  Maker,  while  the  im- 
perfections attendinghis  warmest  affection  to 
his  Father  and  his  God,  become  the  matter  of 
his  daily  sorrow  and  penitential  acknowledg- 
ment at  the  throne  of  grace.  Now  he  sees 
the  propriety  of  the  apostolic  maxim,  "  we 
love  him  because  he  first  loved  us."  This 
divine  flame  being  kindled  in  his  breast,  he 
begins  to  live  to  his  God.  The  language 
of  his  heart  is,  "  what  shall  I  render  to  the 
Lord  for  all  his  benefits  ?" 

That  glorious  grace  which  has  laid  so 
firm  a  Ibundation  in  the  death  of  Christ  for 
the  peace  of  his  conscience,  and  formed  in 
his  heart  the  noblest  principle  for  producing 
a  willing  and  acceptable  obedience  ;  teach- 
es and  enables  him  to  yield  a  conscientious 
conformity  to  the  divine  commands.  Being 
bought  with  a  price,  he  now  considers  him- 
self as  the  Lord's.  The  powers  of  his  mind 
and  the  members  of  his  body,  the  talents 
with  which  he  is  endued  and  the  time  with 
which  he  is  indulged,  all  that  he  is  and  all 
that  he  has,  he  freely  acknowledges  belong 
to  his  God.  As  possessed  of  the  powers 
of  reason,  and  surrounded  with  the  bless- 
ings of  Providence,  he  discerns  his  obliga- 
tions to  his  bountiful  Creator  and  kind  Pre- 
server, in  a  much  stronger  light  than  be- 
fore he  was  wont  to  do.  His  rational  fac- 
ulties, which  he  before  debased  to  subserve 
inglorious  designs  in  the  service  of  Satan. 
he  now  desires  to  devote  to  his  Maker. 
The  favors  of  Providence,  which  he  once 
abused  to  the  gratification  of  abominable 
lusts,  and  prostituted  to  the  vilest  purposes, 
he  now  endeavors  to  improve  to  the  honor 
of  their  liberal  Donor.  Being  conscious 
that  he  is  "  less  than  the  least  of  all  the 
divine  mercies,"  that  it  is  free  favor  from 
which  they  all  proceed,  and  that  he  is  ac- 
countable to  God  for  the  use  or  abuse  of 
them ;  he  is  careful  to  husband  them  well, 


and  to  perform  the  part  of  a  faithful  stew- 
ard in  the  use  of  his  temporal  enjoyments, 
that  in  so  doing  he  may  obtain  the  appro- 
bation of  his  Lord.  Now  the  poor  among 
the  people  of  God,  whom  he  once  overlook- 
ed and  despised,  have  his  compassionate 
regards ;  and,  according  to  his  ability,  re- 
ceive relief  from  his  hand.  This  he  does 
for  the  sake,  and  in  the  name  of  his  Divine 
Saviour ;  being  well  persuaded  that  he 
will  consider  it  as  done  to  himself  Matt. 
XXV.  35,  36.  The  cause  of  Christ  and  the 
interest  of  religion  in  general,  he  is  ready 
to  support  in  proportion  to  his  capacities. 
Thoroughly  persuaded  that  Jesus  is  the 
dearest  of  names,  and  his  the  best  of  caus- 
es, with  cheerfulne.ss  he  lends  a  helping 
hand,  as  Providence  calls  and  duty  requires. 
Being  ennobled  with  that  honor  which 
comes  from  God,  and  an  heir  of  eternal 
riches,  he  is  not  fond  of  worldly  distinctions, 
nor  covetous  of  transitory  wealth.  If  he 
abound  in  temporal  blessings,  he  considers 
himself  as  only  intrusted  with  them  by  the 
great  Lord  of  all,  for  more  extensive  use- 
tulness.  If,  by  a  reverse  in  the  course  of 
Providence,  he  sink  into  poverty,  he  pa- 
tiently bears  it,  knowing  that  he  who  gave 
tlae  abundance  has  a  right  to  take  it  away 
whenever  he  pleases.  Believing  the  prom- 
ise, "I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake 
thee,"  he  knows  that  "  all  things  Avork  to- 
gether for  his  good."  The  Almighty  is  be- 
come a  guarantee  for  his  safety,  and  he 
confides  in  him.  Jehovah  is  his  portion, 
and  he  is  satisfied  Avith  it.  Thus  he  lives 
to  God,  in  the  enjoyment  of  providential  fa- 
vors, and  in  suffering  afflictions,  in  propor- 
tion as  faith  and  love  are  in  exercise.  But 
as  the  Christian's  faith  is  too  often  like  a 
"  bruised  reed,"  and  his  love  like  "  the  smok- 
ing flax,"  and  as  he  finds  "  a  law  in  his  mem- 
bers, rebelling  against  the  law  of  his  mind," 
his  imperfections  in  these,  as  in  other  in- 
stances of  duty,  are  many  and  great ;  which 
imperfections  are  a  sufficient  cause  of  holy 
sorrow  and  penitential  confessions  before 
the  Lord,  every  day  of  his  life. 

Further:  He  lives  to  God,  and  enjoys 
communion  with  him  in  the  appointments 
of  his  house  and  the  ordinances  of  divine 
worship.  These  holy  institutions,  while 
alive  to  the  lav.',  and  unregenerate,  were 
attended  by  him  as  dry  duties  and  in  a 
formal  way.  To  behold  the  glory  of  Christ, 
and  to  feast  upon  his  fulness,  to  have  the 
presence  of  God,  and  rejoice  in  the  light  of 
his  countenance,  these  were  things  he 
neither  expected  nor  could  desire.  But  now 
nothing  short  of  this  will  satisfy  his  soul. 
He  leaves  the  house  of  God  and  the  exer- 
cises of  the  closet  with  a  heavy  heart,  and 
goes  mourning  away,  if  he  has  not  beheld 
his  Beloved  and  had  some  degree  of  near- 
ness to  him.     Psalms  Ixiii.  1,  2,  Lxxxiv.  1, 2. 


DEATH    OP    LEGAL    HOPE. 


139 


Cant.  V.  6.  The  gospel  is  a  joyful  sound 
in  his  ears,  and  a  reviving  cordial  to  his 
drooping  spirits.  On  the  unadulterated 
milk  of  the  word  he  feeds  with  delight,  and 
his  very  soul  is  refreshed  by  it.  1  Peter 
ii.  2. 

Yet  often,  too  often,  alas !  when  engaged 
in  divine  worship,  he  finds  that  his  thoughts 
wander,  and  his  pious  affections  are  dull ; 
the  corruptions  of  his  heart  work,  and  Sa- 
tan attacks  him  with  horrid  suggestions ; 
all  which  interrupt  his  communion  with 
God,  and  fill  his  soul  with  grief  He  is 
fully  convinced,  by  repeated  experience,  that 
the  best  of  his  duties  are  defiled  with  sin, 
and  utterly  unworthy  of  divine  acceptance. 
Yea,  such  is  the  sense  which  he  has  of 
their  shameful  defects,  that  sometimes  he 
is  tempted  to  think  they  are  more  likely  to 
provoke  the  abhorrence  than  gain  the  ap- 
probation of  Jehovah.  Yet  he  does  not, 
he  cannot  entirely  omit  them,  even  in  those 
gloomy  moments.  Too  apt  he  is  to  forget, 
in  such  unhappy  seasons,  that  his  services, 
as  well  as  his  person,  are  accepted  only  "  in 
the  Beloved."  As  our  persons  are  abomi- 
nably sinful,  and  our  services  extremely 
imperfect,  if  those  be  not  cleansed  by  aton- 
ing blood,  and  these  presented  by  the  hand 
of  the  great  Intercessor,  there  can  be  no 
acceptance  for  the  one  or  the  other.  But 
if  our  persons  be  washed  in  that  sacred 
fountain  Avhich  was  open  for  sin  and  un- 
cleanness,  if  our  duties  be  presented  by  the 
hand  of  our  exalted  High-priest,  and  per- 
fumed with  the  incense  of  his  mediation, 
Rev.  viii.  3,  4,  then  tlie  acceptance  of  both 
is  certain.  So  that  our  acceptance  with 
God  in  every  view,  both  as  to  persons  and 
services,  is  only  in  Christ,  and  for  the  sake 
of  his  work.  It  is  in  him  as  our  head,  and 
for  the  sake  of  that  work  which  he  finished 
on  the  cross,  that  our  sins  are  pardoned 
and  our  persons  accepted.  It  is  through 
him,  and  in  virtue  of  his  intercession,  that 
our  most  righteous  performances  meet  with 
the  least  approbation  from  a  holy  God 
These  are  the  ground  of  the  believer's  con- 
fidence, both  as  to  the  safety  of  his  state, 
and  the  acceptance  of  his  duties. 

The  Christian,  having  a  feeling  and  an 
abiding  sense  that  such  are  his  imperfec 
tions,  liequently  confesses  tliem  at  the 
throne  of  grace,  and  on  their  account  is 
deeply  humbled.  But,  though  humbled  in 
the  dust  for  them,  he  does  not  despair 
For,  being  dead  to  the  law,  he  looks  to  Je- 
sus his  heavenly  Bridegroom  ;  and,  having 
a  fresh  application  of  atoning  blood  to  his 
conscience,  he  is  delivered  froTn  slavish  fear, 
and  strengthened  for  future  duty.  As  a 
guilty  creature,  he  comes  again  and  again 
to  the  sacred,  sanctifying  stream,  which 
flowed  from  the  wounds  of  a  crucified  Sav- 
iour, and  in  this  way  ho  maintains  peace  in 


his  mind.  As  insufficient  to  perform  any 
duty,  to  subdue  any  corruption,  or  to  resist 
any  temptation,  he  earnestly  seeks  the  aids 
of  the  Spirit.  Thus  the  blood  of  the  cross 
and  the  Spirit  of  Christ  enable  him  to  live 
near  to  God,  as  completely  justified,  to  the 
honor  of  God,  as  partly  sanctified. 

Nor  is  the  believer  satisfied  with  paying  a 
due  regard  to  the  public  appointments  of 
reUgion,  and  living  to  God  in  attending 
upon  them.  His  desire  is,  to  cultivate  a 
correspondence  with  his  heavenly  Father, 
in  the  family  and  in  the  closet,  at  all  times 
and  in  all  places.  Conscious  that  he  is  ever 
under  the  eye  of  Omniscience,  and  always 
in  the  presence  of  him  who  searches  the 
heart,  he  pays  a  particular  regard  to  the 
inward  frame  of  his  mind  ;  nor  does  he 
observe,  without  real  grief,  the  most  secret 
workings  of  inbred  corruption.  For  he 
knows  that  the  least  deviation  from  the  ho- 
ly law  is  a  sin ;  that  the  least  sin  is  abhor- 
red by  Infinite  Purity,  and  absolutely  inex- 
piable by  any  atonement  but  that  which 
was  made  by  the  great  Messiah.  His  ha- 
bitual desire,  therefore,  is  to  avoid  sin,  as 
the  greatest  of  evils,  and  to  follow  after  ho- 
liness, as  the  most  desirable  thing.  He 
does  not  think  it  sufiicient  to  be  i'ree  from 
scandalous  vices,  or  to  abstain  from  such 
things  as  would  injure  his  religious  charac- 
ter among  his  fellow-professors ;  his  elevat- 
ed aim  is,  so  to  live  to  God,  and  so  to  walk 
with  him  here,  as  shall  bear  the  nearest  re- 
semblance to  the  business  and  the  bliss  of 
the  saints  in  light,  that  the  present  imper- 
fect state  will  admit.  That  ineftable  glory, 
the  fruition  of  which  he  expects  in  the  up- 
per world,  he  desires  to  partake  even  here, 
in  som.e  degree,  by  anticipation.  Nor  are 
these  desires  in  vain.  For,  as  he  is  dead 
to  the  law,  and  lives  to  God,  as  he  believes 
in  Jesus,  and  walks  in  the  ways  of  holiness, 
he  enjoys  the  smiles  of  Jehovah's  counte- 
nance, and  tastes  the  sweets  of  celestial 
joy.  He  possesses  an  infallible  earnest, 
and  has  a  delightful  prelibation  of  the  ex- 
pected happiness. 

He  remembers  that  his  duration  here  is 
short,  and  the  time  of  his  exit  extremely 
uncertain.  This  is  a  spur  to  diUgence  in 
the  performance  of  duty,  and  an  incentive 
to  watchfulness  against  the  insurrections  of 
indwelling  sin,  and  the  incursions  of  out- 
ward temptation.  Such  being  his  situation, 
his  habitual  desire  is,  to  perform  the  com- 
mands of  God  with  the  greatest  punctual- 
ity and  as  under  the  divine  inspection ;  to 
fill  up  every  station  in  life  with  the  highest 
credit  to  his  holy  profession ;  and  to  render 
himself  useful  to  all  around  him,  by  a  heav- 
enly conduct  and  a  shining  example,  so  long 
as  he  lives.  To  be  found  ready  when  his 
Lord  shall  come,  to  be  found  wakeful,  with 
his  lamp  trimmed  and  burning,  when  the 


140 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


Bridegroom   calls,   is   a  matter   of  infinite  i 
importance  in  his  esteem.  ] 

Once  more :  As  it  is  the  desire  of  him  I 
who  lives  to  God,  tlius  to  spend  his  time, 
and  thus  to  pelbrm  his  duty,  so  his  princi-j 
pal  end  in  all  is  the  glory  of  God.  This; 
course  of  obedience  and  soli-denial  is  notj 
intended  to  gain  the  divine  favor,  or  to  ^57-0- 
cuie  the  great  iniieritance.  but  for  the  }ion-\ 
or  of  his  eternal  Sovereign  and  infinite 
Benefactor.  Pardon  of  all  sin.  and  com- 
plete reconciliation  with  our  offended  Ma-! 
ker,  deliverance  from  the  wrath  to  come,  I 
and  a  hope  of  future  felicity,  are  not  pro-^ 
cured  by  our  feeble  endeavors,  but  grant- 
ed, freely  granted,  by  omnipotent  grace.  | 
Of  this,  tlie  man  who  lives  to  God  is  fully  j 
persuaded  ;  he  has  not,  thereibre,  the  most 
distant  thought  of  procuring  them,  by  any; 
thing  which  he  can  do.  But  gratitude  toj 
the  dying  Redeemer,  and  love  to  the  bless- j 
ed  God,  being  the  united  and  powerful 
principle  from  which  he  acts,  the  glory  of 
the  Supreme  Cause,  and  the  honor  of  the 
divine  Mediator,  constitute  the  exalted  end. 
This  is  the  highest  end  of  which  v.-e  can 
conceive.  The  inhabitants  of  the  heavenly 
world,  in  all  their  wonderful  orders,  and  in 
all  their  noblest  services,  can  aim  at  nothing  | 
superior.  Yet  with  such  views,  sublime  as' 
they  are,  ought  tlie  believer  invariably  to 
act,  in  performing  every  duty,  in  resisting 
every  temptation,  and  in  bearing  every 
hardship,  which  maj*  attend  his  progress  in 
a  course  of  sincere  piety.  And  witii  such 
views  he  will  act,  in  proportion  as  his  mind 
is  enlightened  and  faith  is  in  exercise. 

And  now,  reader,  what  is  the  tenor  of 
your  conduct?  To  what,  or  to  whom  do 
you  live?  Is  it  the  immensely  glorious 
God,  or  is  it  yourself  and  the  world  ?  On 
what  have  you  placed  your  affections?  to 
whom  have  you  devoted  your  heart  ?  Re- 
member who  it  is  that  makes  the  tender  and 
righteous  demand,  "  My  son  give  me  thy 
heart."  His  infinite  excellencies  require  it 
of. you  as  a  wan;  and  if  a  believer^  your 
obligations  are  unspeakably  heightened. 
For,  as  such,  you  are  an  object  of  redeem- 
ing love,  and  a  subject  of  regenerating 
grace.  "  You  are  not  your  own  ;  you  are 
bought  with  a  price."  If,  then  you  profess 
yourself  a  Christian,  consider  the  purport 
of  that  profession.  By  laying  claim  to  the 
honorable  character,  3'ou  profess  to  ''live  to 
God."  The  character,  how  glorious !  the 
profession,  how  noble  !  Disgrace  not  that 
holy  name  by  which  you  are  called.  Dishon- 
or not  that  life  you  profess  to  lead  ;  lest  you 
pierce  yourself  through  witii  many  sorrows, 
and  cause  the  enemies  of  the  cross  to  tri- 
umph. 

Awful  it  is  to  think  how  many  there  are 
that  bear  the  Christian  character  and  pro- 
fes,s  to  believe  the  gospel,  who  are  yet  far 


from  living  to  God.  Tile  world  has  their 
hearts,  it  engrosses  iheir  warmest  affections. 
The  language  of  their  conduct  is,  "  who  will 
show  us  any  temporal  good  ?"  or  "  where 
shall  we  find  any  00/720/  pleasure?"  Such 
would  do  well  to  remember,  that  to  "  mmd 
earthly  things,"  to  be  "  lovers  of  pleasure, 
more  than  lovers  of  God,"  are  the  charac- 
ters of  the  proline,  in  the  sacred  writings. 
Philip,  iii.  19.  2Tim.iii.  4.  Such,  whoever 
they  may  be,  are  the  children  of  wrath ; 
and,  in  the  most  emphatical  sense,  the  ene- 
mies of  the  cross  of  Christ.  Jam.  iv.  4. 
Philip,  iii.  18.  The  state  of  such  is  ex- 
tremely dangerous  ;  and,  if  grace  prevent 
not,  eternal  destruction  will  be  their  por- 
tion. Reader!  is  this  your  casfe?  It  so, 
you  ought  either  to  reform  your  conduct, 
or  renounce  every  pretence  to  Christianity. 
You  cannot  obey  God  and  mammon.  You 
cannot  serve  Christ  and  the  world.  They 
are  opposite  masters,  and  have  opposite  in- 
teresis.  If  you  profess  to  be  dead  to  the 
law  as  a  covenant,  you  must  live  to  God", 
or  you  contradict  yourself  and  blaspheme 
the  gospel.  Do  not  imagine  that  your 
state  is  safe,  because  you  have  adopted  an 
orthodox  .system  of  sentiments,  and  have  a 
consistent  view  of  the  capital  doctrines  of 
divine  revelation.  Such  sentiments  you 
may  embrace,  such  a  consistent  view  of 
divine  truths  you  may  have,  and  yet  re- 
main a  hardened  rebel  against  your  Maker, 
and  be  a  scandal  to  the  great  Redeemer's 
cause.  You  may  be  wise  in  theory,  and 
right  in  your  doctrinal  principles,  while  the 
tenor  of  your  conduct  is  fatally  wrong,  and 
your  soul  in  the  utmost  jeopardy.  For  it 
is  a  certain  truth,  that  our  religious  knowl- 
edge will  be  of  no  further  use  to  ourselves, 
than  it  elevates  our  affections  to  heavenly 
things,  meliorates  our  tempers,  and  recti- 
fies our  conduct.  You  may  attend  on  a 
preached  gospel,  be  a  member  of  the  pu- 
rest visible  church,  and  have  a  seat  at  the 
Lord's  table,  yet,  after  all,  die  unregene- 
rate  and  be  eternally  lost.  Think  then,  O 
carnal  professor!  what  a  shocking  figure 
you  will  make  among  the  millions  of  the 
damned,  if  at  last  you  should  perish.  The 
case  of  impenitent  Jews,  or  idolatrous  hea- 
thens, who  go  to  that  place  of  torment,  will 
not  be  so  awful  as  yours.  To  think  of  one 
who  had  often  heard  the  gospel,  who  pro- 
fessed to  believe  its  sublime  and  glorious 
doctrines,  and  had  frequently  received  the 
memorials  of  the  body  and  the  blood  of 
Christ,  to  think  of  such  an  one  not  living  to 
God,  but  in  allowed  iniquity,  and  dying  in 
unbelief,  is  awful  indeed  !  For  the  glorious 
gospel  he  so  often  heard,  will  be  to  him  "  the 
savor  of  death  iinto  death ;"  and  that  su- 
perior knowledge  of  wliich  he  boasted, 
will  give  a  dreadful  emphasis  to  his  torment, 
and  aggravate  his  eternal  ruin.    It  is  great- 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE, 


141 


ly  to  be  feared  that  in  the  end  many  such 
will  be  found  ;  and  take  heed,  reader !  that 
you  be  not  one  of  them. 

Again :  Do  you  profess  not  only  to  be 
dead  to  the  law,  and  to  believe  the  gospel, 
but  also  to  live  to  God  ?  If  so,  what  is  the 
principle  of  your  obedience,  and  what  is 
the  end  for  which  you  perform  it  ?  Is  self- 
love  the  principle,  and  sell-preservatioa  the 
end  ?  or  the  love  of  God,  and  the  glory  of 
his  eternal  name  ?  If  the  former,  you  are 
yet  alive  to  the  law;  if  the  latter,  it  is  the 
obedience  which  God  accepts.  Love  to 
him  whose  perfections  are  infinite,  love  to 
him  whose  grace  is  unbounded,  is  the  frait- 


to  contain  an  important  truth.  And,  in 
proof  of  it,  the  ibllowing  things  are  offered 
to  consideration. 

Let  us  once  more  advert  to  those  em- 
phatical  words  which  have  furnished  mat- 
ter for  the  preceding  sections  ;  for  in  them 
the  truth  we  would  now  confirm  and  illus- 
trate, is  very  plainly  and  strongly  implied. 
Thus  they  read :  "  For  I  through  the  law 
am  dead  to  the  law,  that  I  might  live  unto 
God."  When  an  unerring  writer  asserts, 
"  I  am  dead  to  the  law,  that  I  might  live 
unto  God,"  does  he  not  signify,  beyond  all 
reasonable  doubt,  that  while  he  was  alive 
to  the  law  he  could  not  live  to  God  ?    If 


ful  and  delightful  source  of  every  work  that  the  phrase  here  used  have  any  sense,  or  be 


is  truly  good.  But  as  we  love  the  Lord 
only  in  proportion  as  we  know  him,  let  it 
be  your  constant  concern  to  increase  in  your 
acquaintance  with  him.  To  that  end,  study 
the  cross  of  Christ;  for  there  the  glories 
of  the  Godhead  shine ;  there  they  are  dis- 
played in  the  clearest  manner,  and  appear 
with  a  winning  aspect.  These  glories  be 
held  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ,  will  have  a 
transforming  influence.  You  will  love  God, 
you  will  desire  to  be  like  him.  This  will 
make  duty  easy,  and  the  ways  of  holiness 
delightfal.  You  will  hate  sin,  not  only  as 
condemning,  but  also  as  Jiltliy  and  abomi- 
nable. Then  out  of  gratitude  to  the  bleed- 
ing Jesus,  and  for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  Je- 
hovah, you  will  desire  to  obey  every  divine 
precept.  Then  you  will  not  only  talk  about 
living  to  God,  as  being  a  duty,  but  you  will 
exemplify  it  in  your  own  conduct.  You 
will  make  it  appear  that  you  love  him,  and 
that  it  is  your  main  business  to  glorify 
him.  And,  except  you  evidence  this  in 
some  degree,  all  your  pretensions  to  vital 
religion  and  primitive  Christianity  will  be 
in  vain. 


SECTION    VL 

We  must  he  dead  to  the  law  as  a  covenant, 
before  we  can  live  to  God  in  holy  and 
acceptable  obedience. 

Having  already  observed  that  the  great 
end  designed  by  our  being  dead  to  the  law, 
is  "that  we  might  live  unto  God,"  we  now 
proceed  to  show,  that  it  is  impossible  for 
such  as  are  alive  to  the  law  as  a  covenant, 
to  live  unto  God  in  holy  and  acceptiible 
obedience.  Or,  in  other  words,  that  while 
a  man  is  looking  to  his  own  righteousness 
as  the  condition  of  his  justification,  he  can 
perform  no  works  that  are  truly  good,  nor 
any  obedience  that  is  acceptable  to  God. 
This  position  may  appear  strange,  and  per- 
haps be  rejected  by  many,  as  absolutely 
false.  I  am,  notwithstanding,  fully  persuad- 
ed that  it  will  be  found  on  impartial  inquiry, 


used  with  any  propriety,  it  must  suggest 
that  idea.  If  he  might  have  lived  to  God 
while  he  sought  righteousness  and  life  by 
the  law,  and  before  he  was  dead  to  it,  what 
tolerable  reason  can  be  given  for  his  thus 
speaking?  And  that  the  apostle  had  as 
good  opportunities,  and  as  great  a  zeal  so 
to  have  done,  as  any  other  man,  if  such  a 
thing  had  been  practicable,  will  not  be  dis- 
puted. This,  therefore,  I  humbly  conceive, 
is  no  contemptible  proof  of  the  point. 

The  same  inspired  author,  in  anoth- 
er part  of  his  invaluable  writings,  says, 
'•  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye  also  are  be- 
come dead  to  the  law,  that  ye  should  be 
married  to  another,  even  to  him  who  is  rais- 
ed from  the  dead,  that  we  should  bring 
FORTH  FRUIT  UNTO  GoD."  Rom.  vii.  4. 
Here  we  are  taught  that  we  must  be  dead 
to  the  law,  before  we  can  be  married  to 
Christ ;  and  that  we  must  be  married  to 
him  before  we  can  bring  forth  fruit  unto 
God.  The  glorious  end  designed,  and  the 
happy  effect  produced  by  the  believer's  con- 
jugal relation  to  Jesus,  are  included  in  his 
"  bringing  forth  fruit  unto  God."  That  re- 
lation, therefore,  must  be  prior  to  this  ef- 
fect. And  it  is  quite  evident  Irom  the  pas- 
sage, that  our  being  dead  to  the  law,  is 
previous  to  the  commencement  of  that  high 
and  honorable  relation.*  And  as  children 
are  called  the  "  iruit  of  the  womb,"  Psalm 
cxxvii.  3,  so  the  apostle  intimates  that  those 
works  which  are  acceptable  to  God,  and 
which  follow  upon  this  relation  taking  place 
between  Christ  and  the  sinner,  may  be 
compared  to  a  legitimate  offspring.  Con- 
seqently  the  best  works  performed  by  us, 
before  we  are  dead  to  the  law  and  married 
to  Jesus,  can  be  accounted  no  other  than 
spm-ious,  and  therefore  rejected  of  God. 

In  the  same  instructive  paragraph  it  is 
said,  "Now  Ave  are  delivered  from  the  law, 
that  being  dead  wherein  we  were  held, 
THAT  WE  SHOULD  SERVE  iu  newuess  of  Spirit 
and  not  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter."     Rom. 


It  is  of  the  believer's  open  espousals  to  Christ,  that 
the  apostle  here  treats. 


142 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


vii.  6.  From  the  plain  import  of  these 
words  it  appears,  that  the  hxw  must  be 
dead  to  us,  before  we  can  be  delivered 
from  it.  And  that  we  must  be  deHvered 
I'rom  it  before  we  can  serve  God  in  newiicss 
of  .tpirit ;  acting  from  a  new  principle,  and 
with  new  views,  having  a  new  and  a  right 
spirit  formed  in  us.  But  this  is  not  the  case 
of  any  who  are  alive  to  the  law.  They 
who  are  dclirered  from  the  law,  they  to 
whom  the  law  is  dead,  and  tliey  only,  are 
the  liappy  persons. 

That  no  man  who  is  alive  to  the  law  can 
live  to  God,  will  further  appear,  if  it  be  con 
sidered  that  the  state  in  which  he  lies  is 
that  of  a  condemned  criminal.  For  while 
alive  to  the  law,  he  is  under  it  as  a  cove- 
nant ;  and  as  a  breaker  of  it,  is  obnoxious 
to  its  condemning  power.  Being  "  of  the 
works  of  the  law,"  seeking  justification  by 
his  own  obedience  in  conlbrmity  to  it,  he  is 
"under  the  curse."  Gal.  iii.  JO.  His  per 
son  is  accursed,  and  his  state  is  damnable, 
according  to  the  tenor  of  that  law  to  which 
he  looks  for  life.  This  is  plain  from  the 
scripture.  If,  then,  his  person  be  accursed 
his  works  cannot  be  accepted.  If  his  state. 
in  the  eye  of  the  law.  be  that  of  a  con- 
demned rebel,  his  conduct  cannot  be  sup- 
Eosed  well  pleasing  in  the  eye  of  the  great 
lawgiver.  His  state  must  be  good  and  his 
person  accepted,  before  he  can  live  to  God, 
or  glorify  him  in  holy  obedience. 

Further :  No  man  can  live  to  God,  no  man 
can  perform  acceptable  obedience  while 
alive  to  the  law,  because  he  has  not  rital 
union  with  Christ.  While  alive  to  the  law, 
we  are  in  unbelief.  While  in  unbelief,  we 
are  in  our  natural  state.  And  while  in  our 
natural  state,  we  are  enemies  to  God  and 
children  of  wrath :  Rom.  viii.  7.  Col.  i. 
21.  Eph.  ii.  3.  John  iii.  36,  consequently 
have  no  tntalumon  with  Christ.*  And  that 
none  who  are  destitute  of  union  wih  him 
can  do  any  good  works,  is  clear  from  his 
own  words :  Without  me — without  a  union 
with,  me,  similar  to  that  of  the  branch  to 
the  vine,  ye  can  do  nothinc:  John  xv.  5. 
Ye  can  neither  resist  temptation  successful- 
ly, nor  perlbrm  duty  acceptably :  ye  can 
bear  no  fruit  to  the  glory  of  God.  Here 
our  Lord  informs  us  that  the  human  heart 
is  never  influenced  by  holy  tempers ;  that 
the  human  life  cannot  be  productive  of  good 
works  till  a  man  be  united  to  Christ,  any 
more  than  a  branch  can  bear  valuable  fruit 
while  in  a  state  of  separation  from  the 
vine.  And  that  so  long  as  persons  contin- 
ue in  a  state  of  alienation  from  Jesus  Christ. 


'  That  the  chosen  of  God  have  union  with  ('hrist.  |ii  i- 
or  to  their  receneralion,  is  readily  pranlpd,  15ut  then  I 
liiiinhly  conceive,  wliattvrr  otlier  epithels  we  imy  nivr 
that  union,  it  cannot  with  propriety  be  cailfd  vil'al.  till 
life  be  comninnicaleil  to  the  dead  sinner,  which  is  done 
in  regeneration.  Then  it  Is,  and  not  till  llien.  that  we 
become  living  branches  in  tlie  inie  vine.  Vid.  Vv'it?. 
Anima-i.  Iren.  cap.  vl.  i  1,2,3. 


they,  with  all  their  performances,  are  like  a 
broken,  withered  branch ;  fit  for  nothing  btit 
to  be  cast  into  the  fire  and  consumed  from 
the  earth.  Before  we  have  a  living  imion 
with  the  great  Head  of  the  church,  we  are 
not  favored  with  the  aids  of  divine  grace, 
nor  are  we  partakers  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
And  as  it  is  the  province  of  that  sacred 
Agent  to  enlighten  the  dark  understanding, 
and  lead  into  all  truth,  so  it  is  only  by  hia 
assistance  we  can  perform  that  which  is 
good,  or  have  the  least  inclination  so  to  do ; 
according  to  that  saying,  "For  it  is  God 
which  worketh  in  you,  both  to  will  and  to 
do,  of  his  good  pleasure."     Philip,  ii.  13. 

Again :  "  Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to 
please  God."  Heb.  xi.  6.  The  faith  de- 
signed, is  "  the  substance  of  things  hoped 
lor,  and  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen." 
It  is  that  by  which  the  just  live,  and  to  which 
a  divine  righteousness  is  revealed  in  the 
gospel.  Heb.  x.  38.  Rom.  i.  17.  It  has 
the  Son  of  God  for  its  object,  and  salvation 
for  its  end.  Gal.  ii.  20.  1  Pet.  i.  9.  But 
all  who  are  alive  to  the  law,  are  destitute 
of  it.  This  appears  from  hence :  "  They 
who  believe  on  Jesus,  believe  on  him  as  the 
justifier  of  the  ungodly."  Rom.  iv.  5. 
They  who  are  alive  to  the  law,  have  no 
such  dependance.  It  is  directly  contrary 
to  their  views  and  their  inclinations.  They 
are  seeking  to  establish  their  own  righteous- 
ness, and  look  for  acceptance  with  God  in 
that  way.  They  overlook  that  provision 
which  grace  has  made  for  the  entirely  un- 
worthy, and  slight  that  righteousness  which 
the  Mediator  performed  for  the  justification 
of  the  ungodly.  Being  destitute,  therefore, 
of  that  f;\ith  which  purifies  the  heart  and 
works  by  love;  being  unbelievers,  "whose 
mind  and  conscience  are  defiled,"  and  to 
whom  "nothing  is  pure,"  Titus  i.  15,  no- 
thing they  have,  nothing  they  do,  is  accept- 
able to  God.  Consequently  they  cannot 
live  to  him  or  glorify  his  name. 

Once  more  :  The  /ore  of  God  being  the 
principle,  and  the  s^Iorij  of  God  the  end  of 
all  acceptable  obedience,  the  man  who  does 
not  act  from  that  delightful  principle,  and 
with  a  view  to  this  exalted  end,  cannot  be 
said  to  live  unto  God.  "  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God.  Whatever  ye  do,  do 
all  to  the  glory  of  God."  But  whoever  is 
alive  to  the  law,  acts  from  a  different  prin- 
ciple, and  aims  at  a  different  end.  Such  a 
person  may  act  from  self-love,  or  Pharisai- 
cal pride,  but  he  cannot  act  from  love  to  his 
Maker,  and  Avith  a  view  to  his  glory.  As 
ignorant  of  God,  he  cannot  love  him.  As 
in. hie  natural  state,  his  carnal  mind  is  en- 
mity against  him.  Cleaving  to  the  law 
for  life,  and  depending  on  his  own  right- 
eousness, he  rebels  against  the  gospel,  and 
slights  the  great  Redeemer.  Does  he  ab- 
stain from  an  outward  course  of  sin  ?    It  is 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


143 


not  because  he  loves  holiness,  or  from  a 
sense  of  the  contrariety  there  is  in  sin  to 
the  perfections  of  the  Deity,  that  he  for- 
bears to  gratify  his  vicious  appetites  to  the 
full  extent  of  his  power ;  but  because  he 
is  apprehensive  that  disagreeable  conse- 
quences would  loUow  upon  such  a  conduct. 
Does  he  attend  religious  ordinances  1  It  is 
not  from  love  to  their  great  Institutor,  or 
because  he  deHghts  in  them  as  means  of 
communion  with  God,  but  because  he  loves 
himself,  and  hopes,  by  observing  the  divine 
commands,  to  obtain  favor  at  the  great  tri- 
bunal. Would  his  conscience  be  easy,  and 
his  hope  of  heaven  continue,  without  these 
devotional  services,  he  would  drop  them 
without  hesitation,  and  leave  their  perform- 
ance to  others.  A  slavish  fear  of  hell,  and 
a  mercenary  expectation  of  heaven,  self- 
love,  and  self-preservation,  are  the  main 
springs  of  his  moral  and  religious  conduct, 
and  the  end  which  he  has  in  view.  In  cer- 
tain situations  of  life,  a  regard  to  the  de- 
cency and  present  usefulness  of  a  moral 
conversation,  and  an  esteem  for  a  religious 
character,  may  bridle  the  baser  passions, 
and  strongly  urge  to  a  religious  profession; 
but  whether  we  avoid  sin  and  practise  duty, 
with  a  view  to  obtain  the  favor  of  heaven, 
and  escape  everlasting  misery,  or  with  a 
design  to  gain  the  advantages  attending  a 
moral  behaviour,  and  the  reputation  of  ap- 
pearing religious,  it  is  very  certain  that  we 
are  far  from  living  to  God,  while  a  sincere 
affection  for  him,  and  a  supreme  concern 
for  his  glory,  have  not  a  prevailing  influence 
on  our  hearts  and  lives.  We  may  there- 
fore safely  conclude  that  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  a  man  should  be  "  dead  to  the 
law,"  should  give  up  all  expectations  of  jus- 
tification by  his  own  obedience,  before  he 
can  "  live  to  God"  in  the  performance  of 
holy  duties,  and  the  practice  of  real  virtue. 
Hence  we  may  learn  what  numbers  there 
are  who,  with  a  blind  zeal  and  seli-right- 
eous  views,  strongly  assert  the  necessity  of 
human  obedience,  in  order  to  acceptance 
with  God.  who  are  not  able  to  perform  any 
good  works.  They,  indeed,  fondly  imagine 
themselves  to  be  the  greatest  friends  to  the 
interests  of  holiness,  because  they  are  strong- 
ly attached  to  the  law  as  a  covenant.  And 
as  they  loudly  plead  the  necessity  of  living 
to  God,  so  they  greatly  please  themselves 
with  a  fancied  obedience  to  his  divine  pre- 
cepts ;  while  the  doctrine  of  sovereign 
grace,  the  declarations  of  a  free  Saviour 
and  a  finished  salvation,  without  their  do- 
ings or  deservings,  are  held  in  detestation 
by  them.  And  why  ?  Because  they  sup- 
pose that  such  doctrines  received,  must 
make  void  the  obligations  of  the  law  in 
every  sense,  and  sap  (he  foundations  of  all 
morality.  Thus  they  giatify  their  native 
pride,  under  the  fair  pretext  of  a  superior 


regard  to  the  law,  and  a  flaming  zeal  for 
holiness.  But  if  the  arguments  already 
adduced  be  founded  in  truth,  the  vanity  of 
such  a  pretence  is  evident.  For  hence  it 
appears  that  the  doctrine  of  grace  is  so  far 
from  being  licentious,  that  without  an  ex- 
perimental acquaintance  with  it,  we  cannot 
live  to  God,  nor  perform  any  work  that  is 
truly  good.  Till  possessed  of  such  an  ac- 
quaintance with  it,  we  have  no  faith  in  Je- 
sus, no  love  to  our  Maker,  no  desire  to  live 
to  his  glory.  It  is  the  gospel,  in  the  hand 
of  the  Spirit,  by  which  faith  is  implanted 
and  love  produced  in  the  heart.  These 
plants  of  heavenly  origin  grow  and  flour- 
ish, and  bring  forth  fruit,  under  its  benign 
influence.  It  is  the  honored  instrument  in 
Jehovah's  hand  for  enlightening  the  ignor- 
ant and  reforming  the  profligate.  An  ex- 
perience of  its  power  makes  the  ways  of 
holiness  pleasant,  and  the  practice  of  duty 
delightful.  Yes,  reader,  the  more  you  know 
of  the  glorious  gospel,  the  more  will  you 
love  its  heavenly  Author.  So  shall  you 
find,  by  increasing  and  happy  experience, 
that  as  nothing  in  the  world  can  be  compar- 
ed with  it,  for  affording  relief  to  a  distress- 
ed conscience^  so  there  is  nothing  equal  to 
it  for  establishing  duty  on  a  solid  basis^  en- 
forcing it  by  cogent  motives,  and  directing 
it  to  a  worthy  end. 

How  haypy  then  is  your  state,  believer ! 
Your  person  being  accepted  of  God,  your 
works  are  pleasing  to  him.  And  a  remem- 
brance that  "  your  labor  shall  not  be  in  vain 
in  the  Lord,"  is  a  noble  encouragement  to 
abound  and  continue  in  well  doing.  Your 
works  of  faith  and  labors  of  love,  being 
iruits  of  a  vital  union  with  Jesus  Christ, 
and  indications  of  an  obedient,  gratetul 
heart,  are  highly  pleasing  to  your  heavenly 
Fatlier.  Surely,  then,  it  should  be  your 
fervent  desire  and  constant  care,  as  a  living 
branch  of  the  true  vine,  to  bear  the  most 
generous  fruit  in  rich  abundance.  O,  be- 
liever !  it  is  your  happiness  to  have  every 
sin  pardoned,  and  every  curse  removed  1 
to  believe  in  the  Son  of  God,  and  to  enjoy 
communion  with  him.  Yours  it  is,  to  love 
the  Lord  and  seek  his  glory;  to  perform 
duty  by  divine  assistance,  and  to  have  your 
sacred  services  and  spiritual  sacrifices  pre- 
sented to  God,  and  rendered  acceptable  to 
him  by  Jesus,  your  great  High  Priest. 
Yours  is  the  high  prerogative  of  "  living  to 
God."  Prize  the  privilege ;  walk  worthy 
of  j^our  exalted  station  and  heavenly  call- 
ing. 

As  there  are,  comparatively,  very  few 
that  are  capable  of  living  to  God,  if  you, 
reader,  profess  to  be  one  of  those  few,  your 
obligations  to  obedience  are  many,  and  un- 
speakably great.  And  you  Avill  do  well  to 
remember, Ihat  to  talk  of  being  possessed 
of  superior  advantages  for  the  practice  of 


144 


DEATH    OF^    LEGAL    HOPE; 


virtue,  and  at  the  same  time  live  as  do  the 
world  in  common,  are  a  great  inconsisten- 
cy. To  pretend  that  you  believe  in  the 
Lord  Redeemer,  are  in  a  justfied  state,  and 
have  delightful  communion  \vith  the  best 
of  Beings — that  you  have  a  clear  knowl- 
edge of  divine  truth,  and  a  high  esteem  lor 
the  ordinances  of  Christ,  in  iheir  primitive 
purity — to  pretend  to  these  very  superior 
advantages,  while  the  only  discernable  dif- 
ference between  you  and  the  world,  con- 
sists in  your  entertaining  a  different  set  of 
sentiments,  or  having  different  forms  of  ex- 
ternal worship,  is  inconsistent  and  shame- 
ful. If  this  be  the  case,  your  speculative 
knowledge  of  evangelical  truth  is  sadly 
abused.  It  is  converted  into  fuel  for  your 
spiritual  pride ;  while  your  conduct  is  a 
standing  reproach  to  the  name  that  you 
bear,  and  a  foul  disgrace  to  the  truths  which 
you  hold.  For  in  proportion  as  our  light  is 
clearer,  and  our  advantages  greater,  our 
example  should  be  brighter,  and  our  lives 
more  useful. 


SECTION  vn. 

Of  the  law  as  a  rule  of  conduct  to  believers. 

We  have  already  observed  that  the  mor- 
al law  may  be  considered  either  as  the  for- 
mula of  the  covenant  of  works,  or  as  a  rule 
of  conduct  Under  the  former  considera- 
tion we  have  shown  that  believers  are  dead 
to  it,  and  delivered  from  it ;  that  it  has  no 
demands  upon  them,  nor  any  dominion  over 
them.  It  now  remains  that  we  consider  it 
under  its  latter  denomination.  And  here 
we  shall  endeavor  to  prove,  that  as  a  rule 
of  conduct,  it  deserves  and  requires  the  sin- 
cere and  uninterrupted  regards  of  all  who 
believe. 

That  the  law  may  be  considered  as  the 
rule  of  our  obedience  in  general,  even  when 
it  ceases  to  have  any  claims  upon  us,  or 
any  threatenings  against  us,  as  a  covenant, 
is  a  truth  of  great  importance,  and  easy  to 
be  apprehended.  Some  persons,  indeed, 
either  cannot  or  will  not  see  the  moral  law 
in  any  other  light  tlian  that  of  a  covenant; 
and  imagine  that  if  we  lose  the  idea  of  the 
reward  it  promises  to  perlect  obedience, 
and  of  the  curse  it  denounces  against  trans- 
gression, we  lose  the  idea  of  the  law  itself 
Consequently  they  must  maintain  that  when 
a  person  is  delivered  from  it  as  a  covenant, 
he  is  no  longer  concerned  with  it,  under  any 
consideration.  But  this  is  a  great  mistake, 
and  pregnant  w-ith  dangerous  consequen- 
ces. 

In  order  to  set  this  matter  in  a  clearer 
light,  it  may  be  of  use  to  observe,  that  the  idea 
of  the  law  as  o  n//eisprior,in  the  order  of  na- 
ture, to  our  conceptions  of  the  law  as  a  cove- 


nant. For  man  being  formed  a  reasonable 
creature,  and  a  subject  of  moral  government; 
being  designed  to  propagate  "his  species, 
and  fitted  for  social  life — it  was  necessary 
that  he  shoidd  have  a  rule  for  his  conduct, 
and  havx3  the  bounds  of  his  duty  prescribed  ; 
that  he  should  have  such  a  rule  as  included 
both  his  duty  to  God  and  his  duty  to  his 
fellow  creatures.  When  we  consider  man- 
kind as  a  race  of  rational  beings,  their  com- 
mon relation  to  the  great  Creator,  and 
their  unavoidable  conneclion  one  with  anoth- 
er, seem  necessarily  to  require  it.  Such  a 
rule  we  have  in  the  moral  law.  And  the 
nature  of  things  required  that  some  such 
rule  for  the  substance  of  it,  should  have 
been  given  to  our  first  parents  in  paradise  ; 
even  supposing  the  eternal  Sovereign  had 
not  been  pleased  to  connect  a  promise  of 
hfe  with  a  conformity  to  it.  As  creatures 
in  a  state  of  probation,  and  as  accountable 
to  God  lor  the  use  of  all  their  time  and  the 
exercise  of  all  their  powers,  it  could  not  be 
otherwise.  To  deny  ihis,  is  to  suppose  that 
Jehovah  might  have  created  a  number  of 
rational  beings  in  strict  connection  one  w-iih 
another,  and  all  in  a  state  of  continual  de- 
pendence upon  himself,  and  at  the  same  time 
that  it  would  have  been  consistent  with  all 
his  perfections  to  have  had  no  regard,  to 
their  conduct,  whatever  ii  might  be,  either 
towards  himself  or  one  to  another,  which, 
in  reference  to  moral  good  and  evil,  would 
have  excluded  Providence  from  the  world. 
But  though  it  was  necessary  that  our 
great  progenitor,  while  in  a  state  of  inno- 
cence, should  have  a  prescription  of  duty,  or 
a  rule  for  his  conduct,  there  u-a.s  not,  there 
coidd  not  be,  any  necessity  arising  from 
that  relation  in  which  he  stood  to  God,  that 
this  rule  of  his  behaviour  sliould  have  the 
form  of  a  covenant.  Yet  this  was  actually 
tlie  case.  His  bountiful  Creator  not  only 
informed  him  of  his  duty,  and  ihreatened 
punishment  against  disobedience,  but,  in  llie 
threatening  itself,  it  was  strongly  implied 
that  his  persevering  obedience  should  be 
rewarded  with  life,  and  a  happy  immortali- 
ty. The  language  of  that  law  which  he 
was  under  is,  "  The  man  who  doeth  lliese 
things,"  who  performs  a  perfect  righteous- 
ness, "  shall  live  in  them."  So  our  Lord, 
referring  to  the  same  law,  says,  "  This  do, 
and  thou  shalt  live."  This  promise  made 
to  obedience,  gives  the  law  the  nature  and 
form  o(?iCovenanl.  This  constitution,  there- 
fore, was  an  act  of  divine  condescension 
and  divine  sovereignty.  Infinite  justice 
made  it  necessary  that  an  oflence  against 
the  Majesty  of  heaven  should  be  punished; 
but  the  most  perfect  obedience  of  a  crea- 
ture, absolutely  and  perpetually  dependent 
upon  the  Creator,  gives  no  claim  to  the 
least  reward.  Had  our  great  progenitor 
Adam,  done  all  tliat  was  commanded,  he 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE, 


145 


must  at  last,  Jesus  himself  being  judge, 
have  been  but  an  "unprofitable  servant." 
Not  the  least  pittance  of  merit  could  have 
arisen  from  it.  Perfect  obedience  is  a  debt 
which  every  one  owes  to  his  Maker ;  con 
eequentjy,  had  our  first  parent  continued  in 
his  primitive  state,  he  would  have  had  no  de 
mand  on  the  eternal  Sovereign;  it  being  ab- 
surd to  imagine  that  any  one  should  be  oblig- 
ed to  reward  his  debtor,  merely  for  discharg- 
ing a  just  debt*  There  is,  therefore  a  con- 
ceivable, a  real,  an  important  difference  be- 
t\veen  tlie  law  as  a  covenant,  and  the  same 
law  as  a  rule.  And  as  in  the  order  of  na- 
ture, and  in  the  necessary  connections  and 
dependencies  of  things,  the  idea  of  it  as  a 
rule,  is  prior  to  that  of  a  covenant ;  so  there 
is  not  the  least  absurdity  in  supposing  that 
it  may  entirely  cease  to  the  believer,  in  re- 
gard to  the  perfect,  personal  obedience  it 
requires  as  the  condition  of  life,  and  the 
curse  it  annexes  to  every  sin,  while  it  con- 
tinues in  full  force^  as  the  rule  of  his  ac- 
tions.f 

That  the  moral  law  is  a  rule  of  life  to  be- 
lievers, may  be  proved  by  various  argu- 
ments. Some  few  of  the  many  which 
might  be  produced,  I  shall  now  offer  to  the 
reader's  consideration.  Paul,  we  find,  even 
in  that  very  chapter  where  he  treats  the 
most  largely  and  explicitly  concerning  be- 
lievers being  dead  to  the  law,  and  the  law 
being  dead  to  them,  asserts  with  respect  to 
himself,  "  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  after 
the  inward  man."  Rom.  vii.  22.  Now, 
whatever  law  that  is  which  he  here  designs, 
he  informs  us  that  he  delighted  in  it  "  alter 
the  inward  man."  By  which  expressions 
he  does  not  intend  the  soul,  in  contradis 
tinction  from  the  body,  but  the  mind,  con 
eidered  as  renewed,  in  opposition  to  the  cor- 
ruption of  nature,  still  inherent.  This  law, 
therefore,  cannot  be  that  which  is  ceremoni- 
al, for  that  was  abrogated  by  the  death  of 
Christ.  Nor  can  it  be  the  law  of  sin,  for 
that  was  his  greatest  burden,  as  appears 
from  the  context.  Nor  can  it  be  the  law 
of  his  mind,  or  that  new  and  holy  disposi- 
eition  which  was  implanted  in  his  heart  in 
regeneration ;  for  then  the  sense  would  be, 
"  I   delight  in   the   new  disposition  of  my 


•  Mr.  Jonathan  Edwards  on  Original  Sin,  p.  412. 

*  Tlie  ten  commandments,"  says  a  well  known  author, 
"being  the  substance  of  the  law  of  nature,  a  representa- 
tion of  God's  image,  and  a  beam  of  his  holiness,  behov 
ed  forever,  unalterably  to  be  a  rule  of  life  to  mankind, 
in  all  possible  stares,  conditions,  and  circumstances. 
Nothing  but  the  utter  destruction  of  human  nature,  could 
divest  them  of  that  office,  since  God  is  unchangeable  in 
his  invure  and  holiness.  Hence  their  being  a  rule  oflii'e 
to  .\dam  and  his  po.^terity,  had  no  dependance  on  their 
becoming  the  covenant  of  works;  but  they  would  have 
b«en  that  rule,  though  there  never  had  been  any  such 
oovenant.  Yea,  whatever  covenant  was  introduced, 
whether  of  works  or  of  grace,  or  whatever,  form  might 
be  put  uponthera,  they  behoved  still  to  remain  the  rule 
of  life;  no  covenant,  no  form  whatsoever,  could  ever 
prejudice  this  theirpoyal  dignity."  Boston's  Works,  p. 
6oi-  Note  (g.) 

Vol.  3.— S. 


mind,  after  my  renewed  mind."  Nor  can 
it  be  the  moral  law  as  a  covetiant,  for  to 
that  he  declares  he  was  dead.  It  remains 
then  that  it  must  be  the  moral  law,  as  the 
rule  of  his  obedience  to  God.  In  the  law 
thus  considered,  he  greatly  delighted.  He 
saw  it  was  "  holy,  and  just,  and  good." 
That  fervent  love  which  he  had  to  his  God, 
that  sincere  affection  which  he  had  to  his 
neighbor,  caused  him  to  esteem  it  highly, 
and  to  observe  it  with  diligence.  And 
whoever  is  possessed  of  the  holy  and  heav- 
enly principle,  cannot  but  love  that  law 
which  requires  the  constant  exercise  of  it 
Rom.  vii.  25.  "  So  then,  with  the  mind,  I 
myself  serve  the  law  of  God." 

In  another  part  of  the  same  epistle,  he 
evidently  exhorts  his  believing  correspond- 
ents to  the  practice  of  duty,  by  setting  be- 
fore them  the  precepts  and  prohibition  of  the 
moral  law.  These  are  his  words :  "  Owe 
no  man  any  thing,  but  to  love  one  another ; 
for  he  that  loveth  another  hath  fulfilled  the 
law.  For  this.  Thou  shalt  not  commit 
adultery:  Thou  shalt  not  kill:  Thou  shalt 
not  steal :  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  wit- 
ness: Thou  shalt  not  covet:  And  if  there 
be  any  other  commandment,  it  is  briefly 
comprehended  in  this  saying,  namely,  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself  Love 
worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbor;  therefore 
love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  Rom.  xiii. 
8,  9,  10.  Now  to  what  purpose  does  the 
infallible  teacher  make  use  of  these  pre- 
cepts and  prohibitions,  and  that  in  the  very 
language  of  the  decalogue,  when  exhort- 
ing believers  to  good  works,  if  they  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  law  ?  Where  is  the 
propriety,  where  is  the  reason  of  his  doing 
so,  on  supposition  that  it  is  not  the  rule  of 
their  conduct?  For  no  one  acquainted 
witli  the  gospel  can  imagine  that  he  is  here 
urging  the  law  upon  them  as  a  covenant 
of  works,  which  prescribes  duty  as  the  con- 
dition of  life;  and  yet  there  is  no  other 
light  in  which  to  consider  it,  if  it  is  denied 
to  be  a  rule  of  conduct.  I  conclude,  there- 
fore, that  the  inspired  author  has  here  taught 
us,  in  a  very  emphatical  manner,  that  the 
law  is  a  rule  of  life  to  believers. 

The  same  experienced  saint  and  incom- 
parable man,  when  writing  to  the  church 
at  Ephesus,  says,  "  Children  obey  your  pa- 
rents in  the  Lord,  for  this  is  right."  This 
exhortation  he  enforces,  by  adding,  "  Hon- 
or thy  father  and  mother ;"  which  are  the 
words  of  the  law,  and  "  the  first  command- 
ment with  promise."     Eph.  vi.  1,  2.     Now 

it  not  strange,  exceeding  strange,  that 
the  apostle  should  thus  refer  to  the  law  and 
expressly  mention  its  precepts,  when  ex- 
horting the  people  of  God  to  perform  their 
respective  duties  ;  and  that  he  should  do  it 
not  only  once,  but  repeatedly,  and  to  differ- 
ent churches,  See  aleo  Gal.  v.  13,  li,  if  he 


146 


CEATH    OF    LEGAL    liOPfi, 


did  not  consider  it  as  the  rule  of  their  con- 
duct ?  If  the  moral  huv  had  been  entirely 
abrogated,  if  believers  had  been  freed  from 
all  concern  with  it,  he  must  have  known 
it.  And  if  he  knew  it,  methinks  it  is  abso- 
lutely unaccountable  that  he  should  in  this 
manner  make  use  of  it,  and  urge  its  sacred 
injunctions,  when  writing  to  a  church  of 
Christ  called  out  from  among  the  Gentiles. 
What !  was  the  Lord's  ambassador  so 
much  at  a  loss  for  motives  and  arguments  to 
enlbrce  his  divine  Master's  commands,  even 
on  the  minds  of  those  who  were  in  professed 
subjection  to  him,  that  he  must,  in  order  to 
gain  his  point,  make  use  of  an  antiquated 
law — a  law  with  which  they  had  no  con 
cem!  That  was  far  from  him:  the  thought 
be  far  from  us  !  That  first-rate  minister 
in  ihe  Messiah's  kingdom  was  well  persuad- 
ed that  the  holy  law  was  a  rule  for  the  con- 
duct of  Christians.  The  glorious  Surety 
having  paid  it  the  highest  respect,  in  per- 
forming that  perfect  obedience  which  it  re- 
quired, and  in  suffering  the  dreadful  penal- 
ty it  threatened  as  a  covenant;  he  knew 
that  it  deserved  the  most  sincere  and  unin- 
terrupted regard,  from  all  who  professed  to 
believe  in  Jesus,  in  their  whole  conversa- 
tion. Without  supposing  this,  we  cannot 
discern  either  propriety  or  sense  in  thus 
making  use  of  it  when  addressing  believ- 
ers. 

We  have  a  testimony  to  the  truth  for 
which  we  plead,  from  the  pen  of  another 
apostle,  which,  as  it  appears  pertinent  to 
our  purpose,  may  be  briefly  considered. 
James,  in  perfect  agreement  with  Paul, 
says,  "  If  ye  I'ulfil  the  royal  law,  according 
to  the  scripture.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself,  ye  do  well."  James  ii.  8. 
That  it  is  the  moral  law  of  which  he  speaks, 
cannot  admit  of  a  doubt,  for  he  expressly 
mentions  one  of  its  principle  commands. 
Now  says  he,  if  ye,  believers,  fuljil  the  roy- 
al law  of  love  one  to  another,  without  any 
difference  of  rich  and  poor,  of  high  and 
low,  according  to  the  scripture,  in  which  it 
is  written,  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself,  ye  do  well.  Ye  act  agreeably  to  the 
will  of  your  heavenly  Father,  and  the  com- 
mandment of  your  divine  Lord,  who  is  Kiiig 
in  Zion.  Acts  of  Christian  kindness  and 
brotherly  love  to  your  fellow- creatures  and 
fellow-Christians,  proceeding  from  love  to 
God,  and  with  a  view  to  his  glory,  are  good 
works  ;  such  as  the  Lord  himself  will  ac- 
knowledge to  be  well  done.  Here  we  may 
further  observe,  that  in  loving  our  neighbor 
and  in  evidencing  that  love  by  a  suitable 
series  of  action,  we  ought  to  have  our  eye 
upon  that  authority  which  enjoins  it,  and' 
that  law  which  requires  it.  it  is  the  au- 
thority of  God  in  his  law  which  we  ought 
to  regard.  I  now  proceed  to  confirm  the 
truth  by  other  considerations. 


If  the  moral  law  be  not  a  rule  of  life  to 
believers,  either  there  is  some  other  and  a 
new  rule  given  in  its  stead,  or  there  is  not. 
If  another,  it  may  be  presumed  that  it  is 
either  more  or  less  perfect  than  that  con- 
tained in  the  moral  law.  But  more  perfect 
it  cannot  be,  without  supposing  that  the 
old,  the  eternal  law,  was  imperfect  ;  to  sup- 
pose which  is  absurdly  blasphemous.  If  it 
be  less  perfect,  the  consequence  is  plain. 
It  is  not  a  complete  system  of  duty.  It  ad- 
mits of  imperfections.  It  connives  at  sin. 
But  for  any  one  to  imagine  that  infinite 
wisdom  would  contrive,  and  that  infinite 
holiness  would  give  s^ich  a  rule  for  the  con- 
duct of  rational  creatures,  is  absolutely  in- 
consistent with  the  divine  character,  and 
pregnant  with  blasphemy.  Such  a  rule, 
therefore  condemns  itself,  and  sinks  with  its 
own  weight.  But  if  there  be  720^  another, 
then  it  follows  by  necessary  consequence, 
that  as  there  is  no  rule  to  regulate  the  con- 
duct of  believers,  they  can  neither  obey 
nor  disobey.  Sin  and  duty,  as  to  them, 
are  unmeaning  names  and  empty  sounds. 
For  obedience  pre-supposes  a  command. 
And  it  is  equally  evident  that  "  where  there 
is  no  law,"  no  rule  of  action,  there  can  be 
"  no  transgression."  For  how  should  that 
be  sin  which  is  not  forbidden,  which  is  not 
the  breach  of  any  law  ?  But  if  all  irregu- 
larities of  temper  and  conduct  be  forbidden 
to  believers,  and  if  dispositions  and  practi- 
ces of  a  contrary  kind  be  required  of  them, 
it  must  be  by  a  law ;  a  law  they  are  bound 
to  regard,  as  the  rule  of  duty  both  to  God 
and  man.  The  sentiment  opposed,  repre- 
sents the  Holy  One  of  God  as  the  minister 
of  sin ;  for  it  supposes  that  Christ  has  dis- 
solved all  obligation  to  duty,  in  reference 
to  his  disciples ;  than  which  nothing  can 
be  more  false,  or  more  derogatory  to  our 
Saviour's  honor.  The  satisfaction  he  made 
to  eternal  justice,  saves  the  persons  of  be- 
lievers from  final  condemnation  and  ever- 
lasting punishment ;  but  the  nature  of  their 
actions  remains  the  same.  Every  affection 
of  heart,  and  every  action  of  life,  which 
the  law  forbids  and  condemns  in  others,  is 
equally  forbidden  and  equally  criminal  in 
them  ;  nay,  they  being  considered  as  know- 
ing their  duty  better,  as  under  additional 
obligations,  and  as  having  superior  motives 
to  the  performance  of  it,  if  there  be  any 
difference,  on  the  comparison,  in  regard  to 
any  impurity  of  heart  or  irregularity  of  hfe, 
it  lies  against  them.  Though  redeemed 
from  the  curse  of  the  law,  they  are  under 
oblio;ation  to  observe  its  precepts ;  nor 
would  it  be  either  to  tlieir  honor  or  happiness 
to  be  otherwise. 

I  sup])ose  it  will  not  be  denied  by  any 
who  acKnowledge  the  Bible  to  contain  a 
divine  revelation,  that  the  saints  and  people 
of  God,  under  the  ancient  Jewish  economy, 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


147 


were  bound  to  regard  the  moral  law  as  the 
rule  of  their  conduct.  Yet,  it  is  evident  they 
were  no  more  under  it  as  a  covenant,  nor 
any  more  obnoxious  to  its  curse,  than  real 
Christians  under  the  gospel  dispensation. 
They  who  believed  in  the  promised  Messi- 
ah before  he  appeared,  were  pardoned  and 
justified,  were  sanctified  and  saved ;  and 
that  by  the  same  glorious  grace,  and  the 
same  all-sufficient  Mediator,  with  all  who 
have  known  the  Lord  since  the  eternal 
Word  become  incarnate  ;  the  way  of  justi- 
fication and  salvation  having  been  but  one, 
and  precisely  the  same  in  all  ages.  If  then, 
those  ancient  saints  were  bound  to  regard 
the  law  as  the  rule  of  their  moral  behav- 
ior, what  reason  can  be  given  why  believ- 
ers now  should  not  be  under  the  same  obli- 
gation? Especially  since  our  Lord  has  de- 
clared in  the  most  solemn  manner,  that  he 
"  came  not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil  the  law." 
To  fulfil  it  as  a  covenant,  by  his  own  con- 
summate obedience,  and  by  his  most  bitter 
sufferings  in  the  stead  of  his  people ;  and 
to  enforce  on  their  minds,  by  the  most  co- 
gent motives,  its  heavenly  precepts,  as  a 
perfect  rule  of  duty.  So  that  whether  we 
consider  the  law  as  a  rule  of  duty,  or  as  a 
covenant  of  works,  it  is  not  made  void  by 
the  coming  of  Christ,  or  the  doctrine  of 
grace,  but  on  the  contrary  it  is  firmly  es- 
tablished and  highly  magnified.  Rom.  iii. 
31.     Isa.  xlii.  21. 

If  believers  be  not  under  the  commanding 
power  of  the  law,  supposing  them  to  act 
ever  so  contrary  to  it,  they  are  not  chargea- 
ble with  sinning  against  it,  nor  can  tliey  be 
denominated  transgressors  of  it.  For  in- 
stance :  the  law  says,  "  Thou  shalt  love 
God  with  all  thy  heart ;"  that  is,  with  a  su- 

f)reme  and  perfect  affection.  "  Thou  shalt 
ove  thy  neighbor  as  thyself"  These  are 
its  capital  commands  ;  these  are  the  sum  of 
the  law.  But  if  the  law  be  not  a  rule  of 
life  to  the  Christian,  if  he  be  not  under  its 
commanding  power,  he  is  no  longer  obliged 
to  love  either  God  or  his  neighbor.  Con- 
sequently, on  supposition  that  he  love  nei- 
ther of  them,  he  is  not  guilty  in  the  eye  of 
the  law,  nor  in  the  least  a  breaker  of  it. 
For  where  there  is  no  legal  right  to  com- 
mand, there  can  be  no  authority  to  pro- 
nounce guilty.  If,  therefore,  the  believer 
be  not  under  the  commanding  power  of 
the  law,  whatever  the  dispositions  of  his 
heart,  or  the  actions  of  his  life  may  be,  he 
is  no  transgressor  of  the  law,  it  having  no 
concern  at  all  with  him.  Such  are  the 
shocking  absurdities,  and  such  the  abomi- 
nable blasphemy,  which  follow  a  denial  of 
the  truth  for  which  we  contend. 

We  may  argue  also  from  the  experience 
of  the  Christian,  and  the  dictates  of  his 
own  conscience.  When  he  reflects  on  the 
corruptions  of  his  heart,  the  imperfections 


of  his  duties,  and  the  exceeding  sinfulness 
of  sin,  what  is  the  standard  by  which  he 
forms  an  estimate  of  these  things  ?  Some 
rule  of  duty  he  must  have ;  some  rule  he 
must  in  his  own  conscience  acknowledge, 
or  he  could  not  judge  of  the  dispositions  of 
his  heart  and  the  actions  of  his  life,  so  as 
to  pronounce  them  either  good  or  evil,  per- 
fect or  defective,  and  be  pained  or  pleased 
on  the  reflection.  And  what  rule  can  this 
be,  but  the  moral  law  ?  Is  it  not  a  com- 
plete one,  and  fit  tor  the  purpose  ?  Is  there 
any  sin  which  is  not  forbidden,  is  there  any 
duty  which  is  not  commanded,  by  that  law 
which  requires  the  constant  exercise  of  per- 
fect love  to  God,  and  perfect  love  to  man  1 
Can  the  believer  acquit  himseltj  in  the 
court  of  his  own  conscience,  when  he  is 
persuaded  that  his  tempers  or  actions  are 
contrary  to  it  ?  Or  does  he  ever  condemn 
them  as  criminal,  but  on  a  supposition  that 
there  is  something  in  them  wliich  is  forbid- 
den by  it?  Was  it  ever  known  that  a 
Christian  should  say,  of  his  inclinations  or 
actions,  "I  pronounce  these  to  be  evil, 
though  required  by  the  moral  law,  and  I  de- 
clare those  to  be  good,  though  contrary  to 
it?"  An  mfallible  pen  has  informed  us, 
that  "  by  the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin." 
Nor  is  its  usefulness  in  this  respect  confined 
to  the  time  when  a  sinner  is  first  awakened 
and  converted.  It  is  of  use,  in  the  hand  of 
the  Spirit,  in  all  the  future  progress  of  the 
Christian  life.  As  the  believer  grows  in 
grace,  he  sees  more  and  more  of  its  purity 
and  spirituality,  and  is  proportionally  hum- 
bled under  a  sense  of  his  own  depravity 
and  imperfections.  If,  then,  it  be  of  use  to 
a  believer  still  to  convince  him  of  sin,  and 
still  to  humble  him  for  it,  and  if  sin  be  no 
other  than  a  "  transgression  of  the  law,"  it 
follows  that  it  must  be  the  rule  of  his  con- 
duct. 

The  law  considered  as  moral,  is  founded 
on  the  nature  of  things.  The  sublime  per- 
fections of  Jehovah,  and  the  relation  he 
stands  in  to  man,  as  being  his  Creator, 
Preserver,  and  Governor,  the  dependent 
condition  of  man,  and  the  blessings  he  re- 
ceives from  his  Maker,  constitute  that  foun- 
dation on  which  the  law  is  built,  as  it  res- 
pects our  duty  to  God,  in  the  exercise  of 
perfect  love,  and  the  peformance  of  holy 
worship.  And  as  the  law  regards  our 
neighbor,  it  is  founded  on  that  mutual  rela- 
tion which  we  stand  in  one  to  another,  in 
the  present  state  of  existence.  In  propor- 
tion, therefore,  to  the  stability  of  that  foun- 
dation on  which  the  law  is  built,  is  the  law 
itself  If  those  relations  from  which  all 
our  obligations  to  God  and  one  to  another 
arise,  be  firm  and  unchangeable,  such  also 
must  be  the  obligations  themselves  ;  for  the 
several  relations  and  obligations  co-exist. 
This  being  the  case,  it  follows  by  necessa- 


14g 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE. 


ry  consequence,  that  while  Jehovah  is  pos- 
sessed of  absoUUe  perfection,  and  a  man  a 
dependent  being  while  God  is  God,  and 
man  is  man,  tliat  h^w  which  requires  per- 
fect love  to  our  Maker  is  unchangeable. 
And  so  long  as  our  relation  one  to  another 
continues  the  same,  it  cannot  but  be  the 
duly  of  every  one  to  lore  his  neighbor  as 
he  loves  himself.  Consequently,  so  far  as 
we  come  short  in  either  of  tiiese  respects, 
we  fail  in  the  performance  of  our  duty,  and 
are  chargeable  with  sin. 

Once  more :  Why  should  any  one  wish 
to  be  free  from  the  law,  considered  as  a  rule 
of  conduct?  It  commands  nothing  but 
what  is  right,  nor  forbids  any  thing  that  is 
not  wrong.  As  the  things  it  requires  are 
"Worthy  of  God  and  useful  to  man,  so  the 
things  it  prohibits  are  hateful  to  him  and 
hurtful  to  us.  To  suppose  it  possible  for 
God  to  approve  those  tilings  which  the  law 
condemns,  would  be  a  flagrant  dishonor 
done  to  his  character ;  and  to  imagine  that 
men  might  perform  them  without  injuring 
their  own  souls,  is  a  great  mistake.  Be 
sides,  is  it  not  the  design  of  the  Holy  Spir- 
it, in  the  regeneration  of  sinners,  to  produce 
in  them  an  habitual  desire  of  doing  that 
which  is  right  1  But  can  those  dispositions 
or  actions  be  accounted  right,  which  are 
contrary  to  the  attributes  of  God,  or  incon- 
Bistent  with  a  due  acknowledgment  of 
them?*  When  the  divine  Sovereign  dis- 
plays his  perfections,  he  manifests  his  glo- 
ry ;  and  so  far  as  we  acknowledge  those 
perfections  in  a  suitable  manner,  we  glorify 
him.  Now  as  the  law  only  requires  us  to 
treat  God  as  God,  and  our  fellow-creature 
as  our  fellow-creature — in  other  words,  as 
it  only  requires  us  to  treat  objects  and 
things  as  they  are  in  their  own  nature,  and 
in  their  several  relations  to  us — its  precepts 
and  prohibitions  must  be  unalterable,  and 
the  never  failing  rule  of  the  Christian's  con- 
duct! 


*  Stapferi  Institut.  Theolog.  Polein.  Tom.  1,  Cap.  iii. 
1435.  1436. 

■t  The  very  learned  and  celebrated  Vitringa,  when  rea- 
soning on  this  important  subject,  speaks  to  the  following 
effect:  ''When  Paul  affirms  that  believers,  being  under 
grace,  are  '  free  from  tlie  law,'  he  must  not  be  under- 
stood as  asserting,  that  they  are  loosed  from  an  obliga- 
tion to  observe  the  precepts  which  constitute  the  sub- 
stance of  tliose  moral  laws  which  are  contained  in  the 
■writings  of  Moses.  For  how  absurd,  how  blasphemous, 
how  shocking  it  would  be  to  suppose  that  the  people  of 
God,  under  the  gospel  dispensation,  are  noi  bound  by 
any  law  to  revere  and  love  and  adore  their  Maker;  nor 
under  any  obligation  to  seek  the  good,  or  promote  the 
happiness  of  their  fellow  creatures  !  Oerlain  it  is,  that 
grace  and  faith  neither  do  nor  were  ever  intended  to 
free  brlievers  from  the  obligations  and  laws  of  humani- 
ty. No  :  their  benevolent  design  was,  to  restore  man- 
kind to  happiness,  and  to  perfect  them  in  holiness.  But 
were  Christiana  released  from  the  law  of  love,  thoy 
would  not  be  in  the  common  condition  of  humanity. 
For  what  is  it  to  be  a  man,  but  to  be  a  creature  endued 
with  reason,  dcpencient  on  God  for  existence,  and  for  all 


It  must  indeed  be  acknowledged,  that  a 
complete  conformity  to  this  liigh  and  heav- 
enly rule,  is  what  the  most  holy  and  zeal- 
ous believer  cannot  attain.  A  perfect  per- 
sonal holiness  is  not  attainable  by  mortals. 
For  "if  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we 
deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in 
us."  Notwithstanding,  the  law  is  no  less 
the  standard  of  duty,  is  no  less  the  role  by 
which  we  ought  to  walk,  than  if  we  could 
observe  it  with  the  greatest  punctuality. 
And  every  one  who  pretends  to  faith  in  Je- 
sus ought  to  exert  his  best  endeavors,  and 
u.se  his  utmost  diligence,  that  both  his  tem- 
pers and  actions  may  correspond  with  it 
as  much  as  possible.  This  is  his  indispen- 
sable duty,  and  this,  if  a  real  Christian, 
will  be  his  sincere  desire. 

Nor  has  the  true  believer  any  objection 
to  it,  or  any  fears  from  it,  thus  considered. 
It  is  no  longer  a  fiery  law,  thundering  out 
anathemas,  and  flashing  vengeance  against 
him.  No,  it  is  mild  and  gentle.  He  sees 
that  its  precepts  are  highly  salutary,  and 
its  prohibitions  exactly  right.  He  would 
not  wish  to  have  them  altered.  Love  to 
God,  and  love  to  our  neighbor,  is  a  com- 
pendium of  its  precepts ;  and  in  the  exer- 
cise of  that  love  he  desires  to  abound.  As 
to  its  prohibitions,  he  knows  that  the  things 
forbidden  would  be  an  injury  to  him  were 
they  pursued  ;  therefore  he  esteems  it  hie 
happiness  to  abstain  from  them.  The  new 
disposition  he  received  in  his  regeneration, 
inclines  him  to  love  God  and  delight  in  hie 
law  as  pure  and  holy.  The  gospel  furnish- 
es him  with  the  strongest  arguments  and 
most  winning  motives  to  abound  in  obedi- 
ence, while  it  is  his  earnest  prayer  that  the 
Spirit  of  grace  would  afford  effectual  as- 
sistance for  the  performance  of  it.  And  it 
is  his  greatest  grief  that  he  does  not  more 
constantly  and  more  perfectly  transcribe 
the  sacred  precepts  into  his  conduct,  and 
cause  them  to  shine  in  his  own  example. 


Preserver,  Governor,  and  Supreme  Good,  he  necessarily 
stands  related  ;  so  related  as  to  be  accountable  to  hira 
for  the  enjoyment  of  every  favor,  the  exercise  of  all  his 
powers,  and  the  performance  of  every  act.  As  Jeho- 
vah's consummate  perfections  demand  of  a  rational 
creature,  that  is  absolutely  dependent  upon  him,  and 
formed  for  his  glory,  the  highest  acts  of  adoration  ,  as 
the  dominion  of  God.  over  all  creatures,  requires 
obedience  and  subjection  ;  as  the  majesty  and  justice  of 
God  challenges  humility  and  reverence,  so  the  bound- 
less goodne.ss  of  God,  which  is  the  source  of  all  the 
comforts  we  have  received,  of  all  the  blessings  we  now 
enjoy,  and  of  all  tlie  happiness  we  hereafler  expect — 
that  infinite  goodness,  I  say,  to  which  every  man's  con- 
science bears  witness,  obliges  the  reasonable  creature 
10  love  God  ;  that  is  to  cleave  to  him  with  all  the  force 
of  inclination  and  all  the  fervor  of  affection,  as  being 
supremely  amiable,  and  to  rejoice  in  his  happiness,  as 
a  Being  of  boundless  excellence.  And  as  one  divine 
perfection  implies  all  others,  and  one  relation  of  God  to 
man  comjirehends  all  others,  including  at  the  same  time 
all  the  duties  of  man  to  God,  which  arise  from  those  re- 
the  comforts  of  life  ;  from  whom  only  he  can  exiiect  sal- 1  iations,  so  all  the  duties  we  owe  to  God  might  be  demon- 
ration  from  every  evil,  and  tlie  enjoyment  of  every  good  siraled  fnim  almost  any  of  those  divine  perfections 
tliat  is  necessary  to  perfect  his  nature  and  reniier  him  which  have  a  relation  toman."  Vitring.  Observ.  Sac. 
completely  blossedl    To  God  therefore,  as  bis  Creator, '  Torn.  II.  1.  vi.  c.  13,  §  1. 


DEATH    OF    LEGAL    HOPE, 


149 


Besides,  the  believer  beholds  the  law — 
not  in  the  hands  of  Moses,  and  as  surround- 
ed with  the  flames  of  Sinai — but  in  the 
hands  of  that  Prince  of  peace  who  is  King 
in  Zion.  He  sees  that  the  dear,  the  adora- 
ble, the  ascended  Jesus,  having  fulfilled  its 
high  demands  as  a  covenant,  and  released 
him  from  its  awful  curse,  now  employs  it 
as  an  instrument  of  his  benign  government, 
for  the  good  of  tlie  redeemed,  and  the  glory 
of  his  own  eternal  name.  As  in  the  hand 
of  Christ  it  is  a  friend  and  a  guide,  point- 
ing out  the  way  in  which  tlie  Christian 
ought  to  walk,  so  as  to  express  his  gratitude 
to  God  for  his  benefits,  and  glorify  the  Lord 
Redeemer.  It  shows  him  also,  at  the  same 
time,  how  imperfect  his  own  obedience  is, 
and  so  is  a  happy  mean  of  keeping  him 
humble  at  the  foot  of  sovereign  grace,  and 
entirely  dependent  on  the  righteousness  of 
his  divine  Sponsor. 

And  now,  reader,  what  tliink  you  of  the 
law  as  a  rule  of  conduct  ?  Is  it  pleasant, 
is  it  delightful  to  you  ?  In  vain  you  pro- 
fess to  know  the  glorious  gospel,  while  you 
continue  an  enemy  to  the  holy  law.  For 
as  the  law,  in  its  covenant  form,  is  the  ap- 
pointed mean  of  convincing  the  careless 
sinner  of  his  need  of  that  righteousness 
which  is  revealed  in  the  gospel,  for  the  jus- 
tification of  his  person  before  God,  so  the 
gospel,  bringing  adequate  relief  to  the  dis- 
tressed conscience,  is  the  happy  instrument 
of  conciliating  the  believer's  regards  to 
the  law  as  a  rule  of  conduct,  that  his  faith 
may  be  evidenced  in  the  sight  of  men. 
Thus  the  law  and  the  gospel  are  mutually 
subservient  one  to  another,  while  both  agree 
to  promote  the  happiness  of  the  redeemed, 
and  the  glory  of  their  divine  Author.  He, 
therefore,  who  does  not  pay  an  habitual  re- 
gard to  the  law  in  the  way  of  obedience^ 
has  no  experience  of  the  gospel  in  a  way 
of  comfort.  And  as  he  tramples  on  that 
divine  authority  which  shines  in  the  former, 
so  he  despises  the  boundless  grace  which  is 
revealed  in  the  latter.  Such  an  one  is  an 
enemy  to  both,  and  his  state  is  most  deplo- 
rable. 

Remember,  reader,  that  you  may  talk  as 
much  as  you  please  about  the  holy  tenden- 
cy of  evangelical  principles,  but  the  adver- 
saries of  the  gospel  will  never  believe  you, 
if  they  do  not  see  the  truth  of  what  you 
say,  exemplified  in  your  own  conduct.     The 


language  of  the  observations  they  make  on 
your  conversation  is,  "Ye  who  talk  with 
such  fluency  and  confidence  about  the  doc- 
trines of  grace.,  and  the  necessity  o^  faith, 
let  us  see  what  influence  these  doctrines 
have  on  your  own  tempers  and  your  own  be- 
haviour ?  Show  us  your  faith  by  your 
works?"  This  is  a  reasonable  demand. 
They  are  authorized  to  make  it.  And  wo, 
wo,  be  to  that  professor  of  evangelical  truth, 
who  cannot  in  some  measure  satisfy  it ! 
For  if  his  conduct  be  not  in  some  degree 
answerable  to  his  profession,  he  will  soon 
be  treated  as  one  of  the  greatest  enemies 
to  Christ  and  his  cause. 

Are  you  a  believer  in  Jesus  ?  one  that 
"  knows  the  grace  of  God  in  truth  ?"  You 
have  the  purest  and  strongest  motives  im- 
aginable to  cause  you  to  regard  the  law. 
Has  the  Son  of  the  Highest  done  all 
that  you  were  bound  to  perform  as  the  con- 
dition of  life,  and  suffered  all  that  you  were 
condemned  to  sustain  as  the  penalty  an- 
nexed to  disobedience  ?  Has  he  done  and 
suffered  all  this  in  your  stead,  that  he  might 
procure  a  full,  final,  and  everlasting  salva- 
tion for  you,  a  poor  damnable  sinner  ?  Has 
he  expressed  his  regard  to  the  law  as  a  cov- 
enant, not  in  words  but  in  deeds.,  in  such 
deeds  as  astonish  the  universe  1  and  shall 
you  be  backward  to  manifest  your  love  to 
the  law  as  a  rule  of  duty,  by  a  serious,  ho- 
ly heavenly  conduct?  Did  he  whom  an- 
gels adore,  obey.,  and  bleed,  and  die,  die  an 
accursed  deatli,  that  the  claims  of  the  law 
might  be  all  answered  ?  and  shall  it  seem 
hard  to  you  to  deny  yourself,  to  subdue 
your  lusts,  and  walk  by  this  heavenly  rule  ? 
Is  it  the  general  and  popular  clamor  against 
the  free  and  genuine  gospel,  "  that  it  makes 
void  the  law?"  and  shall  it  not  be  your 
constant  business  and  fervent  prayer,  so  to 
observe  the  sacred  precepts  as  to  be  a  liv- 
ing confutation  of  that  vile  slander  ?  Do 
not  reason  and  conscience,  scripture  and 
experience,  all  concur  to  show  the  expedi- 
ency, the  utility,  the  necessity,  of  conform- 
ing your  life  to  the  law  as  a  rule  ?  O,  be- 
liever !  yours  is  the  happy  state — let  yours 
be  the  holy  life.  Let  it  appear  that  though 
dead  to  the  law  as  a  covenant,  you  abhor 
the  things  it  forbids,  and,  delight  in  the 
things  it  commands.  Then  shall  you  stop 
the  mouths  of  gainsayers  ;  then  shall  you 
glorify  the  name  of  your  God.     Ameii. 


THE   END. 


COME,  AND  WELCOME,  TO  JESUS  CHRIST; 


^^ 


LOFITABLE    DISCOURSE 

ON 

JOHN  VI.  37. 

SHOWING   THE    CAUSE,    TRUTH,    AND    MANNER,   OF   THE   COMING   OF   A   SINNER  TO    JESUS 
CHRIST;  WITH  HIS  HAPPY  RECEPTION,  AND  BLESSED  ENTERTAINMENT. 


By  JOHN  BUNYAN. 


And  they  shall  come  which  were  ready  to  perish. — Isaiah  xxvii.  13. 


All  that  the  Father  giveth  me,  shall  come  to 
me  ;  and  him  that  coineih  to  vie,  I  will  in 
no  wise  cast  out. — John  vi.  37. 

A  LITTLE  before,  in  this  chapter,  you 
may  read  that  the  Lord  Jesus  walked  on 
the  sea  to  go  to  Capernaum,  having  sent 
his  disciples  before  in  a  ship  ;  but  the  wind 
was  contrary,  by  which  means  the  ship 
was  hindered  in  her  passage.  Now  about 
the  fourth  watch  of  the  night,  Jesus  came 
walking  on  the  sea,  and  overtook  them ; 
at  the  sight  of  whom  they  were  afraid. 

Note,  When  providences  are  black  and 
terrible  to  God's  people,  the  Lord  Jesus 
ehows  himself  to  them  in  a  wonderful  man- 
ner; the  which  sometimes  they  can  as  lit- 
tle bear,  as  they  can  the  things  that  were 
terrible  to  them.  They  were  afraid  of  the 
wind  and  water  ;  they  were  also  afraid  of 
their  Lord  and  Saviour,  when  he  appeared 
to  them  in  that  state. 

But  he  said,  "  Be  not  afraid,  It  is  I." 

Note,  That  the  end  of  the  appearing  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  unto  his  people,  (though 
the  manner  of  his  appearance  be  never  so 
terrible.)  is  to  allay  their  fears  and  per- 
plexities. 

Then  they  received  him  into  the  ship, 
and  immediately  the  ship  was  at  the  land 
whither  it  went. 

A^ote,  When  Christ  is  absent  from  his 
people,  they  go  on  but  slowly,  and  with 
great  difficulty  ;  but  when  he  joineth  him- 
self unto  them,  Oh !  how  fast  they  steer 
their  course  !  how  soon  are  they  at  their 
journey's  end  ! 

The  people  now  among  whom  he  last 
preached,  when  they  saw  that  both  Jesus 
was  gone  and  hie  disciples,  they  also  took 


shipping,  and  came  to  Capernaum  seeking' 
for  Jesus.  And  when  they  had  found  him, 
they,  wondering,  asked  him,  Rabbi,  when 
earnest  thou  hither?  But  the  Lord  Jesus 
slighting  their  compliment,  answered, "  Ver- 
ily, verily,  ye  seek  me  not  because  ye  saw 
the  miracles,  but  because  ye  did  eat  of  the 
loaves  and  were  filled." 

Note,  A  people  may  follow  Christ  far  for 
base  ends,  as  these  went  after  him  beyond 
sea  for  loaves.  A  man's  belly  will  carry 
him  a  great  way  in  religion ;  yea,  a  man's 
belly  will  make  him  venture  far  for  Christ. 

Note  again.  They  are  not  feigning  com- 
pliments, but  gracious  intentions,  that  crown 
the  work  in  the  eyes  of  Christ;  or  thus,  it 
is  not  the  toil  and  business  of  professors, 
but  their  love  to  him,  that  makes  him  ap- 
prove of  them. 

Note  again,  When  men  shall  look  for 
friendly  entertainment  at  Christ's  hand,  if 
their  hearts  be  rotten,  even  then  will  they 
meet  with  a  check  and  rebuke.  "  Ye  seelc 
me,  not  because  ye  saw  the  miracles  but 
because  ye  did  eat  of  the  loaves  and  were 
filled." 

Yet  observe  again,  He  doth  not  refuse  to 
give,  even  to  these,  good  counsel :  He  bids 
them  lo  labor  for  the  meat  that  endurelh 
to  eternal  life.  O  how  willing  would  Je- 
sus Christ  have  even  those  professors  that 
come  to  him  with  pretences  only,  come  to 
him  sincerely,  that  they  may  be  saved. 

The  text,  you  will  find,  is,  after  much 
more  discourse  with  and  about  his  people, 
and  it  is  uttered  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  the 
conclusion  of  the  whole,  and  intimateth, 
that  since  they  were  professors  in  pretence 
only,  and  therefore  such  as  his  soul  could  not 
delight  in,  as  such,  ihat  he  would  content 
himself  with  a  remnant  that  his  Father 


GOME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     151 


had  bestowed  upon  him.  As  who  should! 
say,  "I  am  not  Hke  to  be  honored  in  that 
salvation ;  but  the  Father  has  bestowed 
upon  me  a  people,  and  they  shall  come  to 
me  in  truth,  and  in  them  will  I  be  satisfied." 
The  text  before  may  be  called  Chrisl^s  re- 
pose ;  in  the  fulfilling  thereof  he  resteth 
himself  content,  after  much  labor  and  many 
sermons  spent,  as  it  were,  in  vain.  As  he 
saith  by  the  prophet,  "  I  have  labored  in 
vain,  I  have  spent  my  strength  for  nought, 
and  in  vain."     (Isa.  xlix.  4.) 

But  as  there  he  saith,  '-My  judgment  is 
with  the  Lord,  and  my  work  with  God :" 
so  in  the  text  he  saith,  "  All  that  the  Fath- 
er giveth  me,  shall  come  to  me ;  and  him 
that  Cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out."  By  these  words,  therefore,  the  Lord 
Jesus  comforteth  himself  under  the  consid- 
eration of  the  dissimulation  of  some  of  his 
followers.  He  also  thus  betook  himself  to 
rest  under  the  consideration  of  the  little  ef- 
fect that  his  ministry  had  in  Capernaum, 
Chorazin,  and  Bethsaida :  "  I  thank  thee, 
O  Father,"  said  he,  "  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth,  because  thou  hast  hid  these  things 
from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  reveal- 
ed them  to  babes ;  even  so  Father,  for  so 
it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight."  (Matt.  xi. 
25.     Luke  x.  21.) 

The  text,  in  general,  consists  of  two 
parts,  and  hath  special  respect  to  the  Fath 
er  and  the  Son;  as  also  their  joint  man- 
agement of  the  salvation  of  the  people 
"  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall  come 
to  me ;  and  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will 
in  no  wise  cast  out." 

The  first  part  of  the  text,  as  is  evident, 
respected  the  Father  and  his  gift;  the  oth- 
er part  the  Son,  and  his  reception  of  that 

gift- 
First,  For  the  gift  of  the  Father  there  is 
this  to  be  considered,  to  wit: 

The  gift  itself;  and  that  is  the  gift  of 
certain  persons  to  the  Son.  The  Father 
giveth,  and  that  gift  shall  come:  "And 
him  that  cometh."  The  gift  then  is  of  per- 
sons ;  the  Father  giveth  persons  to  Jesus 
Christ. 

Secondly,  Next  you  have  the  Son's  re- 
ception of  this  gift,  and  that  showeth  itself 
in  these  particulars: 

L  In  his  hearty  acknowledgment  of  it 
to  be  a  gift :  "  The  Father  giveth  me." 

2.  In  his  taking  notice,  after  a  solemn 
manner,  of  alt  and  every  part  of  the  gift : 
'^  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me." 

3.  In  this  resolution  to  bring  them  to 
himself:  "All  that  the  Father  giveth  me 
shall  come  to  me." 

4.  And  in  his  determining,  that  not  any 
thing  shall  make  him  dislike  them  in  their 
coming:  "And  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I 
will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 


These  things  might  be  spoken  to  at 
large,  as  they  are  in  this  method  presented 
to  view:  But  I  shall  choose  to  speak  the 
words, 

1.  By  way  of  explication. 

2.  By  way  of  observation. 

First,  By  way  of  explication,  "All  that 
the  Father  giveth  me."  This  word  all, 
is  often  used  in  scripture,  and  is  to  be  taken 
more  largely,  or  more  strictly,  even  as  the 
truth  or  argument  for  the  sake  of  which  it 
is  made  use  of,  will  bear.  Wherefore,  that 
we  may  better  understand  the  mind  of 
Christ,  in  the  use  of  it  here,  we  must  con- 
sider, that  it  is  limited  and  restrained  only 
to  those  that  shall  be  saved,  to  wit,  to  those 
that  shall  come  to  Christ;  even  to  those 
whom  he  will  "  in  no  wise  cast  out."  Thus, 
also  the  words,  "all  Israel,"  is  sometimes 
to  be  taken  ;  though  sometimes  it  is  taken 
for  the  whole  family  of  Jacob.  And  so 
"  all  Israel  shall  be  saved."  (Rom.  xi.) 
By  "all  Israel,"  here,  he  intendeth  not  all 
Israel,  in  the  largest  sense;  for  they  are 
not  all  Israel  which  are  of  Israel ;  "  neither 
because  they  are  the  seed  of  Abraham,  are 
they  all  children;  but  in  Isaac  shall  thy 
seed  be  called :  that  is.  They  who  are  the 
children  of  the  flesh ;  these  are  not  the 
children  ot^  God,  but  the  children  of  the 
promise  are  counted  for  their  seed."  (Rom. 
ix.  6,  7,  8.) 

This  word  all,  therefore,  must  be  limited 
and  enlarged,  as  the  truth  and  argument 
for  the  sake  of  which  it  is  used,  will  bear ; 
else  we  shall  abuse  scriptures  and  readers, 
and  ourselves,  and  all.  "And  I,  if  I  be 
lifted  up  from  the  earth."  said  Christ,  "  will 
draw  all  men  after  me."  (John  xii.  32.) 
Can  any  one  imagine,  that  by  all,  in  thi.s 
place,  he  should  mean  ail  and  every  indi- 
vidual man  in  the  world,  and  not  rather 
that  all  that  is  consonant  to  the  scope  of 
the  place?  And  if,  by  being  "lifted  up 
from  the  earth,"  he  means,  as  he  should 
seem,  his  being  taken  up  into  heaven  ;  and 
if,  by  "drawing  all  men  after  him,"  he 
meant  a  drawing  them  into  the  place  of 
glory;  then  must  he  mean  by  all  men, 
those,  and  only  those,  that  shall  in  truth 
be  eternally  saved  from  the  wrath  to  come : 
"For  God  hath  concluded  them  all  in  un- 
belief, that  he  might  have  mercy  upon  all." 
(Rom.  xi,  32.)  Here  again  you  have  all 
and  all,  two  alls:  but  yet  a  greater  dispar- 
ity between  the  all  made  mention  of  in 
the  first  place,  and  that  all  made  mention 
of  in  the  second.  Those  intended  in  this 
text  are  the  Jews,  even  all  of  them,  by  the 
first  all  that  you  find  in  the  words.  The. 
second  all,  doth  also  intend  the  same  peo- 
ple ;  but  yet  only  so  many  of  them  as  God 
will  have  mercy  upon.  "  He  hath  conclud- 
ed them  all  in  unbelief,  that  he  might  have 


i52    COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


mercy  upon  all."  The  all  also  in  the  text, 
is  likewise  to  be  limited  to  be  saved,  and 
tliem  only.     But  again,' 

The  word  giveth,  or  hath  given,  must  be 
restrained,  after  the  same  manner,  to  the 
same  limited  number :  '■  all  that  the  Father 
giveth  me.''  Not  all  that  are  given,  if  you 
take  the  gift  of  the  Father  to  the  Son,  in 
the  largest  sense ;  for  in  that  sense  there 
are  many  given  to  him  that  shall  never 
come  uiuo  him :  yea,  many  were  given 
unto  him,  that  he  will  cast  out.  I  shall 
therefore  first  show  you  the  truth  of  this, 
and  then  in  what  sense  the  gift  in  the  text 
must  be  taken. 

First,  That  all  that  are  given  to  Christ, 
if  you  take  the  gift  of  the  Father  tc  him, 
in  the  largest  sense,  cannot  be  intended  in 
the  text,  is  evident. 

1.  Because  then  all  the  men,  yea,  all  the 
things  in  the  world,  must  be  saved.  "All 
things,"  said  he,  "are  delivered  unto  me 
by  the  Father."  (Matt.  xi.  27.)  This,  I 
think,  no  rational  man  in  the  world  will 
conclude:  Therefore  the  gift  intended  hi 
the  text,  must  be  restrained  to  some ;  to  a 
gift  that  is  given  by  way  of  speciality  by 
the  Father  to  the  Son. 

2.  It  must  not  be  taken  for  all,  that  in 
any  sense  are  given  by  the  Father  to  him, 
because  the  Father  hath  given  some,  yea, 
many,  to  him,  to  be  dashed  in  pieces  by 
him.  "  Ask  of  me."  said  the  Father  to 
him,  "  and  I  will  give  thee  the  heathen  for 
thine  inheritance,  and  the  utmost  parts  of 
the  earth  for  thy  possession."  But  what 
must  be  done  with  tliem?  must  he  save 
them  all?  No;  "Thou  shalt  break  them 
with  a  rod  of  iron;  thou  shalt  dash  them 
in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel."  (Ps.  ii.) 
This  method  he  useth  not  with  thera  that 
he  saved  by  his  grace,  but  those  that  him- 
self and  saints  shall  rule  over  in  justice  and 
severity,  (Rev.  ii.  26,  27:)  yet,  as  you  see, 
they  are  given  to  him  ;  therefore  the  gift 
intended  in  the  text,  must  be  restrained  to 
some,  to  a  gift  that  is  given  by  way  of 
speciality  by  the  Father  to  the  Son. 

In  Psalm  xi.  he  saiili  plainly,  that  some 
are  given  to  him  that  he  might  destroy 
them  :  "  Thou  hast  given  me  the  necks  of 
mine  enemies,  that  I  might  destroy  them 
that  hate  me."  (v.  40.)  Those  therefore, 
cannot  be  of  the  number  of  those  that  are 
said  to  be  given  in  the  text;  for  those, 
even  ail  of  them,  shall  come  to  him,  and 
he  will  in  no  icise  cast  out. 

3.  Some  are  given  to  Christ,  that  he  by 
them  might  bring  about  some  of  his  high 
and  deep  designs  in  the  world.  Thus  Ju- 
das was  given  to  Christ,  to  wit,  that  by 
him,  even  as  he  was  determined  before,  he 
might  bring  about  his  death,  and  so  the 
salvation  of  his  elect  by  his  blood.  Yea, 
and  Judas  must  so  manage  this  bueinese. 


as  that  he  must  lose  himself  for  ever  in 
bringing  it  to  pass.  Therefore  the  Lord 
Jesus,  even  his  losing  of  Judas,  applies 
himself  to  the  judgment  of  his  Father,  if  he 
had  not  in  that  thing  done  thai  which  was 
right,  even  in  suffering  of  Judas  so  to  bring 
about  his  master's  death,  as  that  he  might 
by  Eo  doing  bring  about  his  own  eternal 
damnation  also. 

"  Those"  said  he,  "  that  thou  gavest  me, 
have  I  kept,  and  none  of  them  is  lost,  but 
the  son  of  perdition,  that  the  scriptures 
might  be  fulfilled."  (John  xvii.  12.)  Let 
us  then  grant  that  Judas  was  given  to 
Christ,  but  not  as  those  made  mention  of 
in  the  text ;  for  then  he  should  not  have  fail- 
ed to  have  been  so  received  by  Christ,  and 
kept  to  eternal  life.  Indeed  he  was  given 
to  Christ;  but  he  was  given  to  him  to  lose 
him,  in  the  way  that  I  have  mentioned  be- 
Ibre ;  he  was  given  to  Christ,  that  he  by 
him  might  bring  about  his  own  death,  ag 
was  before  determined ;  and  that  in  the 
overthrow  of  him  that  did  it.  Yea,  he 
must  bring  about  his  dying  for  us  in  the  losa 
of  the  instrument  that  betrayed  him,  that 
he  might  even  fulfil  the  scripture  in  his  de- 
struction, as  well  as  in  the  salvation  of  the 
rest.  "And  none  of  them  is  lost,  but  the 
sou  of  perdition,  that  the  scripture  might 
be  fulfilled." 

The  gift  therefore  in  the  text  must  not 
be  taken  in  the  largest  sense,  but  even  as 
the  words  will  bear,  to  wit,  for  such  a  gift 
as  he  acccpteth,  and  promiseth  to  be  an  ef- 
fectual means  of  eternal  salvation  too. 
"  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me,  shall  come 
to  me;  and  him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will 
in  no  wise  cast  out."  Mark!  They  shall 
come  that  are  special  given  unto  me  ;  and 
they  shall  by  no  means  be  rejected :  For 
this  is  the  substance  of  the  text. 

Those,  therefore,  intended  as  the  gift  in 
the  text,  are  those  that  are  given  by  cove- 
nant to  the  Son  ;  those  that  in  other  places 
are  called  the  elect,  the  chosen,  the  sheep, 
and  the  children  of  the  proinise,  &c. 

These  be  they  that  the  Father  hath  giv- 
en to  Christ  to  keep  them ;  those  that 
Christ  hath  promised  eternal  life  unto ; 
those  to  whom  he  hath  given  his  word,  and 
that  he  will  have  with  him  in  his  kingdom 
to  behold  his  glory. 

"  This  is  the  will  of  the  Father  that  hath 
sent  me,  that  of  all  he  hath  given  me,  I 
should  lose  nothing,  but  should  raise  it  up 
again  at  the  last  day.  And  I  give  unto 
them  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never 
perish  ;  neither  shall  any  man  pluck  them 
out  of  my  hand.  My  Father  that  gave 
them  me,  is  greater  than  all :  And  no  man 
is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of  my  Father's 
hand.  As  thou  hast  given  him  power  over 
all  flesh,  that  he  should  give  eternal  life  to 
as  many  as  thou  hast  given  him.     Thine 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     153 


they  were  and  thou  gavest  them  me,  and 
they  have  kept  thy  word  ;  I  pray  for  them ; 
I  pray  not  for  the  world,  but  for  those  that 
thou  hast  given  me ;  for  they  are  thine. 
And  all  mine  are  thine,  and  thine  are  mine : 
and  I  am  glorified  in  them." 

"  Keep  through  thine  own  name  those 
whom  thou  hast  given  me,  that  they  may 
be  one  as  we  are.  Father  I  will,  that 
those  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  may  be 
with  me  where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold 
my  glory,  which  thou  hast  given  me ;  for 
thjou  lovedst  me  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world."  (John  ii.  39 :  chap.  x.  58 ; 
and  chap.  xvii.  1,  6,  9.  10,  24.) 

All  these  sentences  are  of  the  same  im- 
port with  the  text;  and  the  alls  and  the 
many,  those,  they,  &c.  in  these  several  say- 
ings of  Christ,  are  the  same  with  all  the 
given  in  the  text;  "All  that  the  Father 
gaveth." 

So  that,  as  I  said  before,  the  word  all,  as 
also  other  words,  must  not  be  taken  in 
such  sort  as  our  foolish  fancies  or  ground- 
less opinions  will  prompt  us  to,  but  do  ad 
mit  of  an  enlargement  or  a  restriction,  ac 
cording  to  the  true  meaning  and  intent  of 
the  text  We  must  therefore  diligently 
consult  the  meaning  of  the  text,  by  compar- 
ing it  with  the  other  sayings  of  God ;  so 
shall  we  be  better  able  to  find  out  the  mind 
of  the  Lord,  in  the  word  which  he  has 
given  us  to  know  it  by. 

"  All  that  the  Father  giveth."— By  this 
word  Father,  Christ  describeth  the  person 
giving;  by  which  we  may  learn  several 
useful  things :  1.  That  the  Lord  God,  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  con 
cerned  with  the  Son  in  the  salvation  of 
his  people.  True,  his  acts,  to  our  salva 
tion,  are  diverse  from  those  of  the  Son ; 
he  was  not  capable  of  doing  that,  or  those 
things  for  us,  as  did  the  Son ;  he  died  not, 
he  spilt  not  blood  for  our  redemption,  as 
the  Son ;  but  yet  he  hath  a  hand,  a  great 
hand  in  our  salvation  too.  As  Christ  saith 
The  Father  himself  loveth  you,"  and  his 
love  is  manifest  in  choosing  of  us,  in  giv 
ing  of  us  to  his  Son ;  yea,  and  in  giving 
his  Son  also  to  be  a  ransom  for  us.  Hence 
he  is  called,  "  The  Father  of  all  mercies, 
and  the  God  of  all  comfort,"  For  even 
the  Father  hath  himself  found  out,  and 
made  way  for  his  grace  to  come  to  us 
through  the  sides,  and  the  heart-blood  of 
his  well  beloved  Son.  (Col.  i.  12.)  The 
Father  therefore  is  to  be  remembered  and 
adored  as  one  having  a  chief  hand  in  the 
salvation  of  sinners.  "We  ought  to  give 
thanks  to  the  Father,  who  hath  made  us 
meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of 
the  saints  in  light;  for  the  Father  sent  the 
Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  (Col. 
i.  12.     1  Johji  iv.  14.)     As  also  we  see  in 

Vol.  3.— T. 


the  text,  the  Father  giveth  the  sinner  to 
save  him. 

2.  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  by  this  word 
Father,  would  familiarize  this  giver  to  us. 
Naturally  the  name  of  God  is  dreadful  to 
us,  especially  when  he  is  discovered  to  us 
by  those  names  that  declare  his  justice,  ho- 
liness, power  and  glory ;  but  now  this  word 
Father  is  a  familiar  word,  it  frighteth  not 
the  sinner,  but  rather  inclineth  his  heart  to 
love,  and  be  pleased  with  the  remembrance 
of  him.  Hence  Christ  also,  when  he  would 
have  us  to  pray  with  Godly  boldness,  puts 
this  word  Father  into  our  mouths,  saying, 
when  ye  pray,  "  Our  Father  which  art  in 
heaven ;"  concluding  thereby,  that  by  the 
familiarity  that  by  such  a  word  is  intimated, 
the  children  of  God  may  take  more  bold- 
ness to  pray  for,  and  ask  great  things,  I 
myself  have  often  found,  that  when  I  can 
say  but  this  word  Father,  it  doth  me  more 
good  than  if  I  called  by  any  other  scrip- 
ture name.  It  is  worth  your  noting,  that 
to  call  God  by  his  relative  title,  was  rare 
among  the  saints  in  Old-Teetament  times. 
Seldom  do  you  find  him  called  by  this 
name,  no,  sometimes  not  in  three  or  four 
books  ;  but  now  in  New-Testament  times, 
he  is  called  by  no  name  so  often  as  this, 
both  by  the  Lord  Jesus  himself,  and  by  the 
apostles  afterwards.  Indeed  the  Lord  Je- 
sus was  he  that  first  made  this  name  com- 
mon among  the  saints,  and  that  taught 
them,  both  in  their  discourses,  their  pray- 
ers, and  in  their  writings,  so  much  to  use 
it ;  it  being  more  pleasing  to,  and  discov- 
ering more  plainly  our  interest  in  God, 
than  any  other  expression  ;  for  by  this  one 
name  we  are  made  to  understand  that  all 
our  mercies  are  the  offspring  of  God,  and 
that  we  also  that  are  called,  are  his  chil- 
dren by  adoption. 

"  All  that  the  Father  giveth.— This  word 
giveth  is  out  of  Christ's  ordinary  dialect, 
and  seemeth  to  intimate,  at  the  first  sound, 
as  if  the  Father's  gift  to  the  Son  was  not 
aji  act  thai  is  past,  but  one  that  is  present 
and  continuing ;  when  indeed  this  gift  was 
bestowed  upon  Christ  when  the  covenant, 
the  eternal  covenant,  was  made  between 
them  before  all  worlds.  Wherefore,  in 
those  in  other  places,  when  this  gift  is  men- 
tioned, it  is  still  spoken  of  as  an  act  that 
is  past :  As,  All  that  he  hath  given  me  ;  to 
as  many  as  thou  hast  given  me :  thou  gav- 
est them  me,  and  these  which  thou  hast  giv- 
en me.  Therefore  of  necessity  this  must 
be  the  first  and  chief  sense  of  the  text;  I 
mean  of  this  giveth,  otherwise  the  doctrine 
of  election,  and  of  the  eternal  covenant 
which  was  made  between  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  (in  which  covenant  this  gift  of  the 
Father  is  most  certainly  comprised,)  will 
be  shaken,  or  at  leastwise  questionable  by 


154     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


erroneous  and  wicked  men :  for  they  may 
Bay,  that  the  Father  gave  not  all  those  to 
Christ  that  shall  be  saved,  before  the  world 
was  made ;  for  that  tliis  act  of  giving  is 
an  act  of  continuation. 

But  again,  this  word  g-iveth  is  not  to  be 
rejected ;  lor  it  hath  its  proper  use,  and 
may  signify  to  us, 

1.  That  though  the  act  of  giving  among 
men  doth  admit  of  the  time  past,  or  the 
time  to  oome,  and  is  to  be  spoken  of  with 
reference  to  such  time ;  yet  with  God  it  is 
not  so.  Things  past,  or  things  to  come 
are  always  present  with  God,  and  with  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ:  "He  calleth  things 
that  are  not"  that  is,  to  us,  "  as  though 
they  were."  And  again,  "  Known  unto 
God  are  all  his  works  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world."  All  things  to  God  are  pres- 
ent, and  so  the  gift  of  the  Father  to  the 
Son,  although  to  us,  as  is  manifest  by  the 
word,  it  is  an  act  that  is  past,  (Rom.  iv.  17. 
Acts  XV.  10.) 

2.  Christ  may  express  himself  ihus,  to 
show,  that  the  Father  hath  not  only  given 
him  this  portion  in  the  lump,  before  the 
world  was,  but  that  those  that  he  had  so 
given,  he  will  give  him  again  ;  that  is,  will 
bring  them  to  him  at  the  time  of  their  con- 
version ;  for  "  the  Father  bringeth  them  to 
Christ."     (John  vi.  44.) 

As  it  is  said,  "  She  shall  be  brought  un- 
to the  king  in  raiment  of  needle-work ;" 
that  is,  in  the  righteousness  of  Christ;  for 
it  is  God  imputeth  that  to  those  that  are 
saved.     (Psalm  xlv.  14;  1  Cor.  i.) 

A  man  giveth  his  daughter  to  such  a 
man,  first  in  order  to  marriage,  and  this 
respects  the  time  past ;  and  he  giveth  her 
again  at  the  day  appointed  in  marriage : 
And  in  this  last  sense,  perhaps,  the  text 
may  have  a  meaning  ;  that  is,  that  all  that 
the  Father  hath  (before  the  world  was) 
given  to  Jesus  Christ,  he  giveth  them 
again  to  him,  in  the  day  of  their  espousals. 

Things  that  are  given  among  men,  are 
oft-times  best  at  first,  to  wit,  when  they 
are  new ;  and  the  reason  is,  because  all 
earthly  things  wax  old  :  but  with  Christ  it  is 
not  so :  Thir?  gift  ol"  the  Father  is  not  an 
old  and  delbrmed,  and  unpleasant  in  his 
eyes;  and  thereibre  to  him  it  is  always 
new.  When  the  Lord  spake  of  giving 
the  land  of  Canaan  to  the  Israelites,  he 
saith  not,  that  he  had  given,  or  would  give 
it  to  them,  but  thus:  '-The  Lord  thy  God 
giveth  thee  this  land."  (Deut.  xi.  13.) 
Not  but  that  he  had  given  it  to  them,  while 
they  were  in  the  loins  of  their  fathers,  hun- 
dreds of  years  before.  Yet  he  saith  noia 
he  giveth  it  to  them  ;  as  if  they  were  now 
also  in  the  very  act  of  taking  possession, 
when  as  yet  they  were  on  the  other  side  of 
Jordan.  What  then  should  be  the  mean- 
ing?    Why,  1  take  it  to  be  this  :  That  the 


land  should  be  to  them  always  as  new; 
as  new  as  if  they  were  taking  possession 
therefore  but  now.  And  so  is  the  gift  of 
the  Father  mentioned  in  the  text  to  the 
Son ;  it  is  always  new,  as  if  it  were  always 
new. 

"All  that  the  Father  giveth  me."  In 
these  words  you  find  mention  made  of  two 
persons,  the  Father  and  the  Son :  the  Fath- 
er giving,  and  the  Son  receiving  or  accept- 
ing of  this  gift.  This  then,  in  the  first 
place,  clearly  demonstrateth,  that  tlie  Fath- 
er and  the  Son,  though  they,  with  tlie  Holy 
Ghost,  are  one  and  the  same  eternal  God  ; 
yet  as  to  their  personahty,  are  distinct.  The 
Father  is  one,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  one.  But 
because  there  is  in  this  text  mention  made 
but  of  two  of  the  three,  therefore  a  word 
about  these  two.  The  giver  and  receiver 
cannot  be  the  same  person  in  a  proper  sense, 
in  the  same  act  of  giving  and  receiving. 
He  that  giveih,  giveth  not  to  himself  but 
to  another :  the  Father  giveth  not  to  the 
Father,  to  wit,  to  himself,  but  to  the  Son } 
the  Son  receiveth  not  of  the  Son,  to  wit, 
of  himself,  but  of  the  Father  ;  so  when  the 
Father  giveth  commandment,  he  giveth  it 
not  to  himself,  but  to  another;  as  Christ 
saith.  He  hath  given  me  a  commandment, 
(John  xii.  49.)  So  again,  "  I  am  one  that 
bear  witness  of  myself,  and  $he  Father 
that  sent  me,  beareth  witness  of  me." 

Further,  here  is  something  implied  that 
is  not  expressed,  to  wit,  that  the  Father 
hath  not  given  all  men  to  Christ;  that  is, 
in  that  sense  as  is  intended  in  the  text, 
though  in  a  larger,  as  was  said  before,  he 
hath  given  him  every  one  of  them  ;  lor 
then  all  should  be  saved  ;  he  hath  there- 
fore disposed  of  some  another  way.  He 
gives  some  up  to  idolatry  ;  he  gives  some 
up  to  uncleanness,  to  vile  affections,  and  to 
a  reprobate  mind.  Now  these  he  dispos- 
eth  of  in  his  anger,  for  their  destruction, 
(Acts  vii.  42.  Rom.  i.  24,  26.  28.)  that  they 
may  reap  the  fruit  of  their  doings,  and  be 
filled  with  the  reward  of  their  own  ways. 
But  neither  hath  he  thus  disposed  of  all 
men  ;  he  hath  even  of  mercy  reserved  some 
from  thy  judgments,  and  those  are  they 
that  he  will  pardon,  as  he  saith  "  For  I 
will  pardon  them  whom  I  reserve."  (Jer. 
i.  20.)  Now  these  he  hath  given  to  Jesus 
Christ  by  will,  as  a  legacy  and  portion. 
Hence  the  Lord  Jesus  says,  "  This  is  the 
Father's  will  which  hath  sent  me,  tJiat  of 
all  which  he  hath  given  me,  I  should  lose 
nothing,  but  should  raise  it  up  again  at 
the  last  day." 

The  Father  therefore,  in  giving  of  them 
to  him  to  save  them,  must  needs  declare 
unto  us  these  following  things: 

].  That  he  is  able  to  answer  this  design 
of  God,  viz.  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost 
sin,  the  utterniost  temptation,  &c.     (Heb. 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     I55 


vii.  25.)  Hence  he  is  said  to  "  lay  help  on 
one  that  is  mighty,  mighty  to  save ;"  and 
hence  it  is  again,  that  God  did  even  of  old 
promise  to  send  his  people  a  Saviour,  a 
great  one.  (Psalm  Ixxxix.  19.  Isa.  Ixiii. 
1.)  To  save  is  a  great  work,  and  calls  for 
Almightiness  in  the  undertaker ;  hence  he 
is  called  the  "Mighty  God,  the  Wonder 
ful  Counsellor,"  &c.  Sin  is  strong,  Satan 
is  also  strong,  death  and  the  grave  are 
strong,  and  so  is  the  curse  of  the  law; 
therefore  it  follows,  that  this  Jesus  must 
needs  be  by  God  the  Father  accounted  al- 
mighty, in  that  he  hath  given  his  elect  to 
him  to  save  them,  and  deliver  them  from 
these,  and  that  in  despite  of  all  their  force 
and  power. 

And  he  gave  us  testimony  of  this  his 
might,  when  he  was  employed  in  that 
part  of  our  deliverance  that  called  for  a 
declaration  of  it.  He  abolished  death ; 
he  destroyed  him  that  had  the  power  oi 
death ;  he  had  finished  sin,  and  made  an 
end  of  it,  as  to  its  damning  effect  upon  the 
persons  that  the  Father  hath  given  him  ; 
he  hath  vanquished  the  curse  of  the  law, 
nailed  it  to  his  cross,  and  made  a  show  of 
these  things  openly,  (2  Tim.  i.  10 ;  Heb. 
ii.  14,  15;  Hos.  xiii.  14;  Dan.  ix.  24;  Gal. 
iii.  13  ;  Col.  ii.  14,  15.) 

Yea,  and  even  now,  as  a  sign  of  his  tri- 
umph and  conquest,  he  is  alive  from  the 
dead,  and  hath  the  keys  of  hell  and  death 
in  his  own  keeping,  (Rev.  i.  18.) 

2.  The  Father's  giving  of  them  to  him 
to  save  them,  declares  unto  them  that  he  is 
and  will  be  faithful  in  his  office  of  Media- 
tor, and  that  therefore  they  shall  be  secur- 
ed from  the  fruit  and  wages  of  their  sins. 
which  is  eternal  damnation,  by  his  faithful 
execution  of  it.  And  indeed  it  is  said, 
even  by  the  Holy  Ghost  himself,  "  That 
he  is  faithful  to  him  that  appointed  him ;" 
that  is,  to  this  work  of  saving  those  that 
the  Father  hath  given  him  for  that  pur- 
pose;  as  "Moses  was  faithful  in  all  his 
house."  Yea,  and  more  faithful  too ;  for 
Moses  was  faithful  in  God's  house,  but  as 
a  servant;  "but  Christ  as  a  Son  over  his 
own  house."     (Heb.  iii.) 

And  therefore  this  man  is  counted  worthy 
of  more  glory  than  Moses,  even  upon  this 
account,  because  more  faithful  than  he,  as 
well  as  because  of  the  dignity  of  his  per- 
son. Therefore  in  him,  and  in  his  truths 
and  faithfulness,  God  rested  well  pleased, 
and  put  all  the  government  of  his  people 
upon  his  shoulders.  Knowing,  that  nothing 
shall  be  wanting  in  him,  that  may  any  way 
perfect  the  design.  And  of  this  he,  to 
wit,  the  Son,  hath  already  given  a  proof: 
For  when  the  time  was  come,  that  his 
blood  was  by  divine  justice  required  for 
their  redemption,  washing,  and  cleansing. 


if  it  had  been  water  out  of  a  vessel ;  not 
sticking  to  part  with  his  own  life,  that  the 
life  which  was  laid  up  for  his  people  in 
heaven  might  not  fail  to  be  bestowed  on 
them.  And  upon  this  account,  as  well  as 
upon  any  other,  it  is  that  God  callelh  him 
the  "  righteous  servant."  (Isa.  liii.)  For 
his  righteouness  could  never  have  been 
complete,  if  he  had  not  been  to  the  utter- 
most faithful  to  the  work  he  undertook  ;  it 
is  also  because  he  is  faiihful  and  true,  that 
in  righteousness  he  doth  judge  and  make 
work  for  his  people's  deliverance.  He  will 
faithfully  perform  this  trust  reposed  in  him  : 
The  Father  knows  this,  and  hath  therefore 
given  his  elect  unto  him. 

3.  The  Father  giving  of  them  to  him, 
to  save  them,  declares  that  he  is,  and  will 
be  gentle  and  patient  towards  them,  under 
all  their  provocations  and  miscarriages. 
It  is  not  to  be  imagined,  the  trials  and  prov- 
ocations that  the  Son  of  God  hath  all  along 
had  with  these  people  that  hath  been  given 
to  him  to  save:  indeed  he  is  said  to  be  a 
tried  stone  ;  for  he  has  been  tried,  not  only 
by  the  devil,  guilt  of  sin,  death,  and  the 
curse  of  the  law,  but  also  by  his  people's 
ignorance,  unruliness,  falls  into  sin,  and 
declining  to  errors  in  lite  and  doctrine. 
Were  we  but  capable  of  seeing  how  the 
Lord  Jesus  had  been  tried  even  by  his  peo- 
ple, ever  since  there  was  one  of  them  in 
the  world,  we  should  be  amazed  at  his 
patience  and  gentle  carriages  to  them.  It 
is  said,  indeed,  •'  The  Lord  is  very  pitiful, 
slow  to  anger,  and  of  great  mercy  :  and, 
indeed,  if  he  had  not  been  so,  he  could 
never  have  endured  their  manners  as  he 
has  done  from  Adam  hitherto.  Therefore 
is  his  pity  and  bowels  towards  his  church 
preferred  above  the  pity  and  bowels  of  a 
mother  towards  her  child.  "  Can  a  woman 
forget  her  suckling  child,  that  she  should 
not  have  compassion  on  the  son  of  her 
womb  ?  Yea,  they  may  forget,  yet  I  will 
not  forget  thee,  saith  the  Lord."  (Isa. 
xlix.  157) 

God  did  once  give  Moses,  as  Christ's 
servant,  a  handful  of  his  peojple,  to  carry 
them  in  his  bosom,  but  no  farther  than 
from  Egypt  to  Canaan ;  and  this  Moses, 
as  is  said  of  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  was 
the  meekest  man  that  was  then  to  be  found 
on  the  earth ;  yea,  and  he  loved  the  peo- 
ple at  a  very  great  rate  ;  yet  neither  would 
his  meeknes's  nor  love  hold  out  in  this  work  ; 
he  failed  and  grew  passionate,  even  to 
provoking  his  God  to  anger  under  this 
work.  "  And  Moses  said  unto  the  Lord, 
Wherefore  hast  thou  afflicted  thy  servant  ?" 
But  what  was  the  affliction!  Why,  the 
Lord  hath  said  unto  him,  "  Carry  this  peo- 
ple in  thy  bosom  as  a  nursing  father  bear- 
eth   his  sucking  child,  unto  the  land  that 


he  as  freely  poured  it  out  of  his  heart  as 'he  eware  unto  their  fathers."     And   how 


156     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


tlien  ?  "  Not  I,"  says  Moses,  "  I  am  not 
able  to  bear  all  this  people  alone,  because 
it  is  too  heavy  for  me :  If  thou  deal  thus 
with  me,  kill  me,  I  pray  thee,  out  of  hand, 
if  I  have  found  favor  in  thy  sight ;  and  let 
me  not  see  my  wretchedness."  (Numb, 
xi.  11,  12,, 13,  14.)  God  gave  them  to  Mo- 
ses, that  he  might  carry  (hem  in  his  bosom, 
that  he  might  show  gentleness  and  pa- 
tience towards  them,  under  all  the  provo- 
cations wherewith  they  would  provoke  him 
from  that  time  till  he  had  brought  them  to 
their  land ;  but  he  failed  in  the  work ;  he 
could  not  exercise  it,  because  he  had  not 
that  sufficiency  of  patience  towards  ihem  : 
But  now  it  is  said  of  the  person  speaking 
in  the  text,  "  That  he  shall  gather  his  lambs 
■with  his  arm,  and  shall  carry  them  in  his 
bosom,  and  shall  gently  lead  them  that  are 
•wilh  young.  (Isa.  xl.  10,  11;)  intimating 
that  this  was  one  of  the  qualifications  that 
God  looked  for,  and  knew  was  in  him, 
when  he  gave  his  elect  to  him  to  save 
them. 

4.  The  Father  giving  of  them  to  him  to 
save  them,  declares  that  he  hath  a  sufficien- 
cy of  wisdom  to  wage  wiih  all  those  diffi- 
culties that  would  attend  him  in  his  bring- 
ing of  his  sons  and  daughters  unto  glory. 
(1  Cor.  i.  30.)  "He  hath  made  him  to  us 
to  be  wisdom ;"  yea,  he  is  called  wisdom 
itself.  And  God  said  moreover,  That  "  he 
shall  deal  prudently."  (Isa.  lii.  13.)  And, 
indeed,  he  that  shall  take  upon  him  to  be 
the  Saviour  of  the  people,  had  need  be 
■wise,  because  their  adversaries  are  subtle 
above  any.  Here  they  are  to  encounter 
■with  the  serpent,  who  for  his  subtlety  out- 
witted our  father  and  mother,  when  tlieir 
wisdom  was  at  the  highest.  (Gen.  iii.) 
But  if  we  talk  of  wisdom,  our  Jesus  is  wise, 
wiser  than  Solomon,  wiser  than  all  men, 
wiser  than  all  angels  ;  he  is  even  the  wns- 
dom  of  God.  Christ  is  the  wisdom  of  God. 
(Col.  i.  1.)  And  hence  it  is  that  he  turn- 
eth  sin,  temptations,  persecutions,  falls, 
and  all  things,  for  good  unto  his  people. 
(Rom.  viii.) 

Now  these  things  thus  concluded  on,  do 
show  us  also  the  great  and  wonderful  love 
of  the  Father,  in  that  he  should  choose  out 
one  every  way  so  well  prepared  for  the 
work  of  man's  salvation. 

Herein  indeed  perceive  we  the  love  of 
God.  Hiram  gathered,  that  God  loved 
Israel,  because  he  had  given  them  such  a 
king  as  Solomon,  (2  Chron.  ii.  11;)  but 
how  much  more  may  we  behold  the  love 
that  God  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  in  that 
he  hath  given  us  to  his  Son,  and  zdso  given 
his  Son  for  us. 

"All  that  the  Father  giveth  me"  shall 
come.  In  these  last  words  there  is  closely 
inserted  an  answer  unto  the  Fathers  end 
in  giving  of  his  elect  unto  Jesua  Christ. 


The  Father's  end  was,  that  they  might 
come  to  him,  and  be  saved  by  him ;  and 
that,  says  the  Son,  shall  be  done ;  neither 
sin  nor  Satan,  neither  flesh  nor  world, 
neither  wisdom  nor  lolly,  shall  hinder  their 
coming  to  me.  "  They  shall  come  to  me, 
and  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out." 

Here  therefore  the  Lord  Jesus  positively 
determineth  to  put  forth  a  sufficiency  of  all 
grace,  as  shall  etiectually  perform  his 
promise.  "  They  shall  come  :"  that  is,  he 
shall  cause  them  to  come,  by  infusing  of 
an  effectual  blessing  into  all  the  means 
that  shall  be  used  to  that  end.  As  was 
said  to  the  evil  spirit  that  vs^as  sent  to  per- 
suade Ahab  to  go  and  fall  at  Ramoth-Gil- 
ead ;  "  Go :  thou  shalt  persuade  him  and 
prevail  also ;  go  forth,  and  do  so,"  (1  Kings, 
xxii.  22 ;)  so  will  Jesus  Christ  say  to  the 
means  that  shall  be  used  for  the  bringing 
of  those  to  him  that  the  Father  hath  given 
him.  I  say,  he  will  bless  it  effectually  to 
this  very  end  ;  it  shall  persuade  them,  and 
shall  prevail  also  ;  else,  as  I  said,  the  Fath- 
er's end  would  be  frustrate ;  for  the  Fath- 
er's will  is,  that  "  of  all  that  he  hath  given 
him,  he  should  lose  nothing,  but  should 
raise  it  up  at  the  last  day  ;"  in  order  next 
unto  himselt",  Christ  the  first-fruits,  after- 
wards those  that  are  at  his  coming.  (1 
Cor.  XV.)  But  this  cannot  be  done,  if  there 
should  fail  to  be  a  work  of  grace  effectual- 
ly wrought,  though  but  in  any  one  of  them. 
But  this  shall  not  fail  to  be  wrought  in 
them,  even  in  all  the  Father  hath  given  him 
to  save.  "  All  that  the  Father  hath  givea 
me.  shall  come  unto  me,"  &c. 

But  to  speak  more  distinctly  to  the  words, 
"  they  shall  come,"  two  things  I  would 
show  you  from  these  words :  1.  What  it  is 
to  come  to  Christ.  2.  What  force  there  is 
in  this  promise,  to  make  them  come  to  him. 

1st.  I  would  show  you  what  it  is  to  come 
to  Christ.  This  word  come  must  be  un- 
derstood spiritually,  not  carnally ;  for  many 
come  to  him  carnally,  or  bodily,  that  had 
no  saving  advantage  by  him :  multitudes 
did  thus  come  unto  him  in  the  days  of  his 
flesh,  yea,  innumerable  companies.  There 
is  also  at  this  day  a  formal  customary  com- 
ing to  his  ordinances,  and  way  of  worship, 
which  availeth  not  any  thing;  but  with 
them  I  shall  now  meddle ;  for  they  are  not 
intended  in  the  text.  The  coming,  then, 
intended  in  the  text,  is  to  be  understood  of 
the  coming  of  the  mind  to  him,  even  the 
moving  of  the  heart  towards  him ;  I  say 
the  moving  of  the  heart  towards  him,  from 
a  sound  sense  of  the  absolute  want  that  a 
man  hath  of  him  for  his  justification  and 
salvation. 

This  description  of  coming  to  Christ  di- 
videth  itself  into  two  heads  :  1.  That  com- 
mg  to   Christ  is  a  moving  of  the  mind 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     I57 


towards  him;  2.  That  it  is  a  moving  of 
the  mind  towards  him,  from  a  sound  sense 
of  the  absolute  want  that  a  man  hath  of 
him  for  his  justification  and  salvation. 

To  speak  to  the  first,  That  it  is  a  mov- 
ing of  the  mind  towards  him.  This  is  ev- 
ident, because  coming  hilher  or  thither,  if 
it  be  vokmtary,  is  by  an  act  of  the  mind 
or  will ;  so  coming  to  Christ  is  through  the 
inclining  of  the  will.  "  Thy  people  shall 
be  willing."  Psal.  cxl.  3.  This  willing- 
ness of  heart  it  is  which  sets  the  mind  a 
moving  after,  or  towards  him.  The  church 
expresseth  this  moving  of  her  mind  towards 
Christ,  by  the  moving  of  her  bowels. 
"  My  beloved  put  in  his  hand  by  the  hole 
of  the  door,  and  my  bowels  were  moved 
for  him."  Song  v.  4.  "My  bowels;" 
the  passions  of  my  mind  and  affections ; 
which  passions  of  the  affections  are  ex- 
pressed by  the  yearning  and  sounding  of 
the  bowels,  the  yearning  and  passionate 
working  of  them ;  the  sounding  of  them, 
or  their  making  a  noise  for  him.  Gen. 
xliii.  30;  1  Kings  iii.  26;  Isa.  xvi.  11. 

This  then  is  the  coming  to  Christ,  even 
a  moving  towards  him  with  the  mind, 
"And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  every 
thing  that  liveth,  which  moveth  whitherso- 
ever the  water  shall  come,  shall  live." 

The  water  in  this  text  is  the  grace  of 
God  in  the  doctrine  of  it.  The  living 
things  are  the  children  of  men  ;  to  whom 
the  grace  of  God,  by  the  gospel,  is  preach- 
ed. Now,  saith  he,  "every  living  thing 
which  moveth  whither^ever  the  water 
shall  come,  shall  live."  And  see  how  this 
word  "  moveth"  is  expounded  by  Christ 
himself,  in  the  book  of  Revelation.  "  The 
Spirit  and  the  bride  say,  Come ;  and  let 
him  that  heareth  say,  Come.  And  let  him 
that  is  athirst,  come.  And  whosoever  will, 
(that  is  willing,)  let  him  take  of  the  water 
of  life  freely."     Rev.  xxii.  17. 

So  that  to  move  in  thy  mind  and  will  af- 
ter Christ,  is  to  be  coming  to  him.  There 
are  many  poor  souls  that  are  coming  to 
Christ,  that  yet  cannot  tell  how  to  believe 
it,  because  they  think  that  coming  to  him 
is  some  strange  and  wonderful  thing ;  and 
indeed  so  it  is :  but  I  mean,  they  overlook 
the  inclination  of  their  will,  the  moving  of 
their  mind,  and  the  sounding  of  their  bow- 
els after  him ;  and  count  these  none  of  this 
strange  and  wonderful  thing;  when  indeed 
it  is  a  work  of  the  greatest  wonder  in  this 
world,  to  see  a  man  who  is  sometimes 
dead  in  sin,  possessed  of  the  devil,  an  en- 
emy to  Christ  and  all  things  spiritually 
good ;  I  say,  to  see  this  man  moving  with 
his  mind  after  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is 
one  of  the  highest  wonders  in  the  world. 

2.  It  is  moving  of  the  mind  towards  him, 
from  a  sound  sense  of  the  absolute  want 
that  a  man  hath  of  him  for  his  justification 


and  salvation.  Indeed,  without  this  sense 
of  a  lost  condition  without  him,  there  will 
be  no  moving  of  the  mind  towards  him  :  A 
moving  of  their  mouth  there  may  be ; 
"  With  their  mouth  they  show  much  love." 
Ezek.  xxxiii.  31.  Such  a  people  as  this 
will  come  as  the  true  people  cometh;  that 
is,  in  show  and  outward  appearance :  And 
they  will  sit  before  God's  ministers,  as  his  peo- 
ple sit  before  them ;  and  they  will  hear  his 
words  too,  but  they  will  not  do  them  ;  that 
is,  will  not  come  inwardly  with  their  minds : 
"  For  with  their  mouth  they  show  much 
love,  but  their  heart  (or  mind)  goeth  after 
their  covetousness."  Now  all  this,  because 
they  want  an  effectual  sense  of  the  misery 
of  their  state  by  nature ;  lor  not  till  they 
have  that,  will  they  in  their  mind  move 
after  him.  Therefore,  thus  it  is  said  con- 
cerning the  true  comers,  "  At  that  day  the 
great  trumpet  shall  be  blown,  and  they 
shall  come  which  were  ready  to  perish  in 
the  land  of  Assyria,  and  the  outcasts  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  and  shall  worship  the  Lord 
in  his  holy  mountain,  at  Jerusalem."  Isa. 
xxvii.  13.  They  are  then  (as  you  see)  the 
outcast,  and  those  that  are  ready  to  perish, 
that  indeed  have  their  minds  effectually 
moved  to  come  to  Jesus  Christ.  This  sense 
of  things  was  that  which  made  the  three 
thousand  come,  that  made  Saul  come,  that 
made  the  jailer  come,  and  that  indeed 
makes  all  others  come,  that  come  effectual- 
ly.    Acts  ii.  2,  16. 

Of  the  true  coming  to  Christ,  the  three 
lepers  were  a  famous  semblance,  of  whom 
you  read,  2  Kings  vii.  3,  &c.  The  famine 
in  those  days  was  sore  in  the  land,  there 
was  no  bread  for  the  people ;  and  as  fot 
that  sustenance  that  was,  which  was  asses' 
flesh,  and  doves'  dung,  that  was  only  in 
Samaria;  and  of  these  the  lepers  had  no 
share,  for  they  were  thrust  without  the  city. 
Well,  now  they  sat  in  the  gate  of  the  city, 
and  the  hunger  was,  as  I  may  say,  making 
his  last  meal  of  them ;  and  being  there- 
fore half  dead  already,  .what  do  they  think 
of  doing  ?  Why  first,  they  display  the  dis- 
mal colors  of  death  before  each  other's 
faces,  and  then  resolve  what  to  do,  saying, 
"  If  we  say  we  will  go  into  the  city,  then 
the  famine  is  in  the  city,  and  we  shall  die 
there ;  if  we  sit  still  here  we  die  also : 
Now  therefore  come,  let  us  fall  into  the  host 
of  the  Syrians,  if  they  save  us  alive  we 
shall  live  ;  if  they  kill  us  we  shall  but  die." 
Here  now  Avas  necessity  at  work,  and  this 
necessity  drove  them  to  go  thither  for  life, 
whither  else  they  would  never  have  gone  for 
it.  Thus  it  is  with  them  that  in  truth  come  to 
Jesus  Christ:  deatli  is  before  them,  they 
see  it,  and  feel  it ;  he  is  feeding  upon  them, 
and  will  eat  them  quite  up,  if  they  come 
not  to  Jesus  Christ;  and  therefore  they 
come,  even  of  necessity,  being  forced  tliere- 


158    COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST, 


to  by  that  sense  they  have  of  their  being 
utterly  and  everiastingly  undone,  if  they 
find  not  safety  in  him. 

These  are  they  tliat  will  come :  Indeed, 
these  are  they  that  are  invited  to  come. 
"Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
Matt.  xi.  28.     , 

Take  two  or  three  things  to  make  this 
more  plain  ;  to  wit,  That  coming  to  Christ 
floweth  from  a  sound  sense  of  the  absolute 
need  that  a  man  hath  of  him,  as  afore. 

1.  "  They  shall  come  with  weeping, 
and  with  supplication  will  I  lead  them ;  I 
will  cause  them  to  walk  by  rivers  of  waters 
in  a  plain  way  wlierein  they  shall  not  stum- 
ble." Jer.  xxxi.  9.  Mind  it !  they  come 
with  weeping  and  supplication  ;  they  come 
with  prayers  and  tears.  Now  prayers  and 
tears  are  the  effects  of  a  right  sense  of  the 
need  of  mercy.  Thus  a  senseless  sinner 
cannot  come,  he  cannot  pray,  he  cannot 
cry,  he  cannot  come  sensible  of  what  he 
sees  not,  nor  feels.  "  In  those  days,  and  at 
that  time,  the  children  of  Israel  shall  come  ; 
they  and  the  children  of  Judah  together, 
going  and  weeping ;  they  shall  seek  the 
Lord  their  God ;  they  shall  ask  tlieir  way 
to  Zion,  with  their  faces  thitherward,  say- 
ing, Come,  and  let  us  join  ourselves  to  the 
Lord  in  a  perpetual  covenant  that  shall  not 
be  forgotten."    Jer.  1.  4,  5. 

2.  This  coming  to  Christ,  it  is  called  a 
running  to  him,  a  flying  to  him ;  a  flying  to 
him  from  wrath  to  come.  By  all  which 
terms  is  set  forth  the  sense  of  the  man  that 
comes  ;  to  wit,  That  he  is  affected  with  the 
sense  of  his  sin,  and  the  death  due  thereto ; 
that  he  is  sensible  that  the  avenger  of  blood 
pursues  him ;  and  that  therefore  he  is  cut 
off",  if  he  makes  not  speed  to  the  Son  of  God 
for  life.  Matt.  iii.  7  ;  Ps.  cxliii.  9.  Flying 
is  the  last  work  of  a  man  in  danger ;  all 
that  hear  of  danger  do  not  fly  ;  no,  not  all 
that  see  themselves  in  danger ;  all  that 
liear  of  danger  will  not  fly.  Men  will  con- 
sider if  there  be  no  other  way  of  escape 
before  they  fly.  Therefore,  as  I  said,  flying 
is  the  last  thing.  When  all  refuge  fails, 
and  a  man  is  made  to  see  that  there  is  no- 
thing left  him  but  sin,  death,  and  damna- 
tion, unless  he  flies  to  Christ  for  life  ;  then 
he  flies,  and  not  till  then. 

3.  That  the  true  coming  is  from  a  sense 
of  an  absohite  need  of  Jesus  Christ  to  save, 
&c.  is  evident  by  the  outcry  that  is  made 
by  them  to  come,  even  as  they  are  coming 
to  him.  Matt.  xiv.  30;  Acts  ii.  37;  Acts 
xvi.  30.  "  Lord  save  me,  or  I  perish  ;" 
"  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ?" 
"  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  and 
the  like.  This  language  doth  sufficiently 
discover  that  the  truly-coming  souls  are 
souls  sensible  of  their  need  of  salvation  by 
Jesus  Christ ;    and  moreover,   that  there 


is  nothing  else   that  can    help  them  but 
Christ. 

4.  It  is  yet  farther  evident  by  these  few 
things  that  follow :  It  is  said,  that  such  are 
pricked  in  their  hearts,  that  is,  with  the  sen- 
tence of  death  by  the  law ;  and  the  least 
prick  in  heart  kills  a  man.  Acts  ii.  37. 
Such  are  said,  as  1  said  before,  to  weep,  to 
tremble,  and  to  be  astonished  in  themselves 
at  the  evident  and  unavoidable  danger  that 
attends  them,  unless  they  fly  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Acts  ix.  16. 

5.  Coming  to  Christ  is  attended  with  an 
honest  and  sincere  forsaking  all  for  him, 
"  If  any  man  come  unto  me  and  hateth  not 
his  father  and  mother,  and  wife  and  chil- 
dren, and  brethren  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his 
own  life  also,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple ; 
and  whosoever  doth  not  bear  his  cross  and 
come  after  me,  cannot  be  my  disciple." 
Luke  xiv.  26,  27. 

By  these  and  the  like  expressions  else- 
where, Christ  describeth  the  true  comer,  or 
the  man  that  indeed  is  coming  to  him  ;  he 
is  one  that  casteth  all  behind  his  back ;  he 
leaveth  all,  he  forsaketh  all,  he  hateth  all 
things  that  would  stand  in  his  way  to  hin- 
der his  coming  to  Jesus  Christ.  There  are 
a  great  many  pretended  comers  to  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  world.  And  they  are  much 
like  to  the  man  you  read  of  in  Matt.  xxi.  30, 
that  said  to  his  Father's  bidding,  '•  I  go, 
Sir,  and  went  not."  I  say,  there  are  a 
great  many  such  comers  to  Jesus  Christ ; 
they  say,  when  Christ  calls  by  his  gospel,  I 
come.  Sir ;  but  still  they  abide  by  their 
pleasure  and  carnal  delights.  They  come 
not  at  all,  only  they  give  him  a  courtly 
compliment ;  but  he  takes  notice  of  it,  and 
will  not  let  it  pass  for  any  more  than  a  lie  ; 
he  said,  "  I  go.  Sir,  and  went  not,"  he  dis- 
sembled and  lied.  Take  heed  of  this,  you 
that  flatter  yourselves  with  your  own  de- 
ceivings.  Words  will  not  do  with  Jesus 
Christ:  Coming  is  coming,  and  nothing 
else  will  go  for  coming  with  him. 

Before  I  speak  to  the  other  head,  I  shall 
answer  some  objections  that  usually  lie  in 
the  way  of  those  that  in  truth  are  coming 
to  Jesus  Christ. 

Objection  1.  Though  I  cannot  deny,  but 
my  mind  runs  after  Christ,  and  that  too  as 
being  moved  thereto  from  a  sight  and  con- 
sideration of  my  lost  condition,  for  I  see 
without  him  I  perish,  yet  I  fear  my  ends 
are  not  right  in  coming  to  him. 

Question.  Why,  what  is  tliine  end  in  com- 
ing to  Christ  ? 

Answer.  My  end  is,  that  I  might  have 
life,  and  be  saved  by  Jesus  Christ. 

This  is  the  objection" ;  well,  let  me  tell 
thee,  that  to  come  to  Christ  for  life,  and  to 
be  saved,  although  at  present  thou  hast  no 
other  end,  is  a  lawful  and  good  coming  to 
Jeeus  Christ.      This  is   evident,  because 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST-     I59 


Christ  propoundeth  life  as  the  only  argu- 
ment to  prevail  with  sinners  to  come  to  him, 
and  so  also  blameth  them  because  they 
come  not  to  him  lor  life.  "  And  ye  will  not 
come  to  me  that  ye  might  have  life,"  (John 
V.  3.)  Besides  t]jere  are  many  other 
scriptures  whereby  he  allureth  sinners  to 
come  to  him,  in  which  he  propoundeth  no- 
thing to  them  but  their  safety.  As,  "  He 
that  believeth  in  him  shall  not  perish ;" 
"he  that  believeth  is  passed  from  death  to 
life."  "  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved ;" 
"he  that  believeth  on  him  is  not  condemn- 
ed." And  believing  and  coming  are  all 
one.  So  that  you  see  to  come  to  Christ 
for  life,  is  a  lawful  coming  and  good. 

In  that  he  believeth,  that  he  alone  hath 
made  atonement  for  sin.     Rom.  ii. 

And  let  me  add  over  and  above,  that  for 
a  man  to  come  to  Christ  for  life,  though  he 
come  to  him  for  nothing  else  but  life,  it  is 
to  give  much  honor  to  him. 

1st.  He  honoreth  the  word  of  Christ, 
and  consenteth  to  the  truth  of  it ;  and  that 
in  these  two  general  heads. 

1.  He  consenteth  to  the  truth  of  all  those 
sayings  iJiat  testify,  that  sin  is  most  abomi- 
nable in  itself,  dishonorable  to  God,  and 
damnable  to  the  soul  of  man ;  for  thus 
saith  the  man  that  cometh  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Jer.  xhv.  4;  Rom.  ii.  23  j  chap.  vi.  23;  2 
Thess.  ii.  12. 

2.  In  that  he  believeth,  as  the  word  hath 
said,  that  there  is  in  the  world's  best  things, 
righteousness  and  all,  nothing  but  death 
and  damnation ;  for  so  also  says  the  man 
that  comes  to  Jesus  Christ  for  life.  Rom. 
vii.  24,  25  ;  chap.  viii.  2,  3  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  6,  7,  8. 

2dly.  He  honoreth  Christ's  person,  in  that 
he  believeth  that  there  is  life  in  him,  and 
that  he  is  able  to  save  him  from  death,  hell, 
the  devil,  and  damnation  ;  for  unless  a  man 
believes  this,  he  will  not  come  to  Christ  for 
life.     Heb.  vii.  24,  25. 

3dly.  He  honoreth  him,  in  that  he  be- 
lieveth that  he  is  authorized  of  the  Father 
to  give  life  to  those  that  come  to  him  for  it. 
John  V.  11,  12;  chap.  xvii.  1,  2. 

4thly.  He  honoreth  the  priesthood  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

1.  In  that  he  believeth  that  Christ- hath 
more  power  to  save  from  sin  by  the  sacri- 
fice that  he  hath  offered  for  it,  than  hath  all 
law,  devils,  death,  or  sin,  to  condemn :  He 
that  believes  not  this,  will  not  come  to  Je- 
sus Christ  for  life.  Acts  xiii.  33  ;  Heb.  ii. 
14,  15;  Rev.  i.  17,  18. 

2.  In  that  he  believeth  that  Christ  ac- 
cording to  his  office,  will  be  most  faithful 
and  merciful  in  the  discharge  of  his  office. 

This  must  be  included  in  the  faith  of  him 
that  comes  for  lite  to  Jesus  Christ.  1  John 
ii.  1,  2,  3;  Heb.  ii.  17,  18. 

^  othly.^  Further,  He  that  cometh  to  Jesus 
Christ  tor  life,  taketh  part  with  him  against 


sin,  and  against  the  ragged  and  imperfect 
righteousness  of  the  world!  yea,  and  against 
false  Christs,  and  damnable  errors,  that  set 
themselves  against  the  worthiness  of  his 
merits  and  sufficiency.  This  is  evident, 
for  that  such  a  soul  singleth  Christ  from 
them  all,  as  the  only  one  that  can  save. 

6thly.  Therefore  as  Noah,  at  God's  com- 
mand, thou  preparest  this  ark,  for  the  sav- 
ing of  thyself,  by  which  also  thou  condemn- 
est  the  world,  and  art  become  heir  of  the 
righteousness  which  is  by  faith,  (Heb.  xi. 
7,)  wherefore  coming  sinner  be  content ; 
he  that  cometh  to  Jesus  Christ  believeth 
too  that  he  is  Avilling  to  show  mercy  to,  and 
have  compassion  upon  him  (though  un- 
worthy) that  comes  to  him  for  life.  And 
therefore  thy  soul  lieth  not  only  under  a 
special  invitation  to  come,  but  under  a 
promise  too  of  being  accepted  and  forgiv- 
en. -Matt.  xi.  28. 

All  these  particular  parts  and  qualities  of 
faith,  are  in  that  soul  that  comes  to  Jesus 
Christ  for  life,  as  is  evident  to  any  indiffer- 
ent judgment. 

For,  will  he  that  believeth  not  the  testimo- 
ny of  Christ  concerning  the  baseness  of 
sin,  and  the  insufficiency  of  the  righteousness 
of  the  world,  come  to  Christ  for  life?     No. 

He  that  believeth  not  the  testimony  of 
the  word  comes  not;  he  that  believeth  that 
there  is  life  any  where  else,  comes  not ;  he 
that  questions  whether  the  Father  hath 
given  Christ  power  to  forgive,  comes  not : 
he  that  thinketh  that  there  is  more  in  sin, 
in  the  law,  in  death,  and  the  devil,  to  des- 
troy, than  there  is  in  Christ  to  save,  comes 
not :  he  also  that  questions  his  faithful  man- 
agement of  priesthood  for  the  salvation  of 
sinners,  comes  not. 

Thou,  then,  that  art  indeed  the  coming 
sinner,  believest  thou  this  ?  True,  perhaps 
thou  dost  not  believe  with  that  assurance, 
nor  hast  thou  leisure  to  take  notice  of  thy 
faith  as  to  these  distinct  acts  of  it;  but  yet  _ 
all  this  faith  is  in  him  coming  to  Christ  foi*? 
life.  And  the  faith  that  thus  worketh,  is 
the  faith  of  the  best  and  purest  kind  ;  be- 
cause this  man  comes  alone  as  a  sinner, 
and  as  seeing  that  life  is  to  be  had  only  in 
Jesus  Christ. 

Before  I  conclude  my  answer  to  this  ob- 
jection, take  into  thy  consideration  these 
two  things : 

1st.  That  the  cities  of  refuge  were  erect- 
ed for  those  that  were  dead  in  the  law,  and 
that  yet  would  live  by  grace,  even  for  those 
that  were  to  fly  thither  for  life  from  the  aveng- 
er of  blood  that  pursueth  after  them.  And  it 
is  worth  your  noting,  that  those  that  were 
upon  their  flight  thither,  are  in  a  peculiar 
manner  called  the  people  of  God.  "Cast 
ye  up,  cast  ye  up,  (saith  God,)  prepare  ye 
the  way  ;  take  up  the  stumbling-block  out 
of  the  way   of  my  people."     lea.   Ivii.  14. 


160     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


This  is  meant  of  preparing  the  way  to  the 
city  of  refuge,  that  the  elayers  might  escape 
thither ;  wiiich  flying  slayers  are  here,  by 
way  of  speciality,  called  the  people  of  God  ; 
even  those  of  them  that  escaped  thither  for 
life. 

2dly.  Consider  that  ol"  Ahab,  when  Ben- 
hadad  sent  to  him  for  life,  saying,  "  Thus 
eaith  thy  servant  Benhadad,  I  pray  thee  let 
me  live."  Though  Benhadad  had  sought 
the  crown,  kingdom,  yea,  and  also  the  life 
of  Ahab,  yet  how  etfectually  doth  Benha- 
dad prevail  with  him !  Is  Benhadad  yet 
aUve  ?  saith  Ahab,  He  is  my  brother ;  yea, 
"  go  ye,  bring  him  to  me  :  So  he  made  him 
ride  in  his  chariot."     1  Kings  xx. 

Coming  sinner,  what  tliinkest  thou?  If 
Jesus  Christ  had  as  little  goodness  in  him 
as  Ahab,  he  might  grant  an  humble  Ben- 
hadad life ;  thou  neither  begettest  of  him 
his  crown  and  dignity ;  life,  eternal  life 
will  serve  thy  turn.  How  much  more  then 
shalt  thou  have  it,  since  thou  hast  to  deal 
with  him  who  is  goodness  and  mercy  itself! 
yea,  since  thou  art  also  called  upon,  yea, 
greatly  encouraged  by  a  promise  of  life, 
to  come  unto  him  for  lite !  Read  also  these 
scriptures.  Numb.  xxxv.  11,  14,  15;  Josh. 
XX.  1—6.;  Heb.  vi.  16,  21. 

Objection  2.  When  I  say  I  only  seek  my- 
self, 1  mean  I  do  not  find  that  I  do  design 
God's  glory  in  mine  own  salvation  by 
Christ,  and  that  makes  me  fear  I  do  not 
come  aright. 

A)iswer.  Where  doth  Christ  Jesus  require 
such  a  qualification  of  those  that  are  com- 
ing to  him  for  life  ?  Come  thou  for  life, 
and  trouble  not  thy  head  with  such  objec- 
tions against  thyself;  and  let  God  and 
Christ  alone  to  glorify  themselves  in  the 
salvation  of  such  a  worm  as  thou  art.  The 
Father  saith  to  the  Son,  "  Thou  art  my  ser- 
vant, O  Israel,  in  whom  I  will  be  glorified." 
God  propoundeth  life  to  sinners,  as  the  ar- 
gument to  prevail  with  them  to  come  to 
'him  for  lile ;  and  Christ  says  plainly,  "  I 
am  come  that  ye  might  have  life."  John 
xii.  10.  He  hath  no  need  of  thy  designs, 
though  thou  hast  need  of  his  eternal  life, 
pardon  of  sin,  and  deliverance  from  wrath 
to  come;  Christ  propounds  these  to  thee. 
and  these  be  the  things  that  thou  hast  need 
of:  besides,  God  will  be  gracious  and  mer- 
ciful to  worthless,  undeserving  wretches  ; 
come  then  as  such  an  one,  and  lay  no  stum- 
bling-block in  the  way  to  him,  but  come  to 
him  Ibr  lite,  and  live.  John  v.  34 ;  chap. 
X.  10  ;  and  chap.  iii.  36;  Matt.  i.  21 ;  Pro  v. 
viii.  36,  37  ;  1  Thes.  xi ;  John  xi.  25,  26. 

When  the  gaoler  said,  "  Sirs,  What  must-I 
do  to  be  saved  ?"  Paul  did  not  so  much  as 
once  ask  him,  what  is  your^nd  in  this  ques- 
tion ;  do  you  design  the  glory  of  God  in 
the  salvation  of  your  soul  ?  He  had  more 
wit:  he  knew  that  such  qufptions  as  these 


would  have  been  but  fools'  baubles,  about 
instead  of  a  sutficient  salve  to  so  weighty 
a  question  "as  this.  Wherelbre,  since  this 
poor  wretch  lacked  salvation  by  Jesua 
Christ,  I  mean  to  be  saved  from  hell  and 
death,  which  he  knew  (now)  was  due  to 
him  for  the  sins  that  he  had  committed,  Paul 
bids  him,  like  a  poor  condemned  simier  as 
he  was,  to  proceed  still  in  this  his  way  of 
self  seeking,  saying,  "Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 
Acts  xvi.  30,  31,  32.  I  know  that  after- 
wards thou  wilt  desire  to  glorify  Christ  by 
walking  in  the  way  of  his  precepts ;  but  at 
present  thou  wantest  life :  the  avenger  of 
blood  is  behind  thee,  and  the  devil  like  a 
roaring  lion  is  behind  thee ;  well,  come 
now,  and  obtain  life  from  these  ;  and  when 
thou  hast  obtained  some  comfortable  per- 
suasion that  thou  art  made  partaker  of  life 
by  Christ,  then,  and  not  till  then,  thou  wilt 
say,  "  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  all 
that  is  within  me  bless  his  holy  name. 
Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  Ibrget  not 
all  his  benefits ;  who  forgiveth  all  thine 
iniquities,  and  healeth  all  thy  diseases ; 
who  redeemeth  thy  lile  from  destruction, 
and  crowneth  thee  with  loving-kindness 
and  tender  mercies."     Ps.  ciii.  1 — 6. 

Objection  3.  But  I  cannot  believe  that  I  am 
come  to  Christ  aright,  because  sometimes 
I  am  apt  to  question  his  very  being  and  of- 
fice to  save. 

Thus  to  do  is  horrible  ;  but  mayest  thou 
not  judge  amiss  in  this  matter? 

How  can  I  judge  amiss,  when  I  judge  as 
I  feel  ?  Poor  soul  1  Thou  mayest  judge 
amiss  for  all  that.  Why,  saith  the  sinner, 
I  think  that  these  questionings  come  I'rom 
my  heart. 

Answer.  Let  me  answer :  That  which 
comes  from  thy  heart,  comes  from  thy  will 
and  afi'ections,  from  thyunderstanding, judg- 
ment, and  conscience,  for  these  must  acqui- 
esce in  thy  questioning,  if  thy  questioning 
be  with  thy  heart.  And  how  sayest  thou, 
(for  to  name  no  more,)  dost  thou  with  tlie 
atlection  and  conscience  thus  question  ? 

Answer.  No,  my  conscience  trembles 
when  such  thoughts  come  into  my  mind  ; 
and  my  affections  are  otherwise  inclined. 

Then  I  conclude,  that  these  things  are 
either  suddenly  injected  by  the  devil,  or 
else  are  the  fruits  of  that  body  of  sin  and 
death  that  yet  dwells  witliin  tliee,  or  per- 
haps from  both  together. 

If  they  come  wholly  from  the  devil,  as 
they  seem,  because  thy  conscience  and  af- 
fections are  against  them,  or  if  they  come 
Irom  that  body  of  death  that  is  in  thee, 
(and  be  not  thou  curious  in  inquiring  from 
which  of  them  they  come,  the  salest  way  is 
to  lay  cjiough  at  thy  own  door,)  nothing 
of  this  .«liould  liindcr  thy  coming,  nor  make 
thee  conclude  thou  comest  not  aright. 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     161 


And  before  I  leave  thee,  let  me  a  little 
query  with  thee  about  this  matter. 

1st.  Dost  thou  like  these  wicked  blasphe- 
mies ? 

Aiiswer.  No,  no;  their  presence  and  work- 
ing kills  me. 

2dly.  Dost  thou  mourn  for  them,  pray 
against  them,  and  hate  thyself  because  of 
them? 

A7iswer.  Yes,  yes ;  but  that  which  afflicts 
me  is,  I  do  not  prevail  against  them. 

3dly.  Dost  thou  sincerely  choose  (might- 
est  thou  have  thy  choice)  that  thy  heart 
might  be  affected  and  taken  with  the  things 
that  are  best,  most  heavenly,  and  holy  ? 

A)isioer.  With  all  my  heart,  and  death 
the  next  hour  (if  it  were  God's  will,)  rather 
than  thus  to  sin  against  him. 

Well  then,  thy  not  liking  of  them,  thy 
mourning  for  them,  thy  praying  against 
them,  and  thy  loathing  thyself  because  of 
them,  with  thy  sincere  choosing  of  those 
thoughts  for  thy  declaration  that  are  heav- 
enly and  holy,  clearly  declares,  that  these 
things  are  not  countenanced  either  with 
thy  will,  affections,  understanding,  judg- 
ment, or  conscience :  and  so,  that  thy  heart 
is  not  in  them,  but  that  rather  they  come 
immediately  from  the  devil,  or  arise  from 
the  body  of  death  that  is  in  thy  flesh,  which 
thou  oughtest  thus  to  say,  "  Now  then  it  is 
no  more  I  that  doth  it,  but  sin  that  dwells 
in  me."     Rom.  vii.  16,  17. 

I  will  give  thee  a  pertinent  instance  :  In 
Deut.  xxii.  thou  mayest  read  of  a  betroth- 
ed damsel,  one  betrothed  to  her  beloved, 
one  that  had  given  him  her  heart  and 
mouth,  as  thou  hast  given  thyself  to  Christ ; 
yet  she  was  met  with  as  she  walked  in  the 
field,  by  one  that  forced  her,  because  he 
was  stronger  than  she.  Well,  what  judg- 
ment now  doth  God,  the  righteous  judge, 
pass  upon  the  damsel  for  this  ?  "  The  man 
only  that  lay  with  her,"  saith  God,  "  shall 
die :  But  unto  the  damsel  thou  shalt  do 
nothing;  there  is  in  the  damsel  no  sin 
worthy  of  death.  For,  as  when  a  man 
rises  against  his  neighbor,  and  slayeth  him, 
even  so  is  this  matter  ;  he  found  her  in  the 
field,  and  the  betrothed  damsel  cried,  and 
there  was  none  to  save  her." 

Thou  art  this  damsel :  The  man  that  forc- 
ed thee  with  these  blasphemous  thoughts, 
is  the  devil ;  and  he  lighteth  upon  thee  in 
a  fit  place,  even  in  the  fields  as  thou  art 
Avandering  after  Jesus  Christ ;  but  thou 
criest  out,  and  by  thy  cry  didst  show,  that 
thou  abhorrest  such  wicked  lewdness.  Well, 
the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right :  he 
will  not  lay  the  sin  at  thy  door,  but  at  his 
that  otfered  the  violence ;  and  for  thy  com- 
fort take  this  into  consideration,  that  he 
"  comes  to  heal  them  that  were  oppressed 
of  the  devil." 

Objection  4.  But  saith  another,  I  am  so 

Vol.  3.— U. 


heartless,  so  slow,  and,  as  I  think,  so  indif- 
ferent in  my  coming,  that,  to  speak  the 
truth,  I  know  not  whether  my  kind  of  com- 
ing ought  to  be  called  a  coming  to  Christ. 

Answer.  You  know  that  I  told  you  at 
first,  tliat  coming  to  Christ  is  a  moving  of 
the  heart  and  affections  towards  him. 

But,  saith  the  soul,  my  dulness  and  indif- 
ference in  all  holy  duties,  demonstrate  my 
heartlessnes  in  coming ;  and  to  come,  and 
not  with  the  heart,  signifies  nothing  at  all. 

Atiswer.  The  moving  of  the  heart  after 
Christ,  is  not  to  be  discerned  (at  all  times) 
by  thy  sensible  affectionate  performance 
of  duties,  but  rather  by  those  secret  groan- 
ings  and  complaints  which  thy  soul  makes 
to  God.  against  that  sloth  that  attends  thee 
in  duties. 

2dly.  But  grant  it  be  even  as  thou  say- 
est  it  is,  that  thou  comest  so  slowly,  &c. 
yet  since  Christ  bids  them  come  that  come 
not  at  all,  surely  they  may  be  accepted  that 
come,  though  attended  with  those  infirmi- 
ties, which  thou  at  present  groanest  under. 
He  saith,  "  And  him  that  cometh ;"  he  saith 
not,  If  they  come  sensible,  so  fast ;  but, 
"  And  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out."  He  saith  also  in  9ih  of 
Proverbs,,  "  As  for  him  that  wanteth  under- 
standing," that  is,  a  heart ;  for  oftentimes 
the  understanding  is  taken  for  the  heart : 
"  Come  eat  of  my  bread,  and  drink  of  the 
wine  that  I  have  mingled." 

3dly.  Thou  mayest  be  vehement  in  thy 
spirit  in  coming  to  Jesue  Christ,  and  yet  be 
plagued  with  sensible  sloth ;  so  was  the 
church,  when  she  cried,  "  Draw  me,  we 
run  after  thee ;"  and  Paul,  when  he  said, 
"  When  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present 
with  me."  The  works,  strugglings,  and  op- 
positions of  the  flesh,  are  more  manifest 
than  are  the  works  of  the  Spirit  in  our 
hearts,  and  so  are  sooner  felt  than  they. 
What  then?  Let  us  not  be  discouraged 
at  tlie  sight  and  feeling  of  our  own  infirmi- 
ties, but  run  the  faster  to  Jesus  Christ  for 
salvation. 

ithly.  Get  thy  heart  warmed  with  the 
sweet  promise  of  Christ's  acceptance  of  the 
coming  sinner,  and  that  will  make  thee  more 
haste  unto  him.  Discouraging  thoughts, 
they  are  like  unto  cold  water,  they  benumb 
the  senses,  and  make  us  go  ungainly  about 
our  business  ;  but  the  sweet  and  warm 
gleads  of  promise,  are  like  the  comfortable 
beams  of  the  sun,  which  enliveneth  and  re- 
fresheth.  You  see  how  little  the  bee  and 
the  fly  do  play  in  the  air  in  winter  ;  why  ? 
the  cold  hinders  them  from  doing  it;  but 
when  the  wind  and  sun  is  warm,  who  is  so 
busy  as  they  1 

bthly.  But  again,  he  that  comes  to  Christ, 
flies  for  his  life.  Now,  there  is  no  man  that 
flies  for  his  life,  that  thinks  he  speeds  fast 
enough  on  his  journey;  no,  could  he,  he 


162    COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


would  willingly  take  a  mile  at  a  step.  Oh 
my  sloth  and  heartlessness,  sayest  thou  ! 
"  Oh  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove,  for  tlien 
would  I  flee  away  and  be  at  rest  I  I  would 
hasten  my  escape  from  the  windy  storm 
and  tempest." 

Poor  coming  soul,  tliou  art  like  the  man 
that  would  ride  full  gallop,  whose  horse 
will  hardly  trot !  Now,  the  desire  of  his 
mind  is  not  to  be  judged  of  by  the  slow 
pace  of  the  dull  jade  he  rides  on,  but  by 
the  hitching,  and  kicking,  and  spurring,  as 
he  sits  on  his  back.  Thy  flesh  is  like  this 
dull  jade,  it  will  not  gallop  after  Christ,  it 
will  be  backward,  though  thy  soul  and  heav- 
en lie  at  stake.  But  be  of  good  comfort: 
Christ  judgeth  not  according  to  the  fierce- 
ness of  outward  motion,  but  according  to 
the  sincerity  o(  the  heart  and  inward  parts. 

Gthly.  Ziba  in  appearance  came  to  Da- 
vid much  faster  than  did  Mephibosheth  ; 
but  yet  his  heart  was  not  so  upright  in  him 
to  David  as  was  his.  It  ia  true,  Mephibos- 
heth had  a  check  from  David  ;  for  said  he, 
"  Why  wentest  thou  not  with  me,  Mephi- 
bosheth ?"  But  when  David  came  to  re- 
member that  Mephibosheth  was  lame,  (tor 
tliat  was  his  plea,)  "thy  servant  is  lame," 
he  was  content,  and  concluded,  he  would 
have  come  after  him  faster  than  he  did  ; 
and  Mephibosheth  appealed  to  David,  who 
was  in  those  days  an  angel  of  God,  to  know 
all  things  that  are  done  in  the  earth,  if  he 
did  not  believe  that  the  reason  of  his  back- 
wardness lay  in  his  lameness,  and  not  in 
his  mind.  Why,  poor  coming  sinner,  thou 
can.st  not  come  to  Christ  with  that  outward 
swiftness  of  career  as  many  others  do  ;  but 
doth  the  reason  of  thy  backwardness  lie  in 
thy  mind  and  will,  or  in  the  sluggishness 
of  the  flesh?  canst  thou  say  sincerely, 
"  The  Spirit  truly  is  willing,  but  the  flesh 
is  weak  ?"  Yea,  canst  thou  appeal  to  the 
Lord  Jesus,  who  knoweth  perfectly  the  very 
inmost  thought  of  thy  heart,  that  this  is 
true  ?  Then  take  this  for  thy  comfort,  he 
hath  said,  "  I  will  assemble  her  that  halt 
eth,  I  will  make  her  that  halteth  a  rem- 
nant, and  I  will  save  her  that  halteth." 
What  canst  tliou  have  more  from  the  sweet 
hps  of  the  Son  of  God?     But, 

Ithhj.  I  read  of  some  that  are  to  follow 
Christ  in  chains  ;  I  say  to  come  after  liim  in 
chains ;  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  tiie  labor  of 
Egypt,  and  the  merchandize  of  Ethiopia,  and 
the  Sabeans,  men  of  stature,  shall  come  over 
unto  thoe,  and  they  shall  be  thine  ;  they  .shall 
come  alter  thee  ;  In  chains  shall  they  come 
over,  and  they  shall  fall  down  unto  thee: 
They  shrdl  make  supplication  unto  thee  say- 
ing. Surely  there  is  none  else  to  save."  Isa. 
xl.  14.  Surely  they  that  come  after  Christ 
in  chains,  come  to  him  in  great  difhculty,  be- 
cause their  steps  by  the  chains  are  straitened. 

And  what  chain  so  heavy,  as  those  that 


discourage  thee'?  Thy  chain,  which  is 
made  of  guilt  and  filth,  is  heavy  ;  it  is  a 
wretched  band  about  tliy  neck,  by  which 
thy  strength  doth  fail.  Lam.  i.  14  ;  iii.  17. 
But  come,  though  thovi  comest  in  chains ;  it 
is  glory  to  Christ  that  a  sinner  come  after 
him  in  chains.  The  chinking  of  thy  chains, 
though  troublesome  to  thee,  arc  not,  nor  can 
be  obstruction  to  thy  salvation  ;  it  is  Christ's 
work  and  glory  to  save  thee  from  thy  chains, 
to  enlarge  ihy  steps,  and  set  thee  at  liberty. 
The  blind  man,  though  called,  surely  could 
not  come  apace  to  Jesus  Christ,  but  Christ 
could  stand  still,  and  stay  for  him.  True, 
•'  He  rideth  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind  j" 
butyethe  islong-sufl'ering  and  his  long-suf- 
fering is  salvation  to  him  that  cometh  to  him. 

Sthly.  Hadst  thou  seen  those  that  came 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  in  tlie  days  of  his  flesh, 
how  slowly,  how  hobblingly,  they  came  to 
him,  by  reason  of  their  infirmities ;  and  al- 
so how  friendly,  and  kindly,  and  gracious- 
ly, he  received  them,  and  gave  them  the 
desire  of  their  hearts,  thou  wouldst  not,  as 
thou  dost,  make  such  objections  against 
thyself,  in  thy  coming  to  Jesus  Christ. 

Objection  5.  But  (says  another)  I  fear  I 
come  too  late  ;  I  doubt  I  have  staid  too 
long;  I  am  afraid  the  door  is  shut. 

Answei\  Thou  canst  never  come  too  late 
to  Jesus  Christ,  if  thou  dost  come.  This  is 
manifest  by  two  instances. 

1st.  By  the  man  that  came  to  him  at  the 
eleventh  hour.  This  man  was  idle  all  the 
day  long ;  he  had  a  whole  gospel-day  to 
come  in,  and  he  played  it  all  away  save 
only  the  last  hour  thereof;  but  at  last,  at 
the  eleventh  hour,  he  came,  and  went  into 
the  vineyard  to  work  ivith  the  rest  of  his 
laborers,  that  had  borne  the  burden  and 
heat  of  the  day.  Well,  but  how  was  he 
received  by  the  lord  of  the  vineyard  ? 
Why,  when  pay-day  came,  he  had  even  as 
much  as  the  rest ;  yea,  had  money  first. 
True,  the  others  murmured  at  him ;  but 
what  did  the  Lord  Jesus  answer  them? 
"  Is  thine  eye  evil  because  mine  is  good  ? 
I  will  give  unto  this  last  even  as  unto7hee." 

2dhj.  The  other  instance  is,  the  thief  upon 
the  cross  ;  he  came  late  also,  even  as  at  an 
hour  before  his  death  ;  yea,  he  strayed  from 
Jesus  Christ  as  long  as  he  had  liberty  to  be 
a  thief,  and  longer  too  ;  for  could  he  have 
deluded  the  judge,  and  by  lying  words  es- 
caped his  just  condemnation,  for  ought  I 
know,  he  had  not  come  as  yet  to  his  Sa- 
viour :  but  being  convicted,  and  condemned 
to  die,  yea,  tastened  to  the  cross,  that  he 
might  die  like  a  rogue,  as  he  was  in  his 
Ji(e ;  behold  the  Lord  Jesus,  when  this 
wicked  one,  even  now,  desireth  mercy  at 
his  hands,  tells  him,  and  that  without  the 
least  reflection  upon  him,  for  his  former 
misspent  life,  '•  To-day  thou  shalt  be  with 
me  in  paradise." 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.      163 


Let  no  man  turn  the  grace  of  God  into 
wantonness.  My  design  is  now  to  encour- 
age the  coming  soul. 

Objection.  But  is  not  the  door  ol"  mercy 
shut  against  some  betbre  they  die? 

Answer.     Yea ;    and   God    forbids    that 

Jrayers  should  be  made  to  him  for  them, 
er  vii.  16  ;  Jude  22. 

Question.  Then  why  may  not  I  doubt 
that  I  may  be  one  of  these  '? 

Answer.  By  no  means,  if  thou  art  com- 
ing to  Jesus  Christ ;  because  when  God 
shuts  the  door  upon  men,  he  gives  them  no 
heart  to  come  to  Jesus  Christ.  "  None 
come  but  those  to  whom  it  is  given  of  the 
Father."  But  thou  comest;  therefore  it  is 
given  to  thee  of  the  Father. 

Be  sure,  therefore,  if  the  Father  hath 
given  thee  a  heart  to  come  to  Jesus  Christ, 
the  gate  of  mercy  yet  stands  open  to  thee^ 
for  it  stands  not  with  the  wisdom  of  God 
"  to  give  strengtli  to  come  to  the  birth,  and 
yet  to  shut  up  the  womb,"  (Isa.  Ixvi.  9,)  to 
give  grace  to  come  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  yet 
shut  up  the  door  of  his  mercy  upon  thee. 
"  Incline  thine  ear,"  saith  he,  "  and  come 
unto  me.  Hear,  and  your  souls  shall  live, 
and  I  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant 
with  you,  even  the  sure  mercies  of  David." 
Isa.  Iv.  3. 

Objection.  But  it  is  said,  that  some 
knocked  when  the  door  was  shut  7 

Answer.  Yes ;  but  the  texts  in  which 
these  knockers  are  mentioned,  are  to  be  re- 
ferred unto  the  day  of  judgment,  and  not 
to  the  coming  of  the  sinner  to  Christ  in  this 
life.  See  the  texts,  Matt.  xxv.  11;  Luke 
xiii.  24,  25. 

These,  therefore,  concern  thee  nothing 
at  all  :  thou  art  coming  to  Jesus  Christ ; 
thou  art  coming  now!  "  Now  is  the  accep- 
table time,  behold  now  is  the  day  of  salva- 
tion." 2  Cor.  vi.  2.  Now  God  is  upon  the 
mercy-seat;  now  Christ  Jesus  sits  by,  con- 
tinually pleading  the  victory  of  his  blood 
for  sinners ;  and  now,  even  as  long  as  this 
world  lasts,  this  word  of  the  text  shall  still 
be  free,  and  fully  fulfilled  ;  "  And  him  that 
comeih  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

Sinner,  the  greater  sinner  thou  art,  the 
greater  need  of  mercy  thou  hast,  and  the 
more  will  Christ  be  glorified  thereby ;  Come 
then,  come  and  try;  Come  taste  and  see 
how  good  the  Lord  is  to  an  undeserving 
sinner. 

Objection  6.  But  (says  another)  I  am 
fallen  since  I  began  to  come  to  Christ; 
therefore  I  fear  I  did  not  come  aright,  and 
so,  consequently,  that  Christ  will  not  receive 
me. 

Answer.  Falls  are  dangerous  ;  for  they 
dishonor  Christ,  wound  the  conscience,  and 
cause  the  enemies  of  God  to  speak  reproach- 
fully. But  it  is  no  good  argument,  I  am 
IkllDn,  therefore  I  was  not  coming  aright  to 


Jesus  Christ.  If  David,  and  Solomon,  and 
Peter,  had  thus  objected  against  themselves, 
they  had  added  to  their  griefs ;  and  yet 
they  had  at  least  as  much  cause  as  thou. 
A  man  whose  steps  are  ordered  by  the 
Lord,  and  whose  goings  the  Lord  delights 
in,  may  yet  be  overtaken  with  a  temptation 
that  may  cause  him  to  fall.  Ps.  xxxvii.  23, 
24,  Did  not  Aaron  fall  ?  yea,  and  Moses 
himself?  What  shall  we  say  of  Hezekiah 
and  Jehoshaphat?  There  are  therefore 
falls  and  falls ;  falls  pardonable,  and  falls 
unpardonable.  Falls  unpardonable,  are 
falls  against  Ught,  from  the  iaith  to  the  de- 
spising of,  and  trampling  upon  Jesus  Christ 
and  his  blessed  undertaking.  Heb.  vi.  2 — 
5  ;  chap.  x.  28,  29.  Now  as  for  such,  there 
remains  no  more  sacrifice  for  sin ;  indeed 
they  have  no  heart,  no  mind,  no  desire  to 
come  to  Jesus  Christ  for  life,  therefore,  they 
must  perish.  Nay,  says  the  Holy  Ghost, 
"  It  is  impossible  they  should  be  renewed 
again  unto  repentance."  Therefore,  these 
God  hath  no  compassion  for,  neither  ought 
we ;  but  for  other  falls,  though  they  be 
dreadful,  (and  God  will  chastise  his  people 
for  them,)  they  do  not  prove  thee  a  grace- 
less man,  one  not  come  to  Jesus  Christ  for 
hfe. 

It  is  said  of  the  child  in  the  gospel,  that 
"  while  he  was  yet  a  coming,  the  devil 
threw  him  down  and  tore  him." 

Dejected  sinner,  it  is  no  wonder  that  thou 
hast  caught  a  fall  in  coming  to  Jesus  Christ; 
is  it  not  rather  to  be  wondered  at,  that  thou 
hast  not  caught  before  this,  a  thousand 
times,  a  thousand  falls?  considering, 

\st.  What  fools  we  are  by  nature. 

2dly.  What  weaknesses  are  in  us. 

'Mly.  What  mighty  powers  the  fallen  an- 
gels, our  implacable  enemies  are. 

ithlij.  Considering  also  how  often  the 
coming  man  is  benighted  in  his  journey ; 
and  also  what  stumbling-blocks  do  lie  in  his 
way. 

bthly.  Also  his  familiars  (that  were  so 
before)  now  watch  for  his  halting,  and  seek 
by  what  means  they  may  cause  him  to  fall 
by  the  hand  of  their  strong  ones. 

What  then  ?  Must  we,  because  of  these 
temptations,  incline  to  fall?  No.  Must  we 
not  fear  falls  ?  Yes.  "  Let  him  that  think- 
eth  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall."  1 
Cor.  X.  12.  Yet  let  him  not  utterly  be  cast 
down,  "  The  Lord  upholdeth  all  that  fall, 
and  raiseth  up  those  that  are  bowed  down." 
Make  not  light  of  falls  ;  yet  hast  thou  fall- 
en ?  "  Ye  have,"  said  Samuel,  "  done  all 
this  wickedness ;  yet  turn  not  aside  from 
following  the  Lord,  but  serve  him  with  a 
perfect  heart,  and  turn  not  aside ;  for  the 
Lord  will  not  forsake  his  people,"  (and  he 
counted  the  coming  sinner  one  of  them,) 
'■  because  it  hath  pleased  the  Lord  to  make 
you  his  people." 


164     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


"  Shall  come  to  me."  Now  we  come  to 
show  what  force  there  is  in  this  promise  to 
make  them  come  to  him.  "  All  that  the 
Father  giveth  me,  shall  come  to  me." 

I  will  speak  to  this  promise : 

First,  In  general. 

Secondly,  In  particular. 

In  general. —  This  word  shalL  is  confined 
to  these,  all,  that  are  given  to  Christ;  "All 
that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall  come  to 
me."     Hence  I  conclude, 

1.  That  coming  to  Jesus  Christ  aright,  is 
an  effect  of  their  being,  of  God,  given  to 
Christ  before ;  Mark !  they  shall  come : 
Who  1  those  that  are  given.  They  come 
then,  because  they  were  given:  "  Thine 
they  were,  and  thou  gavest  them  me." 
Now,  tliis  is  indeed  a  singular  comfort  to 
them  that  are  a  coming  in  truth  to  Christ, 
to  think  that  the  reason  why  they  come,  is, 
because  they  were  given  of  the  Father  be- 
fore to  him.  Thus,  then,  may  the  coniing 
soul  reason  with  himself  as  he  comes :  Am 
I  coming  indeed  to  Jesus  Christ?  This 
coming  of  mine  is  not  to  be  attributed  to 
me  or  my  goodness,  but  to  the  grace  and 
gift  of  God  to  Christ.  God  gave  first  my 
person  to  him,  and  therefore  hath  now 
given  me  a  heart  to  come. 

2.  This  word,  shall  come,  maketh  thy 
coming,  not  only  the  fruit  of  the  gift  of  the 
Father,  but  also  of  the  purpose  of  the  Son  ; 
for  these  words  are  a  divine  purpose ;  they 
show  us  the  heavenly  determination  of  the 
Son.  "  The  Father  hath  given  them  to 
me,  and"  they  shall ;  yea,  they  shall  "  come 
to  me."  Christ  is  as  fully  in  his  resolution 
to  save  those  given  to  him,  as  is  the  Father 
in  giving  of  them.  Christ  prized  the  gift 
of  his  Father,  he  will  lose  nothing  oi  it ;  he 
is  resolved  to  save  it  every  whit  by  his 
blood,  and  to  raise  it  up  again  at  the  last 
day ;  and  thus  he  fulfils  his  Father's  will, 
and  accomplisheih  his  own  desires. 

3.  These  words,  shall  come,  make  thy 
coming  to  be  also  the  effect  of  an  absolute 
promise ;  coming  sinner,  thou  art  concluded 
in  a  promise ;  thy  coming  is  the  fruit  of 
the  faithfulness  of  an  absolute  promise 
It  was  this  promise  by  the  virtue  of  which 
thou  at  first  receivedst  strength  to  come  ; 
and  this  is  the  promise,  by  the  virtue  of 
which  thou  shalt  be  effectually  brought  to 
him.  It  was  said  to  Abraham,  "  At  this 
time  I  will  come,  and  Sarah  shall  have  a 
eon."  This  son  was  Isaac.  Mark  !  Sarah 
shall  have  a  son  ;  there  is  the  promise  •,  and 
Sarah  had  a  son ;  there  was  the  fulfilling 
of  the  promise ;  and  therefore  was  Isaac 
called  the  child  of  the  promise. 

Sarah  shall  have  a  son :  But  how  if  Sa- 
rah be  past  age  ?  Why  still  the  promise 
continues  to  say,  Sarah  shall  have  a  son. 
But  how  if  Sarah  be  barren  !  Why  still 
the  promise  says,  Sarah  shall  have  a  son. 


But  Abraham's  body  is  now  dead  !  Wliy 
the  promise  is  still  the  same,  Sarah  shall 
have  a  son.  Thus  you  see  what  virtue 
there  is  in  an  absolute  promise  ;  it  carrieth 
enough  in  its  own  bowels  to  accomplish  the 
thing  promised,  whether  there  be  means  or 
no  in  us  to  effect  it.  Wherefore  this  prom- 
ise in  the  text,  being  an  absolute  promise, 
by  virtue  of  it.  not  by  virtue  of  ourselves, 
or  by  our  own  inducements,  do  we  come  to 
Jesus  Christ ;  for  so  are  the  words  of  the 
text ;  "  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall 
come  to  me." 

Therefore  is  every  sincere  comer  to  Jesus 
Christ  called  also  a  child  of  the  promise. 
"  Now  we,  brethren,  as  Isaac  was,  are  the 
children  of  the  promise ;"  that  is,  we  are 
the  children  that  God  hath  promised  to  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  given  to  him ;  yea,  the 
children  that  Jesus  Christ  hath  promised 
shall  come  to  him.  "  All  that  the  Father 
giveih  me  shall  come." 

4.  This  word,  shall  come,  engageth  Christ 
to  communicate  all  manner  of  grace  to 
those  thus  given  him  to  make  them  effectu- 
ally come  to  him.  They  shall  cmne  ;  that 
is,  not  if  they  will,  but  u  grace,  all  grace, 
if  power,  wisdom,  a  new  heart,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  all  joining  together,  can 
make  them  come.  I  say  this  word,  shall 
come,  being  absolute,  hath  no  dependence 
upon  our  own  will  or  power,  or  goodness; 
but  it  engageth  for  us  even  God  himself, 
Christ  himself,  the  Spirit  himself  When 
God  had  made  the  absolute  promise  to 
Abraham,  That  Sarah  shonld  have  a  son, 
Abraham  did  not  at  all  look  at  any  qualifi- 
cations in  himseli;  because  tlie  promise 
looked  at  none ;  but  as  God  had  by  the 
promise  absolutely  promised  him  a  son ;  so 
he  considered  now  not  his  own  body  now 
dead,  nor  yet  the  barrenness  of  Sarah's 
womb.  "  He  staggered  not  at  the  promise 
of  God  through  unbelief,  but  was  strong  in 
faith  giving  glory  to  God,  being  fully  per- 
suaded that  what  he  had  promised  he  was 
able  to  perform."  He  had  promised,  and 
promised  absolutely,  Sarah  shall  have  a 
son :  therefore,  Abraham  looks  that  he,  to 
wit,  God,  must  fulfil  the  condition  of  it. 
Neither  is  this  expectation  of  Abraham  dis- 
approved by  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  accounted 
good  and  laudable ;  it  being  that  by  which 
he  gives  glory  to  God.  The  Father  also 
hath  given  to  Christ  a  certain  number  of 
souls  for  him  to  save ;  and  he  liimself  hath 
said,  "  They  shall  come  to  him."  Let  the 
church  of  God  then  live  in  a  joyful  expec- 
tation of  the  utmost  accomplishment  of  this 
promise  ;  for  assuredly  it  shall  be  fulfilled, 
and  not  one  thousandth  part  of  a  tittle 
thereof  shall  fail.     They  shall  come  to  me. 

And  now,  before  I  go  any  farther,  I  will 
more  particularly  inquire  into  the  nature  of 
an  absolute  promise. 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.      1G5 


1.  We  call  that  an  absolute  promise  that 
is  made  without  any  condition ;  or  more 
fully  thus :  That  is  an  absolute  promise  ol' 
God,  or  of  Christ,  which  maketh  over  to 
this  or  that  man  any  saving  spiritual  bless- 
ing, without  a  condition  to  be  done  on  our 
part  for  the  obtaining  thereof.  And  this 
we  have  in  hand  is  such  a  one.  Let  the 
best  master  of  arts  on  earth  show  me,  if  he 
can,  any  condition  in  this  text  depending 
upon  any  qviahfication  in  us,  which  is  not 
by  the  same  promise  concluded,  shall  be  by 
the  Lord  Jesus  effected  in  us. 

2.  An  absolute  promise  therefore  is,  as 
we  say,  without  if  or  and ;  that  is,  it  requir- 
eth  nothing  of  us,  that  itself  may  be  accom- 
plished. It  saith  not,  they  shall,  if  they 
will ;  but  they  shall :  not  they  shall,  if  they 
use  the  means ;  but,  they  shall.  You  may 
say,  that  a  will,  and  the  use  of  the  means, 
is  supposed,  though  not  expressed.  But  I 
answer.  No,  by  no  means ;  that  is,  as  a 
condition  of  this  promise :  if  they  be  at  all 
included  in  the  promise,  they  are  included 
there  as  the  fruit  of  the  absolute  promise ; 
not  as  if  it  expected  the  qualification  to 
arise  from  us.  "  Thy  people  shall  be"  will- 
ing "  in  the  day  of  thy  power."  Ps.  ex.  3. 
That  is  another  absolute  promise  ;  but  doth 
that  promise  suppose  a  willingness  in  us, 
as  a  condition  of  God's  making  us  willing? 
They  shall  be  willing,  if  they  are  willing ; 
or,  they  shall  be  willing,  if  they  will  be 
willing.  This  is  ridiculous ;  there  is  noth- 
ing of  this  supposed.  The  promise  is  abso- 
lute as  to  us :  all  that  it  engageth  for  its 


and  will,  when  the  time  of  that  promise  is 
come,  yield  to  us  mortals  that  which  will 
verily  save  us ;  yea,  and  make  us  capable 
of  answering  of  the  demands  of  the  prom- 
ise that  is  conditional.  Wherefore,  though 
there  be  a  real,  yea,  an  eternal  difference 
in  these  things  (with  others)  betwixt  the 
conditional  and  the  absolute  promise ;  yet 
again,  in  other  respects,  there  is  a  blessed 
harmony  betwixt  them ;  as  may  be  seen  in 
these  particulars. 

1.  The  conditional  promise  calls  for  re- 
pentance, the  absolute  promise  gives  it 
Acts  v.  30,  31. 

2.  The  conditional  promise  calls  for  faith, 
the  absolute  promise  gives  it.  Zeph.  iii. 
12  ;  Rom.  xv.  12. 

3.  The  conditional  promise  calleth  for  a 
new  heart,  the  absolute  promise  gives  it 
Ezek.  xxxvi. 

4.  The  conditional  promise  calleth  for 
holy  obedience,  the  absolute  promise  giveth 
it,  or  causeth  it.     Ezek.  xxxvi.  27. 

And  as  they  harmoniously  agree  in  this, 
so  again  the  conditional  promise  blesseth 
the  man  who  by  the  absolute  promise  is 
endued  with  its  fruits :  as  for  instance, 

1.  The  absolute  promise  maketh  men  up- 
right; and  then  the  conditional  follows, 
saying,  "Blessed  are  the  undefiled  in  the 
way,  who  walk  in  the  way  of  the  Lord. 
Ps.  cxix.  1. 

2.  The  absolute  promise  giveth  to  this 
man  the  fear  of  the  Lord ;  and  then  the 
conditional  followeth,  saying,  ''Blessed  is 
every  one  that  feareth  the  Lord."     Ps. 


own  accomplishment  is,  the  mighty  power  icxviii.  1. 

of  Christ,  and  his  faithfulness  to  accomplish.  ■     3.   The   absolute    promise   giveth  faith, 

The  difference  therefore  betwixt  the  ab-  and  then  this  conditional  follows,  saving, 

solute  and  conditional  promise  is  this :  '•  Blessed  is  he  that  believeth."     Zeph.  iii. 

1.  They  differ  in  their  terms.     The  abso-  12 ;  Luke  i.  45. 

lute  promises  say,  I  will,  and  you  shall :  the  4.  The  absolute  promise  brings  free  for- 
other,  I  will  if  you  will ;  or,  do  this,  and  giveness  of  sins ;  and  then  says  the  condi- 
thou  shalt  live.  Jer.  xxxi.  32,  34  ;  Ezek.  tional,  "  Blessed  are  they  whose  transgres- 
xxxiv.  24 — 34;  Heb.  viii.  7 — 12;  Jer.  iv.  1;  sions  are  forgiven,  and  whose  sin  is  cover- 
Ezek.  xviii.  30,  31,  32 ;  Matt  xix.  21.  ed."     Rom.  iv.  7,  8. 

2.  They  differ  in  their  way  of  communi-  5.  The  absolute  promise  says.  That 
eating  of  good  things  to  men :  the  absolute  God's  elect  should  hold  out  to  the  end  ; 
ones  communicate  things  freely,  only  of  then  the  conditional  follows  with  his  bless- 
grace;  the  other,  if  there  be  that  qualifica-  ings,  "He  that  shall  endure  to  the  end,  the 
tion  in  us,  that  the  promise  calls  for,  not  else,  same  shall  be  saved."     1  Pet  i.  4,  5,  7 ; 

3.  The  absolute  promises  therefore  en-  Matt  xxiv. 


Thus  do  the  promises  gloriously  serve 
one  another  and  us,  in  this  their  harmoni- 
ous agreement. 

Now  the  promise  under  consideration  is 


gage  God,  the  other  engage  us;  I  mean 
God  only,  us  only. 

4.  Absolute  promises  must  be  fulfilled; 
conditional  may,  or  may  not  be  fulfilled. 

The  absolute  ones  must  be  fulfilled,  because  i  an  absolute  promise  ;  "  All  that  the  Father 
of  the  faithfulness  of  God ;  the  other  may  giveth  me,  shall  come  to  me." 

not,  because  of  the  unfaithfulness  of  men.        This  promise  therefore,  is,  as  it  is  said,  a 

5.  The  absolute  promises  have  therefore  big-bellied  promise,  and  hath  in  itself  all 
a  sufficiency  in  themselves  to  bring  about  [those  things  to  bestow  upon  us  that  the 
their  own  fulfilling ;  the  conditional  have  conditional  calleth  for  at  our  hands.  They 
not  so.  The  absolute  promise  is  therefore  shall  come  !  Shall  they  come  ?  Yes,  they 
a  big-bellied  promise,  because  it  hath  in  it-  shall  come  !  But  how,  if  they  want  those 
Bclf  a  fulness  of  all  desired  things  for  us ;  '■  things,    those  graces,  power,   and    heart, 


166     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


without  which  they  cannot  come?  Why, 
"  Shall  come"  anewereth  all  this,  and  all 
things  else  that  may  in  thi.s  miitu-r  be  ob- 
jected. And  here  I  will  take  the  liberty  to 
amplify  things.  -^ 

Objection  1.  But  they  are  dead,  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins ;  how  shall  they  then 
come  ? 

Aiistcer.  Why,  "  Shall  come"  can  raise 
them  from  this  death  :  "  The  hour  is  com- 
ing, and  now  is,  that  the  dead  shall  hear 
the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  they  that 
hear  shall  hve."  Thus,  therefore,  is  this 
impediment  by  "  Shall  come"  removed  out 
of  the  way.    They  shall  hear,  they  shall  live. 

Objection  2.  But  they  are  Satan's  cap- 
tives ;  he  takes  them  captive  at  his  will, 
and  he  is  stronger  than  they  :  how  then  can 
they  come? 

^4/i.su'e7'.  Why,  "  Shall  come"  hath  also 
provided  a  help  for  this.  Satan  hath  bound 
that  daughter  of  Abraham  so,  that  she 
could  by  no  means  lift  up  herself;  but  yet 
"  Shall  come"  .set  her  free  both  in  body  and 
soul.  Christ  will  have  them  turned  from 
the  power  of  Satan  to  God.  But  what ! 
Must  it  Ijije,  if  they  turn  themselves,  or  do 
somewhat  to  merit  of  him  to  turn  them  ? 
No,  he  will  do  it  freely,  of  his  own  good 
will.  Alas  !  man,  whose  soul  is  possessed 
by  the  devil,  is  turned  whithersoever  that 
governor  listeth,  is  taken  captive  by  him, 
notwithstanding  its  natural  powers,  at  his 
will ;  but  what  will  he  do  ?  Will  he  hold 
him  v/hcn  "Shall  come"  puts  forth  itself 
(will  he  then  let  him)  for  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ  ?  No,  that  cannot  be  !  His  power 
is  but  the  power  of  a  fallen  angel,  but 
'•  Shall  come"  is  the  word  of  God;  therefore 
"  Shall  come"  must  be  fulfilled  ;  "  and  the 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  him." 

There  were  seven  devils  in  Mary  Mag- 
dalen, too  many  ibr  her  to  get  from  under 
the  power  of;  but  wlien  the  time  was  come, 
that  "  Shall  come"  was  to  be  fulfilled  upon 
her,  they  give  place,  fly  from  her,  and  she 
comes,  indeed,  to  Jesus  Christ,  according 
as  it  is  written  :  "  All  that  the  Father  giv- 
eth  me,  shall  come  to  me." 

The  man  that  Avas  possessed  with  a  le- 
gion, (Mark  v.)  was  too  much  by  them 
captivated,  for  him  by  human  force  to  come  ; 
yea,  had  he  had,  to  boot,  all  the  men  under 
heaven  to  help  him,  had  he  who  said,  "  He 
shall  come,"  withheld  his  mighty  power : 
but  when  this  promise  was  to  be  fulfilled 
upon  him,  then  he  comes;  nor  could  all 
their  power  hinder  his  coming.  It  was  also 
this  ("  Shall  come")  that  preserved  him 
from  death ;  when  by  these  evil  spirits  he 
was  hurled  hither  and  thither ;  and  it  was 
by  the  virtue  of  "  Siiall  come"  that  he  was 
at  last  set  at  liberty  from  them  and  enabled 
indeed  to  come  to  Christ.  "  All  that  the 
Father  giveth  me  shall  come  to  me." 


Objection  3.  They  shall,  you  say;  but 
how  if  they  will  not :  and  if  so,  then  what 
can  "  Shall  come"  do  ? 

Ans^cer.  True,  there  are  some  men  who 
say,  "  We  are  lords,  we  will  come  no  more 
under  thee."  Jer.  ii.  31.  But  as  God  says 
in  another  case,  (if  they  are  concerned  in 
"Shall  come"  to  me,)  "  They  shall  know 
whose  words  shall  stand,  mine  or  theirs." 
Jer  xliv.  28.  Here  then  is  the  case,  we 
must  now  see  who  will  be  the  liar ;  he  that 
saith,  I  will  not ;  or  he  that  saith,  he  shall 
come  to  me.  You  shall  come,  says  God  ;  I 
will  not  come,  saith  the  sinner.  Now  as 
sure  as  he  is  concerned  in  this  "  Shall 
come,"  God  will  make  that  man  eat  his  own 
words ;  for  I  will  not,  is  the  unadvised  con- 
clusion of  a  crazy-headed  sinner ;  but 
"  Shall  come"  was  spoken  by  him  that  is  of 
power  to  perform  his  word.  "  Son,  go  work 
to-day  in  my  vineyard,"  said  the  Fatlier : 
but  he  answered  and  said,  I  will  not  come. 
What  now  1  will  he  be  able  to  stand  to  his 
refusal  7  will  he  pursue  his  desperate  deni- 
al 7  No,  "he  afterwards  repented  and 
went."  But  how  came  he  by  that  repent- 
ance ?  Why,  it  was  wrapped  up  for  him 
in  the  absolute  promise ;  and  therefore  not- 
withstanding he  said,  I  will  not,  "he  after- 
wards repented  and  went."  By  this  para- 
ble, Jesus  Christ  sets  forth  the  obstinacy  of 
the  sinners  of  the  world,  as  touching  their 
coming  to  him  ;  they  wilt  not  come,  though 
threatened ;  yea,  though  life  be  offered 
them  upon  condition  of  coming. 

But  now,  when  "  Shall  come,"  the  abso- 
lute promise  of  God,  comes  to  be  fulfilled 
upon  them,  then  they  come ;  because  by 
that  promise,  a  cure  is  provided  against  the 
rebellion  of  their  will :  "  Thy  people  shall 
be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power."  Thy 
people,  what  people !  Why,  the  people 
that  the  Father  hath  given  thee.  The 
obstinacy  and  plague  that  is  in  the  will  of 
that  people,  sjiall  be  taken  away:  and  they 
shall  be  made  willing;  "shall  come"  will 
make  them  willing  to  come  to  thee. 

He  that  had  seen  Paul  in  the  midst  of 
his  outrages  against  Christ,  his  gospel,  and 
people,  would  hardly  have  thought  that  he 
would  ever  have  been  a  follower  of  Jesus 
Christ,  especially  since  he  went  not  against 
his  conscience  in  his  persecuting  of  them. 
He  thought  verily  that  he  ought  to  do  what 
he  did.  But  we  may  see  what  Shall  come 
can  do,  when  it  comes  to  be  fulfilled  upon 
the  soul  of  a  rebellious  sinner ;  he  was  a 
chosen  vessel,  given  by  the  Father  to  the 
Son ;  and  now  the  time  being  come  that 
Shall  com  e  was  to  take  him  in  hand,  behold 
he  is  overmastered,  astonished,  and  with 
trembling  and  reverence,  in  a  moment  be- 
comes willing  to  be  obedient  to  the  heaven- 
ly call.     Acts  ix. 

And  were  not  they  far  gone  (that  you 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.      {QJ 


read  of,  Acts  ii.)  who  had  their  hands  and 
hearts  in  the  murder  of  the  Son  of  God : 
and  to  show  their  resolvedness  never  to  re- 
pent of  that  horrid  lact,  said,  "  His  blood 
be  on  us  and  our  children."  But  must  their 
obstinacy  rule?  Must  they  be  bound  to 
their  own  ruin,  by  the  rebellion  of  their 
stubborn  wills  ?  No,  not  those  of  these  the 
Father  gave  to  Christ;  wherefore,  at  the 
times  appointed,  Shall  come  breaks  in 
among  them :  the  absolute  promise  takes 
them  in  hand  ;  and  then  they  come  indeed, 
crying  out  to  Peter  and  the  rest  of  the 
apostles,  "Men  and  brethren,  what  shall 
we  do?"  No  stubbornness  of  men's  will 
can  stand,  when  God  hath  absolutely  said 
the  contrary;  Shall  come  can  make  them 
come  as  doves  to  their  windows,  that  had 
afore  resolved  never  to  come  to  him. 

The  Lord  spake  unto  Manasseh,  and  to 
his  people,  by  the  prophets ;  but  would  he 
hear  ?  No,  he  would  not.  But  shall  Ma- 
nasseh come  otf  thus  ?  No,  he  shall  not 
Therefore  he  being  also  one  of  those  whom 
the  Father  hath  given  to  the  Son,  and  so 
falling  within  the  bounds  and  reach  of  Shall 
come  ;  at  last  Shall  came  takes  him  in  hand 
and  then  he  comes  indeed.  He  comes 
bowing  and  bending ;  he  humbles  himself 
greatly,  and  made  supplication  to  the  Lord, 
and  prayed  unto  him  ;  and  he  was  entreat 
ed  of  him,  and  had  mercy  upon  him.  2 
Chron.  iii,  33. 

The  thief  upon  the  cross,  at  first,  did  rail 
with  his  fellow  upon  Jesus  Christ;  but  he 
was  one  that  the  Father  had  given  to  him, 
and  therefore  Shall  come  must  handle  him 
and  his  rebellious  will.  And  behold,  so 
soon  as  he  is  dealt  withal,  by  virtue  of  that 
absolute  promise,  how  soon  he  buckleth, 
leaves  his  railing,  and  falls  to  supplicating 
of  the  Son  of  God  for  mercy ;  "  Lord," 
saith  he,  "  remember  me  when  thou  comest 
into  thy  kingdom."  Matt,  xxvii.  44.  Luke 
xxiii.  40. 

Objection  4.  They  come,  say  you;  but 
liow  if  they  be  blind  and  see  not  the  way  1 
For  some  are  kept  oiT  from  Christ,  not  only 
by  the  obstinacy  of  their  will,  but  by  the 
blindness  of  their  mind :  Now,  if  they  be 
blind,  how  shall  they  come  ? 

Ansicer.  The  question  is  not,  Are  they 
blind"?  But  are  they  within  the  reach  and 
power  of  Shall  come?  if  so,  that  Christ 
that  said,  they  shall  come,  will  find  them 
eyes,  or  a  guide,  or  both,  to  bring  them  to 
himself  Must,  is  for  the  King.  If  they 
shall  come,  they  shall  come :  no  impedi- 
ment shall  hinder. 

The  Thessaloaians'  darkness  did  not  hin- 
der them  from  being  the  children  of  light; 
"  I  am  come,"  saith  Christ,  '■  that  they  see  not 
might  see."  And  if  he  saitii,  "  See  ye  bUnd 
that  have  no  eyes;"  Who  t^hall  hinder  it? 

This  promise  therefore  is,  as  I  said,  a 


big-bellied  promise,  having  in  the  bowels 
of  it,  all  things  that  shall  occur  to  the  com- 
plete fulfilling  of  itself  They  shall  come. 
But  it  is  objected,  that  they  are  blind  :  Well, 
Shall  come  is  still  the  same,  and  continueth 
to  say.  They  shall  come  to  me.  Therefore 
he  saith  again,  "  I  will  bring  the  blind  by  a 
way  that  they  know  not.  I  will  lead  them 
in  paths  that  they  know  not.  I  will  make 
darkness  light  before  them,  and  crooked 
things  straight ;  these  things  will  I  do  unto 
them,  and  not  forsake  them." 

Mark !  I  will  bring  them,  though  they  be 
blind;  I  will  bring  them  by  a  way  they 
know  not ,  I  will,  I  will :  and  therefore  they 
shall  come  to  me. 

Objection  5.  But  how,  if  they  have 
exceeded  many  in  sin,  and  so  made  them- 
selves far  more  abominable  ?  They  are  the 
ring-leading  sinners  in  the  country,  the 
town,  or  family. 

Answer.  What  then  ?  Shall  that  hinder 
the  execvition  of  Shall  come?  It  is  not 
transgressions,  nor  sins,  nor  all  their  trans- 
gression in  all  their  sins,  if  they  by  the 
Father  are  given  to  Christ  to  save  them, 
that  shall  hinder  this  promise,  that  it  should 
not  be  fulfilled  upon  them.  "  In  those  days, 
and  at  that  time,"  saith  the  Lord,  "  the 
iniquities  of  Israel  shall  be  sought  for,  and 
there  shall  be  none  ;  and  the  sins  of  Judah, 
and  they  shall  not  be  found."  Not  that 
they  had  none,  for  they  abounded  in  trans- 
gression ;  but  God  would  pardon,  cover, 
hide,  and  put  them  away,  by  virtue  of  his 
absolute  promise,  by  which  they  are  given 
to  Christ  to  save  them.  "  And  I  will  cleanse 
them  from  all  their  iniquity,  whereby  they 
have  transgressed  against  me.  And  it 
shall  be  to  me  for  a  name  of  joy,  a  praise, 
and  an  honor  before  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  which  shall  hear  of  all  the  good  I  do 
unto  them  ;  and  they  shall  fear  and  tremble 
for  all  the  goodness  and  all  the  prosperity 
that  I  procure  in  it." 

Objection  6.  But  how  if  they  have  not 
faith  and  repentance  ?  How  shall  they 
come  then  ? 

Ansiver.  Why,  he  that  saith,  They  shall 
come,  shall  he  not  make  it  good  ?  If  they 
shall  come,  they  shall  come ;  and  he  that 
hath  said  they  shall  come,  if  faith  and  re- 
pentance be  the  way  to  come,  as  indeed 
they  are,  then  faith  and  repentance  shall  be 
given  to  them ;  for  shall  come  must  be  ful- 
filled on  them. 

1.  Faith  shall  be  given  them :  "  I  will 
also  leave  in  the  midst  of  thee  an  alllicted 
and  poor  people,  and  they  shall  trust  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  There  shall  be  a  root 
of  Jesse,  and  he  shall  rise  to  reign  over  the 
Gentiles ;  and  in  him  shall  the  Gentiles 
trust." 

2.  They  shall  have  repentance :  He  is 
exalted  to  give  repentance :    "  They  shall 


16g     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


come  weeping,  and  seeking  the  Lord  their 
God."  And  again,  "  witli  weeping  and 
supplication  will  I  lead  them." 

I  told  you  before  that  an  absolute  prom- 
ise hath  all  conditional  ones  in  the  belly  of 
it,  and  also  provision  to  answer  all  tliosc 
qualifications,  that  iJicy  propound  to  him 
that  seeketh  for  their  benefit :  And  it  must 
be  so:  for  if  S/uill  come  be  an  absolute 
promise,  as  indeed  it  is,  then  it  must  be  ful- 
filled, upon  every  one  of  those  concerned 
therein.  1  say,  it  must  be  fulfilled,  if  God 
can  by  grace,  and  his  absolute  will,  fulfil  it. 
Besides,  since  coming  and  believing  is  all 
one,  "  He  that  cometh  to  me  shall  never 
hunger,  and  he  that  believeth  in  me  shall 
never  thirst." 

Then  when  he  saith,  they  Shall  come,  it 
is  as  much  as  to  say,  they  shall  believe,  and 
consequently  repent  to  the  saving  of  the 
soul.  So  then  the  present  want  of  faith 
and  repentance  cannot  make  the  promise 
of  God  of  none  effect;  because  that  this 
promise  hath  in  it  to  give,  what  others  call 
for  and  expect  I  will  give  them  an  heart, 
I  will  give  them  repentance,  I  will  give 
them  faith. 

Mark  these  words ;  "  If  any  man  be  in 
Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature."  But  how 
came  he  to  be  a  new  creature,  since  none 
can  create  but  God?  Why,  God  indeed 
doth  make  new  creatures.  "  Behold,"  saith 
he,  "  I  make  all  things  new."  And  hence 
it  follows  even  after  he  had  said,  they  are 
new  creatures  ;  and  all  things  are  of  God  ; 
that  is  all  these  new  creatures  stand  in  the 
several  operations,  and  special  workings  of 
the  Spirit  of  grace,  who  is  God. 

Objection  7.  But  how  shall  they  escape 
all  those  dangerous  and  damnable  opinions, 
that  like  rocks  and  quicksands  are  in  the 
way  in  which  they  are  going. 

Answer.  Indeed  tliis  age  is  an  age  of 
errors,  if  ever  there  was  an  age  of  errors  in 
the  world ;  but  yet  the  gift  of  the  Father, 
laid  claim  to  by  the  Son  in  the  text,  must 
needs  escape  them,  and  in  conclusion  come 
to  him.  There  are  a  company  of  shall 
Coynes  in  the  Bible,  that  doth  secure  them  ; 
not  but  that  they  may  be  assaulted  by  them ; 
yea,  and  also  for  the  time  entangled  and 
detained  by  them  from  the  bisiiop  of  their 
souls ;  but  these  shall  comes  will  break 
those  chains  and  fetters,  that  those  given 
to  Christ  are  entangled  in,  and  lliey  shall 
come,  because  he  hath  said  they  shall  come 
to  him. 

Indeed,  errors  are  like  that  whore  of 
whom  you  read  in  the  Proverbs,  that  sitteth 
in  her  seat  in  the  high  places  of  the  city, 
"  to  call  passengers  who  go  on  their  right 
way."  But  the  persons,  as  I  said,  that  by 
the  Father  are  given  to  the  Son  to  save 
them,  are  fit  one  time  or  other,  .secured  by 
shall  come  lo  me. 


And  therefore,  of  such  it  is  said,  God 
will  guide  them  with  his  eye,  with  his  coun- 
sel, by  his  Spirit,  and  that  in  the  way  of 
peace,  by  the  springs  of  water,  and  into  all 
truth.  So  then  he  that  hath  such  a  guide, 
(and  all  that  the  Father  give  to  Christ  shall 
liave  it)  he  shall  escape  those  dangers ;  he 
shall  not  err  in  the  way ;  yea,  though  he  be 
a  fool  he  shall  not  err  therein ;  for  of  every 
such  an  one  it  is  said,  "  Thine  ears  shall 
hear  a  word  behind  thee,  saying.  This  ia 
the  way,  walk  in  it,  when  ye  turn  to  the 
right  hand,  and  when  ye  turn  to  the  left." 

There  were  thieves  and  robbers  before 
Christ's  corning,  as  there  are  also  now ;  but 
saith  he,  "  The  sheep  did  not  hear  them." 

And  why  did  they  not  hear  them,  but  be- 
cause they  were  under  the  fower  of  shall 
come,  that  absolute  promise,  that  had  that 
grace  in  itself  to  bestow  upon  them,  as 
could  make  them  able  rightly  to  distinguish 
of  voices ;  "  My  sheep  hear  my  voice." 
But  how  came  they  to  hear  it?  Why,  to 
them  it  is  given  to  knov/  and  to  hear,  and 
that  distinguishingly.  John  x.  8,  16 ;  chap. 
V.  25;  Eph.  V.  U. 

Further,  The  very  plain  sentence  of  the 
text  makes  provision  against  all  these 
things ;  for,  saith  it,  "  All  that  the  Father 
giveth  me,  shall  come  to  me ;"  that  is,  shall 
not  be  stopped,  or  be  allured  to  take  up  any 
where  short  of  me,  nor  shall  they  turn  aside, 
to  abide  with  any  besides  me. 

Shall  come  to  me — To  me.  By  these 
words  there  is  further  insinuated,  though 
not  expressed,  a  double  cause  for  their  com- 
ing to  him. 

1.  There  is  in  Christ  a  fulness  of  all- 
sufficiency  of  that,  even  of  all  that  which 
is  needful  to  make  us  happy. 

2.  Those  that  indeed  come  to  him,  do 
therefore  come  to  him  tliat  tliey  may  receive 
it  at  his  hand. 

For  the  first  of  these,  there  is  in  Christ  a 
fulness  of  all-sufficiency  of  all  that,  even  of 
all  that  which  is  needful  to  make  us  happy. 
Hence  it  is  said,  "  For  it  pleased  the  Father 
that  in  him  should  all  fulness  dwell."  And 
again,  "  Of  his  fulness,  all  we  have  receiv- 
ed, and  grace  for  grace."  Col.  i.  19;  John 
i.  16.  It  is  also  said  of  him,  that  his  riches 
are  unsearchable,  "  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ."  Ej^ih.  iii.  8.  Hear  what  he 
saith  of  himself,  "  Riches  and  honor  are 
with  me.  even  durable  riches  and  righte- 
ou.?ness ;  My  fruit  is  better  than  gold,  yea, 
than  fine  gold,  and  my  revenue  than  choice 
silver:  I  lead  in  the  way  of  righteousness, 
in  the  midst  of  the  paths  of  judgment,  that 
I  may  cause  tiiem  that  love  me  to  inherit 
substance.  And  I  will  fill  their  treasures. 
Prov.  xviii.  19—21. 

This  in  general :  But,  more  particularly, 

1.  There  is  that  light  in  Christ  that  is 

sufficient  to  lead  them  out  ofj  and  from  all 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     169 


that  darkness,  in  the  midst  of  which  all 
others,  but  them  that  come  to  him,  stumble, 
and  fall,  and  perish ;  "  I  am  the  light  of  the 
world,"  saith  he ;  "  he  that  foUoweth  me, 
shall  not  abide  in  darkness,  but  shall  have 
the  hght  of  life."  Man  by  nature  is  in 
darkness,  and  walketh  in  darkness,  and 
knows  not  whither  he  goes,  tor  darkness 
hath  blinded  his  eyes ;  neither  can  any  thing 
but  Jesus  Christ  lead  men  out  of  this  dark- 
ness. Natural  conscience  cannot  do  it : 
This  prerogative  belongs  only  to  Jesus 
Christ. 

2.  There  is  life  in  Christ,  that  is  to  be 
found  no  where  else :  life,  as  a  principle  in 
the  soul,  by  which  it  shall  be  acted  and  en- 
abled to  do  that  which,  through  him,  is 
pleasing  to  God.  "He  that  believeth  in 
(or  Cometh  to)  me,"  saith  he,  as  the  scrip- 
tures have  said,  "  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow 
rivers  of  living  water."  Without  this  life  a 
man  is  dead,  whether  he  be  bad,  or  whether 
he  be  good ;  that  is,  good  in  his  own  and 
other  men's  esteem.  There  is  no  true  and 
eternal  life,  but  what  is  in  the  Me  that 
speaketh  in  the  text. 

There  is  also  life  for  those  that  come  to 
him,  to  be  had  by  faith  in  his  flesh  and 
blood.  "  He  tliat  eateth  me,  shall  live  by 
me." 

And  this  is  a  life  against  that  death  that 
comes  by  the  guilt  of  sin,  and  the  curse  of 
the  law,  under  which  all  men  are,  and  for 
ever  must  be,  unless  they  eat  Me,  that 
speaks  in  the  text.  "  Whoso  findeth  me," 
saith  he,  "  findeth  life ;"  deliverance  from 
the  everlasting  death  and  destruction,  that, 
without  me,  he  shall  be  devoured  by. 

Nothing  is  more  desirable  than  life,  to 
him  that  hath  in  himself  the  sentence  of 
condemnation ;  and  here  only  is  life  to  be 
found.  This  life,  to  wit,  eternal  life,  this 
life  is  in  his  Son ;  that  is,  in  him  that  saith 
in  the  text,  "  All  that  the  Father  hath  given 
me,  shall  come  to  me." 

3.  The  person  speaking  in  the  text,  is  he 
nlone  by  whom  poor  sinners  have  admittance 
to,  and  acceptance  with  the  Father,  because 
of  the  glory  of  his  righteousness,  by  and  in 
which  he  presenteth  them,  amiable  and 
spotless  in  his  sight ;  neither  is  there  any 
way  besides  him,  so  to  come  to  the  Father. 
"  I  am  the  way,"  saith  he,  "  the  truth,  and 
the  life  ;  no  man  cometh  to  tlie  Father,  but 
hy  me."  All  other  ways  to  God  are  dead 
and  damnable ;  the  destroying  cherubims 
stand  with  flaming  swords,  turning  every 
way  tn  keep  all  others  from  his  presence. 
1  say,  all  others  but  them  that  come  by 
him. 

"  I  am  the  door  ;  by  me,"  saith  he,  "  if 
any  man  shall  enter  in,  he  shall  be  saved." 

The  person  speaking  in  the  text,  is  he, 
and  only  he,  that  can  give  stable  and  ever- 
lasting peace;   therefore,  saith  he,   "My 

Vol.  3. —  V. 


peace  I  give  unto  you."  My  peace,  which 
is  a  peace  with  God,  peace  of  conscience, 
and  that  of  an  everlasting  duration.  My 
peace,  peace  that  cannot  be  matched,  '•  not 
as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you  ;"  for 
the  world's  peace  is  but  carnal  and  transi- 
tory, but  mine  is  divine  and  eternal.  Hence 
it  is  called  the  peace  of  God,  that  passeth 
all  understanding. 

4.  The  person  speaking  m  the  text,  hath 
enough  of  all  things  truly  spiritually  good, 
to  satisfy  the  desire  of  every  longing  soul. 
''  And  Jesus  stood  and  cried,  saying,  if  any 
man  thirst,  let  him  come  to  me  and  drink. 
And  to  him  that  is  athirst,  I  will  give  of 
the  fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely." 

5.  With  the  person  speaking  in  the  text 
is  power  to  perfect,  and  defend,  and  deliver 
those  that  come  to  him  for  safe-guard. 
"All  power,"  saith  he,  ^'■ia  heaven  and 
earth  are  given  unto  me." 

Thus  might  I  multiply  instances  in  this 
nature  in  abundance.     But, 

Secondly,  They  that  in  truth  do  come  to 
liim,  do  therefore  come  to  him  thai  they 
may  receive  it  at  his  hand.  They  come 
for  light,  they  come  for  life,  they  come  for 
reconciliation  with  God;  they  also  come 
for  peace,  they  come  that  tlueir  souJs  may 
be  satisfied  witJi  spiritual  good,  and  tliat 
they  may  be  protected  by  him  against  all 
spiritual  and  eternal  damnation;  and  he 
alone  is  able  to  give  them  all  this,  to  the  ful- 
filling of  their  joy  to  the  lull,  as  they  also 
find  when  they  come  to  him. 

This  is  evident, 

1.  From  the  plain  declaration  of  those 
that  already  are  come  to  him.  "  Being 
justified  by  taith,  we  have  peace  with  God, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom 
also  we  have  access  with  boldness  into  this 
grace,  wherein  we  stand,  and  rejoice  in 
hope  of  the  glory  of  God." 

2.  It  is  evident  also,  in  that  while  they 
keep  their  eyes  upon  him,  they  never  de- 
sire to  change  him  for  another,  or  to  add  to 
themselves  some  other  thing,  together  with 
him,  to  make  up  their  spiritual  joy.  "  God 
forbid,"  said  Paul,  "  that  I  should  glory, 
save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Yea,  and  I  count  ail  things  but  loss  for  the 
excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus 
my  Lord,  for  whom  I  have  suffered  the  loss 
of  all  things,  and  do  count  them  but  dung, 
that  I  may  win  Christ,  and  be  found  in 
him  :  not  having  mine  own  righteousness, 
which  is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through 
the  faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which 
is  of  God  by  faith." 

3.  It  is  evident  also  by  their  earnest  de- 
sires that  others  might  be  made  partakers 
of  their  blessedness.  "Brethren,"  said  Paul, 
"  my  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  for 
Israel,  is,  that  they  might  be  saved  ;"  that 
is,  that  way  that  he  expected  to  be  saved 


170     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRISf. 


himself;  fts  he  saith  also  to  the  Galatians, 
"  Brethren,"  saith  he,  "  I  beseech  you,  be 
as  I  am,  for  I  am  as  ye  arc ;"  that  is,  I  am 
a  sinner  as  ye  are.  Now,  I  beseech  you, 
seek  for  life,  as  I  am  seeking  for  it ;  as  who 
should  say,  For  there  is  a  sufficiency  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  both  for  me  and  you. 

4.  It  is  evident  also,  by  the  triilmph  that 
such  men  make  overall  their  enemies,  both 
bodily  and  ghostly:  "Now  thanks  be  to 
God,"  said  Paul,  "  who  causeth  us  alway.s 
to  triumph  in  Jesus  Christ."  And  who 
ehall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ 
our  Lord ;  and  again,  "  O  death,  where  is 
thy  sting?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory? 
The  sting  of  death  is  sin,  and  the  strength 
of  sin  is  the  law ;  but  thanks  be  to  God, 
who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lofd 
Jesus  Christ. 

5.  It  is  evident  also,  for  that  they  are 
made  by  the  glory  of  that  which  they  have 
found  in  him,  to  sutler  and  endure  what 
the  devil  and  hell  itself  hath  or  could  in- 
vent, as  a  means  to  separate  them  from 
him.  Again,  '•  who  shall  separate  us  from 
the  love  of  Christ?  Shall  tribulation,  or 
distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  na- 
kedness, or  peril,  or  sword  ?  (as  is  written. 
For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day  long, 
we  are  counted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter.) 
Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than 
conquerors,  through  him  that  loved  us :  For 
I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death  nor  life, 
nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers, 
nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor 
height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature, 
shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love 
of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus." 

"  Shall  come  to  me."  O  the  heart-at- 
tracting glory  that  is  in  Jesus  Christ,  (when 
he  is  discovered,)  to  draw  those  to  him  that 
are  given  to  him  of  the  Father:  There- 
fore, those  that  came  of  old,  rendered  this 
as  the  cause  of  their  coming  to  him.  "  And 
we  beheld  the  glory,  as  of  the  only  begot- 
ten of  the  Father."  And  the  reason  why 
others  come  not,  but  perish  in  their  sins, 
is  for  want  of  a  sight  of  his  glory.  "  If 
our  gospel  be  hid,  it  is  hid  to  them  that 
are  lost,  in  whom  the  God  of  this  world  hath 
blinded  the  minds  of  them  that  believe 
not  lest  the  glorious  light  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God,  should 
shine  unto  them." 

There  is,  therefore,  heart-pulsing  glory 
in  Jesus  Christ,  which,  discovered,  draws 
the  men  to  him  ;  wherefore,  by  "  shall  come 
to  me,"  Christ  may  mean,  when  his  glory 
is  discovered,  then  they  must  come,  then  they 
shall  come  to  mn.  Therefore,  as  the  true, 
comers  come  with  Avceping  and  relenting, 
as  being  sensible  of  their  own  vileness; 
so  again  it  is  said,  "  That  the  ransomed  of 
the  Lord  shall  return,  and  come  to  Zion. 
with  singing,  and  everlasting  joy  upon  tlieir 


heads ;  they  .shall  obtain  joy  and  gladnees, 
and  sorrow  <and  sighing  sJiall  fly  away ; 
"  that  is,  at  the  sight  of  the  glory  of  that 
grace,  that  shows  itself  to  them  now,  in 
the  face  of  our  Lord  Jesu.-?  Chri.st,  and  in 
the  hopes  that  they  now  have,  of  being 
with  him  in  the  hertvenly  tabernacles. 
Therefore,  it  saith  again,  "  With  gladness 
and  rejoicing  shall  they  be  brought ;  Ihey 
shall  enter  into  the  King's  palace." 

There  is,  therefore,  heart-attracting  glo^ 
ry  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which,  when 
discovered,  subjects  the  heart  to  the  word, 
and  makes  us  come  to  him. 

It  is  said  of  Abraham^,  That  when  he 
dwelt  in  Mespotamia,  the  God  of  glory  ap- 
peared unto  him,  saying,  "  Get  thee  out  of 
thy  country."  And  what  then  ?  Why, 
away  he  went  from  his  house  and  friends, 
and  all  the  world  could  not  stay  him.  A'oii^. 
as  the  Psalmist  says,  "  Who  is  the  king  of 
glory?"  he  answers,  "The  Lord,  mighty 
in  battle :"  And  who  was  that  but  he  that 
spoiled  principalities  and  powers,  when  he 
did  hang  upon  the  tree,  triumphing  over 
them  thereon  ?  And  who  was  that  but  Je- 
sus Christ,  even  the  person  speaking  in  the 
text?  Therefore,  he  saith  of  Abraham, 
"  He  saAv  his  day."  Yea,  saith  he  to  the 
Jews,  "  your  father  Abraham  rejoiced  to 
see  my  day,  and  he  saw  it,  and  was  glad." 

Indeed  the  carnal  man  says,  at  la.'Jt,  in  his 
heart,  "  There  is  no  form  or  comeliness  in 
Ciirist ;"  and  nvhen  we  shall  see  him, 
"  There  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  dcsiru 
him  ;"  but  he  lies :  this  he  speaks  as  hav- 
ing never  seen  him.  But  they  that  stand 
in  his  house,  and  look  upon  him  through 
the  glass  of  his  word,  by  the  help  of  his 
Holy  Spirit,  they  will  tell  you  other  things. 
But  we,  say  they,  "  all  with  open  face,  be- 
holding, aH  in  a  glass,  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
and  changed  into  the  same  image,  from 
glory  to  glory."  They  see  glory  in  his 
person,  glory  in  his  understanding,  glory  in 
the  merit  of  his  blood,  and  glory  in  the  per- 
fection of  his  righteousness ;  yea.  heart-at- 
fecting,  heart-sweetening,  and  heart-chang- 
ing glory ! 

Indeed  his  glory  is  veiled,  and  cannot  be 
seen,  but  as  discovered  by  the  Father.  It 
is  veiled  with  flesh,  with  meanness  of  des- 
cent Irom  the  flesh,  and  with  that  ignominy 
and  shame  that  attended  him  in  the  flesh ; 
but  they  that  can,  in  God's  light,  see  tlirough 
these  things,  they  shall  see  glory  in  him  ; 
yea,  such  glory  as  will  draw  and  pull  their 
hearts  unto  him. 

Moses  was  the  adopted  son  of  Pharaoh's 
daughter  ;  and  for  aught  I  know,  had  been 
king  at  last,  had  he  conformed  to  the  pres- 
ent vanities  that  were  there  at  court ;  but 
he  could  not^  he  would  not  do  it:  why? 
what  was  the  matter  ?  Why !  he  saw 
more  in  the  worst  of  Christ,  (bear  with  the 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     171 


expression,)  than  he  saw  in  the  best  of  all 
the  treasures  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  He 
refused  to  be  called  the  son  of  Pharaoh's 
daughter ;  choosing  rather  to  suffer  afflic- 
tionwith  the  jteople  of  God,  than  to  enjoy 
the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season ;  esteeming 
the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than 
tlie  treasures  of  Egypt;  for  he  had  res- 
pect to  the  rtcompense  of  reward.  He  for- 
sook Elgypt,  not  fearing  the  wrath  of  the 
king.  But  what  emboldened  him  to  do  this  ? 
Why,  he  endured ;  for  he  had  a  sight  of  the 
person  speaking  in  the  text:  "He  endured, 
as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible."  But  I  say, 
would  a  sight  of  Jesus  have  thus  taken 
away  Moses's  heart  from  a  crown,  and  a 
kingdom,  &c.  had  he  not  by  that  sight 
seen  more  in  him  thaa  was  to  be  seen  in 
them  ? 

Therefore,  when  he  saith,  "  Shall  come 
to  me,"  he  means  they  shall  have  a  discov- 
ery of  the  glory  of  the  grace  that  is  in  him ; 
and  the  beauty  and  glory  of  that  is  of  such 
virtue,  that  it  constraineth  and  forceth,with 
a  blessed  violence,  the  hearts  of  those  that 
are  given  to  him. 

Moses  of  whom  we  spake  before,  was  no 
child  when  he  was  thus  taken  with  the 
beauteous  glory  of  lliis  Lord  :  he  was  forty 
years  old-,  and  so,  consequently,  was  able, 
being  a  man  of  that  wisdom  and  opportu- 
nity as  he  was,  to  make  the  best  judgment 
of  the  things,  and  of  the  goodness  of  them 
that  were  before  him  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 
But  he,  even  he  it  was,  that  set  that  low 
esteem  upon  the  glory  of  Egypt,  to  count 
it  not  worth  the  meddling  with,  when  he 
had  a  sight  of  this  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This 
wicked  v>rorld  thinks,  that  the  fancies  of  a 
heaven,  and  happiness  hereafter,  may  serve 
■well  enough  to  take  the  heart  of  such  as 
either  have  not  the  world's  good  things  to 
delight  in,  or  that  are  fools,  and  know  not 
how  to  delight  themselves  therein.  But 
let  them  know  again,  that  we  have  had 
men  of  all  ranks  and  qualities,  that  have 
been  taken  with  the  glory  of  our  Lord  Je- 
sus, and  have  left  all  to  follow  him :  as 
Abel,  Seth,  Enoch,  Noah,  Abraham,  Isaac. 
Jacob,  Moses,  Samuel,  David,  Solomon, 
and  wlio  not  ?  that  had  either  wit  or  grace, 
to  savor  heavenly  things'?  Indeed,  none 
can  stand  off  from  him,  nor  any  longer 
hold  out  against  him,  to  whom  he  reveals 
the  glory  of  his  grace. 

''  And  him  that  cometh  to  me"  I  Avill  in 
no  wise  cast  out.  By  those  words  our 
Lord  Jesus  doth  set  forth,  yet  more  amply, 
the  great  goodness  of  his  nature  towards 
the  coming  sinner.  Before,  he  said,  they 
shall  come  ;  and  he  declareth,  "  that  with 
heart  and  affections  he  will  receive  them." 
But,  by  tile  way.  let  me  speak  one  word  or 
two  to  the  seeming  conditionalify  of  this 
promise   with  which  now  I  have  to  do. 


"  And  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out."  Where  it  is  evident  (may 
some  say)  that  Christ's  receiving  us  to  mer- 
cy, depends  upon  our  coming,  and  so  our 
salvation  by  Christ  is  conditional-  If  we 
come,  we  shall  be  received ;  if  not,  we  thall 
not :  for  that  is  fully  intimated  by  the  words. 
Tlie  promise  of  reception  is  only  to  him 
that  cometh :  "  And  him  that  cometh."  I 
answer,  that  the  coming  in  these  words 
mentioned,  as  a  condition,  of  being  receiv 
ed  to  life,  is  that  which  is  promised,  yea, 
concluded  to  be  effected  in  us  by  the  prom 
ise  going  before.  In  those  latter  words, 
coming  to  Christ,  is  implicitly  required  of 
us ;  and  in  the  words  before,  that  grace 
that  can  make  us  come  is  positively  prom- 
ised to  us.  "  All  that  the  Father  giveth 
to  me  shall  come  to  me,  and  him  that  com- 
eth to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out  thence." 
We  come  to  Christ,  because  it  is  said, 
"  We  shall  come  ;"  because  it  is  given  to 
us  to  come  ;  so  that  the  condition  which  is 
expressed  by  Christ  in  these  latter  words, 
is  absolutely  promised  in  the  words  before. 

And  indeed,  the  coming  here  intended, 
is  nothing  else  but  the  effect  of  "  shall  come 
to  me.  They  shall  come,  and  I  Avill  not 
cast  them  out." 

"  And  him  that  cometh." — He  saith  not, 
and  him  that  is  come  but  him  that  cometh. 

To  speak  to  these  words,— 

1.  In  general. 

2.  More  particularly. 

In  general. — They  suggest  unto  us  these 
four  things : 

L  That  Jesus  Christ  doth  build  upon  it, 
that  since  the  Father  gave  his  people  to 
him,  they  shall  be  enabled  to  come  unto 
him.  "And  him  that  cometh,"  as  who 
should  say,  1  know  that  since  they  are  giv- 
en to  me,  they  shall  be  enabled  to  come  wi- 
to  me.  He  saith  not.  If  they  come,  or  I  s^ip' 
pose  tliey  will  come — but,  and  him  that 
cometh.  By  these  words,  therefore  he 
shows,  that  he  addresseth  himself  to  the 
receiving  of  them  whom  the  Father  gave 
him  to  save  them :  I  say,  he  addresseth 
himself  or  prepareth  himself  to  receive 
them ;  by  which,  as  I  said,  he  concludeth 
or  buildeth  upon  it,  that  they  shall  indeed 
come  to  him.  He  looketh  that  the  Father 
should  bring  them  into  his  bosom,  and  so 
stands  ready  to  embrace  them. 

2.  Christ  also  suggesteth  by  these  words, 
that  he  very  well  knoweth  who  are  given 
to  him  ;  not  by  their  coming  to  him,  but  by 
their  being  given  to  him.  "All  that  the 
Father  giveth  me,  shall  come  to  me ;  and 
him  that  cometh,  &c."  this  him  he  know- 
eth to  be  one  of  them  that  the  Father  hath 
given  him ;  and  therefore  he  receiveth  him, 
even  because  the  Father  hath  gi%'en  him, 
to  him.  "  I  know  my  sheep,"  saith  lie  ;  not 
only  those  tliat  already  have  Icnowledge  of 


172    COME,    AND     WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


him,  but  those  too  that  yet  are  ignorant  of 
him.  '■  Other  sheep  liave  1,"  said  he, 
"  which  are  not  of  tliis  fold ;"  not  of  the 
Jewish  church,  but  those  that  he  in  their 
sins,  even  the  rude  and  barbarous  Gentiles. 
Tlicrefore,  when  Paul  was  afraid  to  stay  at 
Cori'.Uli,  from  a  supposition  that  some  mis- 
cliief  might befal  him  there;  "  be  not  afraid," 
said  tiie  Lord  Jesus  to  him,  "but  speak, 
and   hold  not   thy  peace,  for  I  liave  much 

Eeople  in  this  city."  The  people  that  the 
lOrd  here  speaks  of,  were  not  at  this  time 
accounted  lu.s,  by  reason  of  a  work  of  con- 
version that  already  had  passed  upon  them, 
but  by  virtue  of  the  gift  of  the  Father; 
for  he  had  given  them  unto  him.  There- 
fore was  Paul  to  stay  here,  to  speak  the 
word  of  the  Lord  to  them,  that  by  his  speak- 
ing, the  Holy  Ghost  might  effectually  work 
over  their  souls,  to  the  causing  them  to 
come  to  him,  who  was  also  ready  \vith 
heart  and  soul  to  receive  tliem. . 

3.  Christ,  by  these  words,  also  suggest- 
ed, that  no  more  come  unto  him  than  indeed 
are  given  him  of  the  Father ;  for  the  him 
in  this  place,  is  one  of  the  all,  that  by 
Christ  was  mentioned  before :  "  All  that  the 
Father  giveth  me,  shall  come  to  me,"  and 
every  him  of  that  all,  "I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out."  This  the  apostle  insinuateth, 
where  he  saith,  '•  He  gave  some  apostles, 
and  some  prophets,  and  some  evangelists, 
and  some  pastors  and  teachers ;  for  the 
perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  tlie 
ministr}-',  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of 
Christ :  till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  faith, 
and  of  tl^e  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God, 
unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of 
the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ." 

Mark,  as  in  the  text,  so  here  he  speak- 
eth  of  all ;  '■  Until  we  all  come."  We  all ! 
All  who  ?  Doubtless,  '•  All  that  the  Father 
giveth  to  Christ."  This  is  larther  insinu- 
ated because  he  calleth  this  all  the  body 
of  Christ ;  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
the  fulness  of  Ciirist ;  by  which  he  means 
the  universal  number  given,  to  wit,  the  true 
elect  church,  which  is  .said  to  be  his  body 
and  fulness. 

4.  Christ  Jesus  by  these  words,  farther 
KUggesteth  that  he  is  well  content  with  this 
gift  of  the  Father  to  him.  "  All  that  the 
Father  giveth  me,  shall  come  to  me,  and 
him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out."  I  will  heartily,  willingly,  and 
with  great  content  of  mind,  receive  him. 

They  show  us  also,  that  Christ's  love  in 
receiving,  as  large  as  his  Father's  love  in 
giving,  and  no  larger.  Hence,  he  thanks 
him  for  his  gift;  and  also  thanks  him  for 
hiding  of  him  and  his  things  from  the  rest 
of  the  wicked. 

But,  secondly,  and  more  particularly, 
"And  him  that  cometh."  And  him.  This 
word  him  ;  by  it  Christ  looketh  back  to  the 


gift  of  the  Father ;  not  only  to  the  lump 
and  whole  of  the  gift,  but  to  the  every  him 
of  that  lump.  As  who  should  say,  I  do  not 
only  accept  of  the  gift  of  my  Father  in  the 
general,  but  hnve  a  special  regard  to  every 
of  them  in  particular ;  and  will  secure  not 
only  some,  or  the  greatest  part,  but  every 
him,  every  dust;  not  an  hoof  of  all  shall  be 
lost,  or  left  behind.  And  indeed,  in  this  he 
consenteth  to  his  Father's  will,  which  is, 
that  of  all  that  he  hath  given  himi,  he  should 
lose  nothing. 

And  him.  Christ  Jesus  also,  by  his  thus 
dividing  the  gift  of  his  Father  into  hivis, 
and  by  his  speaking  of  them  in  the  singular 
number,  shows  what  a  particular  work 
shall  be  wrought  in  each  one,  at  the  time 
appointed  of  the  Father.  "  And  it  shall 
come  to  pass  in  that  day,"  saith  the  proph- 
et, "  that  the  Lord  shall  beat  off  Irom  the 
channel  of  the  river,  to  the  stream  of  Egypt ; 
and  ye  shall  be  gathered  one  by  one,  O  ye 
children  of  Israel."  Here  are  the  hims  one 
by  one,  to  be  gathered  to  him  by  the  Father. 

He  shows  also  hereby,  that  no  lineage, 
kindred,  or  relation,  can  at  all  be  profited 
by  any  outward  or  carnal  union  with  the 
person  that  the  Father  hath  given  to  Christ. 
It  is  only  him,  the  given  him,  the  coming 
him,  that  he  intends  absolutely  to  secure. 
Men  make  great  ado  with  the  children  of 
believers ;  and  oh,  the  children  of  believers  [ 
But  if  the  child  of  the  believer  is  not  the 
him  concerned  in  this  absolute  promise,  it  is 
not  these  men's  great  cry,  nor  yet  what  the 
parent  or  child  can  do,  that  can  interest 
him  in  this  promise  of  the  Lord  Christ, 
this  absolute  promise. 

A7id  him.  There  are  divers  sorts  of  per- 
sons that  the  Father  hath  given  to  Jesus 
Christ ;  they  are  not  all  of  one  rank,  of 
one  quality;  some  are  high,  some  are  low; 
some  are  wise,  some  fools ;  some  are  more 
civil,  and  complying  with  the  1,'tw ;  some 
more  profane,  and  averse  to  him  and  his 
gospel.  Now,  since  those  that  are  given  to 
him  are  in  some  sense  so  diverse ;  and 
again,  since  he  yet  saith,  "  And  him  that 
cometh,  «fec,"  he  by  that,  doth  give  us  to 
understand,  that  he  is  not,  as  men,  for 
picking  and  choosing,  to  take  a  best,  and 
leave  a  worst,  but  he  is  for  him  that  the 
Father  hath  given  him,  and  that  cometh  to 
him.  "  He  will  not  alter  nor  change  it ;  a 
good  for  a  bad,  or  a  bad  for  a  good  ;"  but 
will  take  him  as  he  is,  and  will  save  his 
soul. 

There  is  many  a  sad  wretch  given  by  the 
Father  to  Jesus  Christ ;  but  not  one  of 
them  all  is  despised  or  slighted  by  him. 

It  is  said  of  those  that  the  Father  hath 
given  to  Christ,  that  they  have  done  worse 
than  the  heathen  ;  that  they  Avere  murder- 
ers, thieves,  drunkards,  unclean  persons, 
and  what  not ;  but  he  has  received  them. 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.      173 


washed  them,  and  saved  them,  A  fit  em- 
blem of  this  sort  is  that  wretched  instance 
mentioned  in  the  16th  of  Ezekiel,  that  was 
cast  out  in  a  stinking  condition,  to  the  loath- 
ing of  its  person  in  the  day  that  it  was 
born ;  a  creature  in  such  a  wretched  con- 
dition, that  no  eye  pitied,  to  do  any  of  the 
things  there  mentioned  unto  it,  or  to  have 
compassion  upon  it ;  no  eye  but  his  that 
speaketh  in  the  text. 

And  him.  Let  him  be  as  red  as  blood, 
let  him  be  as  red  as  crimson:  crimson  sin- 
ners, of  a  double  die ;  dipped  and  dipped 
again,  before  they  come  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Art  thou  that  readest  these  lines  such  a 
one?  speak  out  man.  Art  thou  such  a 
one  ■?  and  art  thou  now  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ  lor  the  mercy  of  justification,  that 
thou  mightest  be  made  white  in  his  blood, 
and  be  covered  with  his  righteousness  ? 
Fear  not ;  for  as  much  as  this  thy  coming 
betokeneth  that  thou  art  of  the  number  of 
them  that  the  Father  hath  given  to  Christ ; 
for  he  will  in  no  wise  cast  thee  out.  "  Come 
now,"  saith  Christ,  "  and  let  us  reason  to- 
gether ;  though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet 
they  shall  be  white  as  snow ;  though  they 
be  red  hke  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool." 

A)id  him.  There  was  many  a  strange 
him  came  to  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  days  of 
his  flesh ;  but  he  received  them  all,  with 
out  turning  any  away.  "  Speaking  unto 
them  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  healing 
Buch  as  had  need  of  healing."  These 
words,  and  him,  are,  therefore,  words  to  be 
wondered  at:  that  not  one  of  them,  who, 
by  virtue  of  the  Father's  gift,  and  drawing, 
are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ,  I  say,  that  not 
one  of  them,  whatever  they  have  been 
whatever  they  have  done,  should  be  reject- 
ed, or  set  by,  but  admitted  to  a  share  in  hit 
saving  grace.  It  is  said  in  Luke,  that  the 
people  "  wondered  at  the  gracious  words 
that  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth."  Now 
this  is  one  of  his  gracious  words ;  these 
words  are  like  drops  of  honey,  as  it  is  said, 
"  Pleasant  words  are  as  an  honey-comb, 
sweet  to  the  soul,  and  health  to  the  bones." 
These  are  gracious  words  indeed,  even  as 
lull  as  a  faithful  and  merciful  high-priest 
could  speak  them.  Luther  saith,  "  When 
Christ  speaketh,  he  hath  a  mouth  as  wide 
as  heaven  and  earth ;"  that  is,  to  speak  fully 
to  the  encouragement  of  every  sinful  him 
that  is  coming  to  Jesus  Christ.  And  that 
this  word  is  certain,  hear  liow  he  himself 
confirms  it :  "  Heaven  and  earth,"  saith  he, 
"  shall  pass  away,  but  my  words  shall  not 
pass  away." 

It  is  also  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of 
the  four  evangelists,  who  gave  faithful  rela- 
tion of  his  loving  reception  of  all  sorts  of 
coming  sinners,  whether  they  were  publi- 
cans, harlots,  theives,  possessed  of  devils, 
bedlama,  and  what  not  ? 


This  then  shows  us,  1.  "The  greatness 
of  the  merits  of  Christ. 

2.  The  willingness  of  his  heart  to  im- 
pute them  for  hfe  to  the  great,  if  coming, 
sinners. 

L  This  shows  us  the  greatness  of  the 
merits  of  Christ :  for  it  must  not  be  sup- 
posed, that  his  words  are  bigger  than  his 
worthiness.  He  is  strong  to  execute  his 
word  :  he  can  do,  as  well  as  speak.  "  He 
can  do  exceeding  abundantly  more  than  we 
ask  or  think,"  even  to  the  uttermost,  and 
outside  of  his  word. 

Now  then,  since  he  includeth  any  com- 
ing him;  it  must  be  concluded,  that  he  can 
save  to  the  uttermost  sin,  any  coming  him. 

Do  you  think,  I  say,  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
did  not  think  before  he  spake  ?  he  speaks 
all  in  righteousness,  and  therefore,  by  his 
word,  we  are  to  judge  how  mighty  he  is  to 
save. 

He  spake  in  righteousness,  in  very  faith- 
fulness, when  he  began  to  build  this  bless- 
ed gospel-fabric ;  he  first  sat  down,  and 
counted  the  cost :  and  knew  he  was  able  to 
finish  it!  What,  Lord !  any  him 7  any  him 
that  Cometh  to  thee !  This  is  a  Christ 
worth  looking  after ;  tliis  is  a  Christ  worth 
coming  to. 

This,  then,  should  learn  us  diligently  to 
consider  the  natural  force  of  every  word  of 
God  ;  and  to  judge  of  Christ's  ability  to 
save,  not  by  our  sins,  or  by  our  shallow  ap- 
prehensions of  his  grace  ;  but  by  his  word, 
which  is  the  true  measure  of  grace. 

And  if  we  do  not  judge  thus,  we  shall 
dishonor  his  grace,  lose  the  benefit  of  his 
word,  and  needlessly  fright  ourselves  into 
many  discouragements,  through  coming  to 
Jesus  Christ.  Him,  any  him  that  comefh, 
hath  sufficient  from  this  word  of  Christ  to 
feed  himself  with  hopes  of  salvation.  As 
thou  art,  therefore,  coming,  O  thou  coming 
sinner,  judge  not  whether  Christ  can  save 
thee,  by  the  true  sense  of  his  words :  judge, 
coming  sinner,  of  the  efficacy  of  his  blood, 
of  the  perfection  of  his  righteousness,  and 
of  the  prevalency  of  his  intercession  by  his 
word.  "And  him,"  saith  he,  "that  cometh 
to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  In  vo 
wise,  that  is,  for  no  sin :  judge,  therefore, 
by  his  word,  how  able  he  is  to  save  thee : 
It  is  said  of  God's  sayings  to  the  children 
of  Israel,  "  There  failed  not  aught  of  any 
good  thing  which  the  Lord  hath  spoken  to 
the  house  of  Israel ;  all  came  to  pa.cs." 
And  again,  "Not  one  thing  hath  failed  of 
all  the  good  things  which  the  Lord  your 
God  spake  concerning  you,  all  are  come  to 
pass  unto  you  ;  and  not  one  thing  hath  fail- 
ed thereof" 

Coming  sinner,  what  promise  thou  findest 
in  the  word  of  Christ,  strain  it  whether 
thou  canst,  so  thou  dost  not  corrupt  it,  and 
his  blood  and  merits  will  answer  all ;  what 


174    COME,    AND     WELCOME,     TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


the  word  saith,  or  any  true  consequence 
that  is  drawn  therefrom,  that  we  may 
boldly  venture  upon :  as  here  in  the  text 
he  saith,  '•  And  him  that  comcth,"  indefi- 
nitely, without  ihe  least  intimation  of  the 
rejection  of  any,  thoui^li  never  so  great,  if 
he  be  a  coming  sinner.  Take  it  then  for 
granted,  that  ihou,  whoever  thou  art,  if 
coming,  art  intended  in  these  words ;  nei- 
ther sliall  it  injure  Christ  at  all,  if,  as  Ben- 
hadad's  servants  served  Ahah,  thou  shall 
catch  him  at  his  word.  "IS'ow,"  saith  the 
text,  '■  tiie  man  did  diligently  observe 
whether  any  thing  would  come  from  him," 
to  wit.  any  word  of  grace ;  "  and  did  has- 
tily catch  it."  And  it  happened  that  Ahab 
had  called  Benhadad  hi.s  brother.  The 
man  replied,  therefore,  "  Thy  brother  Ben- 
hadi.d!"  catching  him  at  his  word.  Sin- 
ner, coming  sinner,  serve  Jesus  Christ  thus, 
ami  he  will  take  it  kindly  at  thy  hands. 
When  he,  in  his  argument,  called  the  Ca- 
naauitish  woman  dog,  she  catched  him  at 
it,  and  said,  ''  Truth,  Lord,  yet  the  dogs 
eat  of  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  their  mas- 
ter's table."  I  say,  she  catched  him  thus  in 
his  words,  and  he  took  it  kindly,  saying,  ''O 
woman,  great  is  thy  faith :  be  it  unto  thee 
even  as  thou  wilt"  Catch  him,  coming 
Binner,  catch  him  in  his  words  ;  surely  he 
will  lake  it  kindly,  and  will  not  be  offended 
at  thee. 

2.  The  other  thing  that  I  told  you  is 
showed  trom  these  words,  is  this :  the  wil- 
lingness of  Christ's  heart,  to  impute  his 
mercies  for  life,  to  the  great,  if  coming  sin- 
ner. "  And  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will 
in  no  wise  cast  out." 

The  awakened,  coming  sinner,  doth  not 
so  easily  question  the  power  of  Christ,  as 
his  willingness  to  save  him  :  "  Lord,  if  thou 
wilt,  thou  canst,"  said  one.  He  did  not  put 
the  if  upon  his  power,  but  upon  his  will : 
he  concluded  he  could,  but  lie  was  not  as 
fully  of  persuasion  that  he  would  ;  but  we 
liave  the  same  ground  to  believe  that  he 
will,  as  we  have  to  believe  he  can ;  and  in- 
deed, ground  for  both  is  the  word  of  God. 
If  he  was  not  willing,  why  did  he  promise? 
Wh}^  did  he  say,  he  would  receive  the 
coming  sinner?  Coming  sinner,  take  no- 
tice of  this  ;  we  use  to  plead  practises  with 
men,  and  Avhy  not  with  God  likewise  ?  I 
am  sure  we  have  no  more  ground  for  one 
than  the  other ;  for  we  have  to  plead  the 
promise  of  a  faithful  God.  Jacob  took  him 
there:  "Thou  saidst,"  said  he,  "I  will 
Burely  do  thee  good."  For.  from  this  prom- 
ise, he  concluded,  that  it  followed  in  reason. 
He  mu.-t  be  willing. 

The  text  also  gives  some  ground  for  us 
to  draw  the  same  conclusion.  "  And  him 
that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out."  Here  is  his  willingness  asserted,  as 
well  as  his  power  suggested.     It  is  worth 


your  observation,  that  Abraham's  faith  con- 
sidered rather  God's  power  than  his  wil- 
lingness; that  is,  he  drew  his  conclusion,  / 
.s7ia//  have  a  child.,  from  the  power  that  was 
in  God  to  fulfil  the  promise  to  him:  for  he 
concluded  he  was  v.iiling  to  give  him  one, 
else  he  would  not  have  p;-oniised  one.  "He 
staggered  not  at  the  promise  of  God 
through  unbelief,  but  was  strong  in  faith, 
giving  glory  to  God  ;  being  fully  persuaded 
that  wlial  he  had  j)romised  he  was  able  to 
perform."  But  Avas  not  his  faith  exercised, 
or  tried,  about  his  willingness  too  ?  No, 
there  was  no  show  of  reason  for  that,  be- 
cause he  had  promised  it :  indeed,  liad  he 
not  promised  it,  he  might  lawfully  have 
doubted  it:  but  since  he  had  promised  it, 
there  was  left  no  ground  at  all  for  doubting, 
because  his  willingness  to  give  a  son  was 
demonstrated  in  his  promising  him  a  son. 
These  words,  therefore,  are  sufficient  ground 
to  encourage  any  coming  sinner,  that 
Christ  is  willing  to  his  power  to  receive 
him  ;  and  since  he  hath  power  also  to  do 
what  he  will,  there  is  no  ground  at  all  left 
to  the  coming  sinner,  any  more  to  doubt ; 
but  to  come  in  full  hope  of  acceptance,  and 
of  being  received  unto  grace  and  mercy. 
"And  him  that  cometh."  He  saith  not, 
and  him  that  is  to  eome;  but.  "and  him 
that  cometh  ;"  that  i.?,  and  him  whose  heart 
begins  to  move  after  me,  who  is  leaving  afl 
for  my  sake  ;  him  who  is  looking  out,  who 
is  on  his  journey  to  me.  We  must,  there- 
fore, distinguish  betwixt  coming  and  being 
come  to  Jesus  Christ.  He  that  is  come  to 
him,  has  attained  of  him  more  sensibly 
what  he  felt  before  he  wanted,  than  he  has 
that  but  yet  is  coming  to  him. 

A  man  that  is  come  to  Christ,  has  the 
advantage  of  him  that  is  but  coming  to  him : 
and  that  in  seven  things. 

1.  He  that  is  come  to  Christ,  is  nearer  to 
him  than  he  that  is  but  coming  to  him  ;  {or 
he  that  is  but  coming  to  him,  is  yet,  in  eome 
sense,  at  a  distance  from  him  ;  as  it  is  said 
of  the  coming  prodigal,  "  And  while  he  wa.<? 
yet  a  great  way  ofl'."  Now,  he  that  is 
nearer  to  him,  hath  the  best  sight  of  him  ; 
and  so  is  able  to  make  the  best  judgment 
of  his  wonderful  grace  and  beauty,  as  God 
saith,  "  Let  them  come  near,  and  let  tliem 
speak."  And  as  the  apostle  John  saith, 
"  And  we  have  seen,  and  do  testify,  that 
God  sent  his  Son  to  be  Saviour  of  the 
world."  He  that  is  not  yet  come,  though 
hp  is  coming,  is  not  fit,  not  being  indeed 
capable  to  make  that  judgment  of  the  worth 
and  glory  of  the  grace  of  Christ,  as  he  is 
that  is  come  to  him,  and  hath  seen  and  be- 
held it.  Therefore,  sinner,  suspend  tliy 
judgment  till  thou  art  come  nearer. 

2.  He  that  is  come  to  Christ  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  him  that  is  but  coming,  in  that 
he  is  cased  of  his  burden ;  for  he  that  is 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     I75 


but  coming,  is  not  eased  of  his  burden.  He 
that  is  come,  has  cast  his  burden  upon  the 
Lord.  By  faith  he  hath  seen  himself  re- 
leased thereof;  but  he  that  is  but  coming, 
hath  it  yet,  as  to  sense  and  feeUng,  upon 
his  own  shoulders.  "Come  unto  me.  all 
ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,"  implies, 
that  their  burden,  though  they  are  coming, 
is  yet  upon  tliem,  and  so  will  be  till  indeed 
they  are  come  to  him; 

3.  He  that  is  come  to  Christ,  hath  the 
advantage  of  him  that  is  but  coming,  in 
this  also,  namely,  he  hath  drunk  of  the 
sweet  and  soul-refreshing  water  of  hfe  ;  but 
he  that  is  but  coming,  hath  not;  "If  any 
man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and 
drink." 

Mark!  he  must  come  to  him  before  he 
drinks ;  according  to  that  of  the  prophet, 
"  Ho  !  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to 
the  waters."  He  drinketh  not  as  he  Com- 
eth, but  when  he  is  come  to  the  water. 

4.  He  tliat  is  come  to  Christ,  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  him  that  as  yet  is  but  coming, 
in  this  also,  to  wit,  he  is  not  terrified  with 
the  noise,  and  as  I  may  call  it,  hue  and 
cry,  which  the  avenger  of  blood  makes  at 
the  heels  of  him,  that  yet  is  but  coming  to 
him.  When  the  slayer  was  on  his  flight  to 
the  city  of  his  refuge,  he  had  the  noise  or 
fear  of  the  avenger  of  blood  at  his  heels  ; 
but  when  he  was  come  to  the  city,  and  was 
entered  thereinto,  the  noise  ceased :  even 
so  it  is  with  him  that  is  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ:  he  heareth  many  a  dreadful  sound 
in  his  ear  :  sounds  of  death  and  damnation, 
which  he  that  is  come,  is  at  present  freed 
from.  Therefore,  he  saith,  "  Come,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest ;"  and  so  he  saith  again, 
"  We  that  have  believed  do  enter  into  rest," 
as  he  said,  &c. 

5.  He,  therefore,  that  is  come  to  Christ, 
is  not  so  subject  to  those  dejections,  and 
castings  down,  by  reason  of  the  rage  and 
assaults  of  the  evil  one,  as  is  the  man  that 
is  but  coming  to  Jesus  Christ,  though  he 
has  temptations  too.  "  And  whilst  he  was 
yet  coming,  the  devil  threw  him  down  and 
tore  him."  For  he  has,  though  Satan  still 
roareth  upon  him,  those  experimental  com- 
Ibrts  and  refreshments,  to  wit,  in  his  treas- 
ury, to  present  liimself  with,  in  times  of 
temptation  and  conflict ;  which  he  that  is 
but  coming  has  not. 

6.  He  that  is  C/ome  to  Christ,  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  him  that  is  but  comhig  to  him, 
in  this  also,  to  wit,  lie  hath  upon  liim  the 
wedding-garment,  &c. :  but  he  that  is  com- 
ing has  not.  The  prodigal,  when  coming 
home  to  his  father,  was  clothed  with  noth- 
ing but  rags,  and  v.-as  tf)rmented  with  an 
empty  belly ;  but  when  he  was  come,  the 
best  robe  is  brought  out,  also  the  gold  ring, 
and  the  shoes,  yea,  they  are  put  u'pon  hini, 
to  his  great  rejoicing.     The  fatted  calf  was 


killed  for  him  ;  the  music  was  struck  up  to 
make  him  merry  ;  and  thus  also  the  Father 
himself  sang  of  him,  "  This  my  son  was 
dead,  and  is  aUve  again ;  was  lost  and  is 
Ibund." 

7.  In  a  word,  he  that  is  come  to  Christ, 
his  groans  and  tears,  his  doubts  and  fears, 
are  turned  into  songs  and  praises,  for  that 
he  hath  now  received  the  atonement,  and 
the  earnest  of  his  inheritance  ;  but  he  that 
is  but  yet  a  coming,  hath  not  those  praises 
nor  songs  of  deliverance  with  him  ;  nor  has 
he  as  yet  received  the  atonement  and  earn- 
est of  his  inheritance,  which  is  the  sealing 
testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  through  the 
sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Christ  upon  his 
conscience ;  for  he  is  not  come. 

"  And  him  that  comeih.'" — There  is  fur- 
ther to  be  gathered  i'rom  this  Avord  cometh 
these  following  particulars : 

1.  That  Jesus  Christ  hath  his  eye  upon 
and  takes  notice  of  the  first  moving  of  the 
heart  of  a  sinner  after  him.  Coming  sin- 
ner, thou  canst  not  move  with  desires  after 
Christ,  but  he  sees  the  working  oC  those 
desires  in  thy  heart:  "AH  my  desires," 
said  David,  "are  before  thee,  and  my 
groanings  are  not  hid  from  thee."  This  he 
spake,  as  he  was  coming  (after  he  liad 
back-slidden)  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It 
is  said  of  the  prodigal,  "  that  while  he  v.'as 
yet  a  great  way  off,  his  father  saw  him," 
had  his  eye  upon  him,  and  upon  the  going 
out  of  his  heart  after  him." 

When  Nathaniel  was  come  to  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Lord  said  to  them  that  slood 
before  him,  "Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in 
whom  there  is  no  guile."  But  Nathanirl 
answered  him,  "Whence  knowest  thou  mo  ?" 
Jesus  answered,  "  Before  that  Philip  called 
thee,  when  thou  wast  under  the  fig-tree,  I 
saw  thee."  There  I  suppose,  Nathaniel 
was  pouring  out  of  Iiis  soul  to  God  for 
mercy,  or  that  he  would  give  him  good  un- 
derstanding about  the  Messiah  to  come : 
and  Jesus  saw  all  the  workings  of  liis  hon- 
est heart  at  that  time. 

Zaccheus  also  had  some  secret  movings 
of  heart,  such  as  they  were,  towards  Jesus 
Christ,  when  he  ran  before,  and  climbed  up 
the  tree  to  see  him ;  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  had  his  eye  upon  him ;  therefore, 
when  he  was  come  to  the  place,  he  looked 
up  to  him,  bids  him  come  down  :  "  for  to- 
day," said  he,  "I  must  abide  at  thy  house," 
to  wit,  in  order  to  the  further  completing 
the  work  of  grace  in  his  soul.  Remember 
this,  coming  sinner. 

2.  As  Jesus  hath  his  eye  upon,  so  he 
hath  his  heart  open  to  receive  the  com- 
ing sinner.  This  is  verified  by  the  text : 
"  And  Iiim  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out."  This  is  also  discovered  by 
his  preparing  of  the  way,  in  his  making  of 
it  easy  (as  it  may  be)  to  the  comhig  sinner; 


176     COME,     AiND    WELCOME,     TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


which  preparation  is  manifest  by  these 
blessed  words,  "  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out," 
of  which  more  when  we  come  to  the  place. 
*'  And  while  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off, 
liis  Father  saw  him,  and  had  compassion 
on  him ;  and  ran,  and  fell  on  his  neck,  and 
kissed  him."  All  these  expressions  do 
strongly  prove,  that  the  heart  of  Christ  is 
open  to  receive  the  coming  sinner. 

3.  As  Jesus  Christ  hath  his  eye  upon, 
and  his  heart  open  to  receive  ;  so  he  hath 
resolved  already  that  nothing  shall  alienate 
his  heart  from  receiving  the  coming  sinner. 
No  sins  of  the  coming  sinner,  nor  the 
length  of  the  time  that  he  hath  abode  in 
them,  shall,  by  any  means,  prevail  with  Je- 
sus Christ  to  reject  him.  Coming  sinner, 
thou  art  coming  to  a  loving  Lord  Jesus. 

4.  These  words,  therefore,  dropped  from 
his  blessed  mouth,  on  purpose  that  the 
coming  sinner  might  take  encouragement 
to  continue  on  his  journey,  until  he  be  come 
indeed  to  Jesus  Christ.  It  was,  doubtless, 
a  great  encouragement,  to  blind  Bartimeus, 
that  Jesus  Christ  stood  still  and  called  him, 
when  he  was  crying,  "Jesus,  thou  Son  of 
David,  have  mercy  upon  me ;"  therefore, 
it  is  said,  '•  he  cast  away  his  garment,  rose 
up  and  came  to  Jesus."  Now,  if  a  call  to 
come  hath  such  encouragement  in  it,  what 
is  a  promise  of  receiving  such,  but  an  en- 
couragement much  more  ?  And  observe 
it,  though  he  had  a  call  to  come,  yet  not 
having  a  promise,  his  faith  was  forced  to 
work  upon  a  mere  consequence,  saying,  he 
calls  me  ;  and  surely,  since  he  calls  me,  he 
will  grant  me  my  desire.  Ah !  but  coming 
sinner,  thou  hast  no  need  to  go  so  llir  about, 
as  to  draw,  in  this  matter,  consequences, 
because  thou  hast  plain  yjromises:  '-And 
him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out."  Here  is  full,  plain,  yea,  what 
encouragement  one  can  desire  ;  for  suppose 
thou  wert  admitted  to  make  a  promise  thy- 
self, and  Christ  should  attest  that  he  would 
fulfil  it  upon  the  sinner  that  cometh  to  him, 
couldst  thou  make  a  better  promise  ?  couldst 
thou  invent  a  more  full,  free,  or  larger 
promise  ?  a  promise  that  looks  at  the  first 
moving  of  the  heart  after  Jesus  Christ?  a 
promise  that  declares,  yea,  that  engageth 
Christ  Jesus  to  open  his  heart  to  receive 
the  coming  sinner!  yea,  farther,  a  promise 
that  denionstrateth  that  the  Lord  Jesus  is 
resolved  freely  to  receive,  and  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out,  nor  means  to  reject  the  soul 
of  the  coming  sinner !  For  all  this  lieth 
fully  in  this  promise,  and  doth  naturally 
flow  therefrom.  Here  thou  needest  not 
make  use  of  far-fetched  consequences,  nar 
strain  thy  wits,  to  force  encouraging  argu- 
ments from  the  text.  Coming  sinners,  the 
words  are  plain. 

"  And  him  that  conictli  to  inc,  I  Avill  in  no 
wise  cast  out." 


"  And  him  that  comethP  There  are  two 
sorts  of  sinners  that  are  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ. 

1.  Him  ihat  hath  never,  until  of  late,  at 
all  begun  to  come. 

2.  Him  that  came  formerly,  and  after 
that  went  back,  but  has  since  bethought 
himself;  and  is  now  coming  again. 

Both  these  sorts  of  sinners  are  intended 
by  the  him  in  the  text,  as  is  evident;  be- 
cause both  are  now  the  coming  sinners. 

For  the  first  of  these;  the  sinner  that 
hath  never,  until  of  late,  begun  to  come, 
his  way  is  more  easy :  I  do  not  say,  more 
plain  and  open,  to  come  to  Christ  than  is 
the  other,  (those  lost  having  the  clod  of  a 
guilty  conscience  of  the  sin  of  backsliding, 
hanging  at  their  heels.)  But  all  the  en- 
couragement of  the  gospel,  with  what  in- 
vitations are  herein  contained  to  coming 
sinners,  are  as  free  and  as  open  to  the  one 
as  the  other ;  so  that  they  may  with  the 
same  freedom  and  liberty,  as  from  the  word, 
both  alike  claim  interest  in  the  promise. 
"  All  things  are  ready,"  all  things  for  the 
coming  backslider,  as  well  as  for  the  others : 
"  Come  to  the  wedding ;  and  let  him  that  ia 
athirst  come." 

But  having  spoke  of  the  first  of  these  al- 
ready, I  shall  here  pass  it  by;  and  shall 
speak  a  word  or  two  to  him  that  is  coming, 
after  backsliding,  to  Jesus  Christ  for  life. 

Thy  way,  O  thou  sinner  of  a  double  dye, 
thy  way  is  open  to  come  to  Jesus  Christ ; 
I  mean  thee,  whose  heart,  after  long  back- 
sliduig,  doth  think  of  turning  to  him  again. 
Thy  way,  I  say,  is  open  to  him,  as  is  the 
way  of  the  other  sorts  of  comers ;  as  ap- 
pears by  what  follows : 

L  Because  the  text  makes  no  exception 
against  thee  :  it  doth  not  say,  and  any  him^ 
but  a  backslider  ;  any  him,  but  him.  The 
text  doth  not  thus  object,  but  indefinitely 
openeth  wide  its  golden  arms  to  every  com- 
ing soul,  without  the  least  exception  ;  there- 
fore tho\i  mayest  come.  And  take  heed 
that  thou  shut  not  that  door  against  thy 
soul  by  unbelief,  which  God  has  opened  by 
his  grace. 

2.  Nay,  the  text  is  so  fiir  from  excepting 
against  thy  coming,  that  it  strongly  sug- 
gesteth,  that  thou  art  one  of  the  souls  in- 
Tended,  O  thou  coming  backslider ;  else 
what  need  that  clause  have  been  so  insert- 
ed, "  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out !"  As  who 
should  say,  though  those  that  now  come, 
are  such  as  have  formerly  backslidden ;  I 
will  in  110  wise  cast  away  the  fornicator,  the 
covetous,  the  railer,  the  drunkard,  or  other 
common  sinners,  nor  yet  the  backslider 
neither. 

3.  That  the  backslider  is  intended,  is  ev- 
ident. 

l.sV.  For  that  he  is  sent  to  by  nainc,  "  Go 
tell  his  dicciplen,  and  Peter."     But  Peter 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     177 


was  a  godly  man.  True,  but  he  was  also 
a  backslider,  yea,  a  desperate  backslider: 
he  had  denied  his  master  once,  twice,  thrice, 
cursing  and  swearing  that  he  knew  him 
not.  If  this  was  not  backsliding,  if  this  was 
not  a  high  and  eminent  backsliding,  yea,  a 
higher  backsliding  than  thou  art  capable  of, 
I  have  thought  amiss. 

Again,  when  David  haa  backslidden, 
and  had  committed  adultery  and  murder  in 
his  backsliding,  he  must  be  sent  to  by  name. 
"  And,"  saithlhe  text,  "  The  Lord  sent  Na- 
than to  David."  And  he  sent  him  to  tell 
him,  after  he  had  brought  him  to  unfeign- 
ed acknowledgment,  "  The  Lord  hath  also 
put  away,  or  forgiven  thy  sins." 

This  man  was  also  far  gone:  he  took  a 
man's  wife  and  killed  her  husband,  and  en- 
deavored to  cover  all  with  wicked  dissimu- 
lation. He  did  this  I  say,  after  God  exalted 
him  and  showed  him  great  favor ;  where- 
fore, his  transgression  was  greatened  also 
by  the  prophet  with  mighty  aggravations  : 
yet  he  was  accepted,  and  that  with  glad- 
ness, at  the  first  step  he  took  in  his  return- 
ing to  Christ ;  for  tlie  first  step  of  the  back- 
slider's return  is  to  say,  sensibly  and  un- 
feignedly,  "  I  have  sinned :"  but  he  had  no 
sooner  said  thus,  but  a  pardon  was  pro- 
nounced, yea,  thrust  into  his  bosom.  "  And 
Nathan  said  unto  David,  the  Lord  hath  al- 
so put  away  thy  sin." 

2dly.  As  the  person  of  the  backslider  is 
mentioned  by  name,  so  also  is  his  sin,  that, 
if  possible,  thy  objections  against  thy  re- 
turning to  Christ,  may  be  taken  out  of  the 
way ;  I  say,  thy  sin  also  is  mentioned  by 
name,  and  mixed,  as  mentioned,  with  words 
of  grace  and  favor.  "  I  will  heal  their  back- 
sliding, and  love  them  freely."  What 
sayest  thou  now  backslider  ? 

3dly.  Nay,  farther,  thou  are  not  only 
mentioned  by  name,  and  thy  sin  by  the  na- 
ture of  it ;  but  thou  thyself,  who  art  a  re- 
turning backslider,  put, 

1.  Amongst  God's  Israel,  "Return,  O 
backsliding  Israel,  saith  the  Lord,  and  I 
will  not  cause  mine  anger  to  fall  upon  you, 
for  I  am  merciful,  saith  the  Lord,  and  will 
not  keep  anger  for  ever." 

2.  Thou  art  put  -among  his  children; 
among  his  children  to  whom  he  is  married. 
"Tarn  O  backsliding  children,  for  I  am 
married  unto  you.'" 

3.  Yea,  after  all  this,  as  if  his  heart  was 
so  full  of  grace  for  them,  that  he  was  press- 
ed until  he  had  uttered  it  before  them,  he 
adds,  "  Return  ye  backsliding  children,  and 
I  will  heal  your  backsHding." 

4.  Nay,  farther,  the  Lord  hath  consider- 
ed, that  the  shume  of  thy  sin  hath  stopped 
thy  mouth,  and  made  thee  almost  a  pray- 
erlees  man  :  and  tkerefore  he  saith  unto 
thee,  "  Take  with  you  words  and  turn  un- 
to the  Lord,  and  eay  unto  him,  take  away 

Vol.  3.-W. 


all  iniquity,  and  receive  us  graciously." 
See  his  grace,  that  himself  should  put 
words  of  encouragement  into  the  heart  of 
a  backslider :  as  he  saith  in  another  place, 
"  I  taught  Ephraim  to  go,  taking  him  by 
the  arms."  This  is  teaching  him  to  go  in- 
deed, to  hold  him  up  by  the  arms ;  by  the 
chin,  as  we  say. 

From  what  has  been  said,  I  conclude, 
even  as  I  said  before,  and  the  him  in  the 
text,  and  "him  that  cometh,"  includeth 
both  these  sorts  of  sinners,  and  therefore 
both  should  freely  come. 

Question.  But  where  doth  Jesus  Christ 
in  all  the  words  of  the  New  Testament,  ex- 
pressly speak  to  a  returning  backslider  with 
words  of  grace  and  peace  ?  for  what  you 
have  urged  as  yet,  from  the  New  Testa- 
ment, is  nothing  but  consequences  drawn 
from  this  text.  Indeed,  it  is  a  full  text  for 
carnal,  ignorant  sinners,  that  come  ;  but  to 
me  who  am  a  backslider,  it  yieldeth  but  lit- 
tle relief. 

Answer  1.  How!  but  littte  encourage- 
ment from  the  text,  when  it  is  said,  "  I  will 
in  no  wise  cast  out!"  What  more  could 
have  been  said  ?  what  is  here  omitted  that 
might  have  been  inserted,  to  make  the 
promise  more  full  and  free  ?  Nay,  take  ali 
the  promises  in  the  Bible,  all  the  freest 
promises,  with  all  the  variety  of  expressions 
of  what  nature  or  extent  soever,  and 
they  can  but  amount  to  the  expressions 
of  this  very  promise,  "  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out :"  will  tor  nothing,  by  no  means,  upon 
no  account,  however  they  have  sinned, 
however  they  have  backslidden,  however 
they  have  provoked,  cast  out  tlae  coming 
sinner.     But, 

2.  Thou  sayest,  where  doth  Jesus  Christ, 
in  all  the  words  of  the  New  Testament, 
speak  to  a  returning  backslider  with  words 
of  grace  and  peace  *,  that  is,  under  the 
name  of  a  backslider  1 

Answer.  Where  there  is  such  plenty  of 
examples  in  receiving  backsliders,  there  is 
the  less  need  for  express  words  to  that  in- 
tent :  one  promise,  as  the  text  is,  with  those 
examples  that  are  annexed,  are  instead  of 
many  promises.  And  besides ;  I  reckon 
that  the  act  of  receiving  is  as  so  much, 
if  not  of  more  encouragement,  than  is  a 
bare  promise  to  receive ;  for  receiving  is  as 
the  promise  to  receive  ;  for  receiving  is  as  the 
promise,  and  the  fulfilling  of  it  too  ;  so  that 
in  the  Old  Testament  thou  hast  the  prom- 
ise, and  in  the  New,  the  fulfilling  of  it ;  and 
that  in  divers  examples. 

1.  In  Peter.  Peter  denied  his  master, 
once,  tAvice,  thrice,  and  that  with  an  open 
oath  ;  yet  Christ  receives  him  again  witli- 
out  any  the  least  hesitation  or  stick.  Yea, 
he  slips,  stumbles,  falls  again,  in  downriirht 
dissimulation,  and  that  to  the  hurt  and  fall 
of  many  others ;  but  neither  of  tliie  dotk 


178     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


Christ  make  a  bar  to  his  salvation,  but  re- 
ceives him  again  at  his  return,  as  if  he 
knew  nothing  of  the  fault. 

2.  The  rest  of  his  disciples,  even  all  of 
them,  did  backslide,  and  leave  the  Lord  Je- 
sus in  his  greatest  straits :  "'  Then  ail  the 
disciples  forsook  him  and  Hed  ;  they  return- 
ed (as  he  liad  foretold)  every  one  to  liis 
own,  and  left  hiin  alone  ;"  but  this  also  he 
passes  over  as  a  very  light  matter :  not  that 
it  was  so  indeed  in  itself,  but  the  abun- 
dance of  grace  that  was  in  him  did  lightly 
roll  it  away  ;  for  after  his  resurrection,  wlien 
first  lie  appeared  unto  them,  he  gives  tiiem 
not  the  Ifast  clieck  for  their  perfidious  deal- 
ings with  him,  but  salutes  them  with  words 
of  grace,  saying,  "  All  hail,  be  not  afraid, 
peace  be  to  you,  all  power  in  heaven  and 
earth  is  given  unto  me."  True,  he  rebuk- 
ed them  for  their  unbelief,  lor  the  wliich 
also  thou  deservest  the  same :  for  it  is  un- 
belief that  alone  puts  Christ  and  his  bene- 
fits from  us. 

3.  The  man  that  after  a  large  profes- 
sion lay  with  his  father's  wile,  committed  a 
high  transgression,  even  such  a  one  that 
at  that  day  was  not  heard  of,  no  not  among 
the  Gentiles.  Wherefore  this  was  a  des- 
perate backsliding ;  yet,  at  his  return  he 
was  received,  and  accepted  again  to  mer- 
cy. 

4.  The  thief  that  stole  was  bid  to  steal 
no  more:  not  at  all  doubting,  but  that 
Christ  was  ready  to  forgive  him  this  act  of 
backsliding. 

Now  all  these  are  examples,  particular 
instances  of  Christ's  readiness  to  receive 
the  backsliders  to  mercy ;  and  observe  it, 
examples  and  proofs  that  he  hath  done  so, 
are  to  our  unbelieving  hearts,  stronger  en- 
couragements than  bare  promises,  tiiat  so 
he  will  do.  But  again,  the  Lord  Jesus 
hath  added  to  these,  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  returning  backsliders,  to  come  to 
hi.T:i. 

L  A  call  TO  come,  and  he  will  receive 
them.  Wherefore,  New-Testament  back- 
sliders have  encouragement  to  come. 

2.  A  declaration  of  readiness  to  receive 
them  that  come,  as  here  in  ti\e  text,  and  in 
many  other  places,  is  plain ;  therefore, 
"  Set  thee  up  these  marks,  make  thee  those 
high  Iieaps,  (of  the  golden  grace  of  tiie 
gospel,)  set  thine  heart  towards  the  high- 
way, even  the  way  that  thou  wentest  (wlien 
thou  didst  backsHde;)  turn  asaiii,  O  virgin 
of  Israel,  turn  again  to  tliesc  tliy  cities." 

And  him  that  cometli.  He  saitli  not 
and  him  tliat  talketli,  that  professcth,  that 
maketli,  a  show,  a  noise  or  the  like ;  but 
him  that  cometh.  Christ  will  take  leavt;  to 
judge,  who.  among  the  many  that  make  a 
nois2,  they  be  that  indeed  are  coming  to 
him.  It  is  not  him  that  saith  he  comes, 
nor  him  of  whom  others  affirm  that  he 


comes;  but  him  that  Christ  himself  shall 
say  doth  come,  that  is  concerned  in  this 
text.  When  the  woman  that  had  a  bloody 
issue  came  to  him  for  cure,  there  were  oth- 
ers as  well  as  she,  that  made  a  great  bustle 
about  Iiim,  that  touciied,  yea,  thronged  him. 
Ah,  but  Christ  could  distinguish  tiiis  woman 
from  them  all;  "And  he  looked  round 
about  upon  them  all,  to  see  her  that  had 
done  this  thing." 

He  was  not  concerned  with  the  throng- 
ing, or  toucliing  of  the  rest;  for  theirs 
were  but  accidental,  or  at  best  void  of  that 
which  made  her  touch  acceptable.  Where- 
fore, Christ  must  be  judge  who  they  be 
that  in  truth  are  coming  to  him :  '•  Every 
man's  ways  are  right  in  his  own  eyes,  but 
the  Lord  weiglieth  the  spirits."  It  stand- 
eth  therefore  every  one  in  hand  to  be  cer- 
tain of  their  coming  to  Jesus  Christ:  for 
as  thy  coming  is,  so  shall  the  salvation  be  : 
if  thou  comest  indeed,  thy  salvation  sliall 
be  indeed ;  but  if  thou  comest  but  in  out- 
ward appearance,  so  shall  thy  salvation 
be :  but  of  coming,  see  before,  as  also  af- 
terwards, in  the  use  and  application. 

'•  And  him  that  cometh  to  me." — These 
words  to  me  are  also  to  be  well  heeded ; 
for  by  them,  as  he  secureth  those  that  come 
to  him,  so  also  he  shows  himself  unconcern- 
ed with  those  that  in  their  coming  rest 
short,  to  turn  aside  to  others :  for  you  must 
know,  that  every  one  tluit  comes,  comes 
not  to  Jesus  Christ ;  some  that  come,  come 
to  Moses,  and  to  his  law,  and  there  take  up 
for  life ;  with  these  Christ  is  not  concern- 
ed ;  with  these  his  promise  has  not  to  do. 
"Christ  is  become  of  none  effect  unto  you, 
whoso  of  you  are  justified  by  the  law  ;  ye 
are  fallen  from  grace."  Again  some  that 
come,  come  no  farther  than  the  gospel  ordi- 
nances, and  there  stay ;  they  come  not 
through  them  to  Christ ;  with  these  neither 
is  he  concerned ;  nor  will  their  "  Lord, 
Lord,"  avail  them  any  thing  in  the  great 
and  dismal  d.ay.  A  man  may  come  too, 
and  also  go  from  the  place  and  ordi- 
nances of  worship,  and  yet  not  be  remem- 
bered by  Christ.  "  So  I  saw  the  wicked 
buried,  said  Solomon,  who  had  come  and 
gone  from  the  place  of  the  Holy,  and  they 
were  forgotten  in  the  city,  where  they  had 
so  done;  this  is  also  vanity." 

To  me. — These  words,  therefore,  are  by 
Jesus  Christ  very  warily  put  in.  and  serve 
for  caution  and  encouragement;  for  cau- 
tion, lest  we  take  up  in  our  coming  any 
thing  short  of  Christ ;  and  for  cncourage- 
menT  to  those  that  shall  in  their  coming, 
come  past  all  till  they  come  to  Jesus  Christ: 
"  And  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out." 

Reader,  if  thou  lovest  thy  soul,  take  this 
caution  kindly  at  th.  hands  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Thou  seest  thy  sickness,  thy  wound,  tliy 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST,     I79 


necessity  of  salvation ;  well,  go  not  to  king 
Jareb,  for  he  cannot  heal  thee,  nor  cure 
thee  of  thy  wound.  Take  the  caution,  I 
say,  lest  Christ,  instead  of  being  a  Saviour 
unto  thee,  becomes  a  lion,  a  young  lion  to 
tear  thee,  and  go  away. 

There  is  a  coming,  but  not  to  the  Most 
High ;  there  is  a  coming,  but  not  wiUa  tlie 
wliole  heart,  but  as  it  were  feignedly;  there- 
fore take  the  caution  kindly. 

"And  him  that  cometh  to  7ne." — Christ, 
as  a  Saviour,  will  stand  alone,  because  his 
own  arm  alone  hath  brought  salvation  unto 
him :  he  will  not  be  joined  with  Moses,  nor 
suffer  John  Baptist  to  be  tabernacled  by 
him  :  I  say  they  must  vanish,  for  Christ  will 
stand  alone  ;  yea,  God  the  Father  will  have 
it  so ;  tlierefbre,  they  must  be  parted  from 
him,  and  a  voice  from  heaven  must  come 
to  bid  the  disciples  hear  only  the  beloved 
Son.  Christ  will  not  suffer  any  law,  or  or- 
dinance, statute  or  judgment,  to  be  part- 
ners with  him  in  the  salvation  of  the  sinner. 
Nay,  he  saith  not,  And  him  that  cometh  to 
my  word ;  but,  And  him  that  cometh  to 
me.  The  words  of  Christ,  even  his  most 
blessed  and  free  promises,  such  as  this  in 
the  text,  are  not  the  Saviour  of  the  world  ; 
for  that  is  Christ  himself,  Christ  himself 
only.  The  promises,  therefore,  are  but  to 
encourage  coming  sinners  to  come  to  Jesus 
Christ,  and  not  to  rest  in  them  short  of  sal- 
vation by  men.  "  And  him  that  cometh 
io  mt'." — The  man,  therefore,  that  comes 
aright,  casts  all  things  behind  his  back  and 
looketh  at  (nor  hath  his  expectations  from 
ought  but)  the  Son  of  God  alone ;  and 
David  said,  "  My  soul,  wait  thou  only  upon 
God  :  for  my  expectation  is  from  him :  he 
only  is  my  rock,  and  my  salvation ;  he  is 
my  defence,  I  shall  not  be  moved."  His 
eye  is  to  Christ,  his  heart  is  to  Christ,  and 
his  expectation  is  from  him,  from  him  only. 

Therefore,  the  man  that  comes  to  Christ 
is  one  that  hath  had  deep  considerations  of 
his  own  sins,  slighting  thoughts  of  his  own 
righteousness,  and  high  thoughts  of  the 
blood  and  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ; 
yea,  he  sees,  as  I  have  said,  more  virtue  in 
the  blood  of  Christ  to  save  him,  than  there 
is  in  all  his  sins  to  damn  him.  He  there- 
fore setteth  Christ  before  his  eyes ;  there 
is  nothing  in  heaven  or  earth,  he  knows, 
that  can  save  his  soul  and  secure  him  from 
the  wrath  of  God,  but  Christ;  that  is,  no- 
tliing  but  his  personal  riorhteousness  and 
blood." 

"  And  him  that  cometh  to  me,  T  will  in 
no  wise  cast  out." — "  In  no  Avise :"  by  these 
words  there  is  something  expressed  and 
something  implied. 

1-  That  which  is  expressed  is  Jesus 
Christ,  his  unchangeable  resolution  to  save 
the  coming  sinner :  I  will  in  no  wise  reject 


him,  or  deny  him  the  benefit  of  my  death, 
and  righteousness.  This  word,  therefore, 
is  like  that  which  he  speaks  of  the  everlast- 
ing damnation  of  the  sinner  in  hell-fire  ; 
"He  shall  by  no  means  depart  thence;" 
that  is  never,  never  come  out  again ;  no, 
not  to  all  eternity.  So  that  as  he  that  is 
condemned  into  hell-fire  hath  no  ground  of 
hope  for  his  deliverance  thence ;  so  him 
that  cometh  to  Christ  hath  no  ground  to 
tear  he  shall  ever  be  cast  in  thither. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord,  "  If  heaven  above 
can  be  measured,  or  the  foundation  of  the 
earth  searched  out  beneath,  I  will  also  cast 
away  all  the  seed  of  Israel,  for  all  that  they 
have  don«,  saith  the  Lord." 

Thus  saith  the  Lord,  "If  my  covenant 
be  not  with  day  and  night,  and  if  I  have 
not  appointed  the  ordinances  of  heaven  and 
earth,  then  will  I  cast  away  the  seed  of  Ja- 
cob." But  heaven  cannot  be  measured, 
nor  the  foundations  of  the  earth  searched 
out  beneath ;  his  covenant  is  also  with  day 
and  night,  and  he  hath  appointed  the  ordi- 
nances of  heaven ;  thereibre,  he  will  not 
cast  away  the  seed  of  Jacob,  who  are  the 
coming  ones,  but  will  certainly  save  them 
from  the  dreadful  wrath  to  come.  By  this, 
therefore,  it  is  manifest,  that  it  was  not  the 
greatness  of  sin,  nor  the  long  continuance 
in  it;  no,  nor  yet  the  backsliding,  nor  the 
pollution  of  thy  nature,  that  can  put  a  bar 
in  against,  or  be  a  hindrance  of  the  salva- 
tion of  the  coming  sinner:  for,  if  indeed 
this  could  be,  then  would  this  solemn  and 
absolute  determination  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
of  itself,  fall  to  the  ground,  and  be  made  of 
none  effect:  "But  this  counsel  shall  stand, 
and  he  will  do  all  his  pleasure,"  that  i.s,  his 
pleasure  is  this,  for  his  promise,  as  to  tliis 
irreversible  conclusion,  arises  of  his  pleas- 
ure, he  will  stand  to  it,  and  will  I'ulfil  it,  be- 
cause it  is  his  pleasure. 

Suppose  that  one  man  had  the  sins,  or  as 
many  sins  as  a  hundred,  and  another  should 
have  a  hundred  times  as  many  as  he,  yet 
if  they  come,  (his  word,  "  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out,"  secures  them  both  alike. 

Suppose  a  man  has  a  desire  to  be  saved, 
and  for  that  purpose  is  coming  in  truth  to 
Jesus  Christ,  but  he,  by  his  debauched  hfe, 
has  damned  many  in  hell;  why,  the  door 
of  hope  is  by  these  words  set  as  open  for 
him  as  it  is  lor  him  that  has  not  the  thou- 
sandth part  of  his  trans^^ressions.  "  And 
him  tliat  cometh  to  me.  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out." 

Suppose  a  man  is  coming  to  Christ  to  he 
saved,  and  hatli  nothing  but  sin,  and  an  ill- 
spent  life,  to  bring  Avith  him  ;  why,  let  him 
come  and  welcome  to  Je.sus  Christ,  "and 
he  will  in  no  wise  cast  him  out."  Is  not  this 
love  that  passeth  knowledge?  and  is  not 
this  love  the  wonderment  of  angels  ?  and 


IgO     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


is  not  this  love  worthy  of  all  acceptation 
at  the  hands  and  hearts  of  all  coming  sin- 
ners ? 

2.  That  which  is  implied  in  the  words  is, 

Isl.  The  coming  souls  have  those  that 
continually  lie  at  Jesus  Christ,  to  cast  them 
ofl: 

2dly.  The  coming  sooils  are  afraid  that 
those  will  prevail  with  Christ  to  cast  them 
off. 

For  these  words  are  spoken  to  satisfy  us, 
and  to  stay  up  our  spirits  against  these  two 
dangers :  '•  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out" 

Isi.  For  the  Jirst,  coming  souls  have 
those  that  continually  lie  at  Jesus  Christ,  to 
cast  them  ofl' 

And  there  are  three  things  that  thus 
bend  themselves  eigain&t  the  coming  sin- 
ner. 

1.  There  is  the  devil,  the  accuser  of  the 
brethren,  that  accuses  them  before  God, 
day  and  night.  This  prince  of  darluiess  is 
unwearied  in  this  work :  he  doth  it,  as  you 
see,  day  and  night ;  that  is,  without  ceas- 
ing. He  continually  puts  in  his  caveats 
against  thee,  if  so  be  he  may  prevail.  How 
did  he  play  it  against  that  good  man  Job, 
if  possibly  he  might  have  obtained  his  de- 
struction in  hell-fire  ?  He  objected  against 
him,  that  he  served  not  God  for  nought,  and 
tempted  God  to  put  forth  his  hand  against 
him,  urging,  that  if  he  did  it,  he  would 
curse  him  to  his  face  ;  and  all  this,  as  God 
witnesseth,  "  he  did  without  a  cause."  How 
did  he  play  it  with  Christ  against  Joshua 
the  high-priest  ?  "  And  he  showed  me 
Joshua,"  saith  the  prophet,  "  the  high-priest, 
standing  before  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  and 
Satan  standing  at  his  right  hand  to  resist 
him." 

"  To  resist  him ;"  that  is,  to  prevail  with 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  resist  him ;  ob- 
jecting the  uncleanness,  and  unlawful  mar- 
riage of  his  sons  with  the  Gentiles;  for 
that  was  the  crime  that  Satan  laid  agamst 
them.  Yea,  and  for  aught  I  know,  Joshua 
was  also  guilty  of  the  fact ;  but  if  not  of 
that,  of  crimes  no  whit  inferior ;  for  he  was 
clothed  with  filthy  garments,  as  he  stood 
before  the  angel.  Neither  had  he  one 
word  to  say  in  vindication  of  himself, 
against  all  that  tliis  wicked  one  had  to  say 
against  him.  But  notwithstanding  that,  he 
came  off  well ;  but  he  might  for  it  thank  a 
good  Lord  Jesus,  because  he  did  not  resist 
him,  but,  contrariwise,  took  up  his  cause, 
pleaded  against  the  devil,  excusing  his  in- 
firmity, and  put  justifying  robes  upon  him 
before  his  adversary's  face. 

"And  the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  The 
Lord  rebuke  thee,  O  Satan,  even  the  Lord 
that  hath  chosen  Jerusalem,  rebuke  thee. 
Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire? 
And  he  answered  and  spake  to  those  that 
stood  before  him,  saying,  Take  away  the 


filthy  garment  from  him;  and  to  him  he 
said.  Behold  I  have  caused  tliine  iniquities 
to  pass  from  thee,  and  will  clothe  thee  with 
a  change  of  raiment." 

Again ;  how  did  Satan  ply  in  against 
Peter,  when  he  desired  to  have  him,  that 
he  might  sift  him  as  wheat  ?  tliat  is,  if  pos- 
sible, sever  all  grace  from  his  heart,  and 
leave  him  nothing  but  flesh  and  filth,  to 
the  end  that  he  might  make  the  Lord  Jesus 
loathe  and  abhor  him.  "  Simon,  Simon," 
said  Christ,  "  Satan  hath  desired  to  have 
you,  that  he  might  sift  you  as  wheat."  But 
did  he  prevail  against  him?  No:  "But  I 
have  prayed  for  thee,  that  tliy  faith  fail 
not."  As  who  should  say,  Simon,  Satan 
hath  desired  me  that  I  would  give  thee  up 
to  him,  and  not  only  thee,  but  all  the  rest 
of  thy  brethren,  (for  that  the  word  you  im- 
ports ;)  but  I  will  not  leave  thee  in  his 
hand:  I  have  prayed  for  thee,  thy  faith 
shall  not  fail.  I  will  secure  thee  to  the 
heavenly  inheritance- 

2.  As  Satan,  so  every  sin  of  the  coming 
sinner  comes  in  with  a  voice  against  him, 
if  perhaps  they  may  prevail  with  Christ  to 
cast  off  the  soul.  When  Israel  was  coming 
out  of  Egypt  to  Canaan,  how  many  times 
had  their  sins  thrown  them  out  of  the  mer- 
cy of  God,  had  not  Moses,  as  a  tyjie  of 
Clirist,  stood  in  the  breach  to  turn  away 
his  wrath  from  them  !  Our  iniquities  testi- 
fy against  us,  and  would  certainly  prevail 
against  us,  to  our  utter  rejection  and  dam- 
nation, had  we  not  an  advocate  with  the 
Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous. 

The  sins  of  the  old  world  cried  them 
down  to  hell ;  the  sins  of  Sodom  fetched 
upon  them  fire  from  heaven,  which  devour- 
ed them ;  the  sins  of  the  Egyptians  cried 
them  down  to  hell,  because  they  came  not 
to  Jesus  Christ  for  life.  Coming  sinner, 
tliy  sins  are  no  whit  less  than  any ;  nay, 
perhaps  they  are  as  big  as  all  theirs.  Why 
is  it,  then,  that  thou  hvest  when  they  are 
dead,  and  that  thou  hast  a  promise  of  par- 
don when  they  had  not?  "  Why,  thou  art 
coming  to  Jesus  Christ,"  and  therefore  sin 
shall  not  be  thy  ruin. 

3.  As  Salan  and  sin,  so  tlie  law  of  Mo- 
ses, as  it  is  a  perfect  holy  law,  hath  a  voice 
against  you  before  the  face  of  God.  "  There 
is  one  that  accuseth  you,  even  Moses's  law." 
Yea,  it  accuseth  all  men  of  transgression, 
that  have  sinned  against  it ;  for  as  long  as 
sin  is  sin,  there  will  be  a  law  to  accuse  for 
sin.  But  this  accusation  shall  not  prevail 
against  the  coming  sinner,  because  it  is 
Christ  that  died,  and  tliat  ever  lives,  to 
make  intermission  for  them  that  "  come  to 
God  by  him." 

These  things,  I  say,  do  accuse  us  before 
Christ  Jesus;  yea,  and  also  to  our  own 
faces,  if  perhaps  they  might  prevail  against 
us.    But  these  words,  "  I  will  in  no  wise 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     181 


cast  out,"  secureth  the  coming  sinner  from 
them  all. 

The  coming  sinner  is  not  saved,  because 
there  is  none  that  comes  in  against  him ; 
but  because  the  Lord  Jesus  will  not  hear 
their  accusations,  will  not  cast  out  the  com- 
ing sinner. 

Wiien  Shimei  came  doAvn  to  meet  king 
David,  and  to  ask  pardon  for  his  rebellion, 
up  starts  Abishai,  and  put  in  his  caveat, 
saying.  Shall  not  Shemei  die  for  this? 
This  is  the  case  of  him  that  comes  to 
Christ:  he  hath  this  Abishai,  and  that 
Abishai,  that  presently  steps  in  against 
him,  saying,  shall  not  this  rebel's  sin  de- 
stroy him  in  hell '?  Read  farther :  "  But 
David  answered,  What  have  I  to  do  with 
you,  ye  sons  of  Zeruiah,  that  you  should 
this  day  be  adversaries  to  me '?  Shall  there 
any  man  be  put  to  death  this  day  in  Israel, 
for  do  I  not  know,  that  I  am  king  this  day 
over  Israel  ?" 

That  is  Christ's  answer  by  the  text,  to 
all  that  accuse  the  coming  Shimeis :  What 
have  I  to  do  with  you,  that  accuse  the  com- 
ing sinners  to  me  ?  I  count  you  adversa- 
ries, that  are  against  my  showing  mercy 
to  them.  Do  not  I  know,  that  I  am  exalted 
this  day  to  be  king  of  righteousness  and 
king  of  peace?  "I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
them  out." 

2dly.  But  again,  these  words  do  closely 
imply,  that  the  coming  souls  are  afraid, 
that  these  accusers  will  prevail  against 
them,  as  is  evident,  because  the  text  is  spo- 
ken for  their  relief  and  succor:  for  that 
need  not  be,  if  they  that  are  coming  are 
not  subject  to  fear,  and  despond  upon  this 
account.  Alas,  there  is  guilt;  and  the 
curse  lies  upon  the  conscience  of  the  com- 
ing sinner. 

Besides,  he  is  conscious  to  himself  what 
a  villain,  what  a  wretch  he  hath  been 
against  God  and  Christ.  Also  he  now 
knows,  by  woful  experience,  how  he  hath 
been  at  Satan's  beck,  and  at  the  motion  of 
every  lust.  He  hath  now  also  new  thoughts 
of  the  holiness  and  justice  of  God :  also  he 
feels,  that  he  cannot  forbear  sinning  against 
him  :  "  for  the  motions  of  sin,  which  are  by 
the  law,  do  still  work  in  his  members,  to 
bring  forth  fruit  unto  death."  But  none  of 
this  need  discourage,  since  we  have  so 
good,  so  tender-hearted,  and  so  faithful  a 
Jesus  to  come  to,  who  will  rather  overthrow 
heaven  and  eartli,  than  suffer  a  tittle  of  this 
text  to  fail.  "  And  him  that  cometh  to  me 
I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

Now  we  have  yet  to  inquire  into  two 
things  that  lie  in  these  words,  to  which 
there  hath  been  nothing  said :  as,  L  What 
it  is  to  cast  out ;  2.  How  it  appears  that 
Christ  hath  power  to  save  or  cast  out. 

For  the  first  of  these — What  it  is  to  cast 


out.     To  this  I  will  |peak,  1.  Generally  j 
2.  More  particularly. 

1.  To  cast  out,  is  to  slight,  and  despise, 
and  contemn ;  and  as  it  is  said  of  Saul's 
shield,  "  it  was  vilely  cast  away :"  that  is, 
slighted  and  contemned.  Thus  it  is  with 
the  sinners  that  come  not  to  Jesus  Christ ; 
He  slights,  despises,  and  contemns  them ; 
that  is,  "  casts  them  away." 

2.  Things  cast  away  are  reputed  as  the 
dirt  of  the  street.  And  thus  it  shall  be 
with  the  men  that  come  not  to  Jesus  Christ ; 
they  shall  be  counted  as  the  dirt  in  the  streets. 

3.  To  be  cast  out,  or  off,  it  is  to  be  abhor- 
red, not  to  be  pitied  ;  but  to  be  put  to  a  per- 
petual shame. 

But,  more  particularly,  to  come  to  the 
text.  The  casting  out  here  mentioned,  is 
not  limited  to  this  or  the  other  evil ;  there- 
fore it  must  be  extended  to  the  most  ex- 
treme and  utmost  misery.     Or,  thus : 

He  that  cometh  to  Christ,  shall  not  want 
any  thing  that  may  make  him  gospelly- 
happy  in  this  world,  or  that  which  is  to 
come;  nor  shall  he  want  any  thing  that 
cometh  not,  that  may  make  him  spiritually 
and  eternally  miserable. 

But,  further;  as  it  is  to  be  generally 
taken,  so  it  respecteth  things  that  shall  be 
hereafter. 

For  the  things  that  are  now,  they  are 
either,  1.  More  general ;  2.  Or  more  par- 
ticular. 

First,  More  general,  thus : 

L  It  is  to  be  cast  out  of  the  presence  and 
favor  of  God. 

Thus  was  Cain  cast  out:  "thou  hast 
driven"  (or  cast)  "me  out  this  day;  from 
thy  face"  (that  is,  from  thy  favor)  "shall  I 
be  hid."  A  dreadful  complaint!  but  the 
effect  of  a  more  dreadful  judgment. 

2.  "  To  be  cast  out,"  is  to  be  cast  out  of 
God's  sight.  God  will  look  after  them  no 
more,  care  for  them  no  more ;  nor  will  he 
watch  over  them  any  more  for  good.  Now 
they  that  are  so,  are  left  like  blind  men,  to 
wander  and  fall  into  the  pit  of  hell.  This 
therefore  is  also  a  sad  judgment !  therefore 
here  is  the  mercy  of  him  that  cometh  to 
Christ.  He  shall  not  be  left  to  wander  at 
uncertainties.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will 
keep  him,  as  a  shepherd  doth  his  sheep. 
"  Him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out." 

3.  "  To  be  cast  out,"  is  to  be  denied  a 
place  in  God's  house,  and  to  be  left  as  fugi- 
tives and  vagabonds,  to  pass  a  little  time 
away  in  this  miserable  life,  and  after  that 
to  go  down  to  the  dead.  Therefore,  here 
is  the  benefit  of  him  that  cometh  to  Christ, 
he  shall  not  be  denied  a  place  in  God's 
house.  They  shall  not  be  left  hke  vaga- 
bonds in  the  world.  "  Him  that  cometh  to 
me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 


132   COME,    AXD     WELCOME,    TO    JESUS     CHRIST. 


4.  In  a  word,  "  To  be  cast  out,"  is  to  be 
rejected  as  are  the  fallen  angels:  for  their 
eternal  damnation  began  at  their  being 
cast  down  from  heaven  to  hell.  So  then, 
"  Not  to  be  cast  out,"  is  to  have  a  place,  a 
house  and  habitation  there;  and  to  have  a 
share  in  the  privileges  of  elect  angels. 

These  words,  therefore,  "I  will  not  cast 
out,''  will  prove  great  words  one  day,  to 
them  that  come  to  Jesus  Christ. 

Secondly,  And  more  particularly: 

1.  Christ  hath  everlasting  life  for  him 
that  Cometh  to  him,  and  he  shall  never  per- 
ish: "for  he  will  in  no  wise  cast  him  out:" 
but  for  the  rest,  they  are  rejected,  cast  out, 
and  must  be  damned. 

2.  Christ  hath  everlasting  righteousness 
to  clothe  them  with,  that  come  to  him,  and 
they  shall  be  covered  with  it  as  with  a  gar- 
ment ;  but  the  rest  shall  be  found  in  the  fil- 
thy rags  of  their  own  stinking  pollutions, 
and  shall  be  wrapped  up  in  them,  as  in  a 
winding  sheet,  and  so  bear  their  shame  be- 
fore the  Lord,  and  also  before  the  angels. 

2.  Christ  hath  precious  blood,  that,  like 
an  open  fountain,  stands  free  tor  him  to 
wash  in,  that  comes  to  him  for  life:  "and 
he  will  in  no  wise  cast  him  out :"  but  they 
that  come  not  to  him  are  rejected  from  a 
share  therein,  and  are  left  to  ireful  ven- 
geance for  their  sins. 

3.  Christ  hath  precious  promises,  and 
they  shall  have  a  share  in  them  that  come 
to  him  for  life;  "for  he  will  in  no  wise  cast 
them  out."  But  they  that  come  not,  can 
have  no  share  in  them,  because  they  are 
true  only  in  him  :  for  in  him,  and  only  in 
him,  all  the  promises  are  yea  and  amen. 
Wherefore,  they  that  come  not  to  him,  are 
no  whit  the  better  for  ihem. 

5.  Christ  hath  also  fulness  of  grace  in 
himself  for  them  that  come  to  him  for  life : 
"and  he  will  in  no  wise  cast  them  out." 
But  those  that  come  not  unto  him,  are  left 
in  their  graceless  state ;  and  as  Christ 
leaves  them,  death,  hell,  and  judgment, 
finds  them.  "He  that  findeth  me,"  saith 
Christ,  "findeth  life,  and  shall  obtain  favor 
of  the  Lord ;  but  he  that  sinneth  against 
me  wrongeth  his  own  soul.  All  that  hate 
me,  love  death." 

6.  Christ  is  an  intercessor,  and  ever  liv- 
eth  to  make  intercession  for  them  that 
come  to  God  by  him ;  "  but  their  sorrows 
shall  be  multiplied,  that  hasten  after  anoth 
er"  (or  other)  "  gods,"  (their  sins  and  lusts.) 
"  Their  drink-offerings  will  he  not  suffer. 
nor  take  up  their  names  into  his  lips." 

7.  Christ  hath  wonderful  love,  bowels, 
and  compassion,  for  those  that  come  to  him 
for  "  he  will  in  no  wise  cast  them  out." 
But  the  rest  will  find  him  a  lion  rampant ; 
he  will  one  day  tear  them  all  to  pieces. 
"Now  consider  this,"  saith  he,  "ye   tliat 


forget  God,  lest  I  tear  you  in  pieces,  and 
there  be  none  to  deliver  you." 

8.  Christ  is  known  by,  and  for  his  sake 
those  that  come  to  him  have  their  persons 
and  performances  accepted  of  the  Father: 
"  and  he  will  in  no  wise  cast  them  out ;' 
but  the  rest  must  fly  to  the  rocks  and  moun- 
tains for  shelter,  but  all  in  vain,  to  hide 
them  from  his  face  and  wrath. 

But  again ;  these  words,  cast  out,  have  a 
special  look  to  what  will  be  hereafter,  even 
at  the  day  of  judgment :  for  then,  and  not 
till  then,  will  be  the  great  anathema  and 
casting  out  made  manifest,  even  manifest 
by  execution.  Therefore  here  to  speak  to 
this,  and  that  under  these  two  heads :  as,  L 
Of  the  casting  out  itself;  2.  Of  the  place 
into  which  they  shall  be  cast,  that  shall 
then  be  cast  out. 

First,  the  casting  out  itself  standeth  in 
two  things : 

1.  In  a  preparatory  work. 

2.  In  the  manner  of  executing  the  act. 
The  preparatory  work  standeth  in  these 

three  things : 

1.  It  standeth  in  their  separation  that 
have  not  come  to  him,  from  them  that  have 
at  that  day.  Or  thus ;  at  the  day  of  the 
great  casting  out,  those  tliat  have  not,  now, 
come  to  him,  shall  be  separated  from  them 
that  have  ;  for  them  that  have,  "  he  will  not 
cast  out."  "  When  the  Son  of  Man  shall 
come  in  his  glory,  and  all  his  holy  angels 
with  him,  then  he  shall  sit  upon  the  throne 
of  his  glory,  and  before  him  shall  be  gath- 
ered all  nations,  and  he  shall  separate  them 
one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  divideth 
the  sheep  from  the  goats." 

This  dreadful  separation  therefore  shall 
then  be  made  betwixt  them  that,  now,  come 
to  Christ,  and  them  that  come  not :  and 
good  reason ;  for  since  they  would  not  with 
us  come  to  him,  now  they  have  time  ;  why 
should  they  stand  with  us,  when  judgment 
is  come  ? 

2.  They  shall  be  placed  before  him  ac- 
cording to  their  condition ;  they  that  have 
come  to  him,  in  great  dignity,  even  at  his 
right  hand;  "for  he  will  in  no  wise  cast 
them  out  ;•'  but  the  rest  shall  be  set  at  his 
left  hand,  the  place  of  disgrace  and  shame  ; 
for  they  did  not  come  to  him  for  life. 

Distinguished  also  shall  they  be  by  fit 
terms ;  these  that  come  to  him  he  calleth 
the  sheep,  but  the  rest  are  frowish  goats, 
"  and  he  shall  separate  them  one  from 
another,  as  the  shepherd  divideth  the  sheep 
from  the  goats  :  and  the  sheep  will  be  set 
on  the  right  hand,"  (next  heaven  gate,  for 
they  came  to  him,)  "but  the  goats  on  the 
left ;"  to  go  from  him  into  hell,  because  they 
are  not  of  his  sheep. 

3.  Then  will  Christ  proceed  to  convic- 
tion of  those  that  came  not  to  him,  and  will 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     183 


say,  "  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not 
in,"  or  did  not  come  unto  me.  Their  ex- 
cuse of  themselves  he  will  slight  as  dirt, 
and  proceed  to  their  final  judgment 

Now  when  these  wretched  rejectors  of 
Christ  shall  thus  be  set  before  him  in  their 
sins,  and  convicted,  this  is  the  preparatory 
work  upon  which  follows  the  manner  of  ex- 
ecuting the  act  which  will  be  done. 

1.  In  the  presence  of  all  the  holy  angels 

2.  In  the  presence  of  all  them  that  in 
their  lifetime  came  to  him,  by  saying  unto 
them,  "  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into 
everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and 
his  angels,"  with  the  reason  annexed  to  it; 
for  you  were  cruel  to  me  and  mine,  partic- 
ularly discovered  in  these  words :  "  For  I 
was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  no  meat ; 
thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink ;  I  was  a 
stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in;  naked, 
and  ye  clothed  me  not ;  sick,  and  in  prison, 
and  ye  visited  me  not." 

Secondly,  Now  it  remains  that  we  speak 
of  the  place  into  which  these  shall  be  cast, 
which  in  the  general  you  have  heard  al- 
ready, to  wit,  the  fire  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels.  But,  in  particular,  it  is 
thus  described : 

1.  It  is  called  Tophet :  "  For  Tophet  is 
ordained  of  old,  yea,  for  the  king,"  the  Lu- 
cifer, "  it  is  prepared ;  he  hath  made  it 
deep  and  large,  the  pile  thereof  is  fire  and 
much  wood ;  the  breath  of  the  Lord  like  a 
stream  of  brimstone  doth  kindle  it." 

2.  It  is  called  Hell.  "  It  is  better  for  thee 
to  enter  into  life,  halt  or  lame,  than  having 
two  feet  to  be  cast  into  hell." 

3.  It  is  called  "  the  wine-press  of  the 
wrath  of  God."  And  the  angel  thrust  in 
his  sickle  into  the  earth,  and  gathered  the 
vine  of  the  earth,  (that  is,  them  that  did 
not  come  to  Christ,)  and  cast  them  out  into 
the  great  wine-press  of  the  wrath  of  God. 
Rev.  xiv.  19. 

4.  It  is  called  "  a  lake  of  fire."  And 
whatsoever  was  not  found  written  in  the 
book  of  life,  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire. 
Rev.  XX.  15. 

5.  It  is  called  a  pit.  "  Thou  hast  said  in 
thy  heart,  I  will  ascend  to  heaven,  I  will 
exalt  my  throne  above  the  stars  of  God,  I 
will  sit  also  upon  the  mount  of  the  congre- 
gation, in  the  sides  of  the  north.  Yet  thou 
sluilt  be  brought  down  to  hell,  to  the  sides 
of  the  pit." 

6.  It  is  called  "a  bottomless  pit,  out  of 
which  the  smoke  and  tiie  locust  came,  and  in- 
to which  the  great  dragon  was  cast:"  and  it  is 
called  bottomless,  to  show  tlie  endlessness 
of  tiie  fall  that  they  will  have  into  it,  that 
come  not  in  the  acceptable  time  to  Jesus 
Ciirist. 

7.  It  is  called  "outer  darkness."  "Bind 
him  hand  and  foot,  and  cast  him  into  outer 
darkness,  and  cast  ye  the  unprofitable  ser- 


vant into  outer  darkness,  there  shall  be 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth." 

8.  It  is  called  "  a  furnace  of  fire."  Aa 
therefore  the  lares  are  gathered  and  burn- 
ed in  the  fire,  so  shall  it  be  in  the  end  of  this 
world:  the  Son  of  man  shall  send  forlh  his 
angels,  and  he  shall  gather  out  of  his  king- 
dom all  things  that  offend,  and  them  that 
do  iniquity,  and  shall  cast  them  into  a  fur- 
nace of  fire ;  there  shall  be  wailing  and 
gnashing  of  teeth.  And  again,  So  shall  it 
be  in  the  end  of  the  world ;  the  angels 
shall  come  forth  and  sever  the  wicked  from 
among  the  just,  and  shall  cast  them  into  a 
furnace  of  fire  ;  there  shall  be  wailing  and 
gnashing  of  teeth.     Matt  xiii.  41 — 51. 

Lastly,  It  may  not  be  amiss,  if  in  the 
conclusion  of  this,  I  show  in  a  few  words, 
to  what  the  things  that  torment  them  in  this 
state,  are  compared.  Indeed  some  of  them 
have  been  occasionally  mentiond  already  ; 
as  that  they  are  compared, 

1.  To  wood  that  burneth. 

2.  To  fire. 

3.  To  fire  and  brimstone.     But, 

4.  It  is  compared  to  a  worm,  to  a  gnaw- 
ing worm,  a  never-dying  gnawing  worm : 
"  They  are  cast  into  hell,  where  their  worm 
dieth  not" 

5.  It  is  called  "  unquenchable  fire :"  "  He 
will  gather  his  wheat  into  his  garner ;  but 
will  burn  up  the  chaff  with  unquenchable 
fire." 

6.  It  is  called  "  everlasting  destruction." 
The  Lord  Jesus  shall  descend  from  heaven 
with  his  mighty  angels  in  flaming  fire, 
taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not 
God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  be  punished 
with  everlasting  destruction  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his 
power.     Thes.  i.  7,  8. 

7.  It  is  called  "wrath  without  mixture," 
and  is  given  them  in  the  cup  of  his  indig- 
nation. "  If  any  man  worship  the  beast, 
and  his  image,  and  receive  the  mark  in  his 
forehead,  or  in  his  hand,  the  same  shall 
drink  of  the  wrath  of  God  which  is  poured 
out  without  mixture,  in  the  cup  of  his  in- 
dignation, andhe  shall  be  tormented  with  fire 
and  brimstone,  in  the  presence  of  the  holy 
angels,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb." 

8.  It   is    called    "The    second    death." 
And    death  and  hell  were  cast  into  the 

lake  of  fire  ;  this  is  the  second  death. 
Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in 
the  first  resurrection ;  on  such  the  second 
death  hath  no  power." 

9.  It  is  called  "  eternal  damnation." 
"  But  he  that  shall  blaspheme  against  the 
Holy  Ghost,  hath  never  forgiveness,  but  in 
danger  of  eternal  damnation." 

Oh  !  these  three  words  ! 
"  Everlasting  punishment  !'* 
"  Eternal  damnation  I" 


1S4    COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


And,  "  For  ever  and  ever !" 

How  Avill  they  gnaw  and  eat  up  all  the 
expectation  of  the  misery  of  the  cast-away 
sinners !  "  And  ihe  smoke  of  llieir  torment 
ascended  up  for  ever  and  ever ;  and  they 
have  no  rest  day  nor  niglit,"  &c. 

Their  behavior  in  hell  is  set  forth  by 
four  things,  as  I  know  of;  1.  By  calling  for 
help  and  relief  in  vain :  2.  By  weeping : 
3.  By  wailing:  4.  By  gnashing  of  teeth. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  second  thing 
that  is  to  be  inquired  into  ;  namely,  How 
it  appears  that  Christ  hath  power  to  save, 
or  to  cast  out ;  for  by  these  words,  "  I  will 
in  no  wise  cast  out,"  he  declareth  that  he 
hath  power  to  do  both. 

Now  tliis  inquiry  admits  us  to  search  in- 
to two  things:  1.  How  it  appears  that  he 
hath  power  to  save ;  2.  How  it  appears 
that  he  hath  power  to  cast  out 

That  he  hath  power  to  save,  appears  by 
that  which  follows : 

1.  To  speak  only  of  him  as  he  is  media- 
tor ;  he  was  authorized  to  this  blessed 
work  by  his  Father,  before  the  world  be- 
gan. Hence  the  apostle  said,  "  He  hath 
chosen  us  in  him,  before  the  Ibundation  of 
the  world,"  with  all  those  things  that  eti'ect- 
ually  will  produce  our  salvation.  Read 
the  same  chapter,  with  2  Tim.  i.  9. 

2.  He  was  promised  to  our  first  parents, 
that  he  should,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  bruise 
the  serpent's  head ;  and,  as  Paul  expounds 
it.  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law : 
hence,  since  that  time,  he  hath  been  reck- 
oned as  slain  for  our  sins.  By  which 
means  all  the  fathers  under  the  first  testa- 
ment were  secured  from  the  wrath  to  come  ; 
hence  he  is  called,  "The  Lamb  slain  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world." 

3.  Moses  gave  testimony  of  him  by  the 
types  and  shadows,  and  bloody  sacrifices, 
that  he  commanded  from  the  mouth  of  God, 
to  be  in  use  to  the  support  of  his  people's 
faith,  until  the  time  of  reformation  ;  which 
was  the  time  of  this  Jesus  his  death.  Heb. 
9th  and  10th  chap. 

At  the  time  of  his  birth  it  was  testified 
of  him  by  the  angel,  "  That  he  should  save 
his  people  from  their  sins." 

5.  It  is  testified  of  him  in  the  days  of 
his  flesh,  that  he  had  power  on  earth  to  for- 
give sins. 

6.  It  is  testified  also  of  him  by  the  Apos- 
tle Peter :  "  That  God  hath  exalted  liim 
with  his  own  right  hand,  to  be  a  Prince  and 
a  Saviour,  to  give  repentance  to  Israel, 
and  forgiveness  of  sins." 

7.  In  a  word,  this  is  every  where  testified 
of  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the 
New. 

And  good  reason  that  he  should  be  ac- 
knowledged and  trusted  in  as  a  Saviour. 

\.  He  came  down  from  heaven  to  be  a 
Saviouf. 


2.  He  was  anointed  when  on  earth  to  be 
a  Saviour. 

3.  He  did  the  works  of  a  Saviour.     As, 
L  He  fulfilled  the  law,  and  became  the 

end  of  it  for  righteousness,  for  them  that 
believe  in  him. 

2.  He  laid  down  his  life  as  a  Saviour ; 
he  gave  his  life  as  a  ransom  for  many. 

3.  He  hath  abolished  death,  destroyed 
the  devil,  put  away  sin,  got  the  keys  of  hell 
and  death,  ascended  into  heaven ;  is  there 
accepted  of  God,  and  did  sit  at  the  right 
hand  as  a  Saviour ;  and  that  because  his 
sacrifice  for  sins  pleased  God. 

4.  God  hath  sent  out  and  proclaimed 
him  as  a  Saviour,  and  tells  the  world  that 
we  have  redemption  through  his  blood, 
that  he  wnll  justify  us,  if  we  believe  in  his 
blood,  and  that  he  can  faithfully  and  justly 
do  it.  Yea,  God  doth  beseech  us  to  be 
reconciled  to  him  by  his  Son ;  which  could 
not  be,  if  he  were  not  anointed  by  him  to 
this  very  end,  and  also  if  his  works  and  un- 
dertakings were  not  accepted  of  him,  con- 
sidered as  a  Saviour. 

God  hath  already  received  millions  of 
souls  into  his  paradise,  because  they  have 
received  this  Jesus  for  a  Saviour ;  and  is 
resolved  to  cut  them  off,  and  to  cast  them 
out  of  his  presence,  that  will  not  take  him 
for  a  Saviour. 

I  intend  brevity  here ;  therefore  a  word 
to  the  second,  and  so  conclude. 

How  it  appears  that  he  hath  power  to 
cast  out. 

This  appears  also  by  what  follows : 

1.  The  Father,  (for  the  service  that  he 
had  done  him  as  a  Saviour,)  hath  made 
him  Lord  of  all,  even  Lord  of  quick  and 
dead.  "  For  to  this  end,  Christ  both  died, 
and  rose,  and  revived,  that  he  might  be 
Lord  both  of  the  dead  and  living." 

2.  The  Father  hath  left  it  with  him  to 
quicken  whom  he  will,  to  wat,  with  saving 
grace,  and  to  cast  out  whom  he  will,  for 
their  rebellion  against  him. 

3.  The  Father  hath  made  him  judge  of 
quick  and  dead,  hath  committed  all  judg- 
ment unto  the  Son,  and  appointed  that  all 
should  honor  the  Son,  even  as  they  honor 
the  Father. 

4.  God  will  judge  the  world  by  this  man : 
the  day  is  appointed  for  judgment,  and  he 
is  appointed  for  judge.  "  He  hath  appoint- 
ed a  day  in  tlie  which  he  will  judge  the 
world  in  righteousness,  by  that  man." 

Therefore  we  must  all  appear  before  the 
judgment-scat  of  Christ,  that  every  one 
may  receive  for  the  things  done  in  the  body, 
according  to  what  they  have  done.  If  they 
have  closed  with  him,  heaven  and  salva- 
tion ;  if  they  have  not,  hell  and  damnation. 
And  for  these  reasons  he  must  be  judge  : 
1.  Becau.se  of  his  humiliation;  because 
of  his  Father's  word  he  humbled  himself^ 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.    Ig5 


and  he  became  obedient  unto  death,  even 
the  death  of  the  cross :  "  Therefore  God 
hath  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name 
above  every  name ;  that  at  the  name  of 
Jesus  every  Icnee  shall  bow  ;  both  of  things 
in  heaven,  and  things  on  earth,  and  things 
under  tlie  earth ;  and  that  every  tongue 
should  confess,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father." 

This  hath  respect  to  his  being  judge, 
and  his  sitting  in  judgment  upon  angels 
and  men. 

2.  That  all  men  might  honor  the  Son, 
even  as  they  honor  the  Father.  "  For  the 
Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  commit- 
ted all  judgment  unto  the  Son ;  that  all 
men  should  honor  the  Son,  even  as  they 
honor  the  Father." 

3.  Because  of  his  righteous  judgment, 
this  work  is  fit  for  no  creature ;  it  is  only 
fit  for  the  Son  of  God.  For  he  will  reward 
everv  man  according  to  his  ways. 

4.  Because  he  is  the  Son  of  man.  He 
hath  given  him  authority  to  execute  judg- 
ment also,  because  he  is  the  Son  of  man. 

Thus  have  I  in  brief  passed  through  this 
text  by  way  of  explication.  My  next  work 
is  to  speak  to  it  by  way  of  observation : 
but  I  shall  be  also  as  brief  in  that  as  the 
nature  of  the  thing  will  admit. 

All  that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall  come 
to  me,  and  him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in 
no  wise  cast  out. — John  vi.  37. 

And  now  I  come  to  some  observations, 
and  a  little  briefly  to  speak  to  them,  and 
then  conclude  the  whole. 

The  words  thus  explained,  afford  us  ma- 
ny, some  of  which  are  these  : 

1.  That  God  the  Father,  and  Christ  his 
Son,  are  two  distinct  persons  in  tlie  God- 
head. 

2.  That  by  them,  (not  excluding  the  Ho 
ly  Ghost,)  is  contrived  and  determined  the 
salvation  of  fallen  mankind. 

3.  That  this  contrivance  resolved  itself 
into  a  covenant  between  these  persons  in 
the  Godhead,  which  standeth  in  giving  on 
the  Father's  part,  and  receiving  on  the 
Son's.     "  All  that  the  Fatlier  giveth  me." 

&C. 

4.  That  every  one  that  the  Father  hath 
given  to  Christ  (according  to  the  mind  of 
God  in  the  text)  shall  certainly  come  to 
him. 

5.  That  coming  to  Jesus  Christ  is  there 
fore  not  by  the  will,  wisdom,  or  power  of 
man :  but  by  the  gift,  promise,  and  draw 
ing  of  the  Father:  "All  that  the  Father 
giveth  me  shall  come." 

6.  That  Jesus  Christ  will  be  careful  to 
receive,  and  will  not  in  any  wise  reject 
those  that  come,  or  are  coming  to  him. 
"  And  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out." 

Vol.  3.— X. 


There  are,  besides  these,  some  other 
truths  implied  in  the  words.     As, 

7.  They  that  are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ, 
are  ofttimes  heartily  afraid  that  he  will  not 
receive  them. 

3.  Jesus  Christ  would  not  have  them, 
that  in  truth  are  coming  to  him,  once  think 
that  he  will  cast  them  out. 

These  observations  lie  all  of  them  in  the 
words,  and  are  plentifully  confirmed  by  the 
scriptures  of  truth  ;  but  I  shall  not  at  this 
time  speak  to  them  all,  but  shall  pass  by 
the  first,  second,  third,  fourth,  and  sixth, 
partly  because  I  design  brevity,  and  partly 
because  they  are  touched  upon  in  the  ex- 
plicatory part  of  the  text.  I  shall  therefore 
begin  with  the  fifth  observation,  and  so 
make  that  first  in  order  in  the  following 
discourse. 

1.  First,  then  coming  to  Christ  is  not  by 
the  will,  wisdom,  or  power  of  man,  but  by  the 
gift,  promise  and  drawing  of  the  Fatlier. 
This  observation  standeth  of  two  parts, 

1.  The  coming  to  Christ  is  not  by  the 
will,  wisdom,  or  power  of  man: 

2.  But  by  the  gift,  promise,  and  drawing 
of  the  Father. 

That  the  text  carrieth  this  truth  in  its 
bosom,  you  will  find  if  you  look  into  the 
explication  of  the  first  part  thereof  before ; 
I  shall  therefore  here  follow  the  method 
propounded,  viz.  show, 

1.  That  coming  to  Christ  is  not  by  the 
will,  wisdom,  or  power  of  man.  This  is 
true,  because  the  word  doth  positively  say 
it  is  not. 

First.  It  denieth  it  to  be  the  will  of  man, 
"  Not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh, 
nor  of  the  will  of  man."  And  again,  "  It 
is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that 
runneth." 

Second.  It  denieth  it  to  be  of  the  wisdom 
of  man,  as  is  manifest  from  these  consid- 
erations : 

1.  In  the  wisdom  of  God  it  pleased  him, 
that  the  world  by  wisdom  should  not  know 
him.  Now  if  by  their  wisdom  they  cannot 
know  him,  it  follows,  by  that  wisdom  they 
cannot  come  unto  him ;  for  coming  to  him, 
is  not  before,  but  after  some  knowledge  of 
him. 

2.  The  wisdom  of  man  in  God's  account 
as  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  is  reckoned 
foolishness.  "  Hath  not  God  made  foolish 
the  wisdom  of  this  world :"  and  again, 
"  The  wisdom  of  this  world  is  foolishness 
with  God." 

If  God  hath  made  foolish  the  wisdom  of 
this  world ;  and  again,  if  the  wisdom  of 
this  world  is  foolishness  with  him,  then  ver- 
ily it  is  not  likely,  that  by  that  a  sinner  shall 
become  so  prudent,  as  to  come  to  Jesus 
Christ,  especially  if  you  consider, 
i  S.That  the  doctrine  of  a  crucified  Christ, 
'and    so    of   salvation     b3'     him,     is     liie 


lg(3     COME,    AND    WELCOMEi,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


▼ery  tiling  that  is  counted  foolislmess  to 
the  wisdom  oi'  tlic  world.  Now.  if  tlic  ve- 
ry doctrine  of  a  crucified  Clirist  be  count- 
ed foolishness  by  the  wi.^doni  of  tliis  world, 
it  cannot  be  that  by  tliat  wisdom  a  man 
should  be  drawn  oat  in  his  sonl  to  come  to 
him. 

4.  God  counted  the  wisdom  of  tliisAvorld 
one  of  his  greatest  enemies ;  therefore  by 
that  wisdom  no  man  can  conic  to  Jesus 
Christ.  For  it  is  not  likely  tliat  one  of 
God'.s  greatcsst  enenTJes  .should  draw  a  man 
to  that  which  best  of  all  pleasctii  God,  as 
coming  to  Christ  doth.  Now,  that  God 
cou!iteth  the  Avisdom  of  this  world  one  of 
his  greatest  enemies,  is  evident, 

1.  For  that  it  castcth  the  greatest  con 
tempt  upon  his  Son's  undertaUinsr.  afore  is 
proved,  in  that  it  counts  iiis  crncilixion  Ibol- 
ishness ;  though  that  1x3  one  of  the  highest 
demonstrations  of  divine  wisdom. 

2.  Because  God  hath  threatened  (o  des- 
troy it.  and  bring  it  to  nought,  and  cause 
it  to  perish  ;  which  surely  he  would  not  do, 
was  it  not  an  enemy,  would  it  direct  men 
to,  and  cause  them  to  close  Avith  Jesus 
Chrisf. 

3.  He  hath  rejected  it  from  helping  in  the 
ministry  oC  his  Avord,  as  a  fruitless  business, 
and  a  thing  that  comes  to  nougbt. 

4.  Because  it  canseth  to  perish  those 
that  seek  it  and  pursue  it. 

5.  And  God  hath  proclaimed,  that  if  any 
man  Avill  be  wise  in  this  world,  he  must  be 
a  ibol  in  the  Avistlom  of  tliis  world,  and  that 
is  the  Avay  to  be  Avise  in  the  Avisdom  ol' 
God.  '•  If  any  man  Avill  be  Avise  in  this 
world,  let  him  become  a  fool,  that  he  may 
be  Avise.  For  the  Avisdom  of  this  Avorld  is 
foolishness  Avith  God." 

Thirdly.  Coming  to  Christ  is  not  by  the 
power  of  man.     This  is  evident,  partly, 

1.  From  that  Avhich  goeth  before :  for 
man's  power,  in  the  putting  forth  of  it,  in 
this  matter,  is  either  stirred  up  Avith  love, 
or  sense  of  necessity ;  but  the  Avisdom  of 
this  Avorld  neither  gives  man  love  to,  or 
sense  of  a  need  of  Jesus  Christ :  therefore 
his  power  lietli  still,  as  from  that. 

2.  What  poAver  has  he  that  is  dead,  as 
every  natural  man  spiritually  is,  CA'en  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins?  Dead,  even  as 
dead  to  God's  New  Testament  things,  as 
he  that  is  in  his  graA'c  is  dead  to  the  things 
of  this  Avorld.  What  power  has  he  then, 
wherebA?^  fo  come  to  Jesus  Christ? 

3.  God  forbids  the  mighty  man's  glory 
in  liis  sfrenirth ;  and  says  positively,  "  By 
strength  shall  no  man  prevail:"  and  again. 
"Not  by  might,  nor  by  poAver,  but  by  my 
Spirit,  saith  the  Lord." 

4.  Paul  acknow!cilL''eth  that  man.  nay. 
converted  man,  of  hiinsi'lt!  hath  not  a  suiVi- 
ciency  of  power  in  himself  to  think  a  good 
thought ;  if  not  to  do  that  which  is  least, 


for  to  think  is  less  than  to  come ;  no  man 
by  his  own  power  can  come  to  Jesus  Chri.st. 

5.  Hence  Ave  are  said  to  be  made  willing 
to  come,  by  the  power  of  God  :  to  be  rai.s- 
ed  from  a  .'state  of  sin  to  a  state  o\'  grace, 
by  the  power  of  God;  and  to  bi-licvf.  that 
is,  to  come,  through  the  exceeding  working 
of  liLs  mighty  power. 

But  this  needeth  not,  if  cither  man  liad 
power  or  Avill  to  come,  or  so  much  as  gra- 
ciously to  think  of  being  Avilling  to  come 
(of  themselves)  to  Jesus  Christ. 

I  slioidil  now  come  to  the  power  of  the 
second  part  of  th«  observation,  but  that  ia 
occa-sionally  done  already,  in  the  explicato- 
ry part  of  the  text ;  to  which  I  refer  tlie 
reader:  for  1  shall  here  only  give  thee  one 
or  two  more  to  the  same  ])urpose,  and  so 
come  to  the  use  and  application. 

1.  It  is  expressly  .said,  '•  No  man  can 
come  unto  me,  except  the  Father,  which 
hath  sent  me,  draw  him.  By  this  text 
there  is  not  only  insinoated,  that  in  m;ui 
is  want  of  power,  but  of  will,  to  come  to 
Jesus  Christ:  they  roust  be  draAvn  ;  they 
come  not  if  they  be  not  draAvn.  And  ob- 
serve, it  is  not  man,  no,  nor  all  the  angel.s 
ol'  heaven,  that  can  draAV  one  sinner  to  Jc^ 
sus  Christ.  "No  man  can  come  to  me, 
except  the  Father,  which  hatJi  sent  me, 
draw  liim." 

2.  i-\g;iin,  "No  man  can  come  to  mo, 
except  it  Avere  given  him  of  my  Father."' 
It  is  an  heavenly  gift  that  maketh  man  con»e 
to  Je.sus  Christ. 

3.  Again,  "It  is  Avritten  in  the  prophets, 
they  shall  be  all  taught  of  God ;  every 
one  therefore  that  hath  heard  and  learni:d 
of  the  Father,  cometh  to  me." 

I  shall  not  enlarge,  but  shall  make  scwne 
use  and  application,  and  so  come  to  the 
next  obserA'ation. 

1.  Is  it  so  ?  Is  coming  to  Jesus  Christ, 
not  by  the  AA'ill,  Avistlom,  or  power  of  mai^ 
but  by  the  gift,  promise,  and  draAA'ing  of 
the  Father?  Then  they  are  to  blame'tliat 
cry  up  the  Avill,  Avisdom.  and  power  of  man, 
as  things  .sulficii^nt  to  bring  men  to  Christ. 

There  are  some  men  Avho  think  they 
may  not  be  contradicted,  when  they  pli;ad 
for  the  Avill,  wisdom,  and  power  of  man  in 
reference  to  the  things  tliat  are  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ:  but  1  will  say  to  such  a 
man,  he  never  yet  came  to  understand, 
tiiat  himself  is,  what  the  .scripture  teaclietli 
concerning  him  :  neither  did  he  ever  know 
what  comiiiii  to  CIn-ist  is  by  the  teach- 
ing gift,  and  (IrawiniT  of  the  Father.  He 
is  such  a  one  th;it  hath  set  u;i  God's  enemy 
in  opposition  to  him,  and  that  continueth  in 
sucii  acts  ot"  defiance;  and  Avliat  his  end 
without  a  new  birth.  Avil!  be,  the  scripture 
teaolieth  also  :  but  aa'C  Avill  pass  this. 

2.  is  it  so  ?  Is  conung  to  Jesus  Christ,  by 
the  gill,  promise,  and  uraAVihg  of  the  Fath- 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     Ig7 


er?  Then  let  saints  here  learn  to  ascribe 
thoir  oeniiiig  to  Christ,  to  the  gilt,  promise, 
and  drawing  of  the  Father.  Christian 
man,  Ido.ss  God,  Avho  hath  given  thee  to 
Jesus  Chris^t,  by  promise  ;  and  again  bless 
God  for  that  lie  hath  drawn  thee  to  him. 
And  why  is  it  thee?  Why  not  another? 
O  that  the  glory  of  electing  love  should 
rest  upon  tiiy  head,  and  that  the  glory  of 
the  exceeding  grace  of  God  should  take 
hold  of  tliy  heart,  and  bring  thee  to  Jesu.s 
Christ! 

3.  Is  it  so,  that  coming  to  Jesus  Christ, 
is  by  tiiy  Father,  as  atbresaidi  Then  this 
should  teach  us  to  set  a  higli  esteem  upon 
them  that  are  indeed  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ :  I  say,  a  high  esteem  on  them,  for 
the  sake  of  him,  by  virtue  of  whose  grace 
they  are  made  to  come  to  Jesus  Christ. 

We  see  that  when  men  by  the  help  of 
humau  abilities,  do  arrive  at  the  knowledge 
of,  and  bring  to  pass  that  whicli,  when  done, 
is  a  wonder  to  the  world,  how  he  that  did 
it  is  esteemed  and  commended :  yea,  how 
are  liis  wits.  ])arts,  industry,  and  unwea- 
riedne&?  in  all,  admired  5  and  yet  the  man, 
as  to  this,  is  but  of  the  world,  and  his  work 
the  effect  of  natural  ability:  tlic  things  al- 
so attained  by  him  end  in  vanity  and  vex- 
ation of  spirit.  Further,  perhaps  in  the 
pursuit  of  these  liis  a-ehievements,  he  sins 
against  God.  wastes  liis  time  vainly,  and  at 
long  run.  loses  his  soul  by  neglecting  of  bet- 
ter things :  yet  he  is  admired  !  But  I  say,  if 
this  man's  parts.  l;vbor,  diligence,  and  the 
like,  will  bring  him  to  such  applause  and 
esteem  in  the  world,  what  esteem  should 
We  have  of  such  an  one.  that  is,  by  the  gift, 
promise,  and  power  of  God,  coming  to  Je- 
sus Christ  ? 

1.  This  is  a  man  with  which  God  is,  in 
whom  God  works  and  w^alks ;  a  man  whose 
motion  is  governed  and  steered  by  the 
mighty  hand  of  God,  and  the  effectual 
working  of  his  power:  here's  a  man! 

2.  This  man,  by  the  power  of  God's 
might  which  worketh  in  him,  is  able  to  cast 
a  whole  world  behind  him,  with  all  the  lusts 
and  pleasures  of  it;  and  to  charge  through 
all  the  difficulties  that  men  and  devils  can 
set  against  him  :  here's  a  man  ! 

3.  This  man  is  travelling  to  Mount  Zion, 
the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  the  living 
God,  and  to  an  innumerable  companj'  of  an- 
gels, and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  per- 
fect, to  God  the  judge  of  all,  and  to  Jesus: 
here's  a  man  ! 

4.  This  man  can  look  upon  death  with 
o.omfort,  can  laugh  at  destruction  when  it 
Cometh,  and  long  to  hear  the  sound  of 
the  last  trump,  and  to  see  the  judge  coming 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven :  here's  a  man  in- 
deed ! 

Let  Christians  then  esteem  each  other  as 
euch :  I  know  you  do ;  but  do  it  more  and 


more.     And  that  you  may  consider  these 
two  or  three  things : 

1.  These  are  the  objects  of  Christ's  es- 
teem. Matt.  xii.  4S:  chap.  xv.  22—29; 
Luke  vii.  9. 

2.  These  are  the  objects  of  the  esteem 
of  angels.  Dun.  ix.  12;  cliap.  x.  11;  and 
xii.  4  ;  Heb.  i,  14. 

3.  These  liave  been  the  objects  of  the 
esteem  of  heathens,  when  but  convinced 
about  them,  Dan.  v.  10 ;  Acts.  v.  15 ;  1 
Cor.  xiv.  24,  25. 

"  Let  each  of  you  then  esteem  each  oth- 
er better  than  themselves."     Phil.  iii.  2. 

4.  Again,  Is  it  so,  that  no  man  comes  to 
Jesus  Christ,  by  the  will,  wisdom,  and  pow- 
er of  man,  but  by  the  gift,  power,  and  draw- 
ing of  the  Father  ?  Then  this  shows  us 
how  horribly  ignorant  of  this  such  are, 
who  make  the  men  that  are  conn'ng  to 
Christ  the  object  of  their  contempt  and 
rage.  These  are  also  unreasonable  and 
wicked  men :  '•  Men  in  whom  is  no  taith." 
1  Thess.  iii.  2. 

Sinners,  did  you  but  know  what  a  bless- 
ed thing  it  is  to  come  to  Jesus  Christ,  and 
that  by  the  lielp  and  drawing  of  the  Fath- 
er they  do  indeed  come  to  him,  you  would 
hang  and  burn  in  hell  a  thousands  years 
before  you  would  turn  your  spirits  as  you 
do,  against  him  that  God  is  drawing  to  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  also  against  the  God  that 
draws  him. 

But,  faithless  sinner,  let  us  a  little  expos- 
tulate the  matter.  What  hath  this  man 
done  against  thee,  that  is  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ '?  Why  dost  thou  make  him  the  ob- 
ject of  thy  scorn  7  Dotli  his  coming  to  Je- 
sus Christ  offend  thee  ?  Doth  his  pursuing 
of  his  own  salvation  offend  thee  ?  I)(jth 
his  forsalung  of  his  sins  and  pleasures  of- 
fend thee  ? 

Poor  coming  man  !  '■  Thou  sacrificeth 
the  abominations  of  the  Egyptians  before 
their  eyes,  and  will  they  not  stone  thee  ?" 

But  I  say,  why  offended  at  this  ?  Is  he 
ever  the  worse  for  coming  to  Jesus  Christ, 
or  for  loving  and  serving  of  Jesus  Christ, 
or  is  he  ever  the  more  a  fool,  lor  flying 
from  that  which  will  drown  thee  in  hell-fire, 
and  for  seeking  eternal  life  ?  Besides,  pray 
sirs,  consider  it ;  this  he  doth  not  of  him- 
self, but  by  the  drawing  of  the  Father, 
Come,  let  me  tell  thee  in  tliine  ear,  thoxi 
that  wilt  not  come  to  him  thyself,  ajid  him 
that  would,  thou  hinderest. 

1.  Thou  shalt  be  judged  for  one  that 
hath  hated,  maligned,  and  reproached  Je- 
sus Christ,  to  whom  this  poor  sinner  is  com- 
ing. 

2.  Thou  shalt  be  judged  too,  for  one 
that  hath  hated  the  Father,  by  whose  pow- 
erful drawing  the  sinner  dotli  come. 

3.  Thou  slialt  be  taken,  and  judged,  for 
one  that  hath  done  despite  to  the  Spirit  of 


188     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST, 


grace  in  him,  tliat  is  by  its  help  coming  to 
Jesus  Christ.  What  saycst  thou  now? 
Wih  thou  stand  by  thy  doin^rs  ?  WiU  thou 
continue  to  contemn  and  reproach  the  hv- 
ing  God  ?  Thinkest  thou  tliat  tiiou  slialt 
weather  it  out  well  enough  at  the  day  of 
judgment  ?  "  Can  thy  heart  endure,  or  can 
thy  hands  be  strong,  in  tlie  day  that  I  shall 
de"al  with  tliee,  saith  the  Lord  '?" 

4.  Is  it  so,  tliat  no  man  comes  to  Jesus 
Christ  by  the  will,  wisdom,  and  power  ot' 
man,  but" by  the  gift,  promise,  and  drawing 
of  the  Father?  Then  this  showeth  us 
how  it  comes  to  pass,  that  weak  means 
are  so  powerful  as  to  bring  men  ont  of 
their  sins,  to  a  hearty  pursuit  after  Jesus 
Christ.  When  God  bid  Moses  speak  to 
the  people,  he  said,  "  I  will  speak  with 
thee."  When  God  speaks,  when  God 
works,  who  can  let  it?  None,  none  ;  then 
the  Avork  goes  on.  Elias  threw  his  mantle 
upon  the  shoulders  of  Elisha ;  and  what  a 
wonderful  work  followed  !  When  Jesus 
fell  in  with  the  crowing  of  a  cock,  what 
work  was  there  ?  O  when  God  is  in  the 
means,  then  shall  that  means,  be  it  never 
so  weak  and  contemptible  in  itself,  work 
wonders.  1  Kings  xix.  19;  Matt.  xxvi. 
74,  75;  Mark  xiv.  71,  72;  Luke  xxii.  61, 
62. 

The  world  understood  not,  nor  believed, 
that  the  walls  of  Jericho  shall  fall  at  the 
sound  of  ram's  horns :  but  when  God  will 
worl<,  the  means  must  be  effectual.  A 
word  weakly  spoken,  spoken  with  difficulty, 
in  temptation,  and  in  the  midst  of  great 
contempt  and  scorn,  works  wonders,  if  the 
Lord  thy  God  will  say  so  too. 

5.  Is  it  so?  Doth  no  man  come  to  Jesus 
Christ  by  the  will,  wisdom,  and  power  of 
man,  but  by  the  gift,  promise,  and  drawing 
of  the  Father?  Then  here  is  room  for 
Christians  to  stand  and  wonder  at  the  effec- 
tual working  of  God's  providence,  that  he 
hath  made  use  of,  as  means  to  bring  them 
to  Jesus  Christ. 

For  although  men  are  drawn  to  Christ 
by  the  power  of  the  Father,  yet  that  power 
putteth  forth  itself  in  the  use  of  means ; 
and  these  means  are  diverse,  sometimes 
this,  sometimes  that ;  for  God  is  at  liberty 
to  work,  by  which,  and  when,  and  how  he 
will ;  but  let  the  means  be  what  they  will, 
and  as  contemptible  as  may  be ;  yet  God 
that  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of 
darkness,  and  that  out  of  weakness  can 
make  strong,  can,  nay,  doth  oftentimes,  make 
use  of  every  unlikely  means  to  bring  about 
the  conversion  and  salvation  of  his  people. 
Therefore  you  that  are  come  to  Christ,  (and 
by  unlikely  means,)  stay  yourselves,  and 
wonder,  and  wondering,  magnify  almighty 
power,  by  the  work  of  which  the  means 
hath  been  made  effectual  to  bring  you  to 
Jeeus  Christ. 


What  was  the  providence  that  God  made 
use  otj  as  a  means  either  remote,  or  more 
near,  to  bring  thee  to  Jesus  Christ?  Was 
it  the  removing  of  thy  habitation,  the  change 
of  thy  condition,  the  loss  of  relations,  estate, 
or  the  like  ?  Was  it  the  casting  of  thine 
eye  upon  some  good  book,  the  hearing  of 
thy  neighbore  talk  of  heavenly  things,  the 
beholding  of  God's  judgment  as  executed 
upon  others,  or  thine  own  deliverance  I'rom 
them,  or  thy  being  strangely  cast  uilder  the 
ministry  of  some  godly  man  ?  O  take  no- 
tice of  such  providence  or  providences ! 
They  were  sent  and  managed  by  mighty 
power  to  do  thee  good.  God  himself,  I 
say,  hath  joined  himself  to  this  chariot; 
yea,  and  so  blessed  it,  that  it  failed  not  to 
accomplish  the  thing  for  which  he  sent  it. 

God  blesseth  not  to  every  one  his  provi- 
dence in  this  manner.  How  many  thou- 
sands are  there  in  this  world,  that  pass 
every  day  under  the  same  providences  J 
but  God  is  not  in  them,  to  do  that  work  by 
them  as  he  hath  done  for  thy  poor  soul,  by 
his  effectually  working  with  them,  O  that 
Jesus  Christ  should  meet  thee  in  this  prov- 
idence, that  dispensation,  or  the  other  ordi- 
nance !  This  is  grace  indeed !  At  this, 
therefore,  it  wilt  be  thy  wisdom  to  admire, 
and  for  this  to  bless  God. 

Give  me  leave  to  give  you  a  taste  of 
some  of  those  providences  that  have  been 
effectual,  through  the  management  of  God, 
to  bring  salvation  to  the  souls  of  liis  people. 

1.  The  first  shall  be  that  of  the  woman 
of  Samaria.  It  must  happen,  that  she 
must  needs  go  out  of  the  city  to  draw  wa- 
ter (not  before  or  after,  but)  just  when  Je- 
sus Christ  her  Saviour  was  come  from  far, 
and  sat  to  rest  him  (being  weary)  upon  the 
well.  What  a  blessed  providence  was  this  1 
Even  a  providence  managed  by  the  al- 
mighty wisdom,  and  almighty  power,  to  the 
conversion  and  salvation  of  this  poor  crea- 
ture. For  by  this  providence  was  this  poor 
creature  and  her  Saviour  brought  together, 
that  a  blessed  work  might  be  fulfilled  upon 
the  woman,  according  to  the  purpose  before 
determined  of  tlie  Father.     John  iv. 

2.  What  providence  was  it,  that  there 
should  be  a  tree  in  the  way  for  Zaccheus 
to  climb,  thereby  to  give  Jesus  opportunity 
to  call  that  chief  of  the  publicans  home  to 
himself,  even  before  he  came  down  there- 
from. 

3.  Was  it  not  wonderful,  that  the  thief^ 
which  you  read  of  in  the  go.spel,  should,  by 
the  providence  of  God,  be  cast  into  prison, 
to  be  condemned,  even  at  that  sessions  that 
Christ  himself  was  to  die  ;  nay,  and  that  it 
should  happen  too,  that  they  must  be  hang- 
ed together,  that  the  thief  might  be  in 
hearing  and  observing  of  Jesus  in  his  last 
words,  that  he  might  be  converted  by  him 
before  his  death  ?     Luke  xxii. 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     189 


4.  What  a  strange  providence  was  it, 
and  as  strangely  managed  by  God,  that 
Onesimus,  when  he  was  run  away  trom  his 
master,  should  be  taken,  as  I  think,  and 
cast  into  that  very  prison  where  Paul  lay 
bound  for  the  word  of  the  gospel ;  that  he 
might  there  be  by  him  converted,  and  then 
sent  home  again  to  his  master  Philemon ! 
"  Behold,  all  things  work  together  for  good, 
to  them  that  love  God ;  to  them  who  are 
the  called  according  to  his  purpose." 

Nay,  I  have  myself  known  some  that 
have  been  made  to  go  to  hear  the  word 
preached  against  their  wills ;  others  have 
gone  not  to  hear,  but  to  see  and  be  seen  ; 
nay,  to  jeer  and  flout  others,  as  also  to 
catch  and  carp  at  things.  Some  also  to 
feed  their  adulterous  eyes  with  the  sight  of 
beautiful  objects ;  and  yet  God  hath  made 
use  of  even  these  things,  and  even  of  the 
wicked  and  sinful  proposals  of  sinners,  to 
bring  them  under  the  grace  that  might  save 
their  souls. 

7.  Doth  no  man  come  to  Jesus  Christ, 
but  by  the  drawing,  &c.  of  the  Father? 
Then  let  me  here  caution  those  poor  sin- 
ners, that  are  spectators  of  the  change  that 
God  hath  wrought  in  them  that  are  coming 
to  Jesus  Christ,  not  to  attribute  tliis  work 
and  change  to  other  things  and  causes. 

There  are  some  poor  sinners  in  the 
world,  that  plainly  see  a  change,  a  mighty 
change,  in  their  neighbors  and  relations 
that  are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ.  But  as  I 
said,  they  being  ignorant,  and  not  knowing 
whence  it  comes,  and  whither  it  goes,  "  for 
so  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit," 
therefore  they  attribute  this  change  to  other 
causes:  as,  1.  Melancholy;  2.  To  sitting 
alone;  3.  To  overmuch  reading;  4.  To 
their  going  to  too  many  sermons ;  5.  To 
too  much  studying,  and  musiug  on  what 
they  hear. 

Also,  they  conclude  on  the  other  side, 

1.  That  it  is  for  want  of  merry  company. 

2.  For  want  of  physic,  and  therefore 
they  advise  them  to  leave  off  reading,  go- 
ing to  sermons,  the  company  of  sober  peo- 
ple, and  to  be  merry,  and  go  a  gossiping, 
to  busy  themselves  in  the  things  of  this 
world ;  not  set  musing  alone,  &.c. 

But  come,  poor  ignorant  sinner,  let  me 
deal  with  thee.  It  seems  thou  art  turned 
counsellor  for  Satan:  I  tell  thee,  thou 
knowest  not  what  thou  dost.  Take  heed 
of  spending  thy  judgment  after  this  man- 
ner; thou  judgest  foolishly,  and  sayest  in 
this,  to  every  one  that  passeth  by,  thou  art 
a  fool. 

What !  count  convictions  for  sin,  mourn 
ing  for  sin,  and  repentance  for  sin,  melan 
choly !  This  is  like  those  that  on  the  other 
side  said,  "  These  men  are  drunk  with  new 
wine,"  &c.  Or,  as  he  hath  said,  Paul  was 
mad.    Acts  ii.  23 ;  and  xxvi.  24. 


Poor  ignorant  sinner !  canst  thou  judge 
no  better  1  What !  is  sitting  alone,  pensive 
under  God's  hand,  reading  the  scriptures, 
and  hearing  of  sermons,  &c.  the  way  to  be 
undone  1  The  Lord  open  thine  eyes,  and 
make  thee  to  see  thine  error :  thou  hast  set 
thyself  against  God,  thou  hast  despised  the 
operations  of  his  hands,  thou  attemptest  to 
murder  souls.  What?  canst  thou  give  no 
better  counsel  touching  those  whom  God 
hath  wounded,  than  to  send  them  to  the  or- 
dinances of  hell  for  help?  Thou  biddest 
them  be  merry  and  lightsome ;  but  dost 
thou  not  know,  that  "  the  heart  of  fools  is  in 
the  house  of  laughter?" 

Thou  biddest  them  shun  the  hearing  of 
thundering  preachers :  "  But  is  it  not  better 
to  hear  the  rebuke  of  the  wise,  than  for  a 
man  to  hear  the  song  of  fools?"  Thou 
biddest  them  busy  themselves  in  the  things 
of  this  world  ;  but  dost  thou  not  know  that 
the  Lord  bids,  "  First  seek  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  the  righteousness  thereof?" 

Poor  ignorant  sinner,  hear  the  counsel  of 
God  to  such,  and  learn  thyself  to  be  wiser. 
"  Is  any  afflicted  ?  let  him  pray :  Is  any 
merry  ?  let  him  sing  psalms.  Blessed  is  he 
that  heareth  me ;  and  heareth  for  time  to 
come.  Save  yourselves  from  this  untoward 
generation.  Search  the  scriptures ;  give 
attendance  to  reading.  It  is  better  to  go  to 
the  house  ol'  mourning." 

And  wilt  thou  judge  him  that  doth  thus? 
Art  thou  almost  like  EUmas  the  sorcerer, 
that  sought  to  turn  the  deputy  from  the 
faith  ?  Thou  seekest  to  pervert  the  right 
ways  of  the  Lord :  take  heed  lest  some 
heavy  judgment  overtake  thee.  Acts  xiii. 
8—13. 

What !  teach  men  to  quench  convictions ; 
take  men  off'  from  a  serious  consideration 
of  the  evil  of  sin,  of  the  terrors  of  the 
world  to  come,  and  how  they  shall  escape 
the  same  ?  What !  teach  men  to  put  God 
and  his  word  out  of  their  minds,  by  running 
to  merry  company,  by  running  to  the  world, 
by  gossiping,  &c.  ?  This  is  as  much  as 
to  bid  them  say  to  God,  "  Depart  from  us, 
for  we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways ; 
or,  what's  the  Almighty,  that  we  should 
serve  him  ?  or,  what  profit  have  we,  if  we 
keep  his  ways  ?"  Here  is  a  devil  in  grain ! 
What !  bid  a  man  walk  "  according  to  the 
course  of  this  world,  according  to  the  prince 
of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now 
w^orketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience  ?" 

Objection.  But  we  do  not  know  that 
such  are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ ;  truly  we 
wonder  at  them,  and  think  they  are  fools. 

Answer.  1.  Do  you  not  know  they  are 
coming  to  Jesus  Christ  ?  then  they  may  be 
coming  to  him,  for  aught  you  Imow ;  and 
why  will  you  be  worse  than  the  brute,  to 
speak  evil  of  the  things  you  know  not? 
What,  are  you  made  to  be  taken  and  de- 


190     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


stroyeJ?  must  ye  iiltcrly  pi'ri.sh  in  your 
own  corruptions? 

2.  Uo  you  not  know  tlicni  ?  Let  tlioni 
iilonc  then.  It"  you  ranuDt  spcuk  good  of 
them,  speak  not  [);ul ;  ••  lietVain  from  llu'«e 
men.  ami  let  them  alone ;  lor  if  this  coun- 
sel, or  this  work,  be  of  men.  it  will  conic  to 
nought:  but  if  it  be  of  God,  ye  cannot 
overthrow  it,  lest  haply  ye  he  found  even  to 
tight  against  God."" 

'A.  But  why  do  you  wonder  at  a  work  of 
eouvietion  and  conversion  ?  Know  you  not 
that  this  is  the  judgment  of  God  upon  you, 
ye  des])isers.  '•  to  behoKl.  and  wonder,  and 
perish  P 

4.  But  why  wonder,  and  think  they  are 
fools  .'  Is  the  way  of  the  just  an  abomina- 
tion to  you?  See  that  passage,  and  be 
ashamed,  "He  that  is  upright  in  the  way, 
is  an  abomination  to  the  wicked." 

5.  Your  wondering  at  them  argue.s  that 
you  are  strangers  to  yourselves,  to  convic- 
tion for  sin,  and  to  hearty  desires  to  be 
saved  ;  as  also  coming  to  .Tesus  Christ. 

Ohjccliim.  But  how  shall  we  know  that 
such  men  are  coming  to  .Tesus  Christ  ? 

Aii>iwt'r.  Who  can  make  them  see  that 
Christ  has  made  blind  ?  Nevertheless,  be- 
cause I  endeavor  thy  conviction,  conversion, 
and  salvation,  consider, 

1.  Do  they  cry  out  of  sin,  being  burdened 
with  it,  as  an  exceeding  bitter  thing  ? 

2.  Do  they  fly  from  it,  as  t"rom  the  face 
of  a  diuidly  serpent  ? 

3.  Do  they  cry  out  of  tlie  insufficiency  of 
their  own  righteovi-sness.  as  to  justification 
in  the  sight  of  God? 

■4.  Do  they  cr}^  out  after  the  Lord  Jesus 
1o  save  them  ? 

5.  Do  they  see  more  worth  and  merit  in 
one  drop  of  Christ's  blood  to  save  them, 
than  in  all  the  sins  of  thi;  world  to  damn 
them  ? 

6.  Are  they  tender  of  sinning  against 
Jesus  Christ? 

7.  Is  his  name,  person,  and  understand- 
ings, more  precious  to  them,  than  is  the 
glory  of  the  world  ? 

8.  Is  this  world  more  dear  unto  them  ? 

9.  Is  faith  in  Christ  {o['  which  they  are 
convinced  by  God's  Spirit  of  the  want  of, 
and  that  without  it  they  can  never  close 
with  (Mirist)  precious  to  "them? 

10.  Do  they  favor  Christ  in  tliis  world, 
and  do  they  leave  all  the  world  for  his  sake? 
And  are  tliey  willing  (God  helping  them) 
to  run  hazards  for  his  name,  l"or  the  love 
they  bear  to  him? 

11.  Are  his  saints  precious  to  them? 

If  these  things  be  so,  whether  thou  seesC 
them  or  no,  these  men  are  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ, 

II.  I  come  now  to  tjie  second  observa- 
tion propounded  to  be  spoken  to,  to  wit. 
That  thev  that  arc  coming  to  Jesus  Christ 


are  ofttimcs  heartily  afraid  that  Jesus  Christ 
will  not  receive  them. 

I  told  you  that  this  observation  is  implieil 
in  tlie  text;  and  1  gather  it,  1.  From  tiic 
largeness  and  openness  of"  the  promise;  '"l 
will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  For  had  there 
not  been  a  proneness  in  us  to  fear  casting 
out,  Christ  needeil  not  to  have,  as  it  were, 
way-laid  our  fear,  as  he  doth  by  this  great 
and  strange  expression,  ••  in  no  wise ;  an<l 
Jiim  that  comcth  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out."  There  needed  not,  as  I  may 
say,  such  a  promise  to  be  invented  by  the 
wisdon\  of  lu'aven,  and  worded  at  such  a 
rate,  as  it  were  on  purpose  to  dash  in  pie- 
ces at  one  blow,  all  the  objections  of  coming 
sinners,  if  they  were  not  prone  to  admit  of 
such  objections,  to  the  discouraging  of  tlieir 
own  souls.  For  i\uf  word,  in  no  wise,  cul- 
teth  the  throat  of  all  objections;  and  it  was 
dropped  by  the  Lord  Jesus  for  that  very 
end ;  and  to  help  the  faith  that  is  mixed 
with  unbelief". 

And  it  is,  as  it  were,  tlie  sum  of  all  prom- 
ises;  neither  can  any  objection  be  made 
upon  the  unworthiness  that  thou  lindest  in 
tliee,  that  this  promise  will  not  as.sail. 

But  I  am  a  great  sinner,  sayest  thou. 

/  will  in  no  wine  cast  nut,  says  Christ. 

But  I  am  an  old  sinner,  sayest  thou. 

/  Iff'//  in  no  If /.s'f  cast  out,  says  Christ. 

But  1  am  an  hard-liearted  siimer,  sayest 
thovi. 

/  will  in  no  iiise  cant  out,  says  Christ. 

But  I  am  a  backsliding  sinner,  sayest 
thou. 

/  will  in  no  wise  cast  ont,  says  Christ. 

But  I  have  served  Satan  ail  my  days, 
sayest  thou. 

I  wiil  in  no  wise  cast  out,  says  Christ. 

But  I  have  sinned  against  light,  sayest 
thou. 

I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out,  says  Christ. 

But  1  have  sinned  against  mercy,  sayest 
thou. 

/  will  in  no  wise  cast  out,  says  Christ. 

But  I  liave  no  good  thing  to  bring  with 
me,  sayest  thou. 

/  will  in  no  wise  cast  out,  says  Clirist. 

Thus  I  might  go  on  to  the  end  of  things, 
and  show  you,  that  still  this  promise  was 
provided  to  answer  all  objections,  and  doth 
answer  them.  But  I  say,  what  need  it  be, 
if  they  tiiat  are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ  are 
not  sometimes,  yea,  oftentimes,  heartily 
afraid,  "  that  Ji-sus  Christ  will  cast  them 
out?" 

2.  I  will  give  you  now  two  instances 
that  seem  to  imply  the  truth  of  this  obser- 
vation. 

In  tJie  9th  of  MatthcAv,  at  the  second 
verse,  you  read  of  a  man  that  was  sick  of 
the  palsy ;  and  he  was  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ,  being  borne  upon  a  bed  by  his 
j  friends ;  he  was  also  coming  himselfj  and 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.      |9l 


that  upon  another  account  than  any  of  his 
friends  were  aware  of;  even  for  the  pardon 
of  sins ;  and  the  salvation  of  his  soul. 
Now,  so  soon  as  ever  he  was  come  into  the 
presence  of  Christ,  Christ  bids  him  ••  be  of 
gwod  cheer."  It  seems  then  his  Iieart  was 
tainting:  but  what  was  the  cause  of  his 
fainting?  I\ot  his  bodily  iiifirraity,  for  tlie 
cure  of  which  hi.s  Iriends  did  bring  him  to 
Christ;  but  the  guilt  and  burthen  of  his 
sins,  for  the  pardon  of  which  himself  did 
come  to  liim:  therelore  he  proceeds,  "Be 
of  good  cheer,  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee." 

I  say,  Christ  saw  him  sinking  in  his 
mind,  about  how  it  would  go  with  his  most 
noble  part;  and  therefore,  first,  lie  applies 
himseh  to  him  upon  that  account.  For 
though  his  friends  bad  faith  enough  as  to 
tlie  cure  of  tbe  body,  yet  he  himself  had 
little  enough  as  to  the  cure  of  his  soul: 
therefore  Christ  takes  him  up  as  a  man  fall- 
ing down,  sjiying,  "  Son  be  of  good  cheer, 
thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee." 

That  aliont  tlie  pntdtgal  seems  pertment 
also  in  this  matter;  "When  he  was  come 
-  to  himself,  he  said,  How  many  hired  ser- 
vants of  my  Fatber  have  bread  enough  and 
to  spare,  and  I  perish  for  hunger!  I  will 
arise  now,  and  go  to  my  Fntlier."  Hearti- 
ly spoken ;  but  how  did  he  perform  his 
, promise?  I  tiiitik  not  so  well  as  he  prom- 
ised to  do,  and  mv  ground  for  my  thoughts 
■■  is,  because  his  Father,  so  su(jn  as  he  was 
come  to  him,  fell  ujxm  his  neck,  and  ki.-.-^ed 
him;  implying,  nu.thinks,  as  if  the  prodi- 
gal at  Ibis  time  Wiis  dejected  in  his  mind 
and  therefore  his  Fatlier  gives  the  most 
sudden  and  faiiiili;u'  token  of  reconcilia- 
tion. 

And  kisses  were  of  old  time  often  used  to 
remove  doubts  and  fears.  Thus  Laban  and 
Esau  kissed  .Jacob:  Thus  .Joseph  kissed  his 
brethren;  and  tinis  also  David  kissed  Ab- 
salom. Gen.  XXXV.  o5;  chap,  xxxiii.  1 — 7; 
and  chap,  xlviii,  9,  10;  2  Sam.  xiv.  33. 

It  is  true,  as  I  said,  at  first  setting  out  he 
«pake  heartily,  ns  sometimes  sinners  also  do 
in  their  bi-glnning  to  come  to  Jesus  Christ; 
but  might  not  he.  yea,  in  all  ])robability  he 
liad.  (between  the  first  step  he  took,  and 
tbe  last,  by  whicli  he  accomplisbcd  that 
journey,)  many  a  thought,  both  this  w;iy 
and  that,  as  whether  his  father  would  re- 
ceive him  or  no  ?  As  tbus :  I  .said.  '•  I 
would  go  to  my  Father:"  But  how,  if 
when  I  ciune  to  him  be  should  ask  me. 
Where  I  bave  all  tliis  while  been?  What 
shall  I  say.  then  ?  Also  if  lie  ask  me. 
What  is  become  of  the  portion  of  goods 
that  he  gave  me  ?  What  shall  I  say  then  ? 
Jt  111!  nsk  me.  Who  have  been  my  compan- 
ions ?  What  shall  I  sav  then  ?  'if  he  also 
should  ask  me,  Wbai  hath  been  my  prefer- 
nienl  in  all  the  time  of  mv  abseriice  from 
him?     What  >:liall  I  sav  then?     Yea,  and! 


if  he  ask  me,  Why  I  came  home  no  sooner  ? 
What  shall  1  say  then?  Thus,  I  say, 
might  he  reason  with  himself;  and  being 
conscious  to  himsehj  that  he  could  give  but 
a  very  bad  answer  to  any  of  these  interro- 
gatories, no  marvel  if  he  stood  in  nei:d  first 
of  all  of  a  kiss  from  his  Father's  lips.  For 
had  he  answered  the  first  in  truth,  he  nuist 
say,  I  have  been  a  haunter  of  taverns  and 
ale-houses;  and  as  for  my  portion,  I  spent 
it  in  riotuos  living;  my  companions  were 
whores  and  drabs;  as  for  my  preferment, 
the  highest  was,  that  I  became  a  hogherd  ; 
and  as  for  my  not  coming  home  till  now, 
could  I  have  made  shift  to  stay  abroad  ;uiy 
longer,  I  had  not  been  at  thy  feet  lor  mercy 
now. 

1  say  these  things  considered,  and  con- 
sidering again,  how  prone  poor  men  are  to 
give  way,  when  truly  awakened,  to  de- 
spondings,  and  heart-misgivings,  no  niiirvel 
if  he  did  sink  in  his  mind,  between  the  time 
of  his  first  setting  out,  and  that  of  his  com- 
ing to  his  Father. 

3.  But,  thirdly,  niethinks  I  have,  for  die 
confirmation  of  this  truth,  the  con.sent  ol'all 
the  saints,  that  are  under  heaven,  to  wit, 
That  they  that  are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ, 
are  ofltimes  heartily  afraid  that  he  will  not 
receive  them. 

Question.  But  what  should  he  the  reason  ? 

1  will  answer  to  this  question  thus, 

1.  It  is  not  for  the  want  of  the  revealed 
will  of  God,  that  nianifestelh  grounds  for 
the  contrary,  for  of  that  there  is  a  suliicien- 
cy ;  yea,  the  text  itself  hath  laid  ;i  suliicient 
foundation  for  encouragement,  for  them  that 
are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ. 

"  And  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out." 

2.  It  is  not  for  want  of  any  invitation  to 
come,  for  that  is  full  and  plain :  "  Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  ihat  labor  and  are  heavy  la- 
den, and  I  will  give  you  rest." 

3.  Neither  is  it  for  want  of  manifestation 
of  Christ's  willingness  to  receive,  as  tho.«e 
texts  above  named,  with  tliat  Avhich  follows 
declareth,  "If  any  man  thirst,  let  Jiim  come 
unto  me  and  drink." 

4.  It  is  not  for  want  of  exceeding  gre:it 
nnd  precious  promises  to  receive  them  that 
come.  "  Wherefore  come  out  from  among 
them,  and  be  ye  separate,  sahh  the  Lord, 
and  touch  not  the  unclean  tliinsi-.  and  I  will 
receive  you.  and  I  will  be  a  Father  inil(* 
you,  and  ye  sluill  be  my  sons  and  danuh- 
iers,  saith'the  Lord  Almighty," 

5.  It  is  not  for  want  of  solemn  oath  and 
engagcjinent  to  save  them  that  come :  "  For 
because  he  could  swear  by  no  greater,  be 
swore  by  himself,  That  by  two  immutable 
things,  in  which  it  was  impossible  that  God 
should  lie,  we  might  have  strong  consola- 
tion, who  have  lied  for  refuge,  to  lay  hold 
on  the  hope  set  before  us." 


192     COME,    AND     WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST, 


6.  Neither  is  it  for  want  of  great  exam- 
ples of  God's  mercy,  that  have  come  to  Je- 
sus Christ,  of  which  we  read  most  plentifully 
in  tlic  word. 

Therefore,  it  must  be  concluded,  it  is  for 
want  of  that  which  follows. 

1.  It  is  for  want  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ.  Thou  knowest  but  little  of  the 
grace  and  kindness  that  is  in  the  heart  of 
Christ;  thou  knowest  but  little  of  the  virtue 
and  merit  of  his  blood !  thou  knowest  but 
little  of  the  willingness  tliat  is  in  his  heart 
to  save  thee ;  and  this  is  the  reason  of  the 
ftar  that  ariseth  in  thy  heart,  and  that  caus- 
eth  thee  to  doubt,  that  Christ  will  not  re- 
ceive thee.  Unbelief  is  ths  daughter  of  ig- 
norance. Therefore  Christ  saith,  "  O  fools, 
and  slow  of  heart  to  believe." 

Slowness  of  heart  to  believe,  flows  from 
thy  foolishness  in  the  things  of  Christ :  this 
is  evident  to  all  that  are  acquainted  with 
themselves,  and  are  seeking  after  Jesus 
Christ.  The  more  ignorance,  the  more  un- 
belief: the  more  knowledge  of  Christ,  the 
more  faith.  "  They  that  know  thy  name, 
will  put  their  trust  in  thee."  He  therefore 
that  began  to  come  to  Christ  but  the  other 
day,  and  hath  yet  but  little  knowledge  of 
him,  he  fears  that  Christ  will  not  receive 
him.  But  he  that  hath  been  longer  ac- 
quainted with  him,  he  is  "  strong,  and  iiath 
overcome  the  wicked  one." 

When  Joseph's  brethren  came  into  Egypt 
to  buy  corn,  it  is  said,  "Joseph  knew  his 
brethren,  but  his  brethren  knew  not  him." 
What  follows?  Why,  great  mistrust  of 
heart  about  their  speeding  well;  especially 
if  Joseph  did  but  answer  them  rougldy,  call- 
ing them  spies,  and  questioning  their  truth 
and  the  like.  And  observe  it,  so  long  as 
their  ignorance  about  their  brother  re- 
mained with  them,  whatsoever  Joseph  did, 
still  they  put  the  worst  sense  upon  it :  For 
instance,  Joseph  upon  a  time  bids  the  stew- 
ard of  his  house  bring  them  home  to  dine 
with  him,  to  dine  even  in  Joseph's  house : 
And  how  is  this  resented  by  them  ?  Why, 
they  are  afraid :  "  And  the  men  were 
afraid,  because  they  were  brought  unto" 
(their  brother)  "Joseph's  house."  And 
they  said,  "  He  seeketh  occasion  against  us. 
and  will  fall  upon  us,  and  take  us  for  bond- 
men, and  our  asses ."  What !  afraid  to  go 
to  Joseph's  house  !  He  was  their  brother : 
he  intended  to  feast  them :  to  feast  them, 
and  to  feast  with  them.  Ah !  but  they  were 
Ignorant  that  he  was  their  brother:  And 
80  long  as  their  ignorance  lasted,  so  Ions 
their  fear  terrified  them.  Just  thus  it  is 
with  the  sinner  that  but  of  late  is  coming  to 
Jesus  Ciirist:  He  is  ignorant  of  the  love 
and  pity  that  is  in  Christ  to  coming  sinners : 
Therefore  he  doubls,  therefore  he  fears, 
therefore  his  heart  ini.^gives  him. 

Coming  .sinner,  Christ  invitetii  thee  to 
dine  ai^ J  sup  with  him :  he  invitcili  thee  to 


a  banquet  of  wine,  yea  to  come  into  hia 
wine-cellar,  and  his  banner  over  thee  shall 
be  love.  Rev.  xxx.  20  ;  Song  ii.  5.  But  I 
doubt  it,  says  the  sinner ;  but  it  is  answered, 
he  calls  thee,  invites  thee  to  his  banquet, 
flaggons,  apples,  to  his  wine,  and  to  the 
juice  of  his  pomegranate.  O  I  fear,  I 
doubt,  I  mistrust,  I  tremble  in  expectation 
of  the  contrary !  Come  out  of  the  man, 
thou  dastardly  ignorance.  Be  not  afraid, 
sinner,  only  believe.  "  He  that  cometh  to 
Christ,  he  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

Let  the  coming  sinner  therefore  seek 
after  more  of  the  good  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Christ :  Press  after  it,  seek  it  as  silver,  and 
dig  lor  it  as  for  hid  treasure.  This  will  em- 
bolden thee :  this  will  make  thee  wax  strong- 
er and  stronger.  I  know  whom  I  have  be- 
lieved, "  I  know  him,"  saith  Paul ;  and  what 
follows  ?  Why,  "  I  am  persuaded  that  he 
is  able  to  keep  that  which  1  have  committed 
to  him  against  that  day." 

Wliat  had  Paul  committed  to  Jesus 
Christ?  The  answer  is.  He  had  "com- 
mitted to  hini  his  soul."  But  why  did  he 
commit  his  soul  to  him :  He  knew  him  to 
be  faithful,  to  be  kind :  He  knew  he  would 
not  fail  him,  nor  forsake  him :  and  therefore 
he  laid  his  soul  down  at  his  feet,  and  com- 
mitted it  to  him,  to  keep  against  that  day. 
But, 

2.  Thy  fears  that  Christ  will  not  receive 
thee,  may  be  also  a  consequent  of  thy  ear- 
nest and  strong  desires  after  thy  salvation 
by  him.  For  this  I  observe,  that  strong  de- 
sires to  have,  are  attended  with  strong  fears 
of  missing.  What  man  most  sets  his  heart 
upon,  and  what  his  desires  are  most  after, 
he  (ofttimes)  most  fears  he  shall  not  obtain. 
So  the  man,  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  had  a 
great  desire  that  his  daughter  should  live  ; 
and  that  desire  was  attended  with  fear,  that 
she  should  not :  Therefore  Christ  saith  unto 
him,  "  Be  not  afraid." 

Suppose  a  young  man  should  have  his 
heart  uuich  set  upon  a  virgin  to  have  her  to 
wife,  if  ever  he  fears  he  shah  not  obtain  her, 
it  is  when  he  begins  to  love  ;  now,  thinks  he, 
somebody  will  step  in  betwixt  my  love  and 
the  object  of  it :  either  they  will  find  fault 
with  my  person,  my  estate,  my  condition, 
or  something. 

Now  thoughts  begin  to  work  ;  she  doth 
not  like  me,  or  something.  And  thus  it  is 
witli  the  soul  at  first  coming  to  Jesus  Christ, 
thou  lovest  him,  and  thy  love  produces 
jealousy,  and  that  jealousy  ofttimes  begets 
fears. 

Now  thou  fearest  the  sins  of  thy  youth, 
the  sins  of  thine  old  age,  the  sins  of  thy  call- 
ing, the  sins  of  thy  Christian  duties,  the  sins  of 
thi  ne  heart,  or  something ;  thou  thinkest  some- 
thing or  other  will  alienate  the  heart  and 
affections  of  Jesus  Christ  from  thee ;  thou 
thinkest  he  sees  someliiing  in  thee,  lor  the 
sake  of  which  he  will  refuse  thy  soul. 


•COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.      I93 


But  be  content ;  a  little  more  knowledge 
of  him  will  make  thee  take  better  heart  5 
thy  earnest  desires  shall  not  be  attended 
with  such  burning  fears  ;  thou  shalt  hereaf- 
ter say,  "  This  is  my  infirmity." 

Thou  art  sick  of  love,  a  very  sweet  dis- 
ease ;  and  yet  every  disease  has  some 
weakness  attending  of  it ;  yet  I  wish  this 
distemper  (if  it  be  lawful  to  call  it  so)  was 
more  epidemical.  Die  of  this  disease,  I 
would  gladly  do ;  it  is  better  than  life  it- 
self, though  it  be  attended  with  fears.  But 
thou  criest  out,  I  cannot  obtain:  well,  be 
not  to  ohasty  to  make  conclusions.  If  Jesus 
Christ  had  not  put  his  finger  in  at  the  hole 
of  the  lock,  thy  bowels  would  not  have  been 
troubled  for  him.     Song  5.     Mark  how  the 

Erophet  hath  it :  "  They  shall  walk  after  the 
lOrd :  he  shall  roar  like  a  lion  :  when  he 
shall  roar,  the  children  shall  tremble  from 
the  west,  they  shall  tremble  like  a  bird  out 
of  Egypt,  and  as  a  dove  out  of  the  land  of 
Assyria." 

When  God  roars,  (as  ofttimes  the  com 
ing  soul  hears  him  roar)  what  man  that  is 
coming,  can  do  otherwise  than  tremble  ? 
But  trembling  he  comes ;  "  He  sprang  in, 
and  came  trembling,  and  fell  down  before 
Paul  and  Silas." 

Should  you  ask  him  that  we  ment^oned 
but  now.  How  long  is  it  since  you  began  to 
fear  you  should  miss  of  this  damsel  you 
love  so  ?  The  answer  will  be,  ever  since  I 
began  to  love  her.  But  did  you  not  feaa-  it 
before  ?  No,  nor  should  I  fear  now,  but 
that  I  vehemently  love  her.  Come,  sinner, 
let  us  apply  it:  How  long  is  it  since  thou 
began  to  fear  that  Jesus  Christ  will  not  re- 
ceive thee  ?  The  answer  is,  ever  since  1 
began  to  desire  that  he  would  save  my 
soul.  I  began  to  fear,  when  I  began  to 
to  come,  and  the  more  my  heart  burns  in 
desires  after  him,  the  more  I  feel  my  heart 
fear  I  should  not  be  saved  by  him. 

See  now,  did  I  not  tell  thee  tliat  thy  fears 
were  but  the  consequence  of  struiig  desires  ? 
Well,  fear  not,  coming  sinner,  thousands  of 
coming  souls  are  in  thy  condition,  and  yet 
they  will  get  safe  into  Christ's  bosom. 
"  Say,"  says  Christ,  "  to  them  that  are  of  a 
fearful  heart,  be  strong,  fear  not !  Your 
God  will  come  and  save  you." 

3.  Thy  fear  that  Christ  will  not  receive 
thee,  may  arise  from  a  sense  of  thy  own 
unworthiness.  Thou  seest  what  a  poor, 
sorry,  wretched,  worthless  creature  thou 
art.  And  seeing  this,  thou  fearest  Christ 
will  not  receive  thee.  Alas,  sayest  thou,  I 
am  the  vilest  of  all  men ;  a  town  sinner,  a 
ring-leading  sinner !  I  am  not  only  a  sin- 
ner myself,  but  have  made  others  two-fold 
worse  the  children  of  hell  also.  Besides, 
now  I  am  under  some  awakenings  and 
Btirrings  of  mind  after  salvation," even  now 
I  find  my  heart  rebellious,  carnal,  haxd, 

Vol  3.— Y. 


treacherous,  desperate,  prone  to  unbelief^ 
to  despair  :  it  forgetteth  the  word  ;  it  wan- 
dereth ;  it  runneth  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
There  is  not,  I  am  persuaded,  one  in  all 
the  world,  that  hath  such  a  desperate  wick- 
ed heart  as  mine  is.  My  soul  is  careless  to 
do  good,  but  none  more  earnest  to  do  that 
which  is  evil. 

Can  such  a  one  as  I  am  live  in  glory? 
Can  a  holy,  a  just,  and  a  righteous  God, 
once  think  (with  honor  to  his  name)  of  sa- 
ving such  a  vile  creature  as  I  am  ?  I  fear 
it.  Will  he  show  wonders  to  such  a  dead 
dog  as  I  am  ?     I  doubt  it. 

I  am  cast  out  to  the  loathing  of  my  per- 
son, yea,  I  loathe  myself:  I  stink  in  mine 
own  nostrils.  How  can  I  tlien  be  accepted 
by  a  holy  and  sin-abhorring  God  ?  Psal. 
xxxviii.  5,  6,  7 :  Ezek.  x.  and  xx.  42,  43,  44. 
Saved  I  would  be  ;  and  who  is  there  that 
would  not,  were  they  in  my  condition  ? 
Indeed,  I  wonder  at  the  madness  and  folly 
of  others,  when  I  see  them  leap  and  skip  so 
carelessly  about  the  mouth  of  hell.  Bold 
sinner,  how  darest  thou  tempt  God,  by 
laughing  at  the  breach  of  his  holy  law  1 
But  alas  !  they  fare  not  so  bad  one  way, 
but  I  am  worse  another:  I  wish  m3'self  were 
any  body  but  myself;  and  yet  here  again, 
I  know  not  what  to  wJsh.  When  I  see 
such  as  I  believe  are  coming  to  .Tesus 
Christ,  O  I  bless  them  !  But  am  confoun- 
ded in  myself,  to  see  how  unlike,  as  I  think, 
I  am  to  a  very  good  many  in  the  world. 
They  can  read,  hear,  pray,  remember,  re- 
pent, be  humble,  do  every  thing  better  than 
so  vile  a  wretch  as  I. 

I,  vile  wretch,  am  good  for  nothing,  but 
to  burn  in  hell-fire,  and  when  I  think  of 
that,  I  am  confounded  too. 

Thus  the  sense  of  unworthiness  crcRtes 
and  heightens  fears  in  the  hearts  of  thera 
that  are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ ;  but  indeed 
it  should  not:  for  who  needs  the  physician 
but  the  sick  ?  or,  who  did  Christ  come  info 
the  world  to  save  but  the  chief  of  sinners? 
Mark  i.  17;  1.  Tim.  i.  15.  Wherefore,  the 
more  thou  seest  thy  sins,  the  faster  fly  thou 
to  Jesus  Christ,  And  let  the  sense  of  thine 
own  unworthiness  prevail  with  thee  yet  to 
go  faster.  As  it  is  with  the  man  that  car- 
rieth  his  broken  arm  in  a  sling  to  the  bone- 
setter,  still  as  he  thinks  of  his  broken  arm, 
and  as  he  feels  the  pain  and  anguish,  he 
hastens  his  pace  to  the  man;  and  if  Satan 
meets  thee,  and  asketh,  whither  goest  thou  ? 
tell  him  thou  art  maimed,  and  art  going  to 
the  Lord  Jesus.  If  he  objects  thine  own 
unworthiness,  tell  him,  that  even  as  the 
sick  seeketh  the  physician,  as  he  that  hath 
broken  bones  seeks  him  that  can  set  them, 
so  thou  art  going  to  Jesus  Christ  for  cure 
and  heaUng,  for  thy  sin-sick  soul. 

But  it  ofttimea  happeneth  to  him  that 
flies  for  his  life,  he  despairs  of  escapino^, 


194   COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


and  therefore  delivers  himself  up  into  the 
hand  of  the  pursuer.  But  up,  up,  sinner ; 
be  of  good  cheer;  Christ  came  to  save  the 
unworthy  one;  be  not  faithless,  but  believe. 
Come  away,  man,  the  Lord  Jesus  calls 
thee,  saying,  ''  And  him  that  cometh  to  me, 
I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

4.  Thy  fear  that  Christ  will  not  receive 
ihee,  may  arise  from  a  sense  of  the  exceed- 
ing mercy  of  being  saved.  Sometimes 
salvation  is  in  the  eyes  of  him  that  desires 
BO  great,  so  huge,  so  wonderful  a  thing, 
that  the  very  thoughts  of  the  excellency  of 
it,  engenders  unbelief  aboui  obtaining  it, 
in  the  heart  of  those  that  unfeignedly  de- 
sire it.  '•  Seenieth  it  to  you  (saith  David) 
a  light  thing  to  be  a  king's  son-in-law  ?" 
1  Sam.  xviii.  26.  So  the  thought  of  the 
greatness  and  glory  of  the  thing  propoun- 
ded, as  heaven,  eternal  life,  eternal  glory, 
to  be  with  God,  and  Christ,  and  angels ; 
these  are  great  things,  things  too  good, 
(saith  the  soul  that  is  little  in  his  own  eyes  ;) 
things  too  rich  (saith  the  soul  that  is  truly 
poor  in  spirit)  for  me. 

Besides,  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  a  way  to 
greaten  heavenly  things  to  the  understand- 
ing of  the  coming  sinner ;  yea,  and  at  the 
very  same  time  to  greaten  too  the  sin  and 
unworthiness  of  that  sinner.  Now  the 
Boul  staggeringly  wonders,  saying,  What  ! 
to  be  made  like  angels,  like  Christ,  to  live 
in  eternal  bliss,  joy,  and  felicity !  This  is 
for  angels,  and  ior  them  that  can  walk  like 
angels  I 

If  a  prince,  a  duke,  an  earl,  should  send 
(by  the  hand  of  his  servant)  for  some  poor, 
sorry  beggarly  scrub,  to  take  her  for  his 
master  to  wife,  and  the  servant  should 
come  and  say,  My  lord  and  master,  such  a 
one  hath  sent  me  to  thee,  to  take  thee  to 
him  to  wife :  he  is  rich,  beautiful,  and  of 
excellent  qualities  ;  he  is  loving,  meek, 
humble,  well-spoken,  &c.  What  now 
would  this  poor,  sorry,  beggarly  creature 
think  ?  What  would  she  say  ?  or,  how 
would  she  frame  an  answer?  When  King 
David  sent  to  Abigail  upon  this  account, 
and  though  she  was  a  rich  woman,  yet  she 
said,  "  Behold,  let  thine  handmaid  be  a 
servant  to  wash  the  feet  of  the  servants  of 
my  lord."  She  was  contbunded,  she  could 
not  well  tell  what  to  say,  the  offer  was  so 
great,  beyond  what  in  reason  could  be  ex- 
pected. 

But  suppose  this  great  person  should 
second  his  suit,  and  send  to  this  sorry 
creature  again,  what  would  she  say  now? 
Would  she  not  say,  You  mock  me  ?  But 
what  if  he  affirms,  that  he  is  in  good  earn- 
est, and  that  his  lord  must  have  her  to  wife  ; 
yea,  suppose  he  should  prevail  upon  her  to 
credit  his  message,  ami  to  address  herself 
for  her  journey  ;  yet,  behold,  every  thought 
of  her  pedigree   confounds   her;  also    her 


sense  of  want  of  beauty  makes  her 
ashamed  ;  and  if  she  doth  but  think  of  be- 
ing embraced,  the  unbelief  that  is  mixed 
with  that  thought,  whirls  her  into  tremb- 
lings: and  now  she  calls  herself  fool,  for 
believing  the  messenger,  and  thinks  not  to 
go  ;  if  she  thinks  of  being  bold,  she  blushes  ; 
and  the  least  thought  that  she  shall  be  re- 
jected, when  she  comes  at  him,  makes  her 
look  as  if  she  would  give  up  the  ghost. 

And  is  it  a  wonder  then  to  see  a  soul 
that  is  drowned  in  the  sense  of  glory,  and 
a  sense  of  its  own  nothingness,  to  be  con- 
founded in  itself,  and  to  fear,  that  the  glory 
apprehended  is  too  great,  too  good,  and  too 
rich,  for  such  an  one  ? 

That  thing,  heaven  and  eternal  glory,  is 
so  great,  and  I  that  would  have  it,  so 
small,  so  sorry  a  creature,  that  the  thoughts 
of  obtaining  it  confounds  me. 

Thus,  I  say,  doth  the  greatness  of  the 
things  desired,  quite  dash  and  overthrow 
the  mind  of  the  desire  :  O,  it  is  too  big  ! 
it  is  too  big !  it  is  too  great  a  mercy  ! 

But,  coming  sinner,  let  me  reason  with 
thee.  Thou  sayest,  it  is  too  big,  too  great. 
Well,  will  things  that  are  less,  satisiy  thy 
soul?  Will  a  less  thing  than  heaven,  than 
glory  and  eternal  life,  answer  thy  de^^ires  ? 
No,  nothing  less :  and  yet  I  fear  they  are 
too  big,  and  too  good  for  me,  even  to  ob- 
tain. Well,  as  big  and  as  good  as  they 
are,  God  grveth  them  to  such  as  thou  ;  they 
are  not  too  big  for  God  to  give ;  no,  not  too 
big  to  give  freely  ;  be  content,  let  God  give 
like  himself;  he  is  that  eternal  God,  and 
giveth  like  himself.  When  kings  give, 
they  do  not  use  to  give  as  poor  men  do. 
Hence  it  is  said,  that  Nabal  made  a  feast 
in  his  house  like  the  feast  of  a  king;  and 
again,  "  All  these  things  did  Arauriah,  as  a 
king,  give  unto  David."  Now,  God  is  a 
great  king,  let  him  give  like  a  king,  nay, 
let  him  give  like  himself,  and  do  thou  re- 
ceive like  thyself:  He  hath  all.  and  thou 
hast  nothing.  God  told  his  people  of  old, 
tliat  he  would  save  them  in  truth  and  in 
righteousness,  and  that  they  should  return 
to,  and  enjoy  the  land,  which  before,  for 
their  sins,  had  spewed  them  out ;  and  then 
adds,  under  the  supposition  of  their  count- 
ing the  mercy  too  good,  or  too  big,  ''If  it 
be  marvellous  in  the  eyes  of  the  renmant  of 
this  people  in  these  days,  should  it  also  be 
marvellous  in  mine  eyes  ?  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts." 

As  who  should  say,  They  are  now  in 
captivity,  and  little  in  their  own  eyes ; 
therefore  they  think,  the  mercy  of  returning 
to  Canaan  is  a  mercy  too  marvellously  big 
for  them  to  enjoy ;  but  if  it  be  so  in  their 
eyes,  it  is  not  so  in  mine :  I  will  do  for 
them  like  God,  if  they  will  but  receive  my 
bounty  like  sinners. 

Coming  sinner,  God  can  give  his  heav- 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.      195 


enly  Canaan,  and  the  glory  of  it,  unto  thee ; 
yea,  none  ever  had  them  but  as  a  gift,  a 
free  gift:  He  hath  given  us  his  Son,  "How 
shall  he  not,  then,  with  him  also  freely  give 
us  ail  things  7" 

It  was  not  the  worthiness  of  Abraham, 
or  Moses,  or  David,  or  Peter,  or  Paul,  but 
the  mercy  of  God,  that  made  them  inheri- 
tors of  heaven.  If  God  thinks  thee  worthy 
judge  not  thyself  unworthy :  but  take  it, 
and  be  thankful.  And  it  is  a  good  sign  he 
intends  to  give  thee,  if  he  hath  drawn  out 
thy  heart  to  ask.  "  O  Lord,  thou  hast 
heard  the  desire  of  the  humble;  thou  wilt  pre- 
pare their  hearts;  thou  wilt  incline  thine  ear." 

When  God  is  said  to  incline  his  ear,  it 
implies  an  intention  to  bestow  the  mercy 
desired  ;  Take  it  therefore  ;  thy  wisdom 
will  be  to  receive,  not  sticking  at  thy  own 
unworthiness.  It  is  said,  "  He  raiseth  up 
the  poor  out  of  the  dust,  and  lifteth  up  the 
beggar  from  the  dunghill,  to  set  them 
among  princes,  and  to  make  them  inherit 
the  throne  of  glory."  Again,  "  He  raiseth 
up  the  poor  out  of  the  dust,  and  lifteth  the 
needy  out  of  the  dunghill,  that  he  may  set 
them  with  the  princes,  even  with  the  prin- 
ces of  his  people." 

You  see  also  when  God  made  a  wedding 
for  his  Son ;  he  called  not  the  great,  nor 
rich,  nor  the  mighty;  but  the  poor,  the 
inaimetl,  the  halt,  and  the  blind. 

5.  Thy  fears  that  Christ  will  not  receive 
thee,  may  arise  from  the  hideous  roaring 
of  the  devil,  who  pursues  iliee.  He  that 
hears  him  roar,  must  be  a  mighty  Christian, 
if  he  can  at  that  time  deliver  himself  from 
fear.  He  is  called  a  roaring  lion ;  and 
then  to  allude  to  that  in  Isaiah,  "  If  one  look 
into  them,  they  have  darkness  and  sorrow, 
and  the  liglit  is  darkness  in  their  very 
heaven." 

There  are  two  things,  among  many,  that 
Satan  useth  to  roar  out  after  them  that 
are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ:  1.  That  they 
are  not  elected .  2.  That  they  have  sinned 
the  sin  against  the  Holy  Gho?t. 

To  both  these  I  answer  briefly, 

First,  Touching  Election,  out  of  which 
thou  fearest  thou  art  excluded :  Why,  com- 
ing sinner,  even  the  text  itself  affordeth 
thee  help  against  this  doubt,  and  that  by  a 
double  argument. 

1st.  That,  coming  to  Christ  is,  by  virtue 
of  the  gift,  promise,  and  drawing  of  the 
Father  ;  but  thou  art  a  coming  ;  therefore 
God  hath  given  thee,  promised  thee,  and  is 
drawing  thee  to  Jesus  Christ.  Coming 
sinner,  hold  to  this  ;  and  when  Satan  be- 
ginneth  to  roar  again,  answer.  But  I  feel 
my  heart  moving  after  Jesus  Christ;  but 
that  would  not  be,  if  it  were  not  given  by 
promise,  and  drawing  to  Christ  by  the 
power  of  the  Father. 

2dly.  Jesus  Christ  hath  promised,  "  that 


him  that  cometh  to  him,  he  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out:"  And  if  he  hath  said  it,  will  he 
not  make  it  good,  I  mean  even  thy  salva- 
tion ?  For,  as  I  have  said  already,  not  to 
cast  out,  is  to  receive  and  admit  to  the  ben- 
efit of  salvation.  If  then  the  Father  hath 
given  thee,  as  is  manifest  by  thy  coming; 
and  if  Christ  will  receive  thee,  thou  com- 
ing soul,  as  it  is  plain  he  will,  because  he 
hath  said,  "  He  will  in  no  wise  cast  out ;" 
then  be  confident,  and  let  these  conclusions, 
that  as  naturally  flow  from  the  text,  as 
light  from  the  sun,  or  water  from  the  foun- 
tain, stay  thee. 

If  Satan  therefore  objecteth,  But  thou 
art  not  elected  ;  answer,  But  I  am  coming, 
Satan,  I  am  coming ;  and  that  I  could  not 
be,  but  that  the  Father  draws  me ;  and  I 
am  coming  to  such  a  Lord  Jesus,  as  will  in 
no  wise  cast  me  out.  Further,  Satan,  were 
I  not  elect,  the  Father  would  not  draw  me, 
nor  would  the  Son  so  graciously  open  his 
bosom  to  me.  I  am  persuaded,  that  not 
one  of  the  non-elect  shall  ever  be  able  to 
say,  no,  not  in  the  day  of  judgment,  I  did 
sincerely  come  to  Jesus  Christ.  Come 
they  may,  feignedly,  as  Judas  and  Simon 
Magus  did  ;  but  that  is  not  our  question. 
Therefore,  O  thou  honest-hearted,  coming 
sinner,  be  not  afraid,  but  come  ! 

As  to  the  second  part  of  the  objection, 
about  sinning  the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  the  same  argument  overthrows 
that  also.     But  I  will  argue  thus  : 

Is^.  Coming  to  Christ  is  by  virtue  of  a 
special  gift  of  the  Father ;  but  the  Father 
giveth  no  such  gift  to  them  that  have  sin- 
ned that  sin  ;  therefore  thou  that  art  com- 
ing hast  not  committed  that  sin,  That  the 
Father  giveth  no  such  gift  to  them  that 
have  sinned  that  sin,  is  evident. 

1.  Because  they  have  sinned  them- 
selves out  of  God's  favor  ;  "  they  shall  nev- 
er have  forgiveness."  But  it  is  a  special 
favor  of  God  to  give  unto  a  man,  to  come 
unto  Jesus  Christ ;  because  thereby  he  ob- 
tained forgiveness.  Therefore  he  that 
cometh,  hath  not  sinned  that  sin. 

2.  They  that  have  sinned  the  sin 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  have  sinned  them- 
selves out  of  an  interest  in  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ's  body  and  blood  ;  "  There  remains 
lor  such  no  more  sacrifice  for  sin :"  But 
God  giveth  not  grace  to  any  of  them  to 
come  to  Christ,  that  have  no  share  in  the 
sacrifice  of  his  body  and  blood.  Therefore 
thou  that  art  coming  to  him,  hast  not  sin- 
ned that  sin.     Heb.  x.  26. 

2dly,  Coming  to  Christ  is  by  the  special 
drawing  of  the  Father;  "No  man  cometh 
to  me,  except  the  Father  which  hath  sent 
me,  draw  him."  But  the  Father  draweth 
not  him  to  Christ,  for  whom  he  hath  not 
allotted  forgiveness  by  his  blood ;  there- 
fore, they  that  are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ, 


19(5     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


have  not  commrtted  that  sin,  because  lie 
hath  allotted  them  fo-rgiveness  by  his  blood. 
John  vi.  44. 

That  the  Father  cannot  draw  them  to 
Jesus  Christ  for  whom  he  hath  not  allotted 
forgiveness  of  sins,  is  manifest  to  sense; 
for  that  would  be  a  plain  mockery,  a  flame, 
neither  becoming'  his  wisdom,  justice,  hdi- 
Dess,  nor  goodness. 

ddli/.  Coming  to  Jesus  Christ  lays  a  man 
under  the  promise  of  forgiveness  and  satva- 
tion  :  But  it  is  impossible  that  he  that  hath 
Binned  that  sin,  should  ever  be  put  under  a 
promise  of  these.  Therefore  h-e  that  hath 
sinned  that  sin,  can  never  have  heart  to 
come  to  Jesos  Christ. 

ithly.  Coming  to  Jesus  Christ  lays  a 
man  under  his  intercession:  "  For  be  ever 
liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them  that 
come."  Therefore  he  that  is  coming  to 
Jesus  Christ  cannot  have  sinned  that  sin. 

Christ  has  forbid  his  people  to  pray  for 
Ihem  that  have  sinned  that  sin  ;  therefore 
he  will  not  pray  for  them  himself  3  but  he 
prays  for  then)  that  come, 

5thly.  He  that  hath  sinned  that  sin, 
Christ  is  to  him  of  no  more  worth,  than  is  a 
man  that  is  dead;  "For  he  hath  crucified 
to  himself  the  Son  of  God;  yea,  and  hath 
also  counted  his  precious  blood,  as  the 
blood  of  an  unholy  thing.  Now  he  that 
hath  this  low  esteem  of  Christ,  will  never 
come  to  him  for  life  ;  but  the  coming  man 
has  an  high  esteem  of  his  person,  blood, 
and  merits.  Therefore  he  that  is  coming 
has  not  committed  that  sin. 

Gtkly.  If  be  that  has  sinned  this  sin  might 
yet  come  to  Jesus  Christ,  then  must  the 
truth  of  God  be  overthrown ;  which  saith 
in  one  place,  "  He  hath  never  forgiveness ;" 
and  in  another.  "  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  him 
out."  Therefore,  that  he  may  never  have 
forgiveness,  he  shall  never  have  heart  to 
come  to  Jesus  Christ.  "  It  is  impossible 
that  such  an  one  should  be  renewed  either 
to,  or  by  repentance."  Wherefore,  never 
trouble  thy  head  nor  heart  about  this  mat- 
ter; he  that  cometh  to  Jesus  Christ,  cannot 
have  sinned  against  ihe  Holy  Ghost 

6.  Thy  fears  that  Christ  will  not  receive 
thee,  may  arise  from  thine  own  folly,  in  in- 
venting ;  yea,  in  thy  chalking  out  to  God  a 
way  to  bring  thee  home  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Some  souls  that  are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ 
are  great  tormentors  of  themselves  upon 
this  account ;  they  conclude  that  if  there 
coming  to  Jesus  Christ  is  right,  they  must 
needs  be  brought  home  thus  and  thus:  As 
lo  instance. 

1.  Says  one.  If  God  be  bringing  of  me. 
to  Jesus  Christ,  then  will  he  load  me  with 
the  guilt  of  sin  till  he  makes  me  roar  again. 

2.  If  God  be  indeed  bringing  me  home 
to  Jesus  Christ,  then  mu.st  I  be  assaulted 
with  dreadful  temptations  of  the  devil. 


3.  If  God  be  indeed  bringing  me  to  Je- 
sus Christ,  then  even  when  I  come  at  him, 
I  shall  have  wonderful  revelations  of  him. 

This  is  the  way  that  eome  sinners  ap- 
point for  God ;  but  perhaps  he  will  not 
walk  therein;  yet  will  he  bring  them  to  Je- 
sus Christ.  But  now,  because  they  come 
not  the  way  of  their  own  chalking  out, 
therefore  they  are  at  n  loss.  They  look  for 
a  heavy  load  and  burden  ;  but  perhaps  God 
gives  them  a  sight  of  their  lost  corkdition, 
and  addeth  not  that  heavy  weight  and  bur- 
den. They  look  for  fearful  temptations  of 
Satan ;  but  God  sees  that  yet  they  are  not 
fit  for  tiiem;  nor  is  the  time  come  that  he 
should  be  honored  by  them  in  such  a  con- 
dition. They  look  for  great  and  glorious 
revelations  of  Christ,  grace,  and  mercy, 
but  perhaps  God  only  takes  the  yoke  from 
off  their  jaws,  and  lays  meat  before  them. 
And  now  again  tliey  are  at  a  loss,  yet  a 
coming  to  Christ:  "I  drew  them,"  saith 
God,  "  with  the  cords  of  a  man,  with  the 
bands  of  love  ;  I  took  the  yoke  li-om  oti' their 
jaws,  and  laid  meat  unto  them." 

Now,  I  say,  if  God  brings  thee  to  Christ, 
and  not  by  the  way  that  thou  hast  appoint- 
ed, then  thou  art  at  a  loss ;  and  for  thy  be- 
ing at  a  loss,  thou  mayest  thank  thyself. 
God  hath  more  ways  than  thou  knowest  of! 
to  bring  a  sinner  to  Jesus  Christ;  but  he 
will  not  give  thee  beforehand  an  account 
by  which  of  them  he  will  bring  thee  to 
Christ. 

Sometimes  he  hath  his  ways  in  the  whirl- 
wind ;  but  sometimes  the  Lord  is  not  there. 

If  God  will  deal  more  gently  with  thee 
than  with  others  of  his  children,  grudge 
not  at  it;  refuse  not  the  waters  that  go 
softly,  lest  he  bring  up  to  thee  the  waters  of 
the  rivers,  strong  and  many,  even  these 
two  smoking  firebrands,  the  devil  and  guilt 
of  sin.  He  saith  to  Peter,  "follow  me," 
And  what  thunder  did  Zaccheus  hear  or 
see?  ''  Zaccheus, come  down,"  saith  Christ, 
"and  he  came  down,"  (says  Luke,)  "and 
received  him  joyfully." 

But  had  Peter  or  Zaccheus  made  the 
objection  that  thou  hast  made,  and  directed 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  as  thou  hast  done, 
they  might  have  looked  long  enough,  be- 
fore they  had  found  themselves  coming  to 
Jesus  Christ. 

Besides,  I  will  tell  thee  that  the  great- 
ness of  the  sense  of  sin,  the  hideous  roar- 
ing of  the  devil,  yea,  abundance  of  revela- 
tions, will  not  prove  that  God  is  bringing 
thy  soul  to  Jesus  Christ;  as  Balaam,  Cain, 
Judas,  and  others,  can  witness. 

Further,  consider,  that  what  thou  hast 
not  of  these  things  here,  thou  mayest  have 
another  time,  and  that  to  thy  distraction. 
Wherefore,  instead  of  being  discontent,  be- 
cause thou  art  not  in  the  fire,  because  thou 
hearest  not  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  and 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     197 


alarm  of  war,  "Pray  that  thou  enter  not 
into  temptation ;"  yea,  come  boldly  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  and  obtain  mercy,  and  find 
grace  to  help  in  that  time  of  need.  Ps. 
Ixxxviii.  15.     Matt.  xi.  41.     Heb.  iv.  16. 

Poor  creature  !  thou  criest,  If  I  were 
tempted,  I  could  come  faster,  and  with 
more  confidence  to  Jesus  Christ.  Thou 
sayest  thou  knowest  not  what.  What  says 
Job  ?  "  Withdraw  thy  hand  from  mc,  and 
let  not  thy  dread  make  me  afraid,  Then 
call  thou,  and  I  will  answer:  or  let  me 
speak,  and  answer  thou  me."  It  is  not  the 
over  heavy  load  of  sin,  but  the  discovery  of 
mercy;  not  the  roaring  of  the  devil,  but  the 
drawing  of  the  Father,  that  makes  a  man 
come  to  Jesus  Christ ;  I  myself  know  all 
these  things. 

True,  sometimes,  yea,  most  an  end,  they 
that  come  to  Jesus  Christ,  come  the  way 
that  thou  desiresl ;  the  leading,  tempted 
way  :  but  the  Lord  also  leads  some  by  the 
waters  of  comfort.  If  I  was  to  choose  when 
to  go  a  long  journey,  to  wit,  whether  I 
would  go  it  in  the  dead  of  winter,  or  in  the 
pleasant  spring,  (though  if  it  was  a  very 
profitable  journey,  as  that  of  coming  to 
Christ  is,  I  would  choose  to  go  it  through 
fire  and  water,  before  I  would  lose  the  ben- 
efit:) But  I  say,  if  I  might  choose  the 
time,  I  would  choose  to  go  it  in  the  pleas- 
ant spring,  because  the  way  would  be  more 
delightsome,  the  days  longer  and  warmer, 
the  nights  shorter,  and  not  so  cold.  And  it 
is  observable,  that  very  argument  that  thou 
usest  to  weaken  thy  strength  in  the  way, 
that  very  argument  Christ  Jesus  useth  to 
encourage  his  beloved  to  come  to  him  : 
"  Arise,"  saith  he,  "  my  love,  my  fair  one, 
and  come  away  :  Why  1  For  lo,  the  win- 
ter is  past,  the  rain  is  over  and  gone,  the 
flowers  appear  in  the  earth,  the  time  of  the 
singing  of  birds  is  come,  and  the  voice  of 
turtle  is  heard  in  our  land.  The  fig-tree 
putteth  forth  her  green  figs,  and  the  vine, 
with  her  tender  grapes,  give  a  good  smell : 
Arise  my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come 
away." 

Trouble  not  thyself,  coming  sinner ;  if 
thou  seest  thy  lost  condition  by  original 
and  actual  sin  ;  if  thou  seest  thy  need  of  the 
spoiless  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ;  if 
thou  art  willing  to  be  found  in  him,  and  to 
take  up  thy  cross  and  follow  him ;  then 
pray  for  a  fair  wind  and  good  weather,  and 
come  away.  Stick  no  longer  in  a  muse 
and  doubt  about  things,  but  come  away  to 
Jesus  Christ:  Do  it,  Tsay,  lest  thou  tempt 
God  to  lay  the  sorrows'of  a  travailing  wo- 
man upon  thee.  Thy  folly  in  this  Ihing 
may  make  him  do  it.  Mind  what  follows, 
"  The  sorrows  of  a  travailing  woman  shall 
come  upon  him:  Why?  Ha  is  an  unwise 
son;  so  he  should  not  stay  long  in  the 
place  of  the  breaking  forth  of  children." 


7.  Thy  fears  that  Christ  will  not  receive 
thee,  may  arise  from  those  decays  that 
thou  findest  in  thy  soul,  even  while  thou  art 
coming  to  him  ;  So  even  as  they  are  com- 
ing to  Jesus  Christ,  do  find  themselves 
grow  worse  and  worse;  and  this  is  indeed 
a  sore  trial  to  the  poor  coming  sinner. 

To  explain  myself:  There  is  such  an  one 
coming  to  Jesus  Christ,  who,  when  at  first 
he  began  to  look  out  after  him,  was  sensi- 
ble, affectionate,  and  broken  in  spirit;  but 
now  is  grown  dark,  senseless,  hardhearted 
and  inclined  to  neglect  spiritual  duties,  &c. 
Besides,  he  now  finds  in  himself  inclina- 
tions to  unbelief,  atheism,  blasphemy,  and 
the  like ;  now  he  finds  he  cannot  tremble  at 
God's  word,  his  judgments,  nor  at  the  ap- 
prehension of  hell-fire :  neither  can  he,  as 
he  thinketh,  be  sorry  for  these  things.  Now 
this  is  a  sad  dispensation  ;  The  man  under 
the  sixth  head  complaineth  for  want  of 
temptations,  but  thou  hast  enough  of  them  ; 
art  thou  glad  of  them,  tempted,  coming 
sinner  ?  They  that  never  were  exercised 
with  them,  may  think  it  a  fine  thing  to  be 
within  the  rage,  but  he  that  is  there,  is 
ready  to  sweat  blood  for  sorrow  of  heart, 
and  to  howl  for  vexation  of  spirit. 

This  man  is  in  the  wilderness  among 
wild  beasts :  Here  he  sees  a  bear,  there  a 
lion,  yonder  a  leopard,  a  wolf,  a  dragon ; 
devils  of  all  sorts,  doubts  of  all  sorts,  fears 
of  all  sorts,  haunt  and  molest  his  soul. 
Here  he  sees  smoke,  yea,  some  fire  and 
brimstone,  scattered  upon  his  secret  places ; 
He  hears  the  sound  of  an  horrible  tempest. 

O  !  my  friends,  even  the  Lord  Jesus,  that 
knew  all  things,  even  he  saw  no  pleasure 
in  temptations,  nor  did  he  desire  to  be  with 
them  ;  wherefore  one  text  saith,  ''  he  was 
led,"  and  another,  "  he  was  driven,"  of  the 
spirit  into  the  wilderness,  to  be  tempted  of 
the  devil. 

But  to  return :  Thus  it  happencth  some- 
times to  them  that  are  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ.  A  sad  hap  indeed !  one  would 
think  that  he  that  is  flying  from  wrath  to 
come  has  little  need  of  such  clogs  as  these : 
And  yet  so  it  is,  a  woful  experience  proves 
it.  The  church  of  old  complained  that  her 
enemies  overtook  her  between  the  straits  ; 
just  between  hope  and  fear,  heaven  and 
hell. 

This  man  feeleth  the  infirmity  of  his 
flesh ;  he  findeth  a  proneness  in  himself  to 
be  desperate :  Now  he  chides  with  God, 
flings  and  tumbles  like  a  wild  bull  in  a  net, 
and  still  the  guilt  of  all  returns  upon  him- 
self, to  the  crushing  of  him  to  pieces:  Yet 
he  feeleth  his  heart  so  hard,  that  he  can 
find,  as  he  thinks,  no  kind  falling  under  any 
of  his  miscarriages.  Now  he  is  a  lump  of 
confusion  in  his  own  eyes,  whose  spirit  and 
actions  are  without  order. 

Temptations  serve  the  Christians  as  the 


198     COxME,    AND    WELCOME,     TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


shepherd's  dog  ?ervcth  the  silly  sheep; 
that  is  coming  behind  the  flocU,  lie  runs 
upon  it.  pulls  it  down,  worriop  it,  wounds  it, 
and  grievously  bedabbleth  it  with  dirt  and 
wet,  In  the  lowest  places  oftlie  furrows  of 
the  field,  and  not  leaving  it  until  it  is  half 
dead,  nor  then  neither,  except  God  rebuke. 
Here  is  now  room  for  fears  of  being  cast 
away.  Now  I  see  I  am  lost,  says  the  sin- 
ner;  This  is  not  coming  to  Jesus  Christ, 
says  the  sinner :  such  a  desperate,  hard, 
and  wretched  heart  as  mine  is,  cannot  be  a 
gmcious  one,  saith  the  sinner :  And  bid 
8uch  an  one  be  better,  he  says,  I  cannot,  no, 
I  cannot. 

QnesHon.  But  what  will  you  say  to  a 
soul  in  this  condition  7 

A)is\cer.  I  will  say  that  temptations  have 
attended  the  best  of  God's  people ;  I  will 
say  that  temptations  come  to  do  us  good  ; 
and  I  will  say  also,  That  there  is  a  differ- 
ence betwixt  growing  worse  and  worse, 
and  thy  seeing  more  clearly  how  bad  thou 
art. 

There  is  a  man  of  an  ill-favored  counte- 
nance, who  hath  too  high  a  conceit  of  his 
beauty,  and  wanting  the  benefit  of  a  glass, 
he  stifl  stands  in  his  own  conceit ;  at  last  a 
limner  is  sent  unto  hira.  who  drawelh  his 
ill-tavored  face  to  the  lite  ;  now  looking 
thereon,  he  begins  to  be  convinced  that  he 
is  not  half  so  handsome  as  he  thought  he 
was.  Coming  sinner,  thy  temptations  are 
these  painters,  they  have  drawn  out  thy 
ill-favored  heart  to  the  life,  and  have  set  it 
before  thine  eyes,  and  now  thou  seest  how 
ill-favored  thou  art. 

Hezekiah  was  a  good  man,  yet  when  he 
lay  sick  (for  aught  I  know)  he  had  some- 
what too  good  an  opinion  of  his  heart;  and 
for  aught  I  know  also,  the  Lord  might  up- 
on his  recovery  leave  him  to  a  temptation, 
that  he  might  better  know  all  that  was  in 
his  heart. 

Alas !  we  are  sinful  out  of  measure,  but 
see  it  not  to  the  full,  until  an  hour  of  temp- 
tation comes ;  But  when  it  comes,  it  doth 
as  the  painter  doth,  draw  out  our  heart  to 
the  life  ;  yet  the  sight  of  what  we  are 
should  not  keep  us  from  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ. 

There  are  two  ways  by  which  God  lets 
a  man  into  a  sight  of  the  naughtiness  of  his 
heart ;  one  is  by  the  light  of  the  word  and 
Spirit  of  God,  the  others  is,  by  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  devil.  But,  by  the  first,  we  see 
our  naughtiness  one  way,  and  by  the  sec- 
ond, another.  By  the  light  of  the  word 
and  Spirit  of  God,  thou  hast  a  sight  of  thy 
naughtiness,  and  by  the  light  oT  the  sun, 
thou  hast  a  sight  of  the  spots  and  defile 
ments  that  are  in  thy  house  or  raiment. 
Which  light  gives  thee  to  see  a  necessity 
of  cleansing,  but  maketh  not  the  blemishes 
to  spread   more   abominably.     But  when 


Satan  comes,  when  he  tempts,  he  puts  life 
and  rage  into  our  sins,  and  turns  them  as 
it  were,  into  so  many  devils  within  us. 
Now,  like  prisoners,  they  attempt  to  break 
through  the  prison  of  our  body:  they  will 
attempt  to  get  out  at  our  eyes,  mouth,  ears, 
any  ways  to  the  scandal  of  the  gospel,  and 
reproach  of  religion,  to  the  darkening  of 
our  evidences,  and  damning  of  our  souls. 

But  I  shall  say,  as  I  said  before,  this 
hath  ofttimes  been  the  lot  of  God's  people. 
And,  "  No  temptation  hath  overtaken  thee, 
but  such  as  is  common  to  man ;  and  God  is 
faithful,  who  will  not  suffer  thee  to  be  temp- 
ted above  what  thou  art  able."  See  the 
book  of  Job,  the  book  of  Psalms,  and  that 
of  the  Lamentations.  And  remember  far- 
ther, that  Christ  himself  was  tempted  to 
blaspheme,  to  worship  the  devil,  and  to 
murder  himself,  (temptations  worse  than 
which  thou  canst  hardly  be  overtaken  with.) 
But  he  was  sinless,  that  is  true.  And  he 
is  thy  Saviour,  and  that  is  as  true.  Yea, 
it  is  as  true  also,  that  by  his  being  tempted 
he  became  the  conqueror  of  the  tempter, 
and  a  succorer  of  those  that  are  tempted. 

Question.  But  what  should  be  the  rea- 
son that  some  that  are  coming  to  Christ, 
should  be  so  lamentably  cast  down,  aad 
buffeted  with  ten>ptation  ? 

Answer.     It  may  be  for  several  causes. 

1.  Some  that  are  coming  to  Christ,  can- 
not be  persuaded  until  the  temptation  comes 
that  they  are  so  vile  as  the  scripture  saith 
they  are.  True  they  see  so  much  of  their 
wretchedness  as  to  drive  them  to  Christ: 
But  there  is  an  over  and  above  of  wicked- 
ness which  they  see  not.  Peter  little 
thought  that  he  had  had  cursing,  and 
.swearing,  and  lying,  and  an  inclination  in 
his  heart  to  deny  his  Master,  before  the 
temptation  came:  but  when  that  indeed 
came  upon  him,  then  he  found  it  there  to 
his  sorrow. 

2.  Some  that  are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ 
are  too  much  affected  with  their  own  gra- 
ces, and  too  little  taken  with  Christ's  per- 
son ;  wherefore  God,  to  take  them  off  from 
doting  on  their  own  jewels,  and  that  they 
might  look  more  to  the  person,  undertaking 
and  merits  of  his  Son,  plunges  them  into 
the  ditch  by  temptations.  And  this  I  take 
to  be  the  meaning  of  Job:  "If  I  wash  me," 
saith  he,  "with  snow-water,  and  make  my- 
self never  so  clean,  yet  wilt  thou  plunge  me 
in  the  ditch,  and  mine  own  clothes  shall 
abhor  me."  Job  had  been  a  little  too  much 
tampering  with  his  own  graces,  and  setting 
his  excellencies  a  little  too  high.  But  by 
that  the  temptations  were  ended,  you  find 
him  better  taught. 

Yea,  God  doth  ofttimes,  even  for  this 
thing,  as  it  were  take  our  graces  from  us, 
and  so  leave  us  almost  quite  to  ourselves, 
and  to  the  tempter,  that  we  may  learn  not 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     I99 


to  love  the  picture  more  than  the  person  of 
his  Son.  See  how  he  dealt  with  them  in 
the  16th  ofEzekiel,  and  the  2d  of  Hosea. 

3.  Perhaps  thou  hast  been  given  too 
much  to  judge  thy  brother,  to  condemn  thy 
brother,  because  a  poor  tempted  man  ;  and 
God  to  bring  down  the  pride  of  thy  heart, 
letteth  the  tempter  loose  upon  thee,  that 
thou  also  mayest  feel  thyself  weak.  "  For 
pride  goeth  before  destruction,  and  an 
haughty  spirit  before  a  fall." 

4.  It  may  be  thou  hast  dealt  a  little  too 
roughly  with  those  that  God  hath  this  way 
wounded,  not  considering  thyself  lest  thou 
also  be  tempted :  And  therefore  God  hath 
suffered  it  to  come  unto  thee. 

5.  It  may  be  thou  wast  given  to  slumber 
and  sleep,  and  therefore  these  temptations 
were  sent  to  awake  thee.  You  know  that 
Peter's  temptation  came  upon  him,  after 
his  sleeping ;  then  instead  of  watching  and 
praying,  then  he  denied,  and  denied,  and 
denied  his  Master. 

6.  It  may  be  thou  hast  presumed  too  far, 
and  stood  too  much  in  thine  own  strength, 
and  therefore  is  a  time  of  temptation  come 
upon  thee.  This  was  also  one  cause  why 
it  came  upon  Peter :  "  Though  all  men  for- 
sake thee,  yet  will  not  I."  Ah  !  that  is  the 
way  to  be  tempted  indeed. 

7.  It  may  be  God  intends  to  make  thee 
wise,  to  speak  a  word  in  season  to  others 
that  are  afflicted ;  and  therefore  he  sufler- 
eth  thee  to  be  tempted.  Christ  was  temp- 
ted that  he  might  be  able  to  succor  them 
that  are  tempted. 

8.  It  may  be  Satan  hath  dared  God  to 
suffer  him  to  tempt  thee :  promising  him- 
self that  if  he  will  but  let  him  do  it,  thou 
will  curse  him  to  his  face.  Thus  he  ob- 
tained leave  against  Job ;  wherefore  take 
heed,  tempted  soul,  lest  thou  provest  the 
devil's  saying  true. 

9.  It  may  be  thy  graces  must  be  tried  in 
the  fire,  thai  that  rust  that  cleaveth  to  them 
may  be  taken  away,  and  themselves  proved, 
both  before  ang-els  and  devils,  to  be  tar  bet- 
ter than  of  gold  that  perishelh  ;  it  may  be  also 
that  thy  graces  are  to  receive  special  prai- 
ses, and  honor,  and  glory,  at  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  (to  judgment.)  for  all  the 
exploits  that  thou  hast  acted  by  them 
against  hell,  and  its  infernal  crew,  in  the 
day  of  thy  temptation. 

10.  It  may  be  God  would  have  others 
learn  by  thy  siglis,  groans,  and  complaints 
under  lemptationf;,  to  beware  of  those  sins, 
for  the  sake  of  which  thou  art  at  present  de- 
livered to  the  tormentors. 

But  to  conclude  this,  put  the  worst  to  the 
worst,  (and  then  things  will  be  bad 
enough,)  suppose  that  thou  art  to  this  day 
without  the  grace  of  God,  yet  thou  art  but 
a  miserable  creature,  a  sinner,  that  has 
need  of  a  blessed  Saviour;  and  the  text 


presents  thee  with  one  as  good  and  kind  as 
heart  can  wish ;  who  also  for  thy  encour- 
agement saith,  "  and  him  that  cometh  to 
me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

To  come  therefore  to  a  word  of  applica- 
tion. 

Is  it  so,  that  they  are  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ,  are  ofttimes  heartily  afraid,  that 
Jesus  Christ  will  not  receive  them?  Then 
this  teacheth  us  these  things : 

1.  That  faith  and  doubting  may  ai  the 
same  time  have  their  residence  in  the  same 
soul.  "  O  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore 
didst  thou  doubt  ?"  He  saith  not,  O  thou  of 
no  faith  ;  but  O  thou  of  little  faith  ;  because 
he  had  a  little  faith  in  the  midst  of  his 
many  doubts.  The  same  is  true,  even  of 
many  that  are  coming  to  Jesus  Christ : 
They  come,  and  fear  they  come  not,  and 
doubt  they  come  not.  When  they  look  up- 
on the  promise,  or  a  word  of  encourage- 
ment by  faith,  then  they  come  ;  when  they 
look  upon  themselves,  or  the  difficulties  that 
lie  before  them,  then  they  doubt.  Bid  me 
come,  said  Peter;  Come,  said  Christ  So 
he  went  out  of  the  ship  to  go  to  Jesus,  but 
his  hap  was  to  go  to  him  upon  the  water; 
there  was  the  trial.  So  it  was  with  the 
poor  desiring  soul.  Bid  me  come,  says  the 
sinner ;  come,  says  Christ,  and  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  thee  out ;  So  he  comes,  but  his 
hap  is  to  come  upon  the  water,  upon 
drowning  difficulties  ;  if  therefore  the  wind 
of  temptations  blow,  the  waves  of  doubts 
and  fears  will  presently  arise,  and  this  com- 
ing sinner  will  begin  to  sink,  if  he  has  but 
little  faith. 

But  you  shall  find  here  in  Peter's  little 
faith,  a  twofold  act ;  to  wit,  coming  and 
crying :  Little  faith  cannot  come  all  the  way 
without  crying.  So  long  as  its  holy  bold- 
ness lasts,  so  long  it  can  come  with  peace, 
but  when  it  is  so  it  can  come  no  farther,  it 
will  go  the  rest  of  the  Avay  with  crying. 
Peter  went  as  far  as  his  little  faith  would 
carry  him:  He  also  cried  as  lar  as  his  little 
faith  could  help,  "  Lord,  save  me,  I  perish." 
And  so  with  coming  .and  crying  he  was 
kept  from  sinking,  though  he  had  but  a  lit- 
tle faith.  "Jesus  stretched  forth  his  hand 
and  caught  him,  and  said  unto  him,  O  thou 
of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt?" 
2.  Is  it  so,  that  they  that  are  coming  to 
Jesus  Christ,  are  ofttimes  heartily  afraid 
that  Jesus  Christ  will  not  receive  them  ? 
Then  this  shows  us  a  reason  of  that  dejec- 
tion, and  those  castings  down,  that  very 
often  we  perceive  to  be  in  them  that  are 
coming  to  Jesus  Christ.  Why,  it  is,  be- 
cause they  are  afraid  that  Jesus  Christ  will 
not  receive  them.  The  poor  world  they 
mock  us,  because  we  are  a  dejected  peo- 
ple ;  I  mean,  because  we  are  sometimes  so  ; 
but  they  do  not  know  the  cause  of  our  de- 
jection.    Could  we  be  persuaded,  even  then 


200        COME,    AND    WELCOME    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


when  we  arc  dejected,  that  Jesus  Christ 
would  indeed  receive  us,  it  would  make  us 
fly  over  their  heads,  and  would  put  more 
gladness  into  our  hearts,  than  in  the  time 
in  which  their  corn,  wine,  and  oil  increases. 
Ps.  iv. 

3,  Is  it  so,  that  they  that  are  coming  to 
Jesus  Christ,  are  ofttimes  heartily  afraid 
that  he  will  not  receive  them  ?  Then  this 
shows,  that  ihey  that  are  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ,  are  an  awakened,  sensible,  consid- 
ering people ;  For  fear  cometh  from  sense, 
and  consideration  of  things.  They  are  sen- 
sible of  sin,  sensible  of  the  curse  due  there- 
to ;  they  are  also  sensible  of  the  glorious 
majesty  of  God,  and  of  what  a  blessed, 
blessed  thing  it  is  to  be  received  of  Jesus 
Christ:  The  glory  of  heaven,  and  the 
evil  of  sin,  these  things  they  consider,  and 
are  sensible  of.  "  When  I  remember  1  am 
fifraid:  When  I  consider  I  am  afraid." 

These  things  dash  their  spirits,  being 
awake  and  sensible.  Were  they  dead,  like 
other  men,  they  would  not  be  afflicted  with 
fear  as  they  are ;  for  dead  men  lear  not, 
feel  not,  care  not ;  but  the  living  and  sen- 
sible man,  he  it  is  that  is  ofttimes  heartily 
afraid  that  Jesus  Christ  will  not  receive 
him.  I  say,  the  dead  and  senseless  are  not 
distressed:  They  presume  they  are  ground- 
lessly  confident.  AVho  so  bold  as  blind 
Bayard  ?  These  indeed  should  fear  and 
be  afraid  because  they  are  not  coming  to 
Jesus  Christ.  O  the  hell,  the  fire,  the  pit, 
the  wrath  of  God,  and  torment  of  hell,  that 
are  prepared  for  poor  neglecting  sinners  ! 
"  How  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so 
great  salvation."  But  they  want  sense  of 
things,  and  cannot  fear. 

It  is  so  that  they  that  are  coming  to  Je- 
sus Christ,  are  ofttimes  heartily  afraid  that 
lie  will  not  receive  them  ?  Then  this 
should  teach  old  Christians,  to  pity  and 
pray  for  young  comers:  You  know  the 
heart  of  a  stranger,  for  you  yourselves 
were  strangers  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 
You  know  the  fears,  and  doubts,  and  ter- 
rors, that  take  hold  on  them,  for  they  some- 
times took  hold  on  you.  Wherefore  pity 
them,  pray  for  them,  encourage  them  ;  they 
need  all  this:  gviilt  hath  overtaken  them, 
fear  of  the  wrath  of  God  hath  overtaken 
them  ;  Perhaps  they  are  witliin  the  sight 
of  hell-fire;  and  the  fear  of  going  thither  is 
burning  hot  witliin  their  heart.s. 

You  may  know  how  strangely  Satan 
is  suggesting  his  devilish  doubts  unto  them. 
if  possible  he  may  sink  and  drown  them 
with  his  multitude  and  weight  of  them. 
Old  Christians,  mend  up  the  path  for  them, 
take  the  stumbling-blocks  out  of  the  way, 
lest  that  which  is  feeble  and  weak  be  turn- 
ed aside,  but  let  it  rather  bo  healed. 

III.  I  come  now  to  the  next  observation, 
and  shall  speak  a  little  to  that  j  to  wit,  That 


Jesus  Christ  would  not  have  them  that  in 
truth  are  coming  to  him,  once  think  that  he 
will  cast  them  out. 

The  text  is  full  of  this  3  "  And  him  that 
cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
Now  if  he  saith,  I  will  not,  he  would  not 
have  us  think  he  will. 

This  is  yet  farther  manifest  by  these  con- 
siderations. 

1.  Christ  Jesus  did  forbid  even  ihem  that 
as  yet  were  not  coming  to  him,  once  to 
think  him  such  an  one.  "Do  not  think," 
said  he,  "  that  I  will  accuse  you  to  the  Fath- 
er." 

These,  as  I  said,  were  such,  that  as  yet 
were  not  coming  to  him  :  For  he  saith  of 
them  a  little  before,  and  ye  will  not  come 
to  me :  lor  the  respect  they  had  to  the  hon- 
or of  men  kept  them  back.  Yet,  I  say,  Je- 
sus Christ  gives  them  to  understand,  that 
though  he  might  justly  reject  them,  yet  he 
would  not,  but  bids  them  not  once  to  think 
that  he  would  accuse  them  to  the  Father. 
Now,  not  to  accuse  (with  Christ)  is  to 
plead  for :  for  Christ  in  these  things  stands 
not  neuter  between  the  Father  and  sinners. 
So  then,  if  Jesus  Christ  would  not  have 
them  think,  that  yet  will  not  come  to  him, 
that  he  will  accuse  them ;  then  he  would 
not  that  they  should  think  so,  that  in  truth 
are  coming  to  him:  ''And  him  that  cometh 
to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

2.  When  the  woman  taken  in  adultery 
(even  in  the  very  act)  was  brought  before 
Jesus  Christ,  he  so  carried  it  both  bywords 
and  actions,  that  he  evidently  enough  made 
it  manifest,  that  condemning  and  casting 
out  were  such  things,  for  the  doing  of 
which  he  came  not  into  the  world. 

Wherefore,  when  they  had  set  her  be- 
fore him,  and  had  laid  to  her  charge  the 
heinous  fact,  he  stooped  down,  and  with 
his  finger  wrote  upon  the  ground  as  though 
he  heard  them  not.  Now  what  did  he  do 
by  this  carriage,  but  testify  plainly  that  he 
was  not  for  receiving  accusations  against 
poor  sinners,  whoever  accused  by?  And 
observe,  though  they  continued  asking, 
thinking  at  last  to  force  him  to  condemn 
her ;  yet  then  he  so  answered,  as  that  he 
drove  all  condemning  persons  from  her. 
And  then  he  adds,  for  her  encouragement 
to  come  to  him :  "  Neither  do  I  condemn 
thee,  go  and  sin  no  more." 

Not  but  that  he  indeed  abhorred  the 
fact,  but  he  would  not  condemn  the  woman 
for  the  sin,  because  that  was  not  his  office. 
"  He  was  not  sent  into  the  world  to  condemn 
the  world,  but  that  the  world  through  him 
might  be  saved."  Now  if  Christ,  though 
urged  to  it,  would  not  condemn  the  guilty 
woman,  though  she  was  far  at  pre;?ent 
from  coming  to  him,  he  would  not  that  they 
should  once  think,  that  he  will  cast  them 
out,  that  in  truth  are  coming  to  him  :  "  And 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     201 


him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out." 

3.  Christ  plainly  bids  the  turning  sinner 
come :  and  tbrbids  him  to  entertain  any 
such  thoughts,  as  that  he  will  cast  him  out. 
■"  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the 
unrighteous  man  his  thoughts,  and  let  him 
turn  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mer- 
cy upon  him :  and  to  our  God,  for  he  will 
abundantly  pardon." 

The  Lord  by  bidding  the  unrighteous 
forsake  his  thoughts  doth  in  special  forbid, 
as  I  have  said,  viz.  those  thoughts  that  hin- 
der the  coming  man  in  his  progress  to  Je- 
sus Christ,  his  unbelieving  thoughts. 

Therefore  he  bids  them  not  only  forsake 
his  ways  but  his  thoughts  ;  "  Let  the  sin- 
ner forsake  his  ways,  and  the  unrighteous 
man  his  thoughts."  It  is  not  enough  to  for- 
sake one,  if  thou  wilt  come  to  Jesus  Christ, 
because  (he  other  will  keep  thee  from 
him.  Suppose  a  man  forsake  his  wicked 
ways,  his  debauched  and  filthy  life  ;  yet  if 
these  thoughts,  that  Jesus  Christ  will 
not  receive  him,  be  entertained  and  nour- 
ished in  his  heart,  these  thoughts  will  keep 
him  from  coming  to  Jesus  Christ. 

Sinner,  coming  sinner.  Art  thou  for  com- 
ing to  Jesus  Christ?  Yes,  says  the  sinner. 
Forsake  thy  wicked  ways  then.  So  I  do, 
says  the  sinner.  Why  comest  thou  then  so 
slowly  ?  Because  1  am  hindered.  What 
hinders?  Has  God  forbidden  thee?  No. 
Art  thou  not  willing  to  come  faster?  Yes, 
yet  I  cannot.  Well,  prithee  be  plain  with 
me,  and  tell  me  the  reason  and  ground  of 
thy  discouragement.  Why,  says  tiie  sin- 
ner, though  God  forbids  me  not,  and  though 
I  am  willing  to  come  faster,  yet  there  nat- 
urally ariseth  this,  and  that,  and  the  other 
thought  in  my  heart,  that  hinders  my  speed 
to  Jesus  Christ.  Sometimes  I  think  I  am 
not  chosen  ;  sometimes  I  think  I  am  not 
called  ;  sometimes  I  think  I  am  come  too 
late ;  and  sometimes  I  think  I  know  not 
what  IS  to  come.  Also  one  while  I  think 
I  have  Ro  grace ;  and  then  again,  that  I 
cannot  pray  ;  and  then  again,  I  think  I  am  a 
very  hypocrite.  And  these  things  keep 
me  from  coming  to  Jesus  Christ. 

Look  ye  now,  did  I  not  tell  you  so? 
There  are  thoughts  yet  remaining  in  the 
heart,  even  of  those  who  have  forsaken 
their  wicked  ways  ;  and  with  those  thoughts 
they  are  more  plagued  than  with  any  thing 
else  ;  because  they  hinder  their  coming  to 
Jesus  Christ,  for  the  sin  of  unbelief  (which 
is  the  original  of  all  these  thoughts)  is  that 
which  besets  a  coming  sinner  more  easily 
than  do  his  ways. 

But  now,  since  Jesus  Christ  commands 
thee  to  forsake  these  thoughts,  forsake 
them,  coming  sinner:  and  if  thou  forsake 
them  not,  thou  transgressest  the  commands 
of  Christ,  and  abidest  thine  own  torment- 

VoL  3.— Z. 


or,  and  keepest  thyself  from  establishment 
in  grace  :  "  If  ye  will  no-t  believe,  ye  shall 
not  be  estabUshed." 

Thus  you  see  how  Jesus  Christ  setteth 
himself  against  such  thoughts,  that  any 
way  discourage  the  coming  sinner ;  and 
thereby  truly  vindicates  tlie  doctrine  we 
have  in  hand,  to  wit,  That  Jesus  Christ 
would  not  have  them,  that  in  truth  are  com- 
ing to  him,  once  think,  that  he  will  cast 
them  out.  '•  And  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I 
will  in  no  wise  out." 

I  come  now  to  the  reasons  of  the  observa- 
tion. 

1.  If  Jesus  Christ  should  allow  thee  once 
to  think,  that  he  will  cast  thee  out,  he  must 
allow  thee  to  think  that  he  will  falsify  his 
word ;  for  he  hath  said,  "  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out."  But  Christ  would  not  that  thou 
shouldst  count  him  as  one  that  will  falsify 
his  word  ;  for  he  saith  of  himself,  "  I  am 
the  truth ;"  therefore  he  would  not,  that 
any  that  in  truth  are  coming  to  him,  shouM 
once  think,  that  he  will  cast  them  eut. 

2.  If  Jesus  Christ  should  allow  the -sin- 
ner, that  in  truth  is  coming  him,  once  t© 
think  that  he  will  cast  them  out,  then  he  must 
allow,  and  so  countenance  the  first  appear- 
ance of  unbelief:  the  which  he  count-eth 
his  greatest  enemy,  and  against  wliich  h& 
has  bent  even  his  holy  gospel.  ThereforiS 
Jesus  Christ  would  not,  that  they  that  in 
truth  are  coming  to  him,  should  once  think 
that  he  will  cast  them  out. 

3.  If  Jesus  Christ  should  allow  fhe  com- 
ing sinner  once  to  think,  that  he  will  cast 
him  out,  then  he  must  allow  him  to  make  a 
question,  Whether  he  is  willing  to  receive 
his  Father's  gift:  for  the  coming  sinner  is 
his  Father's  gift:  as  also  says  the  text; 
but  he  testifieth,  "  All  that  the  Father  giv- 
eth  him  shall  come  to  him :  and  him  that 
cometh,  he  will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  There- 
fore Jesus  Christ  would  not  have  him,  that 
in  truth  is  coming  to  him,  once  to  think, 
that  he  will  cast  him  out. 

4.  If  Jesus  Christ  should  allow  them  once 
to  think,  (that  indeed  are  coming  to  him,) 
that  he  will  cast  them  out.  he  must  allow 
them  to  thinlc,  that  he  will  despise  and  re- 
ject the  drawing  of  his  Father ;  For  no 
man  can  come  to  him,  but  whom  the  Fath- 
er draweth.  But  it  would  be  high  blas- 
phemy, and  damnable  wickedness  once  to 
imagine  thus.  Therefore,  Jesus  Christ 
v/ould  not  have  him  that  cometh,  once  thinlc, 
that  he  will  cast  him  out. 

5.  If  Jesus  Christ  should  allow  those 
that  indeed  are  coming  to  him,  once  to 
think  that  he  will  cast  them  out,  lie  must 
allow  them  to  think,  that  he  will  be  unfiirh- 
ful  to  the  trust  and  charge  that  his  Fatiier 
hath  committed  to  him  ;  which  is  to  save, 
and  not  to  lose  any  thing  of  that  which  he 
hath  given  unto  him  to  save.    ButtheFatli- 


202      come;,    and    welcome,    to    JESUS    CHRIST. 


er  hath  given  him  a  charge,  to  save  tlie 
coming  sinner ;  therefore  it  cannot  be,  that 
he  should  allow,  that  such  an  one  should 
once  tliink,  tliat  he  will  cast  him  out. 

6.  If  Jesus  Christ  should  allow,  that  they 
should  once  tliink,  that  are  coming  to  him, 
that  he  will  cast  them  out,  then  he  must  al- 
low them  to  think,  that  he  Avill  be  unfaith- 
ful to  his  office  of  priesthood ;  for,  as  by  the 
first  part  of  it,  he  paid  price  for,  and  ran- 
somed souls,  so  by  the  second  part  thereof, 
he  continually  maketli  intercession  to  God 
for  them  that  come.  But  he  cannot  allow 
us  to  question  his  faithful  execution  of  his 
priestliood,  therelbre  he  cannot  allow  us 
once  to  think,  that  the  coming  sinner  shall 
be  cast  out. 

7.  If  Jesus  Christ  should  allow  us  once 
to  think,  that  the  coming  sinner  shall  be 
cast  out,  tlien  he  must  allow  us  to  question 
his  will,  or  power,  or  merit  to  save.  But 
he  cannot  allow  us  once  to  question  any  of 
these ;  therefore  not  once  to  think,  that  the 
coming  sinner  shall  be  cast  out. 

1.  He  cannot  allow  us  to  question  his 
will ;  for  he  saith  in  the  text,  "  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out." 

2.  He  cannot  allow  us  to  question  his 
power ;  for  the  Holy  Ghost  saith,  he  is  able 
to  save  to  the  uttermost  them  that  come. 

3.  He  cannot  allow  us  to  question  his 
power ;  for  the  merit,  for  the  blood  of  Christ 
cleanseth  the  comer  from  all  sin ;  therefore 
he  cannot  allow  that  he  that  is  coming  to 
him  should  once  think  that  he  will  cast 
them  out 

8.  If  Jesus  Christ  would  allow  the  com- 
ing sinner  once  to  think  that  he  will  cast 
him  out,  he  must  allow  him  to  give  the  lie 
to  the  manifest  testimony  of  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Spirit;  yea,  to  the  whole  gospel 
contained  in  Moses,  the  prophets,  the  book 
of  Psalms,  and  that  commonly  called  the 
New  Testament.  But  he  cannot  allow  of 
this ;  therefore,  not  that  the  coming  sinner 
should  once  think  he  will  cast  him  out. 

9.  Lastly,  if  Jesus  Christ  should  allow 
him  that  is  coming  to  him  once  to  think, 
that  he  will  cast  him  out,  he  must  allow  him 
to  question  his  Father's  oath,  which  he  in 
truth  and  righteousness  hath  taken,  that 
they  might  have  a  strong  consolation,  who 
have  fled  for  refuge  to  Jesus  Christ.  But 
he  cannot  allow  this,  therefore  he  cannot 
allow,  that  the  coming  sinner  should  once 
think,  that  he  will  cast  him  out. 

I  come  now  to  make  some  general  use 
and  application  of  the  whole,  and  so  to 
draw  towards  a  conclusion. 

1.  The  first  use,  a  use  of  information : 
and  it  informeth  us,  That  men  by  nature 
are  far  ofl'  from  Christ. 

Let  me  a  little  improve  this  use,  by  speak- 
ing to  those  three  questions. 

1.  Where  is  he  that  is  not  coming  to  Je- 
sus Christ  ? 


2.  What  is  he  that  is  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ? 

3.  Whither  is  he  to  go  that  cometh  not 
to  Jesus  Christ  ? 

1.  Where  is  he? 

Ansicer.  1.  He  is  far  from  God,  lie  is 
without  him,  even  alienated  from  him,  both 
in  his  understanding,  will,  affections,  and 
conscience. 

2.  He  is  far  from  Jesus  Christ,  who  is 
the  only  deliverer  of  men  from  hell  fire. 

3.  He  is  far  from  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  work  of  regeneration,  and  a 
second  creation,  without  which  no  man 
shall  see  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

4.  He  is  far  from  being  righteous,  that 
righteousness  that  should  make  him  accept- 
able in  God's  sight. 

5.  He  is  under  the  power  and  dominion 
of  sin ;  sin  reigneth  in  and  over  him ;  it 
dwelleth  in  every  faculty  of  his  soul,  and 
member  of  his  body  ;  so  that  from  head  to 
foot  there  is  no  place  clean. 

6.  He  is  in  the  pest-house  with  Uzziah, 
and  excluded  the  camp  of  Israel  with  the 
lepers. 

7.  His  life  is  among  the  unclean :  "  He 
is  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  in  the  bond 
of  iniquity." 

8.  He  is  in  sin,  in  the  flesh,  in  death  in 
the  snare  of  the  devil,  and  is  taken  captive 
by  him  at  his  will. 

9.  He  is  under  the  curse  of  the  law,  and 
the  devils  dwell  in  him,  and  have  the  mas- 
tery of  him. 

10.  He  is  in  darkness,  and  walketh  in 
darkness,  and  knows  not  whither  he  goes ; 
for  darkness  has  blinded  his  eyes. 

11.  He  is  in  the  broad  way  that  leadeth 
to  destruction,  and  holding  on,  he  will  as- 
suredly go  in  at  the  broad  gate,  and  so 
down  the  stairs  to  hell. 

Secondly,  What  is  he  that  cometh  not  to 
Jesus  Christ? 

1.  He  is  counted  one  of  God's  enemies. 

2.  He  is  a  child  of  the  devil,  and  of  hell ; 
for  the  devil  begat  him,  as  to  his  sinful  na- 
ture, and  hell  must  swallow  him  at  last, 
because  he  cometh  not  to  Jesus  Christ. 

3.  He  is  a  child  of  wrath,  an  heir  of  it; 
it  is  his  portion,  and  God  will  repay  it  him 
to  his  face. 

4.  He  is  a  self-murderer;  he  wrongeth 
his  own  soul,  and  is  one  that  loveth  death. 

5.  He  is  a  companion  for  devils,  and 
damned  men. 

Thirdly,  Where  is  he  hke  to  go  that  com- 
eth not  to  Jesus  Christ? 

1.  He  that  cometh  not  to  him,  is  like  to 
go  farther  from  him  ;  for  every  sin  is  a  step 
farther  from  Jesus  Christ. 

2.  As  he  is  in  darkness,  so  he  is  like  to 
go  on  in  it ;  for  Christ  is  the  light  of  the 
world,  and  he  that  comes  not  to  him,  walk- 
eth in  darkness. 

3.  He  is  hke  to  be  removed  at  last,  as 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.    203 


far  from  God  and  Christ,  and  heaven,  and 
all  felicity,  as  an  infinite  God  can  remove 
him. 

But,  Secondly,  This  doctrine  of  coming 
to  Christ,  informeth  us,  where  poor  desti- 
tute sinners  may  find  life  for  their  souls, 
and  that  is  in  Christ.  This  life  is  in  his 
Son ;  he  that  hath  the  Son,  hath  life.  And 
again,  "  Whoso  findeth  me,  findeth  life,  and 
shall  obtain  favor  of  the  Lord." 

Now,  for  farther  enlargement,  I  will  also 
here  propound  three  more  questions. 

1.  What  life  is  in  Christ? 

2.  Who  may  have  it  1 

3.  Upon  what  terms  1 
First,  What  life  is  in  Jesus  Christ? 

1.  There  is  justifying  life  in  Christ. 
Man  by  sin  is  dead  in  law;  and  Christ 
only  can  deliver  him  by  his  righteousness 
and  blood  from  this  death  into  a  state  of  life ; 
"  For  God  sent  his  Son  into  the  world,  that 
we  might  live  through  him ;"  that  is,  through 
the  righteousness  which  he  should  accom- 
plish, and  the  death  that  he  should  die. 

2.  There  is  eternal  life  in  Christ ;  Life 
that  is  endless :  life  for  ever  and  for  ever. 
"  He  hath  given  us  eternal  life,  and  this  life 
is  in  his  Son." 

Now,  justification  and  eternal  salvation 
being  both  in  Christ,  and  no  where  else  to 
be  had  for  men,  who  would  not  come  to  Je- 
sus Christ? 

Secondly,  Who  may  have  this  life? 

I  answer,  poor,  helpless,  miserable  sin 
ners,  Particularly, 

1.  Such  as  are  willing  to  have  it ;  "  Who 
soever  will,  let  him  take  of  the  waters  of 
hfe." 

2.  He  thai  ihirsteth  for  it :  "I  will  give 
him  that  is  athirst  of  the  fountain  of  the 
water  of  life." 

3.  He  that  is  weary  of  his  sins ;  "  This  is 
the  rest,  whereby  you  may  cause  the  wea- 
ry to  rest ;  and  this  is  the  refreshing." 

4.  He  that  is  poor  and  needy,  "  He  shall 
spare  the  poor  and  needy,  and  shall  save 
the  souls  ot  the  needy." 

5.  He  that  followeth  after  him,  crieth  for 
life :  "  He  that  follows  me  shall  not  walk  in 
darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life." 

Thirdly,  Upon  what  terms  may  he  have 
this  life? 

Answer.  Freely,  Sinner,  dost  thou  hear  ? 
Thou  mayest  have  it  freely.  Let  him  take 
of  the  water  of  life  freely.  I  will  give  him 
of  the  fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely : 
"  And  when  they  had  nothing  to  pay,  he 
freely  forgave  them  both." 

Freely,  without  money,  or  without  price, 
"  Ho !  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to 
the  waters;  and  he  that  hath  no  money, 
come,  buy  and  eat ;  Yea,  come,  buy  wine 
and  milk,  without  money  and  without  price." 

Sinner,  art  thou  thirsty  ?  art  thou  wea- 
ry? art  thou  willing  ?    Come  then,  and  re- 


gard not  your  stuff;  for  all  the  good  that 
is  in  Christ  is  offered  to  the  coming  sinner 
without  money  and  without  price.  He 
has  life  to  give  way  to  such  as  want  it  and 
that  have  not  a  penny  to  purchase  it ;  and 
he  will  give  it  freely.  Oh,  what  a  blessed 
condition  is  the  coming  sinner  in ! 

But  thirdly.  This  doctrine  of  coming  to 
Jesus  Christ  for  life,  informeth  us,  that  it  is 
to  be  had  no  where  else.  Might  it  be  had 
any  where  else,  the  text,  and  him  that 
spoke  it,  would  be  but  little  set  by ;  for 
what  great  matter  is  there  in,  "  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out,"  if  another  stood  by  that 
would  receive  them  ?  But  here  appears  the 
glory  of  Christ,  that  none  but  he  can  save. 
And  here  appears  his  love,  that  though 
none  can  save  but  he,  yet  he  is  not  coy  in 
saving.  "  But  him  that  cometh  to  me," 
saith  he,  "  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

That  none  can  save  but  Jesus  Christ,  is 
evident,  from  Acts  iv.  12.  "  Neither  is 
there  salvation  in  any  other:  and  he  hath 
given  us  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in  his 
Son."  If  life  could  have  been  had  any 
where  else,  it  should  have  been  in  the  law: 
But  it  is  not  in  the  law  ;  for  by  the  deeds  of 
the  law,  no  man  living  shall  be  justified, 
then  no  life. 

Therefore  life  is  no  where  to  be  had,  but 
in  Jesus  Christ. 

Question.  But  why  would  God  so  order 
it,  that  life  should  be  had  no  where  else  but 
in  Jesus  Christ? 

Answe7\     There  is  reason  for  it,  and  that 
both  with  respect  to  God  and  us. 
First,  with  respect  to  God. 

1.  That  it  might  be  in  a  way  of  justice, 
as  well  as  mercy:  and,  in  a  way  of  justice, 
it  could  not  have  been,  if  it  had  not  been 
by  Christ;  because  he,  and  he  only,  was 
able  to  answer  the  demand  of  the  law,  and 
give  for  sin,  what  the  justice  thereof  re- 
quired. All  angels  had  been  crushed  down 
to  hell  for  ever,  had  that  curse  been  laid 
upon  them  for  our  sins,  which  was  laid 
upon  Jesus  Christ ;  but  it  was  laid  upon 
him,  and  he  bare  it;  and  answered  the 
penalty,  and  redeemed  his  people  from  un- 
der it,  with  that  satisfaction  to  divine  jus- 
tice, that  God  himself  doth  now  proclaim, 
that  he  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us,  if 
by  faith,  we  shall  venture  to  Jesus,  and 
trust  to  what  he  has  done,  for  life. 

2.  Life  must  be  by  Jesus  Christ,  that 
God  might  be  adored  and  magnified  for 
finding  out  this  way.  This  is  the  Lord's 
doings,  that  in  all  things  he  might  be  glo- 
rified through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

3.  It  must  be  by  Jesus  Christ,  that  life 
might  be  at  God's  dispose,  who  hath  great 
pity  for  the  poor,  the  lowly,  the  meek,  the 
broken  in  heart,  and  for  them  that  others 
care  not  for. 

4.  Life  must  be  in   Christ,   to  cut  off 


204      COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


boasting  fram  the  lips  of  men.     This  also 
is  tlie  apostle's  reason. 

Secondly,  Life  must  be  in  Jesus  Cbrist 
willi  respect  to  us. 

1.  That  we  might  have  it  upon  the  ea- 
siest terms  ;  tu  wit,  freely  as  a  gift,  not  as 
wages.  Was  it  in  his  Moses's  hantl,  we 
slioiild  hardly  come  at  it.  Was  it  in  the 
pewpfe's  hand,  we  should  pay  soundly  for 
it-  Bus  thanks  be  to  God,  it  is  in  Christ, 
laid  op  in  him,  a[\d  by  hiiii  to  be  communi- 
caietl  to  sinners  upon  easy  terms,  even  to 
receiving,  accej)ting,  and  embracing  with 
thanksgiving  j,  aa  the  scriptures  plainly  d«- 
clare. 

2.  Life  is  in  Christ  for  us,  that  it  might 
not  be  upon  so  brittle  a  foundation,  as  in- 
deed it  would,  had  it  been  any  where  else. 
The  law  itself  is  weak  because  of  us,  as  to 
this:  hut  Christ  is  a  tried  stone,  a  sure 
foundation,  one  that  will  not  fail  to  bear 
fhy  burden,  and  to  receive  thy  soul,  com- 
ing sinner. 

3.  Life  is  in  Christ,  that  it  might  be  sure 
to  all  the  seed.  Alas  !  the  best  of  us,  was 
iife  left  in  our  hands,  to  be  sure  we  should 
forfeit  it,  over,  and  over,  and  over  ;  or,  was 
it  in  any  other  hand,  we  should,  by  our  of- 
ten backslidings,  so  offend  him,  that,  at 
last,  he  would  shut  up  his  bowels  in  ever- 
lasting displeasure  against  us.  But  now  it 
is  in  Christ;  it  is  with  one  that  can  pity, 
pray  for,  pardon,  yea,  multiply  pardons;  it 
is  with  one  that  can  have  compassion  upon 
us.  when  we  are  out  of  the  way,  with  one 
that  hath  a  heart  to  fetch  us  again,  when 
we  are  gone  astray,  with  one  that  can  par- 
don without  upbraiding.  Blessed  be  God, 
that  life  is  in  Christ !  for  now  it  is  sure  to 
all  liie  seed. 

But,  fourthly,  this  doctrine  of  coming  to 
Jesus  Christ  lor  life,  inlbrms  us  of  the  evil 
of  unbelief;  that  wicked  thing  that  is  the 
only  or  chief  hindrance  to  the  coming  sin- 
ner. Doth  the  text  say,  Come?  Doth  it 
say,  '•  And  him  that  cocneth  to  me,  I  will 
in  no  wise  cast  oot  ?"  then  what  an  evil  is 
that  that  keepeth  sinners  from  coming  to 
Jesus  Chriit  ?  And  thatevjl  is  unbelief:  for 
by  faith  we  come;  by  unbelief  we  keep 
away.  Therefore,  it  is  said  to  be  that  by 
which  a  soul  is  said  to  depart  from  God : 
because,  it  was  that  which,  at  first,  caused 
the  world  to  go  off"  from  him,  and  that  also 
that  keeps  them  from  him  to  this  day. 
And  it  doth  it  the  more  easily,  because  it 
doth  it  with  a  wile. 

This  sin  may  be  called  the  white  devil, 
for.  it  ofttimes,  in  its  mischievous  doing  in 
the  soul,  shows  as  il"  it  were  an  angel  of 
of  light:  yea,  it  actelh  like  a  counsellor  of 
heaven.  Therefore,  a  little  to  discourse  of 
this  evil  disease. 

1.  It  is  that  sin,  above  all  others,  that 
hath  some  show  of  reason  in  its  attempts. 


For  it  keeps  the  aoul  from  Christ,  by  pre- 
tending its  present  unfitness  and  unprejiar- 
ed'fiess::  af»  want  of  more  sense  of  sin, 
want  j>f  more  repentance,  want  of  more 
humility,  want  of  a  more  broken  iieart. 

2.  It  is  ihe  sin  that  most  suiteth  with  the 
conscience ;  the  conscience  ol"  the  coming 
sinner  tells  him,  that  he  hath  nothing  good  y 
that  he  stands  indictable  for  ten  thousand 
talents  ;  that  he  is  a  very  ignorant,  blind, 
and  hard-harted  sinner,  unworthy  to  be 
once  taken  notice  of  by  Jesus  Christ ;  and 
will  you,  says  Unbelief,  in  such  a  case  as 
vou  now  are,  presume  to  come  to  Jesus 
Christ? 

3.  It  is  the  sin  that  most  suiteth  with  our 
sense  of  feeling.  The  coming  sinner  feels 
the  workings  of  sin,  of  all  manner  of  sin  and 
wretchedness  in  his  flesh  :  he  also  feels  the 
wrath  and  judgment  of  God  due  to  sin,  and 
ofttimes  staggers  under  it.  Now,  says  Un- 
belief, you  may  see  you  have  no  grace  ;  for 
that  which  works  in  you  is  corruption. 
You  may  also  perceive  that  God  doth  not 
love  you,  because  the  sense  of  his  wrath 
abides  upon  you.  Therefore,  how  can  you 
bear  the  face  to  come  to  Jesus  Christ. 

4.  It  is  that  sin,  above  all  others,  that 
most  suiteth  the  wisdom  of  our  flesh.  The 
wisdom  of  our  flesh  thinks  it  prudence  to 
question  awhile,  to  stand  back  awhile,  to 
hearken  to  both  sides  awhile:  and  not  to 
be  rash,  sudden,  or  unadvised,  in  too  bold  a 
presuming  upon  Jesus  Christ.  And  this 
wisdom  Unbelief  falls  in  with. 

5.  It  is  the  sin,  above  all  other,  that  con- 
tinually is  whispering  the  soul  in  the  ear 
with  mistrusts  of  the  Ikithfulness  of  God,  in 
keeping  proinise  to  them  that  come  to  Jesus 
Christ  for  life.  It  also  suggests  mistrusts 
about  Christ's  willingness  to  receive  it,  and 
save  it.  And  no  sin  can  do  this  so  artifi- 
cially as  unbelief. 

6.  It  is  also  that  sin  which  is  always  at 
hand  to  enter  an  objection  against  this  or 
that  promise,  that  by  the  Spirit  ol'  God  is 
brought  to  our  heart  to  comfort  us ;  and  if 
the  poor  coming  sinner  is  not  aware  of  it,  it 
will,  by  some  exaction,  slight,  trick,  or  cavil, 
quickly  wrest  from  him  the  promise 
again,  and  he  shall  have  but  little  benefit  of 
it. 

7.  It  is  that  above  all  other  sins,  that 
weakens  our  prayers,  our  faith,  our  love, 
our  diligence,  our  hope,  and  expecta- 
tions :  it  even  taketh  the  heart  away  from 
God  in  duty. 

8.  Lastly,  This  sin,  as  I  have  said  even 
now,  it  appears  in  the  soul  with  so  many 
sweet  pretences  to  safety  and  security,  that 
it  is,  as  it  were,  counsel  sent  from  heaven, 
bidding  the  soul  to  be  wise,  wary,  consid- 
erate, well  advised,  and  to  take  heed  of  too 
rash  a  venture  upon  believing.  Be  sure, 
first,  Uiat  God  loves  youj  take  hold  of  no 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     205 


promise  until  you  are  forced  by  God  unto 
It;  neither  be  you  sure  of  your  salvation  ; 
doubt  it  still,  though  the  testimony  of  the 
Lord  has  been  often  confirmed  in  you. 
Live  not  by  faith,  but  by  sense  ;  and  when 
you  can  neither  see  nor  feel,  then  fear  and 
mistrust,  then  doubt  and  question  all.  This 
is  the  develish  counsel  of  Unbelief,  v/hich 
is  so  covered  over  with  specious  pretences, 
that  the  wisest  Christian  can  hardly  shake 
off  these  reasonings. 

But  to  be  brief:  let  me  here  give  the 
Christian  reader  a  more  particular  descrip- 
tion of  the  qualities  of  unbelief,  by  oppo- 
sing faith  unto  it,  in  these  twenty-five  par- 
ticulars. 

1.  Faith  believeth  the  word  of  God,  but 
unbelief  questioneth  the  certainty  of  the 
same. 

2.  Faith  believeth  the  word,  because  it  is 
true :  but  unbelief  doubteth  thereof,  be- 
cause it  is  true. 

3.  Faith  sees  more  in  a  promise  of  God 
to  help  than  in  ail  other  things  to  hinder : 
but  unbelief,  notwithstanding  God's  prom- 
ise, saith,  how  can  these  things  be  7 

4.  Faith  will  make  thee  see  love  in  the 
heart  of  Christ,  when  with  his  mouth  he 
giveth  reproofs;  but  unbelief  will  imagine 
wrath  in  his  heart,  when  with  his  mouth 
and  word  he  saith  he  loves  us. 

5.  Faith  will  help  the  soul  to  wait, 
though  God  defers  to  give ;  but  unbelief 
will  take  snuff  and  throw  up  all,  if  God 
makes  any  tarrying. 

6.  Faith  will  give  comfort  in  the  midst 
of  fears  ;  but  unbelief  causeth  fears  in  the 
midst  of  comforts. 

7.  Faith  will  suck  sweetness  out  of  God's 
rod,  but  unbelief  can  find  no  comfort  in  its 
greatest  mercies. 

8.  Faith  maketh  great  burdens  light; 
but  unbelief  maketh  light  ones  intolerably 
heavy. 

9.  Faith  helpeth  us  when  we  are  down ; 
but  unbelief  throws  us  down  when  we  are 
up. 

10.  Faith  bringeth  us  near  to  God  when 
we  are  far  from  him  ;  but  unbelief  puts  us 
far  from  God  when  we  are  near  to  him. 

11.  Where  faith  reigns,  it  declareth  them 
to  be  the  friends  of  God  ;  but  where  unbe- 
lief reigns,  it  declareth  them  to  be  his  ene- 
mies, 

12.  Faith  putteth  a  man  under  grace ; 
but  unbelief  holdeth  him  under  wrath. 

13.  Faith  purifieth  the  heart;  but  unbe- 
lief keepeth  it  polluted  and  impure. 

14.  By  faith,  the  righteousness  of  Christ 
is  imputed  to  us ;  but  by  unbelief  we  are 
shut  up  under  the  law  to  perish. 

15.  Faith  maketh  our  work  acceptable  to 
God  through  Christ ;  but  whatsoever  is  of 
unbelief  is  sin :  for  without  faith  it  is  im- 
possible to  please  hira. 


16.  Faith  giveth  us  peace  and  comfort  in 
our  souls  ;  but  unbelief  workcth  trouble  and 
tossings,  like  the  restless  waves  of  the  sea. 

17.  Faith  maketh  us  see  preciousness  in 
Christ;  but  unbelief  sees  no  form,  beauty, 
or  comeliness  in  him. 

18.  By  i'aith,  we  have  our  life  in  Christ's 
fulness ;  but  by  unbelief  we  starve  and 
pine  away. 

19.  Faith  gives  us  the  victory  over  the 
law,  sin,  death,  the  devil,  and  all  evils ;  but 
unbelief  layeth  us  obnoxious  to  them  all. 

20.  Faith  will  show  us  more  excellency 
in  things  not  seen,  than  in  them  that  are ; 
but  unbelief  sees  more  of  things  that  are, 
than  in  things  that  will  be  hereafter. 

21.  Faith  makes  the  ways  of  God  pleas- 
ant and  admirable ;  but  unbelief  maketh. 
them  heavy  and  hard. 

22.  By  faith  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
possessed  the  land  of  promise  ;  but  because 
of  unbelief,  neither  Aaron,  nor  Moses,  nor 
Miriam,  could  get  thither. 

23.  By  faith  the  children  of  Israel  pass- 
ed through  the  Red  sea;  but,  by  unbelief, 
the  generality  of  them  perished  in  the  wil- 
derness. 

24.  By  faith,  Gideon  did  more  with  three 
hundred  men,  and  a  few  empty  pitchers, 
than  all  the  twelve  tribes  could  do,  because 
they  believed  not  God. 

25.  By  faith,  Peter  walked  on  the  water; 
but  by  unbelief,  he  began  to  sink. 

Thus  might  many  more  be  added,  which, 
for  brevity's  sake,  I  omit,  beseeching  every 
one  that  thinketh  he  hath  a  soul  to  save, 
or  be  damned,  to  take  heed  of  unbelief; 
lest  seeing  there  is  a  promise  left  us  of  enter- 
ing into  his  rest,  any  of  us,  by  unbelief^ 
should  indeed  come  short  of  it. 

II.  The  second  use :  a  use  of  examina- 
tion. 

We  come  to  a  use  of  examination.  Sin- 
ner, thou  hast  heard  of  the  necessity  of 
coming  to  Christ;  also,  of  the  willingness  of 
Christ  to  receive  the  coming  soul ;  together 
with  the  benefit  that  they,  by  him,  shall 
have  that  indeed  come  to  him.  Put  thy- 
self now  upon  this  serious  inquiry,  am  I  in- 
deed come  to  Jesus  Christ? 

Motives  plenty  I  might  here  urge,  to  pre- 
vail with  thee  to  a  conscientious  perform- 
ance of  this  duty:  as, 

1.  Thou  art  in  sin,  in  the  flesh,  in  death, 
in  the  snare  of  the  devil,  and  under  the 
curse  of  the  law,  if  you  are  not  coming  to 
Jesus  Christ. 

2.  There  is  no  way  to  be  delivered  from 
these,  but  by  coming  to  Jesus  Christ. 

3.  If  thou  comest,  Jesus  Christ  will  re- 
ceive thee,  and  will  in  no  wise  cast  thee 
out. 

4.  Thou  wilt  not  repent  it  in  the  day  of 
judgment  if  thou  now  comest  to  Jesua 
Christ. 


206     COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


5.  But  thou  wilt  surely  mourn  at  last,  if 
now  thou  shalt  refuse  to  come.     And, 

6.  Lastly.  Now,  thou  hast  been  invited 
to  come;  now  will  thy  judgment  be  great- 
er, and  tJiy  damnation  more  fearful,  if  thou 
shalt  yet  refuse,  than  if  thou  hast  never 
heard  of  coming  to  Christ. 

Objection.  But  we  hope  we  are  come 
to  Jesus  Christ. 

Ans^ver.  It  is  well  if  it  proves  so.  But 
lest  thon  shouldst  speak  without  ground, 
and  so  fall  unawares  into  hell-fire,  let  us 
examine  a  little. 

First.  Art  thou  indeed  coming  to  Jesus 
Christ  ?  What  hast  thou  left  behind  thee  ? 
What  didst  thou  come  away  from,  in  thy 
coming  to  Jesus  Christ? 

When  Lot  came  out  of  Sodom,  he  left 
the  Sodomites  behind  him. 

When  Abraham  came  out  of  Chaldea, 
he  left  his  country  and  kindred  behind. 

When  Ruth  came  to  put  her  trust  under 
the  wings  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  she 
let't  her  father  and  mother,  her  gods,  and 
the  land  of  her  nativity,  behind  her. 

When  Peter  came  to  Christ,  he  left  his 
nets  behind  him. 

When  Zaccheus  came  to  Christ,  he  left 
the  receipt  of  custom  behind  him. 

When  Paul  came  to  Christ,  he  left  his 
own  righteousness  behind  him. 

When  those  that  used  curious  arts  came 
to  Jesus  Christ,  they  took  their  curious 
books  and  burned  them,  though  in  another 
man's  eye  they  were  counted  worth  fifty 
thousand  pieces   of  silver. 

What  sayest  thou  man  7  Hast  thou  left 
thy  darling  sins,  thy  Sodomitish  pleasures, 
Ihy  acquaintance  and  vain  companions, 
thy  unlawful  gain,  thy  idol  gods,  thy  right- 
eousness, and  thy  unlawful  curious  arts  be- 
hind thee  ?  If  any  of  these  be  with  thee, 
and  thou  with  them,  in  thy  heart  and  life, 
thou  art  not  yet  come  to  Jesus  Christ. 

Secondly.  Art  thou  come  to  Jesus  Clirist  ? 
Prithee,  tell  me,  what  moved  thee  to  come 
to  Jesus  Christ  ?  Men  do  not  usually  come 
or  go,  to  this  or  that  place,  before  they 
have  a  moving  cause,  or  rather  a  cause 
moving  them  thereto :  no  more  do  they 
come  to  Jesus  Christ  (I  do  not  say  before 
they  have  a  cause,  but)  before  that  cause 
moveth  them  to  come.  What  sayest  thou  ? 
Hast  thou  a  cause  mo'ving  thee  to  come  ? 
To  be  at  present  in  a  state  of  condemna- 
tion, is  cause  sufficient  for  men  to  come  to 
Jesus  Christ  for  life :  but  that  will  not  do, 
except  the  cause  move  them,  the  which  it 
will  never  do  until  their  eyes  be  opened  to 
Bee  themselves  in  that  condition.  For  it  is 
not  a  man's  being  under  wrath,  but  his  see- 
ing it,  that  moveth  him  to  come  to  Jesus 
Christ.  Alas !  all  men  by  sin  are  under 
wrath ;  yet  but  few  of  that  all  come  to  Je 
6US  Christ ;  and  the  reason  is  because  they 


do  not  see  their  condition.  "Who  hath 
warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come  ?"  Until  men  are  warned,  and  also 
receive  the  warning,  they  will  not  come  to 
Jesus  Christ. 

Take  three  or  four  instances  for  this. 

1.  Adam  and  Eve  came  not  to  Jesus 
Christ  until  they  received  the  alarm,  the 
conviction  of  their  undone  state  by  sin. 

2.  The  children  of  Israel  cried  not  out 
for  a  mediator  before  they  saw  themselves 
in  danger  of  death  by  the  law. 

3.  Before  the  publican  came,  he  saw 
himself  lost  and  undone. 

4.  The  prodigal  came  not,  until  he  saw 
death  at  the  door,  ready  to  devour  him. 

5.  The  three  thousand  men  came  not, 
until  they  knew  not  what  to  do  to  be  saved. 

6.  Paul  came  not,  until  he  saw  himself 
lost  and  undone. 

7.  Lastly.  Before  the  jailer  came,  he 
saw  himself  undone.  And  I  tell  thee,  it  is 
an  easier  thing  to  persuade  a  well  man  to 
go  to  the  physician  for  cure,  or  a  man 
without  hurt  to  seek  a  plaister  to  cure  him, 
than  it  is  to  persuade  a  man  that  sees  not 
his  soul-disease,  to  come  to  Jesus  Christ. 
The  whole  have  no  need  of  a  physician ; 
then  why  should  they  go  to  him  ?  The  full 
pitcher  can  hold  no  more  ;  then  why  should 
it  go  to  the  fountain  ?  And  if  thou  comest 
full,  thou  comest  not  aright ;  and  be  sure, 
Christ  will  send  the  empty  away :  "  But  he 
healeth  the  broken  in  heart,  and  bindeth 
up  their  wovinds." 

Thirdly.  Art  thou  coming  to  Jesus  Christ ; 
prithee,  tell  me,  what  seest  thou  in  him  to 
allure  thee  to  forsake  all  the  world,  to  come 
to  him  ?  I  say,  what  hast  thou  seen  in  him  ? 
Men  must  see  somewhat  in  Jesus  Christ, 
else  they  will  not  come  to  him. 

1.  What  comeliness  hast  fhou  seen  in  his 
person  ?  thou  comest  not,  if  thou  seest  no 
form,  nor  comeliness  in  him. 

2.  Until  those  mentioned  in  the  song 
were  convinced  that  there  was  more  beau- 
ty, comeliness  and  desirableness,  in  Christ, 
than  in  ten  thousand,  they  did  not  so  much 
as  ask  where  he  was,  nor  incline  to  turn 
aside  after  him. 

There  be  many  things  on  this  side  heav- 
en that  can  and  do  carry  away  the  heart ; 
and  so  will  do,  so  long  as  thou  livest, 
if  tliou  shalt  be  kept  blind,  and  not  be 
admitted  to  see  the  beauty  of  the  Lord  Je- 
sus. 

Fourthly.  Art  thou  come  to  the  Lord  Je- 
sus? what  hast  thou  found  in  him,  since 
thou  cam.est  to  him  ? 

Peter  found  witli  him  the  word  of  eternal 
life. 

They  that  Peter  makes  mention  of,  found 
liim  a  living  stone,  even  such  a  living  stone 
as  communicated  life  to  tliem. 

He  saith  himself,  they  that  come  to  him 


COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     207 


&c.  shall  find  rest  unto  their  souls ;  haB 
thou  found  rest  in  him  for  thy  soul  1 

Let  us  go  back  to  the  times  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

1.  Abraham  found  that  in  him,  that  made 
him  leave  his  country  for  him,  and  become 
for  his  sake  a  pilgrim  and  stranger  in  the 
earth. 

2.  Moses  found  that  in  him,  that  made 
him  forsake  a  crown,  a  kingdom  for  him 
too. 

3.  David  found  so  much  in  him,  that  he 
counted  to  be  in  his  house  one  day  was  bet- 
ter than  a  thousand ;  yea  to  be  a  door-keep- 
er therein,  was  better  in  his  esteem,  than 
to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness. 

4.  What  did  Daniel  and  the  three  chil- 
dren find  in  him,  to  make  them  run  the 
hazards  of  the  fiery  furnace,  and  the  den 
of  lions,  for  his  sake  7 

Let  us  come  down  to  martyrs. 

1.  Stephen  found  that  in  him,  that  made 
him  joyful,  and  quietly  yield  up  his  life  for 
his  name. 

2.  Ignatius  found  that  in  him,  that  made 
him  choose  to  go  through  the  torments  of 
the  devil,  and  hell  itself:  rather  than  not  to 
have  him.  (Acts  and  Monuments,  vol.  4. 
page  25.) 

3.  What  saw  Romanus  in  Christ,  when 
he  said  to  the  raging  emperor,  who  threat- 
ened him  with  fearful  torments.  Thy  sen- 
tence, O  emperor,  I  joyfully  embrace,  and 
refuse  not  to  be  sacrificed — by  as  cruel  tor- 
ments as  thou  canst  invent!  (page  116.) 

4.  What  saw  Menas  the  Egyptian,  in 
Christ  when  he  said,  under  most  cruel  tor- 
ments, there  is  nothing  in  my  mind  that  can 
be  compared  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven ; 
neither  is  all  the  world,  if  it  was  weighed 
in  a  balance,  to  be  preferred  with  the  price 
of  one  soul !  Who  is  able  to  separate  us 
from  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord? 
And  I  have  learned  of  my  Lord  and  king 
not  to  fear  them  that  kill  the  body,  &c. 
(p.  117.) 

5.  What  did  Euliah  see  in  Christ,  when 
she  said,  as  they  were  pulling  her  one  joint 
from  another ;  Behold,  O  Lord,  I  will  not 
forget  thee :  What  a  pleasure  is  it  for  them 
O  Christ !  that  remember  thy  triumphant 
victory !  (p.  121.) 

6.  What  think  you  did  Agnes  see  in 
Christ,  when  rejoicingly  she  went  to  meet 
the  soldier,  that  was  appointed  to  be  her 
executioner;  I  will  willingly,  said  she  re- 
ceive into  my  paps  the  length  of  this  sword, 
and  into  my  breast  will  draw  the  force 
thereof,  even  to  the  hilts ;  that  thus  I,  being 
married  to  Christ  my  spouse,  may  sur- 
mount and  escape  all  the  darkness  of  this 
world  !  (p.  122.) 

7.  What  do  you  think  did  Julietta  see  in 
Christ,  when  at  the  emperor's  telling  of  her, 
that  except  she  would   worship  the  gods, 


she  should  never  have  protection,  laws, 
judgments,  nor  life  ?  She  replied,  farewell 
life,  welcome  death;  farewell  riches,  wel- 
come poverty.  All  that  I  have,  if  it  were  a 
thousand  times  more,  would  I  give,  rather 
than  to  speak  one  wicked  and  blasphemous 
word  against  my  Creator,  (p.  123.) 

8.  What  did  Marcus  Arethus-us  see  in 
Christ,  when,  after  his  enemies  did  cut  his 
flesh,  anointed  it  with  honey,  and  hanged 
him  up  in  a  basket  for  flies  and  bees  to 
feed  on,  he  would  not  give  (to  uphold  idol- 
atry) one  half-penny  to  save  his  life  ?  (p. 
119.) 

9.  What  did  Constantino  see  in  Christ, 
when  he  used  to  kiss  the  wounds  of  tliem 
that  suffered  for  him  ?  (p.  135.) 

10.  But  what  need  I  give  thus  particular 
instances  of  words  and  smaller  actions, 
when,  by  their  lives,  their  blood,  their  en- 
during hunger,  sword,  fire,  pulling  asunder, 
and  all  torments  that  the  devil  and  hell 
could  devise,  they  showed  their  love  to 
Christ,  after  they  were  come  to  him  ? 

What  hast  thou  found  in  him,  sinner  ? 

What !  come  to  Christ,  and  find  nothing 
in  him,  wKen  all  things  tliat  are  worth  look- 
ing for  are  in  him,  or  if  any  thing,  yet  not 
enough  to  wean  thee  from  thy  sinful  de- 
lights, and  fleshly  lusts !  Away ;  thou  art 
not  coming  to  Jesus  Christ. 

He  that  is  come  to  Jesus  Christ,  hath 
found  in  him,  that,  as  I  said,  that  is  not  to 
be  found  any  where  else.  As, 

1.  He  that  is  come  to  Christ  hath  found 
God  in  hiiu  reconciling  the  world  unto  him- 
self; not  imputing  their  trespasses  to  them ; 
and  so  God  is  not  to  be  found  in  heaven 
and  earth  besides. 

2.  He  that  is  come  to  Jesus  Christ,  hath 
found  in  him  a  fountain  of  grace,  sufficient, 
not  only  to  pardon  sin,  but  to  sanctify  the 
soul,  and  to  preserve  it  from  falling  in  this 
evil  world. 

3.  He  that  is  come  to  Jesus  Christ,  hath 
found  virtue  in  him,  that  virtue,  that  if  he 
does  but  touch  thee  with  his  words,  or  thou 
him  by  faith,  life  is  forthwith  conveyed  into 
thy  soul ;  it  makes  thee  wake  as  one  that  is 
waked  out  of  his  sleep ;  it  awakes  all  the 
powers  of  the  soul. 

4.  Art  thou  come  to  Jesus  Christ  ?  thou 
hast  found  glory  in  him,  glory  that  sur- 
mounts and  goes  beyond.  '-Thou  art  more 
glorious  than  the  mountauis  of  prey." 

5.  What  shall  I  say  ?  Thou  hast  found 
righteousness  m  him  ;  thou  hast  found  rest, 
peace,  delight,  heaven,  glory,  and  eternal 
hfe. 

Sinner,  be  advised  ;  ask  thy  heart  again  ; 
saying,  am  I  come  to  Jesus  Christ?  for 
upon  this  one  question.  Ami  come,  or  am 
I  not?  hangs  heaven  and  hell  as  to  thee. 
If  thou  canst  say,  I  am  come,  and  Goil 
shall  approve  that  saying,  happy,  happy, 


208   COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


happy  man  art  thou !  but  if  thou  art  not 
■come,  what  can  make  thee  happy  ?  Yea, 
what  can  make  tliat  man  happy,  that  for 
his  not  coming  to  Jesus  Christ  for  life,  must 
be  damned  in  hell  ? 

III.  The  third  use  ;  a  use  of  encourage- 
ment. 

Coming  sinner,  I  have  now  a  word  for 
thee  ;  be  of  good  comfort.  "  He  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out."  Of  all  men,  thou  art  the 
blessed  of  the  Lord  ;  the  Father  hath  pre- 
pared his  son  to  be  a  sacrifice  for  thee,  and 
Jesus  Christ,  thy  Lord,  is  gone  to  prepare 
a  place  lor  thee. 

What  shall  I  say  to  thee  ?  thou  comest  to 
a  full  Christ ;  f  hou  canst  not  want  any  thing, 
for  soul  or  body,  for  this  world  or  that  to 
come,  but  it  is  to  be  had  in  or  by  Jesus 
Christ. 

As  it  is  said  of  the  land  that  the  Dann- 
ites  went  to  possess,  so,  and  with  much 
more  truth  it  may  be  said  of  Christ,  he  is 
such  an  one,  Avith  whom  there  is  no  want 
of  any  good  thing  that  is  in  heaven  or  earth. 

A  full  Christ  is  thy  Christ. 

1.  He  is  full  of  grace.  Grace  is  some- 
times taken  for  love;  never  any  loved  like 
Jesus  Christ.  Jonathan's  love  went  be- 
yond the  love  of  women ;  but  the  love  of 
Christ  passes  knowledge.  It  is  beyond  the 
love  of  all  the  earth,  of  all  creatures,  even 
of  men  and  angels.  His  love  prevailed 
with  him  to  lay  aside  his  glory,  to  leave  the 
heavenly  place,  to  clothe  himself  with  flesh, 
to  be  born  in  a  stable,  to  be  laid  in  a  man- 
ger, to  live  a  poor  lite  in  the  world,  to  take 
upon  him  our  sickness,  infirmaties,  sins, 
curse,  death,  and  the  wrath  that  was  due 
to  man.  And  all  this  he  did  for  a  base, 
undeserving,  imthankful  people  ;  yea,  for  a 
people  that  was  at  enmity  with  him.  "  For. 
when  we  were  yet  without  strength,  in  due 
time  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly.  For 
scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die  ; 
yet,  peradventure,  for  a  good  man  some 
would  even  dare  to  die.  But  God  com- 
mended his  love  toward  us,  in  that  while 
we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us. 
Much  more,  than,  being  now  justified  by 
his  blood,  we  shall  be  saved  by  his  life. 
For  if,  when  we  were  enemies,  we  Avere 
reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son ; 
much  more  being  reconciled,  we  shall  be 
f  aved  by  his  life." 

2.  He  is  full  of  truth.  Full  of  grace  and 
truth.  Truth,  that  is,  faithfulness  in  keep- 
ing promise,  even  this  of  the  text,  (with  all 
others,)  "I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
Hence,  it  is  said,  that  his  words  are  true, 
and  that  he  is  the  faithful  God,  that  kecpeth 
covenants.  And  hence  it  is  also  that  his; 
promises  are  called  truth,  "  Thou  wilt  fulfil 
thy  truth  unto  Jacob,  and  tliy  mercy  unto 
Abraham,  which  thou  hast  sworn  unto  our 
fathers  from  the  days  of  old."    Therefore 


it  is  said  again,  that  both  himself  and 
words  are  truth,  "I  am  the  truth,"  "the 
scriptures  of  truth."  "  thy  word  is  truth," 
"  thy  law  is  truth,"  "  and  my  mouth,"  eailh 
he,  "  shall  speak  truth." 

NoAv  1  say,  his  word  is  truth,  and  he  is 
full  of  truth  to  fulfil  his  truth,  even  to  a 
thousand  generations.  Coining  sinner,  he 
will  not  deceive  thee ;  come  boldly  to  Jesus 
Christ. 

3.  He  is  full  of  wisdom  :  He  is  made  un- 
to us  of  God  wisdom ;  Avisdom  to  manage 
the  aflairs  of  his  church  in  general,  and  the 
afliiirs  of  every  coming  sinner  in  particular. 
And  upon  this  account  he  is  said  to  be 
"  head  o\'er  all  things,"  because  he  mana- 
ges all  things  that  are  in  the  world  by  his 
Avisdom,  for  the  good  of  his  church:  all 
men's  actions,  all  Satan's  temptations,  all 
God's  providences,  and  crosses,  and  disap- 
pointments ;  all  things  whateA'er,  are  under 
the  hand  of  Christ,  (who  is  the  Avi.sdom  of 
God,)  and  he  ordereth  them  all  for  good  to 
his  church  :  And  can  Christ  help  it,  (and 
be  sure  he  can.)  nothing  shall  happen  or 
fall  out  in  the  world,  but  it  shall,  in  despite 
of  all  opposition,  have  a  good  tendency  to 
his  church  and  people. 

4.  He  is  full  of  the  Spirit  to  communicate 
it  to  the  coming  sinner  ;  he  hath  therefore 
received  it  Avithout  measure,  that  he  may 
communicate  it  to  eA'ery  member  of  his 
body,  according  as  every  man's  measure 
thereof  is  allotted  him  by  the  Father. 
Wherefore  he  saith,  that  he  that  comes  to 
him,  "  Out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of 
living  water." 

5.  He  is  indeed  a  store-house  full  of  all 
the  graces  of  the  Spirit.  "  Of  his  fulness 
have  all  aa^c  received,  and  grace  for  grace." 
Here  is  more  faith,  more  love,  more  sincerity 
more  humility,  more  of  every  grace;  and  of 
this,  CA^en  more  of  this,  he  giveth  to  every 
loAvly,  humble,  penitent,  coming  sinner: 
Avhereforc,  coming  soul,  thou  come.'Jt  not  to 
a  barren  Avildcrness,  Avhcn  thou  comest  to 
Je-sus  Christ. 

6.  He  is  full  of  bowels  of  compassion: 
and  they  shall  feel  and  find  it  so  that  come 
to  him  for  life.  He  can  bear  Avith  thy 
weakness,  he  can  pity  thy  ignorance,  he 
can  be  touched  Avith  the  feeling  of  thy 
infirmities,  he  can  affectionately  forgive 
thy  transgressions,  he  can  heal  thy  backslid- 
ings,  and  love  thee  freely.  His  compas- 
sions fliil  not;  "and  he  Avill  not  break  a 
bruised  roed,  nor  quench  the  smoking  flax : 
he  can  pity  them  that  no  eye  pities,  and 
be  afflicted  in  all  thy  afflictions." 

7.  Coming  soul,  the  Jesus  that  thou  art 
coming  to  is  full  of  might  and  tcrribleness, 
tor  thy  advantage  he  can  suppress  all  thine 
enemies ;  he  is  the  prince  of  the  kings  of 
the  earth ;  he  can  bow  all  men's  designs 
for  thy  help ;  he  can  break  all  snares  laid 


GOME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST.     209 


for  thee  in  the  way ;  he  can  lift  thee  out  of  all 
difficulties,  wherewith  thou  mayest  be  sur- 
rounded ;  he  is  wise  in  heart,  and  mighty  in 
power.  Every  life  under  heaven  is  in  his 
hand ;  yea,  the  fallen  angels  tremble  before 
him :  And  he  will  save  thy  hfe,  coming  sin- 
ner. 

8.  Coming  sinner,  the  Jesus  to  whom 
thou  art  coming  is  lowly  in  heart,  he  despi- 
seth  not  any.  It  is  not  thy  outward  mean- 
ness, nor  thy  inward  weakness ;  it  is  not 
because  thou  art  poor,  or  base,  or  deformed 
or  a  fool,  that  he  will  despise  thee :  he  hath 
chosen  the  foolish,  the  base  and  despised 
things  of  this  world  to  confound  the  wise 
and  mighty.  He  will  bow  his  ear  to  thy 
stammering  prayers ;  he  will  pick  out  the 
meaning  of  thy  inexpressible  groans ;  he 
will  respect  thy  weakest  offering,  if  there 
be  in  it  but  thy  heart. 

Now  is  not  this  a  blessed  Christ,  coming 
sinner?  Art  thou  not  like  to  fare  well, 
when  thou  hast  embraced  him,  coming  sin- 
ner? But, 

Secondly,  Thou  hast  yet  another  advan- 
tage by  Jesus  Christ,  thou  art  coming  to 
him,  for  he  is  not  only  full  but  free.  He  is 
not  sparing  of  what  he  has ;  he  is  open- 
hearted,  and  open-handed.  Let  me  in  a 
few  particulars  show  thee  this : 

1.  This  is  evident,  because  he  calls  thee ; 
he  calls  upon  thee  to  come  unto  him  ;  the 
which  he  would  not  do,  was  he  not  free  to 
give ;  yea,  he  bids  thee  when  come,  ask, 
seek,  knock:  And  for  thy  encouragement 
adds  to  every  command  a  promise,  "  Seek, 
and  ye  shall  find  ;  Ask,  and  ye  shall  have ; 
Knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you." 
If  the  rich  man  should  say  thus  to  the  poor, 
would  not  he  be  reckoned  a  free-hearted 
man  ?  I  say,  should  he  say  to  the  poor, 
Come  to  my  door,  ask  at  my  door,  knock  at 
my  door,  and  you  shall  find  and  have ; 
would  he  not  be  counted  liberal?  Why 
thus  doth  Jesus  Christ.  Mind  it,  coming 
sinner. 

2.  He  doth  not  only  bid  the  come,  but 
tells  thee,  he  will  heartily  do  the  good  ;  yea, 
he  will  do  it  with  rejoicing :  "  I  will  rejoice 
over  them,  to  do  them  good  with  my  whole 
heart  and  with  my  whole  soul." 

3.  It  appears  that  he  is  free,  because  he 
giveth  without  twitting.  •'  He  gives  to  all 
men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not."  There 
are  some  that  will  not  deny  to  do  the  poor 
a  pleasure,  but  they  will  mix  their  mercies 
with  so  many  twits,  that  the  persons  on 
whom  they  bestow  their  charity,  shall  find 
but  little  sweetness  in  it.  But  Christ  dotli 
not  do  so,  coming  sinner:  he  casteth  all 
thine  iniquities  behind  his  back ;  thy  sins 
and  iniquities  he  will  remember  no  more. 

4.  That  Christ  is  free,  is  manifest  by  the 
complaints  that  he  makes  against  theni  that 
will  not  come  to  him  for  mercy.     I  say,  he 

Vol.  3.-A.K. 


complains,  saying,  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem  ! 
How  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  chil- 
dren together,  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chick- 
ens under  her  Avings,  and  ye  would  not !" 
I  say,  he  speaks  it,  by  way  of  complaint. 
He  saith  also  in  another  place,  "  But  thou 
hast  not  called  upon  me,  O  Jacob."  Com- 
ing sinner,  see  here  the  willingness  of 
Christ  to  save ;  see  here  how  free  he  is  to 
communicate  life,  and  all  good  things,  to 
such  as  thou  art:  He  complains,  if  thou 
comest  not ;  he  is  displeased  if  thou  callest 
not  upon  him. 

Hark,  coming  sinner,  once  again  ;  when 
Jerusalem  would  not  come  to  him  for  safe- 
guard, he  beheld  the  city,  and  wept  over  it, 
saying,  "  If  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou, 
at  least  in  this  thy  day,  the  things  which 
belong  unto  thy  peace  !  but  now  they  are 
hid  from  thine  eyes." 

5.  Lastly.  He  is  open  and  free-hearted 
to  do  thee  good,  as  is  seen  by  the  joy  and 
rejoicing  that  he  manifesteth  at  the  com- 
ing home  of  poor  prodigals :  He  receives 
the  lost  sheep  with  rejoicing;  the  lost  goat 
with  rejoicing ;  yea,  when  the  prodigal 
came  home,  what  joy  and  mirth,  what  mu- 
sic and  dancing,  was  in  his  father's  house  t 

Thirdly.  Coming  sinner,  I  will  add  an- 
other encouragement  for  thy  help. 

1.  God  hath  prepared  a  mercy-seat,  a 
throne  of  grace  to  sit  on :  that  thou  mayest 
come  thither  to  him,  and  that  he  may  from 
thence  hear  thee,  and  receive  thee  :  "  I  will 
comnmne  with  thee,"  saith  he,  "  from  above 
the  mercy-seat." 

As  who  shall  say,  sinner,  Wlien  thou 
comest  to  me,  thou  shalt  find  me  upon  the 
mercy-seat,  where  also  I  am  always  found 
of  the  undone  coming  sinner:  Thither  I 
bring  my  pardon ;  there  I  hear  and  receive 
their  petitions  and  accept  them  to  my  fa- 
vor. 

2.  God  hath  also  prepared  a  golden  altar 
for  thee  to  offer  thy  prayers  and  tears  upon. 
A  golden  altar  !  It  is  called  a  golden  altar, 
to  show  what  Avorth  it  is  of  in  God's  ac- 
count ;  for  this  golden  altar  is  Jesus  Christ ; 
this  altar  sanctifies  thy  gift,  and  makes  thy 
sacrifice  acceptable.  This  altar  then  makes 
thy  groans  golden  groans ;  thy  tears  golden 
tears,  and  thy  prayers  golden  prayers,  in 
the  eye  of  that  God  thou  comest  to,  coming 
sinner. 

3.  God  hath  strewed  all  the  way  (trom 
the  gate  of  hell,  where  thou  wast,  to  the 
gate  of  heaven  whither  thou  art  going,) 
with  flowers  out  of  his  own  garden.  Be- 
hold how  the  promises,  invitations,  calls, 
and  encouragements,  like  lilies,  lie  round 
about  thee  !  (take  heed  thou  dost  not  tread 
them  under  foot,  sinner,)  with  promises 
did  I  say?  Yea,  he  hath  mixed  all  those 
with  his  own  name,  his  Son's  name ;  alacc 
with  the  name  of  mercy,  goodness,  comr' 


210      COME,    AND    WELCOME,    TO    JESUS    CHRIST. 


passion,  love,  pity,  grace,  forgivcnessj  par- 
don, and  what  not,  tJiat  may  encourage  the 
coming  sinner. 

4.  He  hath  also  for  thy  encouragement 
laid  up  the  names,  and  set  forth  the  sins  ol" 
those  that  have  been  saved:  In  his  book 
they  are  fairly  written,  that  thou  tiirough 
patience  and  comfort  of  the  scriptures 
mightest  have  hope. 

1st.  In  this  book  is  recorded  Noah's  maim 
and  sin ;  and  how  God  had  mercy  upon  him. 

2dly.  In  this  record  is  fairly  written  the 
name  of  Lot,  and  the  nature  of  his  sin ;  and 
how  the  Lord  had  mercy  upon  him. 

3dly.  In  this  record  thou  hast  also  fairly 
written  the  names  of  Moses,  Aaron,  Gide- 
on, Sampson,  David,  Solomon,  Peter,  Paul, 
with  the  natvire  of  their  sins,  and  how  God 
had  m€rcy  upon  them ;  and  all  to  encourage 
thee,  coming  sinner. 

Fourthly,  I  will  add  yet  another  encour- 
agement for  the  man  that  is  coming  to  Je- 
sus Christ  Art  thou  coming?  Art  thou 
coming  indeed?     Why, 

L  This  thy  coming  is  by  virtue  of  God's 
call ;  Thou  art  called.  CaUing  goes  be- 
fore coming :  coming  is  not  of  works,  but 
of  him  that  calleth.  He  went  up  into  a 
mountain,  and  called  tohim  whomhe  would, 
and  they  came  to  him. 

2.  Art  thou  coming?  This  is  also  by  the 
virtue  of  illumination  :  God  has  made  thee 
see,  and  therefore  thou  art  coming.  So 
long  as  thou  wast  darkness,  thou  lovedst 
darkness,  and  couldst  not  abide  to  come, 
becaus !  thy  deeds  were  evil,  but  being 
now  illuminated  and  made  to  see,  what  and 
where  thou  art,  and  also  Avhat  and  where 
thy  Saviour  is,  now  thou  art  coming  to  Je- 
bus  Christ;  "Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar- 
jona ;  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed 
it  unto  thee,"  saith  Christ,  "  but  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven." 

3.  Art  thou  coming?  This  is  because 
God  has  inclined  thine  heart  to  come. 
God  hath  called  thee,  illuminated  thee,  and 
inclined  thy  heart  to  come ;  and  therefore 
thou  comest  to  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  God 
that  vvorketh  in  thee  to  toill,  and  to  come  to 
Jesus  Christ.  Coming  sinner,  bless  God 
for  that  he  hath  given  thee  a  will  to  come 
to  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  a  sign  that  thou  be- 
longest  to  Jesus  Christ,  because  God  has 
made  thee  willing  to  come  to  him.    Bless 


God  for  slaying  the  enemy  of  thy  mind ; 
had  he  not  done  it,  thou  wouldst  as  yet 
have  hated  thine  own  salvation. 

4.  Art  thou  coming  to  Jesus  Christ?  It 
is  God  that  giveth  thee  power;  j}ower  to 
pursue  thy  will  in  matters  of  thy  salvation, 
is  the  gift  of  God.  "It  is  God  that  work- 
eth  in  you  both  to  rijill  and  to  do."  Not 
that  God  worketh  loill  to  come,  where  he 
gives  no  power;  but  that  thou  shouldst 
take  notice,  that  power  is  an  additional 
mercy.  The  church  saw  that  will  and  pow- 
er, were  two  things,  when  she  cried, 
"  Draw  me,  and  we  will  run  after  thee," 
and  so  did  David  too,  when  he  said,  "  I  will 
run  the  ways  of  thy  commandments,  when 
thou  shall  enlarge  my  heart."  Will  to 
come,  and  power  to  pursue  thy  will,  is 
double  mercy,  coming  sinner. 

5.  All  thy  strange,  passionate,  sudden 
rushings  forward  after  Jesus  Christ,  (com- 
ing sinners  know  what  I  mean)  they  also 
are  thy  helps  from  God.  Perhaps  thou 
feelest  at  sometimes  more  than  at  others, 
strong  stirrings  up  of  heart  to  fly  to  Jesus 
Christ ;  now  thou  hast  at  this  time  a  sweet 
and  stiff'  gale  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  filling 
thy  sails  with  the  fresh  gales  of  his  good 
Spirit ;  and  thou  ridest  at  those  times  as 
upon  the  wings  of  the  wind,  being  carried 
out  beyond  thyself,  beyond  the  most  of  thy 
prayers,  and  also  above  all  thy  fears  and 
temptations. 

6.  Coming  sinner,  hast  thou  not  now  and 
then  a  kiss  of  the  sweet  lips  of  Jesus  Christ, 
I  mean  some  blessed  word  dropping  like  a 
honey -comb  upon  thy  soul  to  receive  thee, 
when  thou  art  in  the  midst  of  thy  dumps  ? 

7.  Does  not  Jesus  Christ  sometimes  give 
thee  a  glimpse  of  himself,  though  perhaps 
thou  seest  him  not  so  long  a  time  as  while 
one  may  tell  twenty  ? 

8.  Hast  thou  not  sometimes  as  it  were 
the  very  warmth  of  his  wings  over- 
shadowing the  face  of  thy  soul,  that  gives 
thee  as  it  were  a  gload  upon  thy  spirit,  as 
the  bright  beams  of  the  sun  do  upon  thy 
body,  when  it  suddenly  breaks  out  of  a 
cloud,  though  presently  all  is  gone  away  ! 

Well,  all  these  things  are  the  good  hand 
of  thy  God  upon  thee,  and  they  are  upon 
thee  to  constrain,  to  provoke,  and  to  make 
thee  willing  and  able  to  come,  coming  sinner, 
that  thou  mightest  in  the  end  be  Baved. 


THE   END. 


DR.    GRIFFIN'S 
LETTER    ON    COMMUNION. 

A   LETTER  ON  COMMUNION  AT  THE   LORD'S  TABLE  :  ADDRESSED  TO  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  BAP- 
TIST CHURCH.    BY  THE  REV.  EDWARD  D.  GRIFFIN,  D.  D.  PRESIDENT  OF  WILLIAM'S  COLLEGE. 


Williams'  College,  March  25th,  1829. 

Dear  Sir, — In  our  late  interview,  you 
professed  yourself  an  advocate  for  open 
communion,  and  requested  me  to  give  the 
reasons  which  operates  in  my  mind  in  fa- 
vor of  that  practice. 

I  do  this  with  the  more  pleasure  because 
some  of  ray  earliest  associations  attached 
me  to  the  members  and  preachers  of  your 
communion,  and  awakened  feelings  of  kind- 
ness which  have  accompanied  me  through 
life.  I  have  repeatedly  exchanged  pulpits 
with  your  ministers.  I  have  dismissed 
members  from  my  church  to  join  your 
churches.  I  hav^e  always  considered  bap- 
tism by  immersion  as  valid  ;  and  were  I 
imperiously  called  upon  by  the  conscience 
of  an  applicant,  and  could  do  it  without  of- 
fence to  others,  I  should  have  no  hesitation 
in  administering  the  ordinance  in  this  form. 
In  short,  I  regard  your  churches  as  church- 
es of  Christ.  The  question  is.  Is  it  reason- 
able in  them  so  to  regard  us  ? 

The  separating  point  is  not  about  the 
subjects  of  baptism,  but  merely  the  mode. 
If  \\H?'"could  be  considered  as  fairly  bap- 
tized, our  Baptist  brethren  certainly  would 
not  exclude  us  merely  because  we  apply 
the  seal  to  infants.  Many  greater  mistakes, 
(allowing  this  to  be  one,)  are  made  by 
those  whom  we  do  not  exclude  from  our 
communion. 

I  agree  with  the  advocates  for  close  com- 
munion in  two  points  :  1.  That  baptism  is 
the  initiating  ordinance  which  introduces 
us  into  the  visible  church :  of  course,  where 
there  is  no  baptism  there  are  no  visible 
churches :  2.  That  we  ought  not  to  com- 
mune with  those  who  are  not  baptized,  and 
of  course  are  not  church  members,  even  if 
we  regard  them  as  Christians.  Should  a 
pious  Q,uaker  so  far  depart  from  his  princi- 
ples as^  to  wish  to  commune  with  me  at  the 
Lord's  table,  while  yet  he  refused  to  be  bap- 
tized, I  could  not  receive  him ;  because  there 
issuch  a  relationship  established  betweenthe 
two  ordinances,  that  I  have  no  right  to  sep- 
arate them ;  in  other  words,  I  have  po  right 
lo  send  the  sacred  eleaicnts  out  of  the 
ciiurch. 


The  only  question  then  is,  whether  those 
associations  of  evangelical  Christians  that 
call  themselves  churches,  and  that  practice 
sprinkling  are  real  churches  of  Christ;  in 
other  words  whether  baptism  by  sprinkling 
is  valid  baptism. 

In  my  subsequent  remarks  I  will  assume 
(though  I  do  not  admit,)  that  immersion  is 
the  better  form  of  baptism  and  that  we  have 
misjudged  as  to  the  most  suitable  mode. 
The  question  is.  Is  this  mistake  so  radical 
as  to  destroy  the  validity  of  the  ordinance  1 
I  offer  the  following  reasons  against  the  ex- 
clusive system. 

1.  In  the  nature  of  things  the  validity 
of  the  ordinance  cannot  depend  on  the 
quantity  of  water,  for  the  end  is  essentially 
answered  by  less  as  well  as  by  more.  Wa- 
ter, if  the  ocean  were  applied,  could  not 
wash  out  sin.  It  is  only  an  emblem ;  an 
emblem  which  voluntarily  used,  is  a  profes- 
sion of  faith  in  a  purifying  Saviour.  Now 
if  water  be  apphed  to  the  body,  (though 
only  to  a  part,)  as  an  emblem  of  purifica- 
tion, and  as  a  profession  of  faith,  and  from 
sincere  respect  to  the  authority  of  Christ, 
what  more  can  an  emblem  do?  What 
more  could  immersion  do,  unless  to  render 
the  emblem  still  more  significant? 

2.  We  have  authority  for  saying  that 
an  emblem  of  purification  applied  to  a  part 
of  the  body,  is  as  effectual  as  if  applied  to 
the  Avhole  body.  It  is  found  in  what  our 
Saviour  said  to  Peter  on  the  occasion  of 
washing  his  feet :  "  Peter  saith  unto  him, 
Thou  slialt  never  wash  my  feet.  Jesus  an- 
swering him,  If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast  no 
part  in  me.  [Meaning,  If  I  do  not  produce 
that  inward  cleansing  of  which  this  is  an 
emblem.]  Simon  Peter  saith  unto  him, 
Lord,  not  my  feet  only,  but  also  my  hands, 
and  my  head.  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  he 
that  is  washed,  needeth  not  save  to  wash 
his  feet,  but  is  clean  every  whit;"  (John  xiiL 
S — 10.)  that  is,  is  stamped  with  a  full  em- 
blem of  universal  purity. 

3.  If  the  exact  form  of  baptism  were 
essential  to  its  validity,  the  form  would 
have  been  so  clearly  defined  that  no  honest 
mind  could  mistake  it.  The  old  dispensa- 
tion, Y.'as  a  dispensation  of  ceremonies,  and 


212      DR-    GRIFFIN'S    LETTER    ON    COMMUNION. 


therefore  the  validty  of  its  ordinances  de- 
pend on  an  exact  adherence  to  the  forms 
prescribed.  Nadab  and  Abihu  were  slain 
lor  burning  incense  with  fire  taken  from 
the  hearth  instead  of  the  aUar.  (Lev. 
X.  1.  &c.  Numb.  viii.  4.)  Every  thing 
therefore  was  minutely  and  most  expli- 
citly prescribed,  even  to  the  putting  of  the 
blood  upon  the  tip  of  the  ear,  and  to  the 
least tpin  and  fringe  of  the  tabcrnacfe. 
Moses  was  commanded  to  "  make  all  tilings 
according  to  the  pattern"  shown  him  in 
the  mount.  (Heb.  viii.  5,  Avith  Exod. 
XXV.  9,  40.)  The  new  dispensation  is 
distinguished  with  greater  light.  If, 
therefore,  the  validity  of  any  of  its  or- 
dinances depended  on  their  precise  form, 
that  form  would  have  been  as  clearly  de- 
fined at  least  as  the  forms  of  that  darker 
dispensation.     But, 

4.  There  seems  not  to  be  a  single 
form  under  the  new  dispensation  so  pre- 
cisely defined,  but  that  difi'erent  denomina- 
tions may  and  do  practise  differently  with- 
out transgression.  There  is  a  great  vari- 
ety in  the  manner  of  their  keeping  the  sup- 
per, administering  baptism,  performing 
prayer,  and  conducting  all  the  forms  of 
public  worship.  Unless  theretbre  we  con- 
demn the  whole,  or  nearly  the  whole  church, 
we  must  admit  thai  the  validity  of  no  ordi- 
nance under  the  gospel  depends  on  its  pre- 
cise form.  And  this  might  be  expected 
from  a  dispensation  known  to  be  spiritual, 
and  not  a  dispensation  of  ceremonies  ;  that 
is  to  say,  a  dispensation  under  which  spirit- 
ual things  are  exposed  in  their  own  naked 
nature,  and  not  set  forth  chiefly  by  pictures, 
on  the  exactness  of  which  the  whole  exhi- 
bition depends. 

In  regard  to  baptism,  none  will  pretend 
that  the  form  is  expressly  prescribed,  like 
the  forms  under  the  old  dispensation.  The 
disputants  about  the  mode  rely,  on  both 
sides,  on  the  history  and  incidental  remarks 
found  in  the  New  Testament.  But  laying 
aside  the  Baptism  of  John,  which  we  hold 
did  not  belong  to  the  New  Testament  dis- 
pensation, (for  a  testament  is  not  of  force 
till  after  the  death  of  the  testator ;  Heb.  ix. 
15,  16.)  and  the  baptism  of  Christ,  which 
.was  received  from  John,  and  which,  we 
hold,  was  only  his  ordination  to  the  priestly 
office ;  laying  these  aside,  and  confining  the 
attention  to  that  baptism  which  was  insti- 
tuted after  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
the  "  Testator,"  and  was  administered  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost ; 
and  the  mode  is  left  so  uncertain  that  the 
most  honest  minds  may  be  supposed  to  dif- 
fer about  it.  If  two  perfectly  holy  men  had 
been  brought  up  in  the  centre  of  the  earth, 
find  on  arriving  at  the  surface  should  have 
p.  Bible  put  into  their  hands,  and  be  re- 
quested to  tell  how  the  apostles  baptized; 


and  one  should  happen  to  fall  upon  the 
case  of  the  Eunuch,  and  the  other  upon  the 
scene  at  pentecost,  (where  throe  thousand 
seem  to  have  been  baptized  by  eleven  men 
in  a  single  afternoon,  on  the  lop  of  a  high  hill, 
in  the  centre  of  a  populous  city,  and  far 
from  any  river  or  brook  deep  enough  for 
immersion;)  there  would  be  an  equal 
chance  that  they  would  bring  in  different 
reports.  Could  things  be  left  so  uncer- 
tain if  Ihe  validity  of  the  ordinance,  and 
the  very  existence  of  a  visible  church,  de- 
pended on  the  precise  form  of  baptism  ? 

5.  If  nothing  but  immersion  is  baptism, 
there  is  no  visible  church  except  among 
the  Baptists.  But  certainly  God  has  owned 
other  associations  of  Christians  as  church- 
es. He  has  poured  his  Spirit  upon  them 
in  their  assemblies,  and  what  is  more  de- 
cisive, at  the  table  of  the  Lord ;  and  has 
communed  with  them  and  built  them  up 
by  means  of  that  ordinance  which,  were 
they  not  churches,  it  would  not  be  profani- 
ty to  approach. 

What  is  a  church  ?  It  is  a  company  of 
believers,  in  covenant  with  God,  essentially 
organized  according  to  the  gospel,  holding 
the  essential  doctrines,  and  practising  the 
essential  duties.  If  you  demand  more, 
you  may  not  find  a  church  on  earth. 

Now  here  are  associations  of  true  be- 
lievers, (our  Baptist  brethren  will  allow 
this,)  who  have  entered  into  covenant  with 
God,  and  sincerely  observe  all  his  ordinan- 
ces os  they  understand  them,  and  differ  in 
nothing  from  the  Baptist  construction  but  in 
a  mere  form.,  and  maintain  all  the  essen- 
tial doctrines,  and  spread  around  them  the 
savor  of  the  Redeemer's  name  by  their 
holy  examples  and  evangelical  efforts,  and 
are  owned  of  God  by  the  effusions  of  his 
Spirit,  and  are  among  the  chosen  instru- 
ments— are  a  great  majority  of  the  chosen 
instruments, — to  carry  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen.  And  after  all,  are  they  to  be  dis- 
owned as  churches  of  Christ? 

6.  If  our  Christian  associations  are  not 
churches,  our  preachers  are  not  church 
members ;  are  not  baptized, ;  and  there- 
fore have  no  right  to  preach,  and  certainly 
are  not  ministers  of  Christ:  (for  how  can 
one  be  an  officer  of  the  church  who  is  not  a 
member?)  and  therefore  have  no  right  to 
administer  the  Lord's  supper,  (to  say  noth- 
ing of  baptism,)  and  are  guilty  of  awful 
profanity  in  doing  this.  And  yet  these  pro- 
fane intruders  into  holy  things,  instead  of 
being  driven  from  the  earth,  like  Korah, 
Dathan,  and  Abiram,  are  owned  of  God, 
are  made  the  chosen  instruments  of  promo- 
ting revivals  of  religion,  of  saving  the  souls 
of  men,  of  spreading  the  gospel  at  home,  of 
sending  it  to  the  heathen,  and  of  doing 
more  than  lialf  that  is  done  to  extend  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth.     And  they  arc 


PROFESSOR    RIPLEY'S    REVIEW    OF 


21: 


owned  as  lawful  preachers  even  by  thej 
Baptists  themselves,  who  come  to  hear; 
them,  and  whose  ministers  exchange  pul- 
pits with  them. 

7.  The  spirit  of  love  and  union  which 
Christ  inculcated  upon  his  disciples,  and 
by  which  tlie  world  was  to  know  that  God 
had  sent  him,  binds  evangelical  churches 
Avith  each  other.  This  spirit  has  made  a 
wonderful  advance  within  the  last  thirty 
years,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  character- 
istics of  the  present  day,  and  has  come  in 
with  those  other  glorious  changes  which 
all  Christians  ascribe  to  God,  and  which 
are  manifestly  putting  things  forward  tow- 
ards the  millennial  state.  And  this  spirit, 
according  to  all  prophecy,  must  go  on  in- 
creasing, and  banish  the  hidious  spectre  of 
bigotry  from  the  world,  before  the  happiest 
period  of  the  church  can  be  vishered  in. 

A  noble  advance  has  been  made  by  our 
Baptist  brethren  in  England.  Many  advo- 
cates for  open  communion  have  there  risen 
up,  among  whom  stands  conspicuous  the 
celebrated  Robert  Hall.  In  America,  at 
the  head  of  the  liberal  class  stood  the  late 
excellent  Dr.  Stillman  of  Boston,  who  was 
beloved  by  all  the  churches  in  that  city 


and  respected  by    Christians    throughout 
the  United  States. 

8.  Bigotry,  which  is  a  prejudiced  zeal  for 
party  distinctions,  is  a  party  spirit  in  reli- 
gion ;  and  a  party  spirit,  whether  in  religion 
or  politics,  is  a  selfish  spirit.  It  is  a  setting 
up  of  mine  against  thine.  Selfishness  will 
certainly  array  itself  against  my  argument. 
It  is  always  giving  undue  importance  to 
those  points  in  which  our  denomination 
differs  from  others,  not  only  because  it  is 
ours,  but  in  order  to  shut  our  adherents  in 
by  a  sort  of  impassable  gulf.  All  the  de- 
pravity of  religious  men,  unless  much  en- 
Hghtened,  tends  this  way.  Good  men 
ought  therefore  to  be  always^  on  their 
guard  against  this  gravitation  of  their  cor- 
rupt nature,  and  always  struggling  after  that 
generous  spirit  of  disinterested  love  which 
will  embrace  all  that  belongs  to  Christ. 

You  are  at  liberty,  according  to  your  re- 
quest, to  publish  this  for  the  use  of  your 
friends. 

With  sincere  wishes  for  your  happi- 
ness and  for  the  prosperity  of  your 
churches  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and 
brother. 

EDWARD  D.  GRIFFIN. 


PROFESSOR  RIPLEY'S  REVIEW 

OF 

DR.    GRIFF  IN'S 
LETTER   ON   COMMUNION. 


We  are  glad  that  Dr.  Griffin  does  not 
lend  the  weight  of  his  authority  to  those 
who  maintain  the  vmtenable  position  that 
baptism  is  a  matter  of  little  importance. 
His  well  known  decision,  and  independence 
and  confidence  in  vindicating  what  he 
deems  to  be  the  truth,  would  prepare  us  to 
expect  from  him  something  definite  and 
tangible. 

This  letter  traces  the  controversy  re- 
specting the  Lord's  super  to  the  right 
source ;  namely,  error  respecting  baptism. 
Baptism  it  expressly  maintains  to  be  ''  the 
initiating  ordinance  which  introduces    us 


into  the  visible  church ;"  it  also  asserts 
"  that  we  ought  not  to  commune  with  those 
who  are  not  baptized,  even  if  we  regard 
them  as  Christians."  From  this  "  relation- 
ship established  between  the  two  ordinan- 
ces," it  might  be  anticipated  that  the  prin- 
cipal effort  of  Dr.  Griffin,  in  order  to  main- 
tain the  propriety  of  open  communion, 
would  be  to  show  that  immersion  is  not  es- 
sential to  the  performance  of  baptism  ;  in 
other  words,  that  something  else  besides 
immersion  is  valid  baptism.  Here  the  au- 
thor of  the  letter  and  the  Baptist  are  at 
issue.  As  this  is  the  hinge  on  which  the 
controversy  turns,  we  trust  an  cxamiualiou 


214      DR.    GRIFFIN'S    LETTER    ON    COMMUNION. 


of  this  point  will  not  be  deemed  out  of 
place. 

In  our  subsequent  remarks,  we  shall  pro- 
ceed upon  the  principles  avowed  by  Dr. 
Griffin  respecting  the  importance  of  bap- 
tism, and  its  connection  with  the  due  observ- 
ance of  the  Lord's  supper.  Yet  we  shall 
not  consider  ourselves  responsible  for  the 
sweeping  conclusion,  tliat  "  where  there  is 
no  baptism  there  are  no  visible  churches." 
As  however,  Dr.  Griffin  has  given  his  ex- 
plicit sanction  to  the  propriety  of  this  con- 
clusion, we  hope  that  hereafter,  though  it 
has  sometimes  been  exhibited  as  an  appal- 
ling result  of  the  Baptists'  peculiar  senti- 
ments, it  will  not  be  selected  as  an  instance 
of  unquestionable  bigotry.  For  ourselves, 
we  have  never  thought  it  necessary  to 
draw  such  a  conclusion.  It  has  always  ap- 
peared to  us  sufficient  to  say,  that  those 
communities  of  Christians  who  have  aban- 
doned the  primitive  practice  in  respect  to 
baptism,  are  churches  not  in  a  state  of  or 
der,  so  far  as  the  positive  ordinances  of  the 
gospel  are  concerned. 

Before  examining  the  opinion  respecting 
baptism,  on  which  the  chief  remarks  in 
this  letter  are  founded,  we  wish  to  correct 
an  important  error  in  one  of  its  statements. 
This  we  do  the  more  readily,  because  it  is  an 
error  very  exten.?ively  indulged,  and  yet  one 
would  think  it  a  very  obvious  error.  It  is 
contained  in  these  words:  "The  separat- 
ing point  is  not  about  the  subjects  of  bap- 
tism, but  merely  the  mode.  If  we  could  be 
considered  as  fairly  baptized,  our  Baptist 
brethren  certainly  would  not  exclude  us 
merely  because  we  apply  the  seal  to  in- 
fants." Now  we  ask,  now  is  it  possible 
that  at  this  late  day  any  one  should  need 
to  be  informed,  that  the  separating  point 
regards  the  subjects  of  baptism  as  well  as 
the  manner  in  which  the  ordinance  is  to  be 
performed  ?  It  is  frequently  said,  nothing 
separates  Baptists  from  Pasdobaptist  but 
a  little  water.  The  impression  produced 
by  this  remark  on  a  hearer  who  has  not 
paid  special  attention  to  the  matter,  is  very 
unfavorable:  and  it  cannot  be  wondered 
at,  that  the  frequency  of  such  remarks 
should  have  spread  far  and  wide  an  opin- 
ion- that  members  of  Baptist  churches  are 
most  unreasonable  in  their  practice.  Be  it 
known  then,  that  we  have  as  much  solici- 
tude respecting  the  question,  To  whom 
may  baptism  be  administered  ?  as  respect- 
ing the  question.  What  is  baptism  ?  Should 
we  make  a  distinction  in  regard  to  import- 
ance between  the  two  questions,  we  should 
not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  former  question 
far  exceeds  in  importance  the  latter.  Much 
as  we  are  pained,  that  the  outward  per- 
formance ol  a  Christian  ordinance  should 
be  perverted  and  displaced,  we  are  far 
more  seriously  concerned,  that  unconscious 


babes  should  be  considered  suitable  candi- 
dates for  an  ordinance  in  a  dispensation  in 
which  each  one  is  required  to  act  for  him- 
self, and  in  which  intelhgence  and  moral 
goodness  are  requisite  in  order  to  perform 
its  duties  and  to  enjoy  its  privileges.  We 
know  it  has  been  said,  that  baptism  is  not 
the  act  of  the  child,  but  of  the  parent  in  ref- 
erence to  the  child.  But  where  in  the 
New  Testament  is  the  passage  in  which 
baptism  is  represented  otherwise  than  as 
an  act  in  which  the  individual  baptized  did 
for  himself  engage  ?  Baptism  is  viewed  by 
us  as  a  most  solemn  act  of  worship ;  Avor- 
ship,  not  only  in  respect  to  the  administra- 
tor, but  especially  and  peculiarly  in  respect 
to  the  baptized  person  himself;  a  service, 
not  of  the  parent  or  guardian,  but  of  the 
baptized  person  himself.  Indeed  we  can- 
not regard  that  as  valid  baptism,  which  is 
administered  without  a  prolieseion  of  faitli 
in  Christ,  made  by  the  candidate  himself. 
To  us  it  would  be  just  as  great  a  perver- 
sion lor  infants  and  professed  unbelievers 
to  partake  of  the  Lord's  supper,  as  it  is  lor 
them  to  be  (as  it  is  said)  baptized. 

Those,  then,  are  in  a  great  mistake  who 
represent  their  Baptist  brethren  as  refusing 
to  join  with  them  in  the  Lord's  supper  oa 
no  other  ground  than  simply  because  they 
have  not  been  immersed.  To  substitute 
something  else  in  the  room  of  baptism,  is  a 
great  and  lamentable  error  ;  to  admit  indi- 
viduals to  a  Christian  ordinance  who  know 
not  and  who  profess  not  to  know  what  they 
do,  is  (to  say  the  least)  an  equally  great 
and  lamentable  error.  Something  more, 
then,  than  a  little  water  divides  these  two 
denominations.  We  separate  from  Psedo- 
baptist  Christians  because  by  their  using  a 
little  water  instead  of  "  much  water,"  they 
have  divested  baptism  of  a  great  part  of 
its  meaning;  because  by  applying  what 
they  call  a  Christian  ordinance  to  unbeliev- 
ing and  unknowing  persons,  they  have  still 
further  departed  from  the  meaning  of  bap- 
tism, and  have  lamentably  obscured  ihe 
spirituality  of  the  gospel,  and  have  created 
an  imaginary  relation  between  certain  un- 
sanctified  persons  and  God ;  and  because 
these  errors  produce  sad  misconceptions 
respecting  the  nature  of  the  church.  That 
must,  then,  be  a  very  superficial  view, 
which  sees  only  a  little  water  between  these 
two  portions  of  Christians.  Let  it  not  be 
said,  baptism  is  merely  an  outward  cere- 
mony, and  our  opinions  respecting  it  cannot 
be  so  very  important.  True,  the  perform 
ance  of  baptism  is  outward  ;  but  in  order  that 
baptism  be  properly  and  acceptablyperform- 
cd,  there  must  be  previously  in  him  who  re- 
ceives it,  a  great  fiioral  .change,  which  v;ill 
ultimately  pervade  the  whole  character,  and 
prepare  the  person  for  dwelling  in  the  bles- 
sed regions  of  holiness.     Unimportant  aa 


PROFESSOR    RIPLEY'S    REVIEW    OF 


215 


baptism  may  appear  to  some,  we  cannot  re- 
gist  the  conviction  that  the  Head  of  the 
church  wisely  appointed  it,  as  also  the  other 
ordinance  to  be  a  mark  of  distinction  be- 
tween the  church  and  the  world :  and  that, 
outward  though  the  ordinance  be,  yet  cor- 
rect opinions  respecting  it  are  of  most  salu- 
tary tendency  in  regard  to  the  purity  of 
Christian  faith  and  practice  ;  and  that  if  the 
ordinance  of  baptism  had  not  been  pervert- 
ed from  apostolic  simplicity,  a  very  large 
portion  of  the  errors  which  have  most  per 
manently  afflicted  the  church  would  have 
been  avoided. 

We  must  also  correct  another  erroneous 
statement,  intimately  connected  with  that 
on  which  we  have  just  been  remarking. 
Dr.  Griffin  says,  "  The  only  question  is, 
whether  baptism  by  sprinkUng  is  valid  bap- 
tism." Here  is  an  entire  overlooking  of 
qualifications  for  receiving  baptism,  the 
profession  of  which  in  the  person  baptized 
is  essential  to  the  due  administration  of  the 
ordinance.  We  wonder  not  that  the  prac- 
tice of  sprinkling  infants,  and  by  tiiis  way 
either  introducing  them  into  covenant  with 
God,  or  reminding  the  parent  of  his  obliga- 
tions to  train  up  his  child  for  God,  or  re- 
minding him  of  the  depraved  nature  of  his 
child,  and  of  its  need  of  regeneration, 
should  have  removed  from  the  minds  of  Pse- 
dobaptists  a  regard  for  qualifications  con- 
nected with  the  reception  of  baptism.  But 
when  they  are  arguing  upon  a  question 
which  must  be  settled  by  a  reference  to 
baptism,  they  ought  not  leave  out  of  view 
what  Baptists  conceive  to  be  of  essential 
importance  in  baptism ;  namely,  the  profes- 
sion of  personal  faith  in  the  Saviour.  There 
are  two  questions,  then,  which  should  be 
asked :  whether  sprinkling  without  a  pro- 
fession of  faith  in  the  Saviour,  made  by  the 
person  spi'inkled,  is  valid  baptism;  and, 
whether  sprinkling,  though  accompanied 
with  such  a  profession,  is  valid  baptism. 
When  a  believer  receives  sprinkling,  on  the 
ground  of  its  being  baptism,  there  is  a  very 
serious  opposition  to  our  views  of  scriptural 
truth  ;  when  an  infant,  or  any  unbelieving 
person  receives  sprinkling  on  the  faith,  as 
is  sometimes  said,  of  the  parent,  or  some 
other  ancestor,  or  the  guardian  or  of  the 
church,  there  is  a  still  wider  departure  from 
what  we  deem  to  be  the  representations  of 
scripture.  Now  since  the  opinions  respect- 
ing baptism  are  the  foundation  of  the  diffi- 
culty respecting  the  Lord's  supper,  we 
claim  that  the  whole  ground  of  dissent  in 
regard  to  baptism  should  be  kept  in  view. 

We  have  made  these  distinct  explana- 
tions in  this  place,  so  that  if,  in  the  progress 
of  the  discussion,  our  remarks  should  be  re- 
stricted to  a  part  of  the  controversy  respect- 
ing baptism,  we  yet  may  not  be  misunder- 
stood. 


Dr.  Griffin  attempts  to  prove  that  immer- 
sion is  not  essential  to  the  performance  of 
baptism.  "  In  the  nature  of  things,"  says 
he  in  his  first  reason,  "  the  validity  of  the 
ordinance  cannot  depend  on  the  quantity 
of  water,  for  the  end  is  essentially  answer- 
ed by  less  as  well  as  by  more."  The  cor- 
rectness of  this  assertion  depends  solely  on 
the  answer  to  the  question,  What  is  the 
end  or  design  of  baptism  ?  A  question,  we 
hesitate  not  to  say,  the  most  important  in 
regard  to  baptism ;  decisive  of  every  point 
in  controversy,  whether  respect  be  had  to 
the  manner  in  which  the  ordinance  is  to  be 
performed,  or  to  the  subjects  to  whom  it 
should  be  administered.  Settle  this  point 
and  there  will  be  no  further  occasion  for 
dispute  respecting  baptism.  Would  every 
minister  of  Christ,  in  simplicity  and  godly 
sincerity,  search  the  scriptures,  in  order  to 
discover  what  is  the  design  of  this  ordi- 
nance, or  what  purpose  it  is  intended  to  an- 
swer ;  and  would  he  follow  into  all  its  ne- 
cessary consequences  the  result  of  this 
investigation,  there  would  soon  be  but  one 
mind  and  one  judgment  among  the  stew- 
ards of  the  mysteries  of  God.  Would 
every  person  about  to  make  a  public  pro- 
fession of  religion,  examine  what  the  scrip- 
tures say  on  this  point  unbiassed  by  any 
extraneous  considerations ;  and  then,  with 
unwavering  confidence  in  God,  act  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  scriptural  design  of  bap- 
tism, what  vast  diminution  Avould  there  be 
of  that  mental  disquietude  which  so  many 
experience  at  that  tender  and  interesting 
period — and  which  even  ministers  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  sometimes  endeavor  to  remove 
by  the  unwarrantable  representations  that 
such  a  time  is  not  suitable  for  examining 
the  subject ;  that,  after  ha\ing  made  a  pro- 
fession of  religion,  it  can  better  be  investi- 
gated ;  that  baptism  is  non-essential ;  that 
it  is  a  mere  form  of  a  ceremony ;  that  one 
way  is  as  good  as  another.  Our  hearts 
sicken  when  we  think  how  even  good  men 
prevent  disciples  of  the  Lord  from  ascer- 
taining and  obeying  his  will ;  when  we  are 
compelled  to  think  that  some  who  are  ap- 
pointed to  be  lights  in  the  church,  do  really 
envelope  in  darkness  the  tender  mind  of  a 
young  convert  who  wishes  to  inquire.  Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ? 

It  is  our  honest  conviction  that  there  are 
in  the  Bible  statements  in  regard  to  bap- 
tism sufficiently  explicit  to  show  what  this 
service  means.  So  plainly  does  the  Bible 
seem  to  us  to  speak  on  this  point,  that  we 
think  no  emendation  necessary  to  make  it 
speak  more  plainly.  The  author  of  this 
letter  declares  what  he  conceives  to  be  the 
end  of  baptism.  "  It  is,"  he  says,  "  only  an 
emblem ;  an  emblem,  which,  voluntarily 
used,  is  a  profession  of  faith  in  a  purifying 
Saviour.     This   language   needs  nn   com- 


216       DR.    GRIFFIN'S    LETTER    ON    COMMUNION. 


menl :  baptism  is  "  an  emblem  of  purifica- 
tion ;"  and  he  wlio  voluntarily  uses  it  ex- 
presses his  "  faith  in  a  purifying  Saviour." 
From  tliis  representation  of  an  uninspired 
man,  we  turn  to  the  oracles  of  God,  ''to 
the  law  and  to  the  testimony ;"  for  if  men, 
however  venerable  through  age,  or  learn- 
ing, or  dignity  of  manners  and  station,  or 
piety,  "  speak  not  according  to  this  word," 
we  hold  ourselves  bound  to  desert  their 
guidance. 

When  we  first  meet  Avith  baptism  as  per- 
formed under  the  authority  of  our  Lord, 
mentioned  in  the  gospel  by  John  iv.  1,  2, 
and  then  go  forward  to  the  solemn  period 
when  he  extended  the  commission  and  said, 
"Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations, 
baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;" 
that  is,  baptizing  them  into  the  worship 
and  service  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  first  thought  that 
enters  our  mind  is,  that  baptism  was  inten- 
ded to  separate  from  all  others  and  to  col- 
lect into  one  body,  all  the  truly  pious. 
But  while  this  general  purpose  was  answer- 
ed and  was  conspicuous  even  from  the 
commencement,  there  were  some  particu- 
lar ends  to  be  accomplished,  for  which  bap- 
tism had  a  peculiar  significancy.  Water 
being  a  purifying  element,  and  bathing  for 
cleanliness  as  well  as  for  comfort  being 
customary,  Jesus  also  having  come  to  save 
his  people  from  their  sins,  how  appropriate 
is  baptism  to  express  the  idea  of  cleansing, 
of  moral  purification !  In  conformity  with 
this  design  was  the  address  of  Ananias  to 
Saul  of  Tarsus,  Avhen  this  persecutor  of 
the  church  had  become  a  disciple  of  the 
Lord  Jesus :  "  Arise  and  be  baptized,  and 
wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  on  the  name 
of  the  Lord."  To  the  same  purpose,  in  im- 
mediate connection  with  "  putting  off  the 
body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh,"  by  Christian 
circumcision,  that  is,  by  the  renovation  of 
the  heart,  the  Colossians  (ii.  11,  12,)  are 
represented  as  having  been  "buried  in  bap- 
tism." 

Is  there  any  additional  significancy  in 
this  rite  ?  In  the  acts  of  the  Apostles,  viii. 
37,  38,  occurs  the  account  of  the  Ethio- 
pian officer  baptized  by  Philip.  As  a  ne- 
cessary antecedent  to  his  receiving  of  bap- 
tism, the  eunuch  made  the  following  profes- 
sion. I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Son  of  God.  During  the  conversation  be- 
tween Philip  and  this  man,  a  minute  ac- 
count appears  to  have  been  given  of  the 
character,  the  suiferings,  and  the  conse- 
quent glory  of  the  Lord.  He  was  induced 
to  believe  in  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God.  A 
reference  to  Rom.  x.  9,  Avill  lead  us  to  (hink 
that  in  this  profession  there  was  included 
the  belief  of  a  specially  important  event : 
"  If  thou  shall  confess  with  thy  mouth  the 


Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  believe  in  thine  heart 
that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead, 
thou  shalt  be  saved."  In  the  act,  then,  of 
confessing  the  Lord  Jesus,  there  is  also  im- 
phed  a  belief  in  his  resurrection  from  the 
dead,  and  in  his  previous  death  and  burial. 
That  this  object  was  always  viewed  by  the 
primitive  Christians  in  close  connection 
with  baptism,  we  have  the  fullest  evidence 
from  Rom.  vi.  3.  "  Know  ye  not  that  so  ma- 
ny of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ," 
or  as  his  disciples,  "  were  baptized  into  his 
death,"  or  did  by  our  baptism  acknowledge 
his  death  as  declared  in  the  gospel?  And 
that  with  this  acknowledgment  of  the  Sa- 
viour's death,  there  was  also  in  baptism 
an  acknowledgment  of  our  duty  to 
be  dead  to  sin  and  to  lead  a  new  life,  is 
evident  from  the  succeeding  verse.  "  There- 
fore we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism 
into  death,  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised 
up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Fa- 
ther, even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  new- 
ness of  life." 

In  writing  to  the  Colossians  also,  the  apos- 
tle very  distinctly  brings  to  view  this  striking 
significancy  of  baptism:  ii.  12.  "Buried 
with  him  in  baptism,  wherein  (in  which  em- 
blem) also  ye  are  risei\  with  him  through 
the  faith  of  the  operation  of  God  (or  through 
faith  in  the  power  of  God)  who  hath  raised 
him  from  the  dead." 

In  1  Peter  iii.  21.  The  same  connection 
between  baptism  and  the  resurrection  of  our 
Lord  is  exhibited.  In  the  ark  of  Noah, 
"eight  souls  were  saved  by  water,  the  like 
figure  whereunto,  even  baptism  doth  also 
now  save  us,  not  the  putting  aAvay  of  the 
filth  of  the  flesh,  but  the  answer  of  a  good 
conscience  towards  God,"  that  is,  the  pro- 
fession of  a  conscience  made  tranquil 
towards  God,  "  by  tlie  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ." 

With  this  view  of  the  design  of  Christian 
baptism,  how  accordant  is  the  remark  of  the 
apostle  in  the  epistle  to  the  Galatians,  iii. 
27.  "  For  as  many  of  you  as  have  heen 
baptized  into  Christ,"  that  is,  as  his  disciples, 
"  have  put  on  Christ,  that  is,  have  entered 
into  a  very  intimate  union  with  Christ; 
a  union  in  regard  to  the  relation  towards 
God  as  his  children.  How  is  this  union  rep- 
resented? Not  merely  by  performing  a 
ceremony,  but  by  performing  the  appointed 
ceremony  which  symbolically  represents 
him  as  having  undergone  a  death  on  account 
of  sin,  and  yourselves  as  having  under- 
gone a  death  imto  sin ;  a  ceremony  which 
reminds  j'ou  of  him  as  rising  to  a  state  of 
triumph  and  glory,  and  represents  your- 
selves as  rising  to  a  spiritual  and  divine  life. 

Look  now  at  the  end  of  baptism,  and 
say  whether  it  is  answered  by  less  water  as 
well  as  more.  One  can  hardly  help  ex- 
claiming, How  meagre  is  the  account  of 


PROFESSOR    RIPLEY'S    REVIEW    OP 


217 


baptism  in  this  letter !  How  materially 
does  our  Christian  brethren  divest  this  or 
dinance  of  its  significancy  I  How  different 
are  the  considerations  which  they  associate 
with  baptism,  from  those  with  which  the 
apostles  cheered  and  incited  the  early  be 
lievers  whenever  this  ordinance  supplied 
them  with  topics  of  remark ! 

And  we  cannot  help  adding,  how  much 
ought  Baptists  to  feel  themselves  pecuhar 
]y  bound  to  cherish  a  mortified  temper ;  to 
live  not  to  themselves  but  to  him  who  died 
for  them,  and  into  whose  death  they  have 
been  baptized ;  to  him  who  rose  again,  and 
in  conformity  to  whose  death  they  have 
by  a  most  significant  rite  acknowledged 
their  obligation  to  walk  in  newness  of  life  ! 

Baptism  is  more  than  a  profession  of 
faith  in  a  purifying  Saviour.  It  is  also  a 
profession  of  faith  in  a  Saviour  dying,  bu- 
ried, rising  from  the  dead.  Can  the  death, 
the  burial,  the  resurrection  of  the  Saviour 
be  represented  by  less  water  as  well  as 
by  more  ?  What  person  when  he  sees  a 
wet  hand  applied  to  a  child's,  or  an  adults' 
forehead,  or  a  few  drops  of  water  scattered 
on  his  face,  is  by  this  act  reminded  of  a 
dying  and  a  rising  Saviour,  and  of  the  in- 
dividuals death  to  sin,  and  resurrection  to 
spiritual  hfe  ?  So  entirely  destitute  of  such 
significancy  is  sprinkling,  that  we  wonder 
not  at  the  acknowledgments  wliich  candid 
Psedobaptists  make,  and  at  the  difficulty 
which  others  feel  in  reference  to  the  above 
quoted  passages  from  the  epistle  to  the 
Romans,  and  irom  that  to  the  Colossians. 

Since  a  mistake  lies  at  the  foundation  of 
the  argument  we  have  been  considering, 
the  argument  manifestly  is  of  no  force. 
The  end  of  baptism  cannot  be  answered, 
unless  there  be  an  immersion  of  the  belie- 
ver ;  hence  immersion  is  essential  to  the 
vaHdity  of  the  ordinance.  And  hence  we 
cannot  regard  as  baptized,  those  who  have 
not  been  immersed ;  and  not  regarding  them 
as  baptized.  Dr.  Griffin's  own  avowed  prin- 
ciples will  not  permit  us  to  unite  with  them 
at  the  Lord's  table,  even  though  we  esteem 
them  as  Christians. 

From  this  account  of  our  opinion  respect- 
ing baptism,  it  is  manifest  that  it  is  viewed 
in  very  different  lights  by  Baptists  and  by 
Paedobaptists.  In  our  view,  it  sustains  an 
intimate  connection  witli  those  events  on 
Avhich  are  suspended  our  dearest  hopes,  as 
candidates  for  immortality.  So  that  when 
we  think  of  the  Lord  Jesus  as  delivered  for 
our  offences  and  as  raised  again  for  our 
justification,  our  thoughts  naturally  recur 
to  the  time  when  we  were  buried  in  bap- 
tism, when  we  voluntarily  submitted  to  an 
act  which  publicly  marked  us  as  dead  to 
sin,  and  which  publicly  sealed  our  avowal 
of  obligation  and  our  declaration  of  .serious 
purpose  to  lead  a  holy  life.     And  O,  what 

Vol.  3.— Bb. 


a  reproof  is  a  remembrance  of  that  hour 
adapted  to  convey  to  our  hearts  !  Medita- 
tion on  our  having  been  baptized,  suggests 
to  our  minds  the  fact  that  we  have  been 
buried  with  Christ  by  baptism  into  death, 
and  the  obligation  that  "  like  as  Christ  was 
raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the 
Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in 
newness  of  life."  Connecting  baptism  thus 
with  the  history  of  Christ,  and  with  our  ob- 
ligations to  be  conformed  to  him,  it  cannot 
be  surprising  that  we  are  always  willing 
to  converse  respecting  it,  and  that  we  de- 
sire all  Christians  to  participate  in  correct 
views  of  it. 

We  mean  not  to  intimate  that  those 
whose  opinions  differ  from  ours  respecting 
this  ordinance,  connect  with  it  no  gractical 
considerations.  But  many  of  the  consider- 
ations which  they  connect  with  it  are  such 
as  the  apostles  did  not  present  in  connec- 
tion with  baptism;  and  a  part  of  those 
which  the  apostles  did  connect  with  it  they 
omit.  When  we  think  of  this  fact,  we 
wonder  not  at  the  long  continued  con- 
troversy ;  for  the  reasonings  on  the  opposite 
sides  proceed  from  materially  different 
views,  almost  as  if  they  had  respect  to  dis- 
connected subjects.  The  design  of  Bap- 
tism should  be  the  point  in  controversy. 

This  design,  in  our  opinion,  is  not  the 
same  as  it  is  represented  by  Paedobaptists. 
How  can  the  writer  of  this  letter  expect, 
then,  that  we  should  act  according  to  the 
consequence  which  he  draws  from  his  opin- 
ion of  the  design  ?  Let  us  all,  in  the  first, 
place,  acknowledge  the  trutli  as  to  the  scrip- 
tural design  of  baptism,  and  we  venture  to 
promise  that  he  and  we  will  go  hand  in 
hand  in  observing  all  things  which  the 
Lord  has  commanded  his  disciples. 

We  would  remark  in  passing,  that  the 
Design  of  Baptism  has  been  so  amply  dis- 
cussed in  the  sermon  preached,  Sept.  1828, 
by  Professor  Chase,  before  the  Boston  As- 
sociation, and  which  has  recently  appeared 
in  a  third  edition,  that  it  seems  to  us  unne- 
cessary to  enter  more  fully  upon  this  sub- 
ject. To  that  sermon  we  respectfully  invite 
the  attention  of  all  who  seriously  wish  to 
ascertain  the  truth. 

The  principle  implied  in  the  second  rea- 
son of  this  letter,  however  true  in  general, 
is  not  appropriate  to  the  matter  in  hand. 
For  although  "an  emblem  of  purification 
ipplied  to  a  part  of  the  body  is  as  effectual 
as  if  applied  to  the  whole  body,"  it  by  no 
means  follows  that  the  application  of  a  kw 
drops  of  water  to  a  part  of  the  body  is  valid 
baptism ;  because,  however  such  an  appli- 
cation might  be  an  emblem  of  purification, 
it  cannot  be  an  emblem  of  the  other  things 
which  enter  into  the  design  of  baptism, 
and  consequently  it  cannot  answer  the  ends 
of  baptism.     To   Dr.  Griffin's  use   of  the 


218       DR.    GRIFFIN'S    LETTER    ON    COMMUNION. 


passage  of  scripture  introduced  in  this  con- 
nection, John  xiii.  1 — 10,  we  have  two  ob- 
jections to  make.  First,  It  was  no  part  of 
our  Saviour's  design  to  communicate,  in 
that  passage,  instruction  respecting  bap- 
tism. Secondly,  In  order  to  defend  Dr. 
Griffin's  explanation,  there  must  be  con- 
ceived to  be  in  our  Lord's  remark  to  Peter, 
"  He  that  is  washed  needeth  not  save  to 
wash  his  feet,"  a  strange  mixing  of  figura- 
tive and  of  literal  language ;  as,  He  that  is 
washed  (that  is,  he  that  has  experienced 
an  inward  cleansing)  needeth  not  save  to 
wash  his  feet  (that  is,  literally  to  wash  a 
part  of  his  body.) 

Let  the  passage  speak  for  itself  As  one 
of  the  closing  acts  of  our  Saviour's  life,  he 
wished' in  a  striking  manner  to  correct  the 
disposition  which  his  disciples  had  manifes- 
ted in  tlie  question,  Who  shall  be  great- 
est? Accordingly,  he  prepared  to  wash 
their  feet,  a  service  which  his  disciples, 
from  the  customs  of  the  country,  had  asso- 
ciated with  the  most  menial  situation. 
Peter  could  not  endure  the  thought  that  he 
to  whom  he  had  always  looked  up  with  rev- 
erence, as  altogether  his  superior ;  he  who 
stood  in  the  exalted  dignity  of  the  Messiah, 
should  perform  for  him  the  most  menial 
pan  of  a  servant's  duty.  The  Saviour 
endeavored  to  gain  the  consent  of  Peter 
by  assuring  him  that  though  he  did  not 
then  perceive  what  was  intended  by  this 
transaction,  yet  when  it  had  been  perform- 
ed, it  should  be  explained  to  him.  Peter 
still  declined.  Our  Lord  then  solemnly 
assured  him,  "  If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast 
no  part  with  me."  Peter  either  from  over- 
flowing affection,  or  from  not  entering  into 
the  spiritual  import  of  the  Saviour's  decla- 
ration, exclaimed,  "  Not  my  feet  only,  but 
also  my  hands  and  my  head."  Our  Lord 
then  informed  him  that  for  the  special  ob- 
ject which  he  had  in  view,  it  was  not  neces- 
sary to  receive  a  general  washing  of  the 
body.  Just  aa  a  person  who  has  recently 
been  bathed,*  needs  only  to  have  his  feet 
washed,  which  may  have  contracted  defile- 
ment by  walking  in  the  dust;  so  the  disci- 
ples, having  already  received  a  general 
cleansing,  needed  only  carefully  to  preserve 
themselves  from  the  defilements  to  which 
they  were  exposed.  To  speak  without 
metaphor,  the  disciples  had  already  expe- 
rienced the  general  renewing  of  their  hearts. 
This  they  ought  not  to  expect  again ;  but 
their  attention  should  be  directed  to  the 


'Though  in  our  translation  the  same  term  wash  oc- 
curs twice  in  the  tenth  verse,  yet  in  the  original,  two 
very  distinct  words  are  used;  one  of  which  rendered 
"he  that  is  washed,"  refers  approprialely  to  abalhinsof 
the  whole  body,  while  the  other,  rendered  "  to  wash," 
refers  to  a  partial  washing,  as  that  of  the  hands,  or  face, 
or  feet.  So  that  the  tentli  verse  would  have  been  more 
correctly  translated,  "He  that  has  been  bathed  needed 
not  Bftve  to  wash  his  feet,"  <tc. 


avoiding  of  sin,  and  to  the  cultivating  of 
those  dispositions  which  characterize  the 
disciples  of  the  Messiah.  The  particular 
trait,  then  inculcated,  was  humility  ;  humil- 
ity, so  unfeigned  and  pervading,  as  to  in- 
duce them  to  perform  ibr  each  other,  even 
the  lowest  and  most  troublesome  services ; 
which  would  lead  them  instead,  of  inquir- 
ing among  themselves.  Who  shall  be 
greatest  ?  rather  to  inquire.  Who  shall  be 
the  least  of  all  and  the  servant  of  all  ? 

Thus  our  Lord's  design  was  *not  to  give 
instruction  respecting  baptism  ;  nor  is  there 
in  this  passage  any  thing  in  the  slightest 
degree  at  variance  with  the  conclusion  to 
which  we  arrive  by  examining  the  import 
of  baptism. 

In  the  third  statement  of  this  letter  there 
is  certainly  much  truth:  "If  the  exact  form 
of  baptism  were  essential  to  its  validity,  the 
form  would  have  been  so  clearly  defined, 
that  no  honest  mind  could  mistake  it."  If 
certain  ends  are  to  be  answered  by  an  or- 
dinance, and  those  ends  are  connected 
with  a  certain  outward  representation,  then 
it  is  necessary  that  the  outward  form  be 
clearly  defined  ;  else  such  a  form  may  come 
into  use  as  may  entirely  obscure  the  ends 
which  the  ordinance  was  intended  to  an- 
swer. If  outward  forms  are  appointed  as 
emblems,  they  ought  to  be  significant ; 
there  ought  to  be  a  manifest  correspond- 
ence between  the  emblem  and  the  thing 
signified  ;  and  the  more  spiritual  the  dispen- 
sation, the  more  simple  and  the  more  easily 
understood  the  emblem.  Some  men  speak 
of  forms  and  ceremonies,  as  being  of  little 
account  in  respect  to  the  manner  of  per- 
formance and  as  being  subject  to  modifica- 
tions, according  to  the  various  circumstan- 
ces and  opinions  of  men.  A  scrupulous 
adherence  to  particular  forms  they  also 
represent  as  contrary  to  the  scriptural  na- 
ture of  Christianity,  and  as  arguing  a 
grossness  of  conception  in  respect  to  the 
divine  requisitions.  But  in  such  remarks 
there  is  more  appearance  than  reality  of 
spiritual  elevation.  If  the  Head  of  the 
church  has  appointed  certain  forms,  it  doea 
not  argue  a  commendable  spirituality  of 
feehng,  that  a  man  conceives  himself  at 
liberty  to  slight  those  forms.  If  those  cere- 
monies, by  the  manner  of  their  perform- 
ance, are  adapted  and  intended  to  answer 
certain  ends,  does  elevation  above  the 
grossness  of  sense,  furnish  an  adequate  ex- 
cuse for  essentially  varying  the  manner 
and  connecting  with  it  some  other  lesson, 
or  for  receiving  the  intended  lesson  in  some 
other  than  the  more  obvious  Avay,  or  for 
refusing  to  draw  any  instruction  from  a 
matter  subjected  to  the  outward  mnn?  We 
show  the  truest  regard  for  God  by  impli- 
citly complying  with  his  injunctions,  and 
by  impressing  our   hearts   with  just  such 


PROFESSOR     RIPLEY'S     REVIEW    OP 


219 


lessons  and  in  just  such  a  manner  as  he  has 
appointed.  After  all  that  may  be  said 
about  Clirislianity  being  a  spiritual  dispen- 
sation, and  its  raising  the  mind  above  mere 
forms,  it  becomes  us  to  remember  that  men 
are  still  only  men ;  and  God  has  most  wise- 
ly consulted  for  the  moral  improvement  of 
men  by  the  few  simple  outward  forms,  as 
well  as  by  the  pure  precepts,  and  the  glo 
rious  prospects  of  Christianity. 

Why,  then,  do  honest  minds  mistake  ? 
Plainly,  because  they  are  not  infallible  ;  and 
because  they  may  be  under  a  vast  variety 
of  influences  which  hinder  the  reception  of 
the  truth.  Are  there  no  other  subjects,  plain 
to  a  mind  unbiassed,  yet  viewed  in  a  mis 
taken  manner  by  minds  honest  on  every 
other  subject?  But  suppose  any  refuse  to 
examine  for  themselves ;  suppose  they  either 
fear  to  examine,  or  hastily  think  themselves 
incompetent  to  form  an  opinion  ;  will  they 
receive  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  ?  Sup- 
pose any  examine  under  the  influence  of 
prejudice  from  various  quarters  ;  suppose 
they  go  not  to  the  proper  source  of  informa- 
tion ;  is  it  surprising  that  they  come  not  to  a 
true  result?  We  forbear  here  to  press  the 
fact,  that  almost  every  person,  who  in  a 
peculiarly  conscientious  frame  of  mind  reads 
what  the  scriptures  declare  concerning  bap- 
tism, becomes  shaken  in  regard  to  the  sprink- 
ling of  infants  and  others ;  and  that  scruples 
on  this  subject  are  often  removed  by  turning 
away  from  the  bible,  or  by  thinking  that  a 
person's  usefulness  at  the  present  day  for- 
bids him  to  be  a  Baptist.  And  not  a  few, 
there  is  reason  to  believe,  set  their  minds  at 
rest  by  the  persuasion  that  the  inconvenien- 
ces attending  the  adoption  of  Baptist  senti- 
ments are  so  great,  that  they  trust  the  Lord 
will  pardon  them  in  this  one  thing. 

Since  the  form  of  this  ordinance  is  thus 
necessary,  we  might  expect  it  to  be  clearly 
defined.  Dr.  Griffin's  Iburth  reason  denies 
that  it  is  thus  defined.  To  this  point,  then, 
we  now  turn  our  attention. 

There  are  two  inquiries  which  may  em- 
brace all  that  needs  to  be  said  on  this 
point.  1st.  Is  there  any  thing  in  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  this  ordinance,  during 
the  time  of  Christ  and  of  his  apostles,  was 
administered,  that  required  divers  modes  of 
administration  ?  2d,  Is  there  any  peculiar 
obscurity  in  the  language  which  speaks  of 
this  ordinance,  by  which  it  is  prevented 
from  having  an  equally  definite  meaning 
with  other  language,  or  by  which  we  are 
unable  to  ascertain  that  meaning?  These 
questions  have  so  often  been  lucidly  and 
satisfactorily  answered  in  the  negative,  that 
we  deem  it  superfluous  on  the  present  occa- 
sion to  institute  a  new  examination  of  them. 
Those  who  desire  to  pursue  the  investiga- 
tion, are  referred  to  the  works  on  baptism, 
which  have  been  published  during  tlie  pres- 


ent year,  and  especially  to  the  letters  of  Dr. 
Chapin,  published  in  the  year  1820.  These 
letters,  we  question  whether  Dr.  Griffin  has 
ever  read ;  else  he  could  not  expect  to  change 
the  opinion  of  Baptists  by  statements  that 
have  long  since  been  anticipated  and  met  in 
a  fair  manly  way. 

But  leaving  this  topic,  it  has  been  to  us  a 
matter  of  surprise,  that  Dr.  Grffiin  should 
write  in  so  unguarded  a  manner.  He  insin- 
uates that  the  three  thousand  believers  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  (See  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles, Chap,  ii.)  were  baptized  by  eleven 
men.  Observe  the  unfairness  of  this  insin- 
uation. In  the  first  cihapter,  containing  an 
account  of  what  was  transacted  previously 
to  the  day  of  Pentecost,  we  are  informed 
that  the  place  of  Judas  was  supplied  by  the 
election  of  Matthias,  so  that  Matthias  "  was 
numbered  with  the  eleven  apostles."  Dur- 
ing the  lifetime,  also  of  our  Lord,  seventy 
disciples  were  appointed  as  his  public  minis- 
ters ;  two  important  facts  entirely  overlooked. 
Dr.  Griffin  intimates  that  the  local  situation 
of  Jerusalem  "  on  the  top  of  a  high  hill,"  for- 
bids the  supposition  of  there  being  sufficient 
water.  Really,  one  would  think  this  letter 
was  written  for  the  benefit  of  very  ignorant 
people.  We  take  the  liberty  to  refer  its 
author  to  the  statement  of  a  certain  Jewish 
writer,  who  probably  knew  more  about  Je- 
rusalem than  any  President  of  a  college  in 
the  United  States.  He  says,  "TAe  moun- 
tains are  around  about  Jenisalem.''''  See 
Psalm  cxxv.  2.  Jerusalem  was  indeed  built 
upon  hills ;  but  there  were  other  hills  around, 
and  especially  did  Mount  Olivet  tower 
above  the  holy  city.  Is  a  hilly  country  neces- 
sarily poorly  supplied  with  water?  Who 
does  not  know  that  on  elevated  spots  springs 
may  be  found,  when  equally  elevated  places 
are  contiguous,  and  especially  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  still  higher  places  ?  Dr.  Griffin 
adds,  "far  from  any  river  or  brook  deep 
enough  for  immersion."  But  must  there 
necessarily  have  been  a  river  or  a  brook  ? 
From  the  insinuations  which  are  sometimes 
thrown  out,  one  would  think  Jerusalem  must 
have  been  utterly  unfit  to  be  the  metropolis 
of  a  flourishing  country  ;  a  country  too 
whose  prescribed  religion  required  the  con- 
stant use  of  water  for  purifications  and  ablu- 
tions, and  all  whose  male  inhabitants  were 
required  to  assemble  there  three  times 
every  year.  We  have  been  told  that  not 
many  years  since,  the  Jordan  was  represent- 
ed as  only  an  insignificant  streamlet,  not 
sufficiently  deep  for  immersing  a  man.  But 
when  knowledge  had  increased  so  much  that 
even  Baptists  could  detect  the  error,  this 
representation  fell  into  disuse.  Who  has 
ever  proved  that  Jerusalem  was  sadly  des- 
titute of  water?  Does  the  well  known 
fact  of  its  having  been  a  very  populous  city 
prove  it  ?     Does  tlie  fact  that  the  Jews  from 


220      ^^-     GRIFFIN'S    LETTER    ON    COMMUNION. 


regard  to  religion  and  to  cleanliness,  made 
frequent  use  of  bathing  prove  it?  Does 
the  molten  sea  furnished  by  Solomon  for  the 
service  of  tlie  temple,  and  which  could  hold 
about  seven  hundred  barrels ;  and  do  the 
ten  other  lavers,  each  of  which  held  be- 
tween nine  and  ten  barrels,  prove  it?  And 
what  shall  we  say  of  the  fountain  of  Siloam 
which,  according  to  Josephus,  had  "  water 
in  it — in  great  plenty?"*  and  of  the  pool 
at  the  sheep  gate,  with  its  five  porticoes  ? 

Of  what  avail,  then,  is  the  startling  sup- 
position respecting  the  two  men  brought  up 
in  the  centre  of  the  earth?  Who  could 
wonder  if  men  brought  up  in  the  inside  ol' 
the  earth  shovild  commit  some  very  gross 
mistakes  on  various  matters  that  would  be 
perfectly  clear  to  common  men,  who  had 
been  brought  up  on  the  surface  ?  Instead 
of  making  such  a  supposition,  we  would 
rather  ask  what  have  been  the  opinions  of 
men  of  learning,  of  confessed  impartiality, 
of  ability  to  investigate  the  subject,  and  of 
sufficient  candor  to  state  explicitly  the  result 
of  their  investigations,  though  that  result 
should  contradict  their  previous  opinions, 
and  even  their  continued  practice?  To  a 
few  testimonies  of  this  kind,  exhibiting  the 
candid  convictions  of  their  authors,  respect- 
ing the  manner  in  which  the  ordinance 
was  originally  administered,  we  will  now 
attend. 

Dr.  Campbell,  Principal  of  the  Marischal 
College,  at  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  a  minister 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  whom  k\v  have 
equalled  in  the  variety  and  extent,  and  ac- 
curacy of  his  literary  and  theological  inves- 
tigations, has  expressed  himself  in  the  fol- 
lowing maner. 

"  The  word  Tcpiro^T;  (peritome)  the  Latins 
have  translated  circumcisio  (circumcision,) 
which  exactly  corresponds  in  etymology ; 
but  the  word  Paimijia  (baptisma)  they  have 
retained,  changing  only  the  letters  from 
Greek  to  Roman.  Yet  the  latter  was  just 
as  susceptible  of  a  literal  version  into  Latin 
as  the  former.  Immersio,  (immersion,)  an- 
swers as  exactly  in  the  one  case  as  circiim- 
cisio  (circumcision)  in  the  other.  .  .  .  We 
have  deserted  the  Greek  names  where 
the  Latins  have  deserted  them,  and  have 
adopted  them  where  the  Latins  have. 
Hence  we  say  circumcision,  and  not  peri- 
fomy ;  and  we  do  not  say  immersion,  but 
baptism.  Yet  when  the  language  furnish- 
es us  with  materials  for  a  version  so  exact 
and  analogical,  such  a  version  conveys  the 
sense  more  perspicuously  than  a  foreign 
name.  For  tliis  reason,  I  should  think  the 
word  immersion  a  better  English  name 
than  baptism,  were  we  now  at  liberty  to 
make  a  choice."! 


•  .Ipwish  War ;  Hook  v.  Chapter  iv.  §  1. 

t  Preliminary  Dissertations ;  VIII.  Part  II.  §  2 


In  the  same  author's  notes  upon  the  Gos- 
pel by  Matthew,  occur  the  following  state- 
ments.    Chapter  iii.  verse  1],  ''hi  irater — ■ 

in  the   Holy   Spirit,  iv  iian — 6»'  iyiu  inevfiaTi. 

English  translation,  with  water — with  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Vulgate,  in  aqua. — in  Spiritu 
Sancto.  Thus  also  the  Syriac  and  other 
ancient  versions.  I  am  sorry  to  observe 
that  the  Popish  translators  from  the  Vul- 
gate, have  shown  greater  veneration  for 
the  style  of  that  version,  than  the  generali- 
ty of  Protestant  translators  have  shown 
for  that  of  the  original.  For  in  this  the 
Latin  is  not  more  explicit  than  the  Greek. 
Yet  so  inconsistent  are  the  interpreters  last 
mentioned,  that  none  of  them  have  scru- 
pled to  render  tv  rw  lopSavri,  in  the  sixth 
verse,  in  Jordan,  though  nothing  can  be 
plainer  than  that  if  there  be  any  incongru- 
ity in  the  expression  in  water,  this  in  Jor- 
dan must  be  equally  incongruous.  But 
they  have  seen  that  the  preposition  in 
could  not  be  avoided  there,  without  adopt- 
ing a  circumlocution,  and  saying  with  the 
water  of  Jordan,  which  would  have  made 
the  deviation  from  the  text  too  glaring. 
The  word  BaTrnffn-'  (rendered  to  baptize,) 
'  both  in  sacred  authors  and  in  classical, 
signifies,  to  dip,  to  plunge,  to  immerse,  and 
was  rendered  by  Tertullian,  the  oldest  of 
the  Latin  fathers,  iingere,  the  term  used 
for  dyeing  cloth,  which  was  by  immersion. 
It  is  always  construed  suitably  to  this 
meaning.  Thus  it  is,  cv  Han,  cv  tm  lupSavri. 
But  I  should  not  lay  much  stress  on  the 
preposition  cv,  which,  answering  to  the  He- 
brew J  may  denote  with  as  well  as  ifi,  did 
not  the  whole  phraseology,  in  regard  to 
this  ceremony,  concur  in  evincing  the  same 
thing.  Accordingly,  the  baptized  are  said 
avaf^aiveiv,  to  arise,  emerge,  or  ascend,  v.  16 
OTTO  Tov  iSuTog,  and  Acts  viii.  39,  «  row 
vSaTOi,from  or  out  of  the  water.  Let  it  be 
observed  further,  that  the  verbs  paivos  and 
pavTi^bi,  used  in  scripture  for  spriiMing,  are 
never  construed  in  this  manner.  When 
therefore,  the  Greek  word  /Sairn^u'  (render- 
ed I  baptize,)  'is  adopted,  I  may  say,  rath- 
er than  translated  into  modern  languages, 
the  mode  of  construction  ought  to  be  pre- 
served, so  far  as  may  conduce  to  suggest 
its  original  import.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  we  have  so  much  evidence  that  even 
good  and  learned  men  allow  their  judg- 
ments to  be  warped  by  the  sentiments  and 
customs  of  the  sect  which  they  prefer. 
The  true  partizan,  of  whatever  denomina- 
tion, always  inclines  to  correct  the  diction 
of  the  spirit,  by  that  of  the  party." 

The  following  extract  is  from  another 
work  of  the  same  author.  "Another  error 
in  disputation,  which  is  by  far  too  common, 
is  when  one  will  admit  nothing  in  the  plea 
or  arsjuments  of  an  adversary  to  be  of  ^he 
smallest  weight.     In  have  heard  a  dispu- 


PROFESSOR    RIPLEY'S    REVIEW    OP 


221 


tant  of  this  stamp,  in  defiance  of  etymolo- 
gy and  use,  maintain  that  the  word  ren- 
dered in  the  New  Testament  baptize, 
means  more  properly  to  sprinkle  than  to 
plunge  ;  and  in  defiance  of  all  antiquity, 
that  the  former  method  was  the  earliest, 
and  for  many  centuries,  the  most  general 
practice  in  baptizing.  One  who  argues  in 
this  manner,  never  fails,  with  persons  of 
knowledge,  to  betray  the  cause  he  would 
defend ;  and  though  with  respect  to  the  vul- 
gar, bold  assertions  generally  succeed,  as 
well  as  arguments,  sometimes  better,  yet  a 
candid  mind  will  disdain  to  take  the  help 
of  a  falsehood,  even  in  support  of  the 
truth."* 

We  now  present  an  extract  from  Storr's 
Biblical  Theology,  published  at  Andover, 
1826 ;  merely  premising  that  Storr  was  an 
eminent  theologian  in  the  Lutheran  church. 
"  The  disciples  of  our  Lord  could  under- 
stand his  command  in  no  other  manner, 
than  as  enjoining  immersion  ;  for  the  Bap- 
tism of  John,  to  which  Jesus  himself  sub- 
mitted, and  also  the  earlier  baptism  (John 
iv.  1.)  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  were  per- 
formed by  dipping  the  subject  into  cold 
water ;  as  is  evident  from  the  following 
passages.  Matt.  iii.  6,  tPaitTi^ovTo  tv  ru 
lop&avr\  were  baptized  in  Jordan,  v  16.  Imovi 
avcfirt  aiTo  tov  vSaro;  Jesus  ascended  out  of  the 
water.  John  iii.  23-  in  vSara  noWa  r]v  eKEL  be- 
cause there  was  much  water  there. 

"  And  that  they  actually  did  understand 
it  so,  is  proved,  partly  by  those  passages 
in  the  New  Testament,  which  evidently  al- 
lude to  immersion.  Acts  viii.  36,  &c.  "ore 
aveffrisav  CK  tov  vSaros  when  they  had  come  up 
out  of  the  water,  v.  39.  xvi.  12 — 15,  Topa 
■norajiov  at  the  river.     Rom.  vi.  4,  iweraipriiicv 

aura)  (rw  XjSiTrco)   Sta  tov  /SavTig/xaTog,  iva   witrep 

riytpQrj  XpnTo;  ck  vcKpoiu  are  buried  with  him, 
(Christ)  by  baptism,  so  that  as  Christ  was 
raised  from  the  dead,  &c.  Compare  Col. 
ii.  12,  and  1  Peter  iii.  21,  where  baptism  is 
termed  the  antitype  (avnrvrrov)  of  the  flood. 
And  partly,  from  the  fact,  that  immersion 
was  so  customary  in  the  ancient  church, 
that  even  in  the  third  century,  the  baptism 
of  the  sick,  who  were  merely  sprinkled  with 
water,  was  entirely  neglected  by  some, 
and  by  others  was  thought  inferior  to  the 
baptism  of  those  who  were  in  health,  and 
who  received  baptism  not  merely  by  asper- 
sion, but  who  actually  bathed  themselves 
in  water.  This  is  evident  from  Cyprian 
(Epist.  69.  edition  Brem?e,  page  185,  &c.) 
and  Eusebius,  (His.  Eccles.  1.  vi.  cap.  43,) 
where  we  find  the  following  extract  from 
the  letter  of  the  Roman  Bishop  Cornelius : 
'  Novatus  received  baptism  on  a  sick  bed, 
by  aspersion,  (^cptxveen)  if  it  can  be  said 


that  such  a  person  received  baptism.'  '  No 
person  who  had,  during  sickness,  been  bap- 
tized by  aspersion,  was  admitted  into  the 
clerical  office.'  Moreover,  the  old  custom 
of  immersion  was  also  retained  a  long  time 
in  the  western  church,  at  least  in  the  case 
of  those  who  were  not  indisposed.  And, 
even  after  aspersion  had  been  fully  intro- 
duced in  a  part  of  the  western  churches, 
there  yet  remained  several,  who  for  some 
time  adhered  to  the  ancient  custom.  Un- 
der these  circumstances,  it  is  certainly  to 
be  lamented,  that  Luther  was  not  able  to 
accomplish  his  wish  with  regard  to  the  in- 
troduction of  immersion  in  baptism,  as  he 
had  done  in  the  restoration  of  wine  in  the 
Eucharist."  pp.  290,  291.  A  few  lines 
after,  speaking  of  the  change  of  tlie  an- 
cient custom  of  immersion,  he  says,  "It 
ought  not  to  have  been  made."* 

Storr  mentions  the  wish  of  Luther  re- 
specting the  use  of  immersion.  In  the  ap- 
pendix to  Professor  Chase's  sermon,  is  an 
extract  from  the  works  of  Luther,  in  which 
that  eminent  reformer  very  explicitly  states 
his  conviction  in  regard  to  baptism. 

Passing  by  the  concessions  which  might 
be  drawn  from  the  commentaries  of  Mack- 
night,  and  Rosenmueller,  and  others  we  in- 
vite attention  to  two  or  three  sentences  from 
the  Thesaurus  Ecclesiasticus  of  Suicer ; 
a  work  in  two  folio  volumes,  exhibiting  a 
digest  of  the  voluminous  theological  writ- 
ings of  the  Greek  Fathers. 

"  The  going  under  and  then  rising  in 
baptism  was  used,  that  thus  the  burial  and 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  might  be  shad- 
owed forth.  This  is  the  ancient  writers 
teach."t 

"  This  going  under,  and  then  rising  was 
in  use  in  the  first  cenluries  which  immediate- 
ly succeeded  the  apostolic  age.  This  is 
plain  from  those  testimonies  of  the  Fathers 
which  with  sufficient  copiousness  have  al- 
ready been  adduced.''^ 

These  declarations  are  abundantly  sus- 
tained by    appropriate  extracts  from  the 


*  Lectures  on  Systematic  Theology  and  Pulpit  Elo- 
quenc«,  pp.  294,  !i05. 


*  The  preceding  extract  is  from  an  English  translation 
of  a  work  in  German ;  which  German  work  is  a  transla- 
tion from  the  Latin  of  Storr's  Christian  Doctrine,  ac- 
companied with  notes  and  illustrations,  by  Professor 
Flatl.  It  is  worthy  of  being  known,  that  the  translator 
into  English  has  employed  certain  terms  in  this  connec- 
tion, which  are  not  wan-anted  by  the  real  opinions  of 
Storr.  We  refer  to  the  "caption,  or  sununary  view  of 
contents"  prefixed  to  the  Illustration  from  wliich  the 
extract  is  taken.  By  referring  to  the  work,  our  readers 
may  see  that  the  following  sentence  introduces  this  il- 
lustration; "  Theprimitive7nodeii:asprobubly  by  immer- 
sion." This  qualified  remark,  so  poorly  adapted  to  the 
Illustration  which  introduces,  did  not  proceed  from 
Storr,  but  from  the  translator  into  English.  With  Sioit 
the  truth  of  what  he  asserts  was  not  a  matter  of  mere 
probability,  but  of  moral  certainty.  The  following  ex- 
I)ress:on  deserves  also  to  be  specified:  "who  actually 
bathed  themselves  in  water."  The  words  which  Storr 
uses  are,  when  con-ectly  translated  were  bathed.  The 
use  of  the  word  themselres,  intinmting  by  its  connection, 
that  the  baptized  performed  the  operation  themselves, 
like  the  Jewish  proselytes,  did  not  orieinate  with  Storr. 

t  Vol.  Lp.  260.  Art.  avaivu.     j  p  26L 


222       DR.    GRIFFIN'S    LETTER    ON    COMMUNION. 


Fathers,  as  any  one  may  see  by  consult- 
ing the  work. 

See  also  the  result  to  which  this  learned 
author  was  led  in  regard  to  the  subjects  of 
baptism  in  the  primitive  ages,  oy  his 
lengthened  and  laborious  investigation  of 
the  early  Christian  writers. 

"  In  the  first  two  centuries,  no  one  re- 
ceived baptism,  unless  being  instructed  in 
the  faith,  and  imbued  with  the  doctrine  of 
Christ,  he  could  testify  that  he  was  a  be- 
liever— on  account  of  these  words,  He  that 
helieveth  and  is  baptized.  Therefore  to 
believe  preceded.  Thence  arose  in  the 
church  the  order  of  Catechumens.  It  was 
also  then  the  constant  custom,  that  the  Eu- 
charist should  be  given  to  those  Catechu- 
mens immediately  after  baptism.  After- 
wards the  opinion  prevailed,  that  no  one 
could  be  saved  unless  he  had  been  bap- 
tized. But  because  formerly  the  Eucha- 
rist was  given  to  adult  Catechumens  as  soon 
as  they  had  been  bathed  in  sacred  baptism, 
this  also  was  appointed  to  be  done  in  the 
case  of  infants,  after  Psedobaptism  was  in- 
troduced."* 

Such  were  the  sentiments  of  this  learned 
man ;  sentiments  which  resulted  from 
twenty  years'  indefatigable  researching 
among  the  writings  of  the  early  Christian 
Fathers-t 

Had  there  then,  been  no  departure  from 
primitive  practice,  immersion  would  have 
been  universal.  But  can  this  departure 
from  the  originally  established  form  be  jus- 
tified ?  Yes,  say  some  men ;  "  because 
the  change  of  the  ancient  custom  of  im- 
mersion, although  it  ought  not  to  have  been 
made,  destroys  nothing  that  is  essential  to 
this  ceremony  as  it  was  instituted  by  our 
Saviour."  But  surely  it  is  essential  to  this 
ceremony  that  it  be  the  significant  action 
ordained  by  our  Lord.  The  change  which 
human  contrivance  has  introduced  may 
answer  some  of  the  purposes  intended,  yet 
in  other  respects  it  destroys  the  significan- 
cy  of  the  ordinance.  Immersion  expresses 
the  whole,  but  any  substitute  necessarily 
omits  a  part  of  what  was  intended  to  be 
expressed.  Shall  we,  then,  make  void  any 
part  of  God's  command  through  a  confes- 
sedly human  contrivance  ? 

Dr.  Griffin's  fifth  remark,  that  "  if  noth- 
ing but  immersion  is  baptism,  there  is  no 
visible  church  except  among  the  Baptists," 
is  a  conclusion  of  his  own  forming,  for 
which  we  have  already  disclaimed  all  re- 
eponsibilify.  The  fact,  however,  that  God 
pours  out  his  Spirit  upon  Psedobaptists  in 


•  Vol.  II.  p.  1131.  Art.  Suvalif,  IV.  b. 

t  It  will  be  pratifyinc  to  many  of  our  readers  to  know 
that,  by  the  mtmificence  of  a  ccnerous  friend,  an  e.\ten- 
BJve  collection  of  the  early  Greek  and  Latin  Fathers, 
selected  with  care  in  Europe,  ha."!  recently  been  added 
ro  tbe  litrory  of  the  Newton  Theological  Institution. 


their  assemblies,  and  "  at  the  table  of  the 
Lord,"  that  they  "  spread  around  them  the 
savor  of  the  Redeemer's  name  by  their 
holy  examples  and  evangelical  eflbrts,"  and 
that  they  "are  a  great  majority  of  the 
chosen  instruments  to  carry  the  gospel  to 
the  heathen,"  can  be  explained  otherwise 
than  by  referring  it  to  the  divine  acknowl- 
edgment of  their  being  churches.  The  er- 
ror which  our  Pa'dobaptist  brethren  cher- 
ish, though  producing  injurious  effects, 
cannot  prevent  all  the  consequences  which 
appropriately  flow  from  the  many  precious 
truths  which  they  maintain.  When  their 
ministers  preach  repentance  towards  God 
and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
clearly  and  forcibly,  God  will  bless  his 
truth.  When  they  devote  their  wealth 
and  their  exertions  to  the  spread  of  the 
gospel,  God  will  bless  their  efforts,  not- 
withstanding the  error  with  which  they 
have  enveloped  a  part  of  divine  truth. 
But  it  becomes  them  to  consider  whether, 
if  they  should  receive  the  whole  truth  of 
God,  and  open  their  hearts  to  its  whole  in- 
fluence, a  still  greater  blessing  would  not 
rest  upon  them,  both  at  home  and  abroad  ; 
and  wheiher  they  would  not  be  happily 
freed  from  many  perplexing  and  hurtful 
circumstances.  It  is  our  belief,  that  if,  with 
all  their  present  advantages  for  growing  in 
piety,  and  for  usefulness,  they  also  should 
abandon  error  respecting  baptism,  and 
come  under  the  influence  of  the  whole 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  the  result  would  be 
inconceivably  happy. 

What  occurs  under  the  sixth  head  is  so 
similar  to  what  immediately  precedes,  that 
we  deem  it  unnecessary  to  make  any  ad- 
ditional explanations.  We  will  only  ask, 
whether,  supposing  it  to  be  true,  that  Pse- 
dobaptist  "  preachers  are  not  church  mem- 
bers, and  therefore  have  no  right  to  preach, 
and  certainly  are  not  ministers  of  Christ, 
and  therefore  have  no  right  to  administer 
the  Lord's  supper,  and  are  guilty  of  awful 
profanity  in  doing  this,"  whether,  even  sup- 
posing all  this  to  be  indubitably  true.  Dr. 
Griffin  seriously  believes  that  God  would 
drive  them  from  the  earth  like  Korah, 
Dathan,  and  Abiram?  Men  sometimes 
speak  boldly,  rather  than  soberly.  What 
if  we  should  hear  of  a  profane  company 
of  young  men  meeting,  during  a  revival  of 
religion,  for  the  express  purpose  of  cele- 
brating in  mockery  the  ordinance  of  the 
Lord's  supper;  and  it  should  be  told  us 
that  He  who  is  long  sufi'cring  and  abun- 
dant in  mercy,  did  not  cause  the  earth  to 
open  and  to  swallow  up  the  offenders  ;  but 
that  on  the  contrary,  so  marvellous  are  the 
ways  of  God,  there  was  fastened  on  the 
conscience  of  one,  such  a  conviction  of 
guilt  that  he  found  no  peace  till  he  applied 
to  that  Saviour  with  whose  suflferings  he 


PROFESSOR    RIPLEY'S    REVIEW    OF 


223 


had  been  sporting :  Would  this  exceed  the 
bounds  of  behef?  The  dispensation  under 
which  we  are  permitted  to  live  does  not  re- 
quire those  immediate,  outward  manifesta- 
tions of  divine  displeasure  which  were  ap- 
propriate to  a  former  age. 

The  remarks  under  the  seventh  head  and 
under  the  eighth,  imply  that  the  refusing 
to  mingle  ourselves  with  our  Psedobaptist 
brethren  in  celebrating  the  Lord's  supper, 
is  a  violation  of  the  spirit  of  Christian  love 
and  union  ;  and  arises  from  bigotry  and 
selfishness.  Thus  we  come  back  to  the 
hackneyed  common-place  in  which  many 
people  indulge  themselves.  And  is  it  Dr. 
Griffin  that  is  treading  upon  this  beaten 
ground  ?  a  man  who  seems  to  perceive  on 
what  principle  the  Baptists  withhold  from 
uniting  with  others  at  the  Lord's  table,  and 
who  assents  to  the  oorrectness  of  the  prin- 
ciple ;  a  man  who  has  been  understood  to 
vindicate  Baptists  irom  the  charge  of  illib- 
erality,  and  who  has  been  understood  to 
say  that  if  his  sentiments  on  baptism  cor- 
responded with  those  of  the  Baptists  he 
would  practise  as  they  do  in  regard  to 
communion  ?  Henceforth  we  will  not  won- 
der when  the  unreflecting  multitude  thus 
accuse  us.  We  will  leave  our  cause  witli 
God,  and  earnestly  implore  that  we  and  all 
our  Christian  brethren  may  be  more 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  ;  that  the  strife  of  tongues  may 
cease ;  that  whether  we  or  they,  are  in 
fault,  error  may  be  exposed,  and  that  under 
the  mild  influences  of  truth,  the  church  of 
the  Lord  may  flourish. 

Our  hearts  were  pained  by  the  unkind 
remarks  under  these  heads.  Let  any 
Christian  solemnly  reflect  on  the  endear- 
ing relation  which  subsists  among  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  the  expectants  of  heavenly 
bliss ;  let  him  warm  his  heart  by  meditat- 
ing on  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  by 
communing  with  his  Lord  and  Master,  and 
we  persuade  ourselves  he  will  regret  that 
such  a  train  of  thought  should  have  been 
expressed,  when  the  conscientious,  self  de- 
nying practice  of  acknowledged  brethren 
in  Christ  was  the  subject.  We  judge  not 
the  author  of  these  remarks.  We  believe 
the  recollection  of  his  having  made  them 
and  of  his  having  permitted  them  to  be 
published,  must  excite  some  painful  emo- 
tions. There  is,  too,  so  manilest  a  differ- 
ence between  the  casting  of  such  reflec- 
tions, and  the  manner  in  which  the  letter 
commences,  that  one  might  be  excused  for 
doubting  whether  both  parts  came  from 
the  same  pen.  But  so  it  is.  And  we  are 
compelled  to  place  this  among  the  proofs, 
that  age  and  experience,  dignity  and  piety, 
may  swerve  from  Christian  kindness  and 
rectitude;  may  be  mingled  with  human 
imperfections,  and  may  still  have  occasion 


in  brokennees  of  heart  to  seek  forgiveness 
from  a  Saviour  who  can  abundantly  par- 
don. 

We  refuse  not  to  associate  at  the  Lord's 
table  with  other  Christians  because  we  are 
bigoted,  or  selfish,  or  because  we  wish  "  to 
shut  our  adherents  in  by  a  sort  of  impas- 
sable gulf."  The  practice  for  which  we 
are  censured  is  not  recommended  to  us  ex- 
cept by  a  regard  to  what  we  think  the  will 
of  our  Lord.  Nor  is  the  practice  at  all  in- 
consistent with  the  purest  and  most  gene- 
rous Christian  love.  For  we  can  love  our 
brethren  with  pure  hearts  fervently,  while 
yet  we  do  not  join  with  them  in  every  re- 
ligious observance.  There  are  occasions, 
and  those  of  perpetual  occurrence,  on  which 
the  expressions  of  Christian  affection  are 
less  questionably  genuine,  than  the  occa- 
sion afforded  by  celebrating  the  Lord's 
supper.  Our  practice  does  not  imply  want 
of  love  for  the  disciples  of  our  Lord ;  it 
implies  conscientious  adherance  to  princi- 
ples which  we  think  our  Lord  has  estab- 
lished in  his  church.  Nor  is  our  practice 
at  all  inconsistent  with  the  fact,  that  all  true 
Christians  will  commune  together  in  heav- 
en ;  for  the  communion  of  soul  which  the 
redeemed  will  enjoy  in  heaven  is  a  diflfer- 
ent  thing  from  celebrating  the  Lord's  sup- 
per. 

The  names  of  the  "  celebrated  Robert 
Hall,  and  of  the  late  excellent  Dr.  Stillman" 
are  indeed  dear ;  but  we  remember  that 
our  Lord  has  cautioned  his  disciples  to  call 
no  man  master  vipon  earth.  It  may  be 
well  also,  to  mention,  that  however  applaud- 
ed Mr.  Hall's  hberality  may  be,  it  pro- 
ceeds "  entirely  on  the  ground  that  baptism 
is  not  an  indispensable  prerequisite  to  com- 
mtmion ;"  a  principle,  the  propriety  of  which 
in  the  commencement  of  this  letter,  Dr. 
Griffin  expressly  disowns.  As  to  the  "  ex- 
cellent Dr.  Stillman,"  who  is  said  to  have 
stood  "  at  the  head  of  the  liberal  class"  in 
America,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that 
the  case  is  not  quite  so  clear  as  one  would 
suppose  from  Dr.  Griffin's  remark.  But 
what  if  it  were  1  Must  we  be  governed  by 
names'?  Our  faith  must  not  stand  in  the 
wisdom  of  men.* 


'  Since  writing  the  above,  the  following  letter  has 
been  received  from  a  much  esteemed  and  well  known 
individual,  for  many  years  a  deacon  in  the  church  of 
which  Dr.  Stillman  was  the  pastor, 

"Your  note  is  just  received,  making  inquiry  respect- 
ing Dr.  Stillman's  sentiments  on  communion.  The 
Doctor  was  a  man  of  a  most  catholic  spirit;  and  he  al- 
ways fell  so  ardent  an  attachunent  to,  and  such  an  inti- 
mate union  with,  all  whom  he  believed  to  be  real  Chris- 
tians, that  I  think  had  he  consulted  his  feelings  only, 
he  would  have  avowed  hiiriself  an  open  communionist. 
But  from  all  that  I  ever  heard  him  say  on  the  subject,  I 
believe  he  did  not  consider  the  practice  correct. 

"  I  have  heard  Dr.  Baldwin  say  that  when  Dr.  Stillman 
first  caine  to  Boston,  his  evangelical  brethren  in  the 
ministry  of  the  Pajdoijaptist  denomination  expected  that 
he  would  commime  with  them,  and  that  their  opinion 
was  grounded  on  some  remarks  made  by  Dr.  Stillman, 
which  were  understood  by  them  to  be  favorable  lo  such 


224 


DR.    GRIFFIN'S    LETTER    ON    COMMUNION, 


Some  topics  are  named  in  this  letter 
which  do  not  materially  affect  the  leading 
point ;  such  as,  tlie  baptism  administered 
by  John,  and  the  purpose  for  which  our 
Saviour  received  baptism.  We  therefore 
omit  the  consideration  of  these  topics,  and 
refer  tliose  who  wish  to  see  a  brief  yet 
comprehensive  view  of  them,  to  the  sermon 
on  the  design  of  baptism,  which  has  already 
been  named. 

Though  so  far  as  our  present  purpose  is 
concerned,  tlie  topics  just  named  may  be 
waived,  yet  on  the  general  question  of  bap- 
tism tliey  ought  by  no  means  to  be  omit- 
ted. For  the  fact  that  baptism  had  been 
frequently  administered  by  divine  author- 
ity previously  to  the  final  commission  of 
the  apostles,  is  one  of  the  circumstances 
which  must  be  taken  into  account  when  we 
endeavor  to  view  ourselves  as  in  the  same 
situation  in  which  the  apostles  were  when 
they  received  that  commission.  A  recent 
advocate  for  sprinkling  contends  earnestly 
(but  not  more  earnestly  than  he  ought) 
that  in  order  to  know  how  the  apostles 
v/ould  understand  the  language  of  the  com- 
mission, we  must  as  far  as  possible  conceive 
ourselves  to  be  in  their  situation  at  that 
time.  Now  applying  this  principle,  we  ob- 
serve, that  tlie  disciples  of  our  Lord  previ 
ously  to  receiving  tlieir  final  commission 
had  for  several  years  been  witnessing  tlie 


administration  of  baptism  by  tlie  divinelj^  fession  that  tliey  are  contending  about  the  rite 


appointed  harbinger  of  the  Messiah,  and 
had  themselves  administered  baptism  under 
their  Lord's  immediate  direction.  See 
John  iv.  1,  2.  That  all  these  instances  of 
baptism  had  a  very  direct  reference  to  the 
Messiah's  dispensation,  we  presume  no  one 
will  question.  Thus  baptism,  administered 
by  divine  authority,  was  to  them,  when  the 
commission  was  last  given,  no  new  thing. 
Having  been  accustomed  to  baptism,  how 
would  they  naturally  proceed  wlien  they 
were  commissioned  to  go  into  all  tlie  world 
to  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  ? 
Clearly  they  would  proceed  in  the  manner 
to  which  they  had  been  accustomed  unless 
some  special  direction  had  been  given  to 
pursue  a  different  course.  Such  a  direction 
seems  to  have  been  given  as  to  the  form  of 
words  in  connection  with  which  the  ordinance 
was  to  be  administered  ;  but  neitlier  from  the 


coinniiniion.  The  Dr.  however,  found  the  brethren  of 
his  church  aiid  other  Baptists  unfavorable  to  the  inter- 
course, and  lie  gave  it  up ;  and  my  opinion  is,  that  he 
did  not  consider  it  either  expedient  or  correct.  In  fact 
)iaving  never  suspected  hiui,  during  his  life,  to  favor 
open  communion,  I  never  asked  him  particularly  as  to 
his  own  views  on  the  subject ;  and  it  was  not  till  after 
l)is  death  when  Dr.  Eplirnim  Kliot's  pamphlet  was  pub" 
lished,  that  I  had  the  conversation  referred  to  with  Dr. 
Daldwin.  I  never  knew  him  to  communicate  at  the 
Lord'.-<  table  with  Pa'dobaptists,  nor  were  any  other  than 
immersed  professing  believern  ever  admitted  to  coiniiui- 
nicate  wilh  his  church  during  the  fourteen  years  iu 
wliicli  I  delightedly  sat  under  his  affectionate  minis-try. 
Very  respectfully  yowra, 

JAM'ii.S  Lor.iNc;. 


commission  itself,  nor  from  tlie  subsequent 
history  of  the  apostles  is  there  the  least 
satisfactory  evidence,  that  they  were  au- 
thorized to  depart  from  the  original  institu- 
tion, either  as  to  the  action  to  be  performed, 
or  as  to  the  persons  on  whom  it  was  to  be 
performed. 

There  is  one  other  point  to  which  we 
would  direct  the  attention  of  our  readers. 
Under  the  fourth  head  of  this  letter,  oc- 
curs the  folloAving  sentence :  "  There  is  a 
great  variety  in  the  manner  of  their  [dif- 
ferent denominations']  keeping  the  supper, 
administering  baptism,  performing  prayer, 
and  conducting  all  tlie  forms  of  public 
worship."  Thus  the  manner  in  which  bap- 
tism is  performed  is  put  upon  a  level  with 
the  unprescribed  circumstances  attending 
the  administration  of  the  Lord's  supper,  the 
performance  of  prayer,  and  other  forms  of 
public  worship.  It  has  often  been  intima- 
ted, that  it  is  quite  as  immaterial  in  what 
manner  baptism  be  performed,  as  it  is  in 
what  manner  prayer  be  performed,  whetlier 
in  a  standing  or  a  kneeling  posture ;  that  it 
is  quite  as  reasonable  to  hold  a  controversy 
on  the  question  whether  we  must  kneel  or 
stand  in  prayer,  as  on  the  question,  whether 
in  baptism  we  must  be  immersed  or  not. 
Thus  Baptists  are  represented  as  contend- 
ing about  a  mere  circumstance  of  a  reli- 
gious rite  whereas  it  is  their  continual  pro- 


itself  The  illustration  drawn  from  prayer 
and  from  the  administration  of  the  Lord's 
supper,  is  by  no  means  appropriate.  For 
whether  prayer  be  performed  by  a  person 
kneeling,  sitting,  standing,  or,  lying  down, 
still  it  is  prayer,  as  no  particular  manner  is 
prescribed.  Whetlier  the  Lord's  supper  be 
administered  to  persons  sitting,  or  reclin- 
ing according  to  tfie  custom  which  prevail- 
ed in  Palestine,  still  it  is  the  Lord's  supper ; 
for  we  have  no  directions  concerning  pos- 
ture, and  there  is  nothing  wliich  is  intended 
to  be  expressed  by  the  Lord's  supper,  that 
is  inconsistent  with  either  posture.  But  in 
the  other  ordinance,  the  form  is  prescribed, 
just  as  really  as  it  would  appear  to  be,  if 
the  original  word,  instead  of  being  adoj)ted 
or  transferred  from  Greek  in  to  the  English 
language,  had  been  translated.  It  would 
then  have  been  expressed,  in  plain  English 
by  the  word  immersion.  Moreover,  some- 
thing essential  to  the  ordinance,  as  to  what 
it  is  intended  to  represent,  is  omitted,  if 
any  thing  be  substituted  for  immersion.  So 
that  our  controversey  is  not  respecting  the 
form  of  baptism,  but  respecting  baptism 
itself;  not  whether  persons  shall  be  bap- 
tized in  this  or  in  that  way,  but  whether  they 
shal  be  baptized.  Pedobaptists  say,  any 
one  of  certain  things  in  baptism ;  we  say 
only  one  of  those  things  is  baptism.  The 
I  controversy  then  is   about   the  thing,    not 


^x  -^:^^ 


'WS^ 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


225 


about  a  circumstance  of  the  thing.  The 
illustration  drawn  from  prayer  and  from  the 
Lord's  supper  would  be  opposite,  if  the 
matter  in  controversy  were,  whether  the  va- 
lidity of  baptism  be  affected  by  the  circum- 
stance of  the  candidate's  standing  or  kneel- 
ing in  the  water,  or  by  the  circumstance 
of  prayer's  preceding  or  following  his  im- 
mersion. But  plainly  about  mere  circum- 
stances we  have  no  dispute;  andis  it  notunjust 
and  unkind  to  compare  the  manner  of  bap- 
tism to  the  posture  in  prayer,  and  at  the 
Lord's  table.  We  repeat  it  the  controversy 
is  about  the  thing  itself  Baptists  view 
themselves  as  contending  for  the  very  exis- 
tence of  a  Christian  ordinance ;  as  contend- 
ing, not  whether  baptism  shall  be  adminis- 
tered in  this  or  that  way,  but  whether  it 
shall  be  retained  in  the  church. 

The  views  of  other  denominations  re- 
specting baptism  are  not  definite ;  with  them 
immersion,  pouring,  sprinkling,  are  all  equal- 
ly valid  baptism.  With  Baptists,  immer- 
sion only  is  acknowledged  as  baptism. 
Other  denominations  then  may  without  any 
peculiar  generosity  or  kindness,  invite  us  to 


come  to  the  Lord's  table ;  for  they  admit 
that  we  are  baptized.  We,  however,  can- 
not invite  and  encourage  them  without  vio- 
lating our  conscience,  because  we  cannot 
consider  them  as  baptized,  i.  e.  immersed, 
according  to  the  command  of  our  Lord. 
There  is  then  a  manifest  difference  between 
the  two  cases ;  and  since  it  is  the  Psedobap- 
tists  who  have  departed  from  the  command, 
we  confidendy  and  solemnly  ask,  who  are  to 
be  blamed  for  the  want  of  union  between 
them  and  us  ? 

We  pray  that  knowledge  and  holiness 
may  increase.  We  call  upon  all  the  friends 
of  Christ  to  search  the  scriptures.  We 
affectionately  entreat  them  to  remember  his 
words.  If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  command- 
ments;  and  thus  to  examine  themselves,  in 
respect  to  baptism,  as  well  as  in  respect  to 
other  duties,  whenever  they  think  of  the  me- 
morials of  his  death.  And  may  all  who 
keep  the  ordinances  as  they  were  originally 
delivered,  become  living  proofs  that  their 
baptism  is  not  an  unmeaning  ceremony,  but 
a  powerful  incitement  to  walk  in  newnesa 
of  life. 


A  MEMOIR 


Ot"  THE 


REV.   ROBERT   H  AJL  L,(.m  M.  \ 


ft 


By  0.  GREGORY,  L.  L.  D.  F.  R.  A.  S. 


Robert  Hall,  was  born  at  Arnsby,  a  vil- 
lage about  eight  miles  from  Leicester,  on  the 
2d  of  May,  1764.  His  father  was  descend- 
ed from  a  respectable  family  of  yeomanry 
in  Northumberland,  whence  he  removed  to 
Arnshy  in  1753,  on  being  chosen  the  pastor 
of  a  Baptist  congregation  in  that  place.  He 
was  not  a  man  of  learning,  but  a  man  of 
correct  judgment  and  sohd  piety,  an  elo- 
quent and  successful  preacher  of  the  gospel, 
and  one  the  first  among  the  modern  Bap- 
tists in  our  villages  who  aimed  to  bring  them 
down  Irani  the  heights  of  ultra-Calvinism  to 
those  views  of  religious  truth  v/hich  are 
sound,  devotional,  and  practical.     He  was 

Vol.  3. — Cc, 


I  the  author  of  several  useful  publications,  of 
which  one,  the  "Help  to  Zion's  Trav- 
ellers," has  gone  through  several  editions, 
and  is  still  much  and  beneficially  read,  on 
account  of  its  tendency  to  remove  various 
often-urged  objections  against  some  momen- 
tous points  of  evangelical  trutli.  He  was 
often  .appointed  to  draw  up  the  "  Circular 
Letters"  f  om  the  ministers  and  messengers 
of  the  Northampton  Association.  One 
of  these  letters,  published  in  1776,  presents, 
in  small  compass,  so  able  a  defence  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  that  it  might  be  ad- 
vantageously republished  for  more  general 
circulation.  This  excellent  man  died  in 
March.  1791.    His  character  ha.^  been  beau- 


226 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


tifully  sketched  by  his  son,  who,  in  one  sen- 
tence, while  portraying  his  father,  with 
equal  accuracy  depicted  himself:  "  He  ap- 
peared to  the  greatest  advantage  upon  sub- 
jects where  the  faculties  of  most  men  foil 
them  ;  for  the  natural  element  of  his  mind 
was  greatness." 

The  wife  of  this  valuable  individual  was 
a  woman  of  sterling  sense  and  distinguish- 
ed piety.     She  died  in  December,  1776. 

Robert  was  the  youngest  of  fourteen  chil- 
dren, six  of  whom  survived  their  parents. 
Four  of  these  were  daughters,  of  whom 
three  are  still  living ;  the  other  son  ;  John, 
settled  as  a  farmer  at  Arnsby,  and  died  in 
1806. 

Robert,  while  an  infant,  was  so  delicate 
and  feeble,  that  it  was  scarcely  expected  he 
would  reach  maturity.  Until  he  was  two 
years  of  age  he  could  neither  walk  nor  talk. 
He  was  carried  about  in  the  arms  of  a  nurse, 
who  was  kept  for  him  alone,  and  was  directed 
to  take  him  close  after  the  plough  in  the  field, 
and  at  other  times  to  the  sheep-pen,  from  a 
persuasion,  very  prevalent  in  the  midland 
counties,  that  the  exhalations  from  newly 
ploughed  land,  and  from  sheep  in  Uie  fold 
are  salubrious  and  strengthening.  Adjacent 
to  his  fatlier's  dwelling-house  was  a  burial 
ground  ;  and  the  nurse,  a  woman  of  integ- 
rity and  intelligence,  judging  from  his  ac- 
tions that  he  was  desirous  to  learn  the  mean 
ing  of  the  inscriptions  on  the  grave-stones, 
and  of  the  various  figures  carved  upon  them 
managed,  by  the  aid  of  those  inscriptions, 
to  teach  him  the  letters  of  the  alphabet, 
then  to  group  them  into  syllables  and  words, 
and  thus,  at  length,  to  read  and  speak.  No 
sooner  was  his  tongue  loosed  by  this  unu- 
sual but  efficient  process,  than  his  advance 
became  constantly  marked.  Having  acquir- 
ed the  ability  to  speak,  his  constitutional 
ardor  at  once  appeared.  He  was  inces- 
santly asking  questions,  and  became  a  great 
and  a  rapid  talker.  One  day,  when  he  was 
about  three  years  old,  on  his  expressing  dis- 
approbation of  some  person  who  spoke 
quickly,  his  mother  reminded  him  that  he 
spoke  very  fast ;  "  Ab,"  said  he,  "  /  only 
keep  at  it." 

Like  many  others  who  where  bom  in  vil- 
lages, he  received  his  first  regular  instruc- 
tions (after  he  left  his  nui-se's  arms)  at  a 
dame's  shool.  Dame  Scotton  had  the  honor 
of  being  the  first  professsional  instructor. 
From  her  he  was  transferred  to  Mrs.  Lyley, 
in  the  same  village.  While  under  their  care 
he  evinced  an  extraordinary  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge, and  became  a  coUecter  of  books.  In 
the  summer  season,  after  the  school-hours 
were  over,  he  would  put  his  richly  prized 
library  among  which  was  an  Entick's  Dic- 
tionary, into  his  pinafore,  steal  into  the 
grave-yard  Cwhich,  from  an  early  and  fixed 


association,  he  regarded  as  his  study,)  lie 
down  upon  the  grass,  spread  his  Dooka 
around  him,  and  there  remain  until  the 
deepening  shades  of  evening  compelled  him 
to  retire  into  the  house. 

At  about  six  years  of  age  he  was  placed, 
as  a  day-scholar,  under  the  charge  of  a  Mr. 
Simmons,  of  Wigston,  a  village  about  four 
miles  from  Arnsby.  At  first,  he  walked  to 
school  in  the  mornings,  and  home  again 
in  the  evenings.  But  the  severe  pain  in 
his  back  from  which  he  suflfered  so  much 
through  life,  had  even  then  begun  to  dis- 
tress him  ;  so  that  he  was  often  obliged  to 
lie  down  upon  the  road,  and  sometimes  his 
brother  John  and  his  other  school-ieilowa 
carried  him,  in  turn,  he  repaying  them  du- 
ring their  labor  by  relating  some  amusing 
story,  or  detailing  some  of  the  interesting 
results  of  his  reading.  On  his  father's  as- 
certaining his  inability  to  walk  so  far  daily, 
he  took  lodgings  lor  him  and  his  brother  at 
the  house  of  a  friend  in  the  village :  after 
this  arrangement  was  made,  they  went  to 
Wigston  on  the  Monday  mornings,  and  re- 
turned to  Arnsby  on  the  Saturday  after- 
noons- 

The  course  of  instructions  at  Mr.  Sim- 
mons's  school  was  not  very  extensive  ;  and 
Robert  was  not  likely  to  restrict  himself  as 
a  student,  to  its  limits.  On  starting  from 
home  on  the  Monday,  it  was  his  practice  to 
take  with  him  two  or  three  books  from  his 
father's  library,  that  he  might  read  them  in 
the  intervals  between  the  school  hours.  The 
books  he  selected  were  not  those  of  mere 
amusement,  but  such  as  required  deep  and 
serious  thought.  The  works  of  Jonathaii 
Edwards,  for  example,  were  among  his  fa- 
vorites ;  and  it  is  an  ascertained  fact,  that 
before  he  was  nine  years  of  age,  he  had 
perused — and  reperused — with  intense  in- 
terest, the  treatises  of  that  profound  and  ex- 
traordinary thinker,  on  the  "Afl'ections, "  and 
on  the  "Will."  About  the  same  time  he 
read,  with  a  like  interest,  "  Butler's  Anal- 
ogy." He  used  to  ascribe  his  early  predi- 
lection for  this  class  of  studies,  in  great  meas- 
ure, to  his  intimate  association,  in  mere  child- 
hood, with  a  tailor,  one  of  his  father's  con- 
gregation, a  very  shrewd,  well-informed 
man,  and  an  acute  metaphysician.  Before 
he  was  ten  years  old,  he  had  written  many 
essays,  principally  on  religious  subjects  ;  and 
often  invited  his  brother  and  sisters  to  hear 
him  preach.  About  this  time,  too  in  one  of 
those  anticipatory  distributions  of  a  father's 
property,  which,  I  apprehend,  are  not  unu- 
sual with  boys,  he  proposed  that  his  brother 
should  have  the  cows,  sheep,  and  pigs,  on 
[their  father's  death,  and  leave  him  "  all  the 
j books."  Those  juvenile"  dividers  of  the 
inheritance,"  seem  to  have  overlooked  their 
.' sisters;  unless,  indeed  they  assigned  them 


MEMOIR     OF     ROBERT     HALL, 


227 


the  furniture.  The  incident,  however,  is 
mentioned  simply  to  show  what  it  was  that 
Robert  even  then  most  prized. 

He  remained  at  Mr.  Simmons's  school 
until  he  was  eleven  years  of  age,  when  this 
conscientious  master  informed  the  father 
that  he  was  quite  unable  to  keep  pace  with 
his  pupil,  declaring  that  he  had  been  often 
obliged  to  sit  up  all  night  to  prepare  the  les- 
sons for  the  morning  ;  a  practice  he  could 
no  longer  continue,  and  must  therefore  re- 
linquish his  favorite  scholar. 

The  proofs  of  extraordinary  talent  and 
of  devotional  feeling  which  Robert  had  now 
for  some  time  exhibited,  not  only  gratified 
his  excellent  parents,  but  seemed  to  mark 
the  expediency  and  propriety  of  devoting 
him  to  the  sacred  office ;  but  the  delicate 
health  of  the  son,  and  the  narrow  means  of 
the  father,  occasioned  some  perplexity.  Mr. 
Halltherefore,  took  his  son  to  Kettering,  in 
order  that  he  might  avail  himself  of  the 
advice  of  an  influential  and  valued  friend 
residing  there,  Mr.  Beby  Wallis.  Their  in- 
terview soon  led  him  to  the  choice  of  a  suit- 
able boarding-school ;  but  the  palid  and 
sickly  appearance  of  the  boy  exciting  Mr. 
Wailis's  sympathy,  he  prevailed  upon  his 
father  to  leave  him  at  his  house  for  a  few 
weeks,  in  the  hope  that  change  of  air  would 
improve  his  health.  This  gentleman  was 
so  greatly  astonished  at  the  precocity  of  tal- 
ent of  his  youthful  visiter,  that  he  several 
times  requested  him  to  deliver  a  short  ad- 
dress to  a  select  auditory  invited  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  juvenile  orator  often  afterward 
adverted  to  the  injury  done  him  by  the  in- 
congruous elevation  to  which  he  was  thus 
raised.  "  Mr.  Wallis,"  said  he,  "  was  one 
whom  every  body  loved.  He  belonged  to  a 
family  in  which  probity,  candor,  and  benev- 
olence constituted  the  general  likeness:  but 
conceive,  sir,  if  you  can,  the  egregious  im- 
propriety of  setting  a  boy  of  eleven  to 
preach  to  a  company  of  grave  gentlemen, 
full  half  of  whom  wore  wigs.  I  never  call 
the  circumstance  to  mind  but  with  grief  at 
the  vanity  it  inspired  ;  nor,  when  I  think  of 
such  mistakes  of  good  men,  am  I  inclined  to 
question  the  correctness  of  Baxter's  lan- 
guage, strong  as  it  is,  where  he  say.s, '  Nor 
should  men  turn  preachers  as  the  river  Ni- 
lus  breeds  frogs  (saith  Herodotus),  when 
one  half  moveth  before  the  other  is  made, 
and  while  it  is  yet  but  plain  mud  P  "* 

Robert's  health  appearing  much  improv- 
ed from  his  short  residence  at  Kettering,  he 
was  placed  by  his  father  as  a  boarder,  at 
the  school  of  the  Rev.  John  Ryland  in  (he 
neighboring  town  of  Northampton.  Mr.  Ry- 
land was  a  very  extraordinary  man,  whose 
excellences  and  eccentricities  were  strange- 


'  SaiQt's  Rest,  Preface  to  Part  11.  Original  edition. 


ly  balanced.  In  him  were  blended  the  ar- 
dor and  vehemence  of  Whitfield,  with  the 
intrepidity  of  Luther.  His  pulpit  oratory 
was  one  of  the  boldest  character,  and  sin- 
gularly impressive,  when  he  did  not  over- 
step the  proprieties  of  the  ministerial  func- 
tion. In  his  school  he  was  both  loved  and 
feared ;  his  prevailing  kindness  and  benev- 
olence exciting  affection,  while  his  stern  de- 
termination to  do  what  was  right,  as  well  as 
to  require  what  he  thought  right,  too  often 
kept  alive  among  his  pupils  a  sentiment  of 
apprehension  and  alarm.  So  far  as  I  can 
learn,  from  several  who  had  been  under  his 
care,  he  taught  Greek  better  than  Latin, 
and  the  rudiments  of  Mathematical  science 
with  more  success  than  those  of  grammar 
and  the  other  languages.  His  pupils  never 
forgot  his  manner  of  explaining  the  doc- 
trine and  application  of  ratios  and  propor- 
tions ;  and  they  who  had  ever  formed  a  part 
of  his  "  living  orrery,"  by  which  he  incor- 
porated the  elements  of  the  solar  system 
among  the  amusements  of  the  play-ground, 
obtained  a  knowledge  of  that  class  of  facts 
which  they  seldom,  if  ever,  lost. 

Our  youthful  student  remained  under  Mr. 
Ryland's  care  but  little  more  than  a  year 
and  a  half;  during  which,  however,  accor- 
ding to  his  father's  testimony,  "  he  made 
great  progress  in  Latin  and  Greek  ;"  while, 
in  his  own  judgment,  the  principle  of  emu- 
lation was  called  into  full  activity,  the  habit 
of  composition  was  brought  into  useful  ex- 
ercise, the  leading  principles  of  abstract 
science  were  collected,  and  a  thirst  for 
knowledge  of  every  land  acquired.  It  should 
also  be  mentioned  here,  that  it  was  during 
the  time  Robert  was  Mr.  Ryland's  pupil  that 
he  heard  a  sermon  preached  at  Northamp- 
ton, by  Mr.  Robins,  of  Daventry,  whose  reli- 
gious instruction,  conveyed  "  in  language 
of  the  most  classic  purity,"  at  once  "  impres- 
sive and  delightful,"  excited  his  early  relish 
for  chaste  and  elegant  composition. 

From  the  time  he  quitted  Northampton 
until  he  entered  the  "  Bristol  Education  So- 
ciety," or  academy  for  the  instruction  of 
young  men  preparing  for  the  ministerial 
office  among  the  Baptists,  he  studied  divin- 
ity, and  some  collateral  subjects,  principally 
under  the  guidance  of  his  father,  with  occa- 
sional hints  from  his  acute  metaphysical 
friend,  still  residing  in  the  same  village. 
Having,  in  this  interval,  given  satisfactory 
proofs  of  his  piety,  and  of  a  strong  predi- 
lection for  the  pastorial  office,  he  was  placed 
at  the  Bristol  Institution,  upon  Dr.  Ward's 
foundation,  in  October,  1778,  being  then  in 
his  fifteenth  year.  He  remained  there  un- 
til the  autumn  of  1781,  when  the  president 
of  the  institution  reported  to  the  general 
meeting  of  subscribers  and  friends,  (hat 
"  two  pupils,  Messrs.  Stennet  and  Hall,  had 


228 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL 


heen  contimied  upon  Dr.  Ward's  exhibition, 
but  were  now  preparing  to  set  out  for  Scot- 
land, according  to  the  Doctor's  will." 

The  Bristol  Academy,  when  Mr.  Hall 
first  joined  it,  was  under  the  superintend- 
ence of  the  Rev.  Hugh  Evans,  who  was 
shortly  afterwards  succeded  by  his  son,  Dr. 
Caleb  Evans,  both  as  president  of  the  in- 
stitution, and  as  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church 
in  Broadmead.  The  Rev.  James  Newton 
was  the  classical  tutor.  Under  these  able 
men  he  pursued  his  studies  with  great  ar- 
dor and  perseverance.  He  became  an  ear- 
ly riser ;  and  it  was  remarked  in  conse- 
quence, that  he  was  often  ready  to  attend 
the  tutor  for  the  morning  lessons,  before 
some  of  his  fellow-students  had  commenc- 
ed their  preparation. 

His  sentiments  at  this  time  respecting  his 
theological  tutor,  and  the  importance  of  his 
studies  in  general,  may  be  gathered  from 
the  subjoined  extracts  from  two  letters  to 
his  father,  both  written  before  July,  1780. 

"  Dr.  Evans  is  a  most  amiable  person  in 
every  respect :  as  a  man,  generous  and 
open-hearted;  as  a  Christian,  lively  and 
spiritual ;  as  a  preacher,  pathetic,  and  fer- 
vent ;  and  as  a  tutor,  gentle,  meek,  and 
condescending.  I  can  truly  say  that  he  has, 
on  all  occasions,  behaved  to  me  with  the 
tenderness  and  affection  of  a  parent,  whom 
I  am  bound  by  the  most  endearing  ties  to 
hold  in  everlasting  honor  and  esteem. 

"  Through  the  goodness  of  God,  of  whom 
in  all  things  I  desire  to  be  continually  mind- 
ful, my  pursuits  of  knowledge  afford  me  in- 
creasing pleasure,  and  lay  open  fresh  sources 
of  improvement  and  entertainment.  That 
branch  of  wisdom  in  which,  above  all  others, 
I  wish  and  crave  your  assistance  is  divinity, 
of  all  others  the  most  interesting  and  im- 
portant. It  is  the  height  of  my  ambition, 
thai,  in  some  happy  period  of  my  life,  my 
lot  may  be  cast  near  you,  when  I  may  have 
the  unspeakable  pleasure  of  consulting,  on 
different  subjects,  you,  whose  judgment  I 
esteem  not  less  than  an  oracle. 

"  We  poor  short-sighted  creatures,  are 
ready  to  apprehend  that  we  know  all  things, 
before  we  know  any  thing ;  whereas  it  is  a 
great  part  of  knowledge  to  know  that  we 
know  nothing.  Could  we  behold  the  vast 
depths  of  unfathomed  science,  or  glance  in- 
to the  dark  recesses  of  hidden  knowledge, 
we  could  be  ready  to  tremble  at  the  preci- 
pice, and  cry  out,  '  Who  is  sufficient  for 
these  things  ?' " 

The  system  of  instruction  at  Bristol  com- 
prehended not  merely  the  learned  languages 
and  the  rudiments  o("  science,  but  a  specific 
course  of  preparation  for  the  ministerial  of- 
fice, including  the  habit  of  public  speaking. 
Essays  and   appropriate  topics  were  writ- 


ten and  delivered,  under  the  direction  of 
the  tutors :  religious  exercises  were  care- 
fully attended  to  ;  and  the  students  were 
appointed,  in  turns,  to  speak  or  preach  upon 
subjects  selected  by  the  president.  Among 
the  books  first  put  into  Mr.  Hall's  hands  to 

Erepare  him  for  these  exercises  was  Gib- 
on's  Rhetoric,  which  he  read  with  the  ut- 
most avidity,  and  often  mentioned  in  after 
life,  as  rekindling  the  emotion  excited  by 
Mr.  Robins's  preaching,  improving  his 
sensibility  to  the  utility  as  well  as  beauty 
of  fine  writing,  and  creating  an  intense  so- 
licitude to  acquire  an  elegant  as  well  as  a 
perspicuous  style.  He  was  therefore  more 
active  in  this  department  of  academical  la- 
bor than  many  of  his  compeers.  Usually 
however,  after  his  written  compositions  had 
answered  the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
prepared,  he  made  no  effort  to  preserve 
them ;  but  either  carelessly  threw  them 
aside,  or  distributed  them  among  his  associ- 
ates, if  they  expressed  any  desire  to  pos- 
sess them.  Some  of  these  early  productions, 
therefore,  have  escaped  the  corrosions  of 
time.  The  only  one  which  I  have  been  able 
to  obtain  in  an  essay  on  "  Ambition,"  in 
which  there  is  more  of  the  tumultuary 
flourish  of  the  orator,  than  he  would  ever 
have  approved  after  he  reached  his  twen- 
tieth year.  Nor  was  it  correct  in  sentiment. 
The  sole  species  of  excellence  recommended 
to  be  pursued  was  superiority  of  intellect ; 
all  moral  qualities,  as  well  as  actions  direct 
ed  to  the  promotion  of  human  welfare, 
being  entirely  overlooked. 

Indeed,  there  is  reason  to  apprehend  that 
at  this  period  of  his  life,  Mr.  Hall,  notwith- 
standing the  correctness  and  excellence  of 
his  general  principles,  and  the  regularity  of 
his  devotional  habits,  had  set  too  high  and 
estimate  on  merely  intellectual  attainments, 
and  valued  himself,  not  more  perhaps  than 
was  natural  to  youth,  yet  too  much,  on  the 
extent  of  his  mental  possessions.  No  won- 
der, then  that  he  should  experience  saluta- 
ry mortification.  And  thus  it  happened. 
He  was  appointed,  agreeably  to  the  ar- 
rangement already  mentioned,  to  deliver 
an  address  in  the  vestry  of  Broadmead 
chapel,  on  1  Tim.  v.  10.  "  Therefore,  we 
both  labor  and  suffer  reproach,  because  we 
trust  in  the  living  God,  who  is  the  Saviour 
of  all  men ;  specially  of  those  that  be- 
ieve."  After  proceeding,  for  a  short  time 
much  to  the  gratification  of  his  auditory, 
he  suddenly  paused,  covered  his  face  with 
his  hands,  exclaimed,  "  O  !  I  have  lost  all 
my  ideas,"  and  sat  doAvn  his  hands  still  hid- 
ing his  face.  The  failure,  however,  pain- 
ful as  it  was  to  his  tutors,  and  humiliating 
to  himsellj  was  such  as  rather  augmented 
than  diminished  their  persuasion  of  what 
he  could  accomplish,  if  once  he  acquired 
self-possession.     He  was  therefore  appoint 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


229 


ed  to  speak  again,  on  the  same  subject,  at 
the  same  place,  the  ensviing  week.  This 
second  attempt  was  accompanied  by  a  sec- 
ond failure,  still  more  painful  to  witness,  and 
still  more  greivous  to  bear.  He  hastened 
from  the  vestry,  and  on  retiring  to  his 
room,  exclaimed,  "  If  this  does  not  humble, 
me,  the  devil,  must  have  me  !"  Such  were 
the  early  efforts  of  him  whose  humility  after- 
wards became  as  conspicuous  as  his  talents, 
and  who,  for  nearly  half  a  century,  excited 
universal  attention  and  admiration  by  the 
splendor  of  his  pulpit  eloquence. 

Our  student  spent  the  first  summer  vaca- 
tion after  his  entering  the  Bristol  institution 
under  the  paternal  roof  at  Arnsby  ;  and, 
in  the  course  of  that  residence  at  home,  ac- 
compained  his  father  to  some  public  relig- 
ious service  at  Clipstone,  a  village  in  North- 
amptonshire. Mr.  Hall,  senior,  and  Mr. 
Beddome  of  Bourton,  well  known  by  his 
Hymns,  and  his  truly  valuable  Sermons, 
were  both  engaged  to  preach.  But  the  lat- 
ter, being  much  struck  with  the  appearance, 
and  some  of  the  remarks,  of  the  son  of  his 
friend,  was  exceedingly  anxious  that  he 
should  preach  in  the  evening,  and  proposed 
to  relinquish  his  own  engagement,  rather 
than  be  disappointed.  To  this  injudicious 
proposal,  after  resisting  every  importunity 
for  some  time,  he  at  length  yielded ;  and 
entered  the  pulpit  to  address  an  auditory  of 
ministers,  many  of  whom  he  had  been  ac- 
customed from  his  infancy  to  regard  with 
the  utmost  reverence.  He  selected  for  his 
text  1  John  i.  5,  "  God  is  light,  and  in  Him  is 
no  darkness  at  all ;"  and,  it  is  affirmed, 
treated  this  mysterious  and  awful  subject 
with  such  metaphysical  acumen,  and  drew 
from  it  such  as  impressive  application,  as 
excited  the  deepest  interest. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  summer  vacation, 
in  1780,  he  again  visited  Arnsby ;  and  dur- 
ing the  period  he  then  remained  at  home, 
his  father  became  fully  satisfied  that  his 
piety  was  genuine,  as  well  as  that  his  quali- 
fications for  the  office  of  a  preacher  were  of 
a  high  order.  He  therefore  expressed  to 
many  of  his  friends  his  desire  that  he  should 
be  "  set  apart  to  the  sacred  work."  Soli- 
citous not  to  be  led  aside  from  a  correct 
judgment  by  the  partiality  of  a  father,  he 
resolved  that  the  church  over  which  he  was 
pastor  should  judge  of  his  son's  fitness,  and 
recognise  their  conviction  by  a  solemn  act. 
The  members  of  the  church  after  cautious 
and  deliberate  inquiry,  ratified  the  decision 
of  the  anxious  parent,  and  earnestly  and 
unanimously  requested  "  that  Robert  Hall, 
jun.  might  be  set  apart  to  public  employ." 

"  Accordingly,"  as  ihe  following  extract 
from  "the  Church -book"  testifies,  on  the 
13th  of  August,  1780,  "  he  was  examined  by 
his  father  before  the  church,  respecting  his 
inclination,  motives,  and  end,  in  reference 


to  the  ministry,  and  was  likewise  desired  to 
make  a  declaration  of  his  religious  senti- 
ments. All  which  being  done  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  church,*  they  therefore 
set  him  apart  by  lifting  up  their  right  hands, 
and  by  solemn  prayer. 

"  His  father  then  delivered  a  discourse 
to  him,  from  2  Tim.  ii.  1.  Thou  therefore, 
my  son,  be  strong  in  the  grace  that  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.  Being  thus  sent  forth,  he 
preached  in  the  afternoon  from  2  Thess.  i. 
7,  8.  The  Lord  Jesus  shall  he  revealed 
from  heaven,  with  his  mighty  angels,  in 
flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them,  that 
know  not  God,  and.  that  obey  not  the  gospel 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Chii^t.  May  the  Lord 
bless  him,  and  grant  him  great  success  !" 

It  is  worthy  of  observation  that,  on  this 
solemn  occasion,  as  well  as  when  he  preach- 
ed at  Clipstone,  Mr.  Hall  selected  texts  of 
the  class  most  calculated  to  elicit  those  pe- 
culiar powers  for  which  he  was  through  life 
distinguished. 

In  little  more  than  a  year  after  Mr.  Hall 
had  been  thus  publicly  designated  a 
preacher  of  the  gospel,  having  pursued  his 
studies  at  Bristol  with  great  assiduity  and 
corresponding  success,  he  was,  as  already 
hinted,  appointed  to  King's  College,  Aber- 
deen, on   Dr.   Ward's   foundation.     In  his 

'  As  the  words  church,  deacon,  &c  ,  when  used  by 
congregational  dissenters,  whether  Baptist  or  Pajdobap- 
tist,  are  employed  in  senses  ditftring  from  what  are  cur- 
rent among  Episcopalians,  I  annex  this  brief  note  to  pre- 
vent misconception. 

Among  the  orthodox  dissenters  of  the  class  just  speci- 
fied, a  distinction  is  always  made  between  a  church  and 
a  congregation.  A  congregation  \nc\\iAes  Ihe  whole  of 
an  assembly  collected  in  one  place  for  worship,  and 
may  therefore  comprehend,  not  merely  real  Christians, 
but  nominal  Christians,  and,  it  may  be,  unbelievers,  who, 
from  various  motives  often  attend  public  worship.  The 
church  is  constituted  of  that  portion  of  tliese  who 
after  cautious  investigation,  are  believed,  in  the  exercise 
of  judgment  apd  charity,  to  be  real  Christians.  It  is 
regarded  as  the  duty  of  such  to  unite  themselves  in  fel- 
lowship with  a  church,  and  conform  to  its  rules ;  and  the 
admission  is  by  the  sutTreige  of  the  members  of  the  re- 
spective church  ;  its  connected  congregation  having  no 
voice  in  this  matter.  A  Christian  church  is  regarded  as 
avolunfary  society,  into  which  the  members  are  incor- 
porated under  the  authority  of  Christ,  whose  laws  they 
engage  to  obey,  for  the  important  purposes  of  promot- 
ing the  mutual  improvement  of  those  who  comjiose  it 
by  an  orderly  discharge  of  religious  duties,  and  of 
bringing  others  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Every 
such  church  of  Christ  is  considered  as  an  independent 
society,  having  aright  to  enjoy  its  own  sentiments,  to 
choose  its  own  officers,  maintain  in  its  own  discipline, 
admit  members,  or  expel  them  on  persisting  in  condu  -t 
unworthy  of  the  Christian  profession;  without  being 
controlled  or  called  to  an  account  by  any  others  what- 
ever. 

Such  a  church,  as  a  Christian  community, observes 
the  sacrament,  or  "  communion  of  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ,"  at  stated  seasons ;  the  members  of  other 
churclies  being  admissible,  with  the  consent  of  the 
members  present,  on  any  specific  occasion. 

The  officers  of  such  a  church  consists  of  bishops  or 
presbyters(i.  e.  pastors)  and  deacons.  The  latter  are 
not,  as  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  among  ether 
Episcopalians,  an  order  of  Ihe  clergy,  but  are  Itiynifyi. 
Tliey  are  chosen  from  amons  the  members  of  tlie 
church,  and  theirbusiness  is  '  to  see  that  the  table  of  the 
Lord,  the  table  of  the  poor,  and  Ihe  table  of  the  minis- 
ter be  supplied."  They  attend  to  the  secuhir  concern.':  of 
the  church,  as  a  body,  and  to  all  that  relates  to  tlie  con- 
venience of  the  society,  in  reference  to  their  public 
meetings.  In  many  societies,  too,  they  assist  the  pastor 
in  his  general  superintendence. 


230 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL, 


journey  thither,  he  was  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Josepli  Stennett,  the  son  of  the  late  Rev. 
Dr.  Stennett,  and  another  student  Mr.  John 
Pownall,  still  living.  The  two  former  ol' 
these  had  letters  to  the  venerable  Dr.  Ers- 
Ivine  of  Edinburgh  ;  and  he  again  supplied 
them  with  introductions  to  two  eminent 
individuals  at  Aberdeen.  This  appears 
from  a  letter  sent  by  the  doctor,  2d  Nov. 
1781,  to  Mr.  Ryland  of  Northampton,  from 
which  as  it  exhibits  his  view  of  the  state 
of  things  at  Aberdeeu  at  that  period,  1 
present  a  brief  extract. 

"  I  had  the  pleasure  of  your  letter  by 
Messrs.  Stennett  and  Hall  last  week. 
They  appear  to  me  pleasant  young  men, 
and  I  should  have  been  happy  to  have  had 
further  opportunities  of  showing  my  re- 
gard to  the  children  of  so  worthy  parents 
than  their  short  stay  here  allowed. 
Though  there  are  many  excellent  teachers 
at  Aberdeen,  and  both  they  and  the  minis- 
ters are  remarkable  for  purity  of  morals,  I 
have  some  fears,  from  different  accounts, 
that  the  general  strain  of  preaching  there 
is  less  evangelical  than  in  several  pulpits 
in  Glasgow  or  Edinburgh.  Principal 
Campbell  and  Dr.  Beattie  are,  in  my  opin- 
ion, able  and  worthy  men  ;  and  my  differ- 
ence with  the  first,  as  to  the  American  war 
and  the  popish  bill  has  not  impaired  our 
mutual  esteem.  I  wrote  letters  to  intro- 
duce the  young  gentlemen  to  both." 

Mr.  Hall,  for  many  years  afterward, 
used  often  to  speak  of  the  affectionate  at- 
tentions of  Dr.  Erskine  on  this  occasion  ; 
and  of  his  own  feelings  when  on  taking 
leave  the  venerable  man  of  God  exhorted 
him  to  self-vigilance,  kissed  him,  laid  his 
hand  upon  his  head,  blessing  him,  and 
commending  him  to  the  Avatcliful  care  of 
the  great  Head  of  the  church. 

Ai  the  time  when  he  went  to  Aberdeen, 
the  reputation  of  the  two  colleges.  King's 
and  Marischal  College,  was  almost  equally 
balanced.  At  the  latter,  Principal  Camp- 
bell and  Dr.  Beattie,  professor  of  moral 
philosophy,  had  attained  a  high  and  merit- 
ed celebrity  both  on  account  of  their  lec- 
tures and  their  writings :  while  at  King's 
College,  the  divini'y  lectures  of  Dr.  Ge- 
rard were  much  and  greatly  esteemed ; 
and  some  of  the  other  professors  were  men 
of  eminence.  Many,  therefore,  especially 
of  the  divinity  students,  attended  the  ap- 
propriate lectures  at  the  two  colleges.* 


'  At  King's  College,  during  Mr.  Ilall's  studies  there, 
Mr.  .lohn  Leslie  was  professor  of  Greek  ;  Mr.  Roderick 
Macleod,  professor  of  pliilosopliy,  including  inatliemat- 
ica;  Mr  W.  Ogilvie,  professor  oi^  humanity  ;  Mr.  James 
Dunbar,  professor  of  moral  pliilosophy  ;  and  Dr.  Alex- 
ander Gf-rard  professor  of  divinity.  Though  sonjc  of 
these  were  highly  dislinguislied  men,  Dr.  Gerard  was 
most  known  to  the  world  of  English  literature.  Amon? 
hisworksare  "an  Essay  on  Genius,"  "An  Essay  uu 
Taste."  two  volumes  of  valuable  Sermons,  and  his 
"  Lectures  on  the  Pastoral  Care,"  published  in  1799  by 
hia  son,  Dr.  Gilbert  Gcrurd. 


Mr.  Hall,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  his 
deservedly  prized  friend  the  late  Dr.  Ry- 
land, towards  the  end  of  this  first  session 
at  college,  speaks  thus  of  his  studies  and  of 
two  of  the  professors : 

"  We  entered  the  Greek  class  under  Mr. 
Leslie,  who,  though  a  man  of  no  apparent 
brightness  of  parts,  is  notwithstanding, 
well  fitted  for  his  office,  being  a  good  gram- 
marian, and  attentive  to  the  interests  of  his 
pupils.  We  have  been  employed  in  the 
class  in  going  over  more  accurately  the 
principles  of  the  Greek  language,  and 
reading  select  passages  in  Xenophon  and 
Homer :  and  I  have  privately  read  through 
Xenophon's  Anabasis,  and  Memorabilia 
of  Socrates,  several  books  of  Homer,  and 
some  of  the  Greek  Testament;  and  am 
now  reading  Longini  de  Snblimitate  liber, 
which  I  hope  to  finish  next  week." 

In  the  same  letter  he  mentions  his  read- 
ing with  Professor  Ogilvie,  whose  versons 
of  the  Latin  poets  he  characterizes  as 
"extremely  elegant."  He  laments  the 
want  of  religious  advantages  in  tliis  seat 
of  learning,  and  deplores  the  profanity  and 
profligacy  of  many  of  the  students ;  one  of 
whom,  he  assures  his  friend,  affirmed  that 
he  knew  no  use  even  in  the  word  "  God," 
except  to  give  point  to  an  oath  !  To  make 
up  for  this  sad  deficiency,  he  adds,  "  We 
have  found  some  agreeable  acquaintances 
in  the  New  Town,  and  among  them  the 
sister  of  Mr.  Cruden,  the  author  of  tlie 
Concordance." 

The  same  letter  contains  evidence  that 
he  did  not  confine  his  attention  solely  to 
classical  and  mathematical  studies.  Af- 
ter expressing  his  admiration  of  the  devo- 
tional as  well  as  rational  spirit  that  "  lives 
and  breathes"  in  every  page  of  Edwards, 
he  adds : 

"  My  thoughts  are  at  present  too  much 
immersed  in  literary  exercises  to  admit  of 
long  or  close  application  of  thought  to  any 
thing  else.  I  have,  however,  been  think- 
ing a  little  on  the  distinction  of  natural 
and  moral  ability,  and  have  in  my  mind  an 
objection  upon  which  I  should  be  glad  to 
have  your  thoughts.  It  is  briefly  this  :  If, 
according  to  Edwards,  the  will  always 
follows  the  last  dictate  of  the  understand- 
ing, and  if  it  be  determined,  directed,  and 
biased  by  the  view  of  the  understanding 
what  room  then  is  left  for  any  notion  of 
moral  ability  as  distinct  from  natural  ?  or 
how  can  there  in  this  case  be  any  depravi- 
ty of  the  will,  without  supposing  a  prior 
defect  in  the  understanding?  Since  the 
will,  if  it  be  wrong  in  its  bias,  is  first  led  to 
that  bias  by  the  understanding;  and  where 
tlien  the  possibility   of  a  moral  iimbililij 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


231 


consisting  with  a  natural  ability  ?  This  I 
hope  to  have  some  conversation  with  you 
upon  when  I  have  the  happiness  of  seeing 
you.  I  have  with  me  Edwards  on  the  Will, 
and  have  lately  perused  it  often ;  and  the 
more  I  read  it  the  more  I  admire." 

The  lamented  death  of  Sir  James  Mack- 
intosh has  left  a  blank  which  none  can  ade- 
quately fill,  with  regard  to  Mr.  Hall's  char- 
acter, habits,  and  the  development  of  his 
intellectual  powers  at  this  period.  On  ap- 
plication, however,  to  an  esteemed  friend. 
Professor  Paul,  he  has  kindly  communicat- 
ed a  few  particulars,  which  I  shall  give  in 
his  own  language. 

"  What  I  now  transmit  is  drawn  from 
the  college  records,  from  the  recollection  of 
Dr.  Jack,  principal  of  King's  College,  and 
formerly  for  three  years  a  class-fellow  of 
Mr.  Hall,  and   from  my  own  knowledge  ; 
for  I,   also,  was   a  contemporary   of  Mr 
Hall,  having  commenced  my    first  year's 
studies  when  he    commenced  his  fourth. 
It  appears  from  the  album  that  Mr.  Hall 
entered  college  in  the  beginnmg  of  Novem- 
ber, 1781.     His  first  year  was  spent  princi- 
pally under  the  tuition  oi:  Mr.  Professor 
Leslie,  in  the  acquisition  of  the  Greek  lan- 
guage ;  his  second,  third,  and  fourth  years 
under  that  of  Mr.  Professor  Macleod,  when 
he  studied  mathematics,  natural  philosophy 
and  moral  philosophy.     He  took  his  degree 
in  arts  (i.  e.  A.  M.  degree)  on  the  30th  of 
March,  1785.     Principal  Jack  says   that  he 
attended   the   professor   of  humanity,  Mr. 
Ogrilvie,  during   the   four  years   he  was  at 
college,  both  for  Latin  and  natural  history ; 
but  as  there  is  no  record  of  the  students  of 
the  humanity  and  natural  history  classes, 
this  fact  depends  wholly  on  the  principal's 
recollection.     I  learn  from  the  same  source 
that  Sir  James  Mackintosh  and  Mr.  Hall 
while  at  college  read  a  great  deal  of  Greek 
in  private,  and    that  their  reputation   was 
high  among  their  fellow-students  for  their 
attainments  in  that  language.     Principal 
Jack  also  bears   testimony  to  Mr.   Hall's 
great  success  in  his  mathematical  and  phi- 
losophical studies,  and  affirms  that  he  was 
the  first  scholar  of  his  class,  in  the  various 
branches  of  education  taught  at  college. 
During  one  of  the   sessions  the  principal 
was  member  of  a  select  literary  society, 
consisting  of  only   eight   or  ten   students, 
of  which  society  Sir  James  and  Mr.  Hall 
were  the  distinguished  ornaments.     None 
of  Mr.  Hall's  college  exercises  are  now  to 
be  found  in  this  place  ;  but  my  impressions 
correspond  with  those  of  the  principal,  that 
his  acquirements  were  of  the  very  first  or- 
der ;  and  as  Sir  James  left  college  before  I 
entered,  having  received  his  A.  M.  degree 
30th  March,  1784,  there  was  no  one  at  col- 


lege in  my  time  who  could  be  at  all  put  in 
competition  with  Mr.  Hall,  But  it  was  not 
as  a  scholar  alone  that  Mr.  Hall's  reputa- 
tion was  great  at  college.  He  was  consid- 
ered by  all  the  students  as  a  model  of  cor- 
rect and  regular  deportment,  of  religious 
and  moral  habits,  of  friendly  and  benevo- 
lent alTections." 

To  this  concise  summary  I  subjoin  the 
few  particulars  which  I  gathered  from  Sir 
James  Mackintosh  himself. 

When  these  two  eminent  men  first  be- 
came acquainted,  Sir  James  was  in  his 
eighteenth  year,  Mr.  Hall  about  a  year 
older.  Sir  James  described  Mr.  Hall  as 
attracting  notice  by  a  most  ingenuous  and 
intelligent  countenance,  by  the  liveliness 
of  his  manner,  and  by  such  indications  of 
mental  activity  as  could  not  be  misinter- 
preted. His  appearance  was  that  of  health 
yet  not  of  robust  health  ;  and  he  often  suf- 
fered from  paroxysms  of  pain,  during  which 
he  would  roll  about  on  the  carpet  in  the  ut- 
most agony;  but  no  sooner  had  the  pain 
subsided  than  he  would  resume  his  part  in 
conversation  with  as  much  cheerfulness 
and  vivacity  as  before  he  had  been  thus 
interrupted.  Sir  James  said  he  became 
attached  to  Mr.  Hall,  "  because  he  could 
not  help  it."  There  wanted  many  of  the 
supposed  constituents  of  friendship.  Their 
tastes  at  the  commencement  of  their  inter- 
course were  widely  different ;  and  upon 
most  of  the  important  topics  of  inquiry 
there  was  no  congeniality  of  sentiment : 
yet  notwithstanding  this,  the  substratum  of 
their  minds  seemed  of  the  same  cast,  and 
upon  this  Sir  James  thought  the  edifice  of 
their  mutual  regard  first  rested.  Yet  he 
ere  long  became  fascinated  by  his  brillian- 
cy and  acumen,  in  love  with  his  cordiality 
and  ardor,  and  "  awe-struck"  (I  think  that 
was  the  term  employed)  by  the  transpa- 
rency of  his  conduct  and  the  purity  of  his 
principles.  They  read  together ;  they  sat 
together  at  lecture,  if  possible  ;  they  walk- 
ed together.  In  their  joint  studies  they 
read  much  of  Xenophon  and  Herodotus, 
and  more  of  Plato ;  and  so  well  was  all 
this  known,  exciting  admiration  in  some,  in 
others  envy,  that  it  was  not  unusual  as  they 
went  along  for  their  class-fellows  to  point 
at  them  and  say,  "  There  go  Plato  and 
Herodotus.''^  But  the  arena  in  which  they 
met  most  frequently  was  that  of  morals 
and  metaphysics ;  furnishing  topics  of  in- 
cessant disputation.  After  having  sharp- 
ened their  weapons  by  reading,  they  often 
repaired  to  the  spacious  sands  upon  the 
seashore,  and  still  more  frequently  to  the 
picturesque  scenery  on  the  banks  of  the 
Don,  above  the  Old  Town,  to  discuss  with 
eagerness  the  various  subjects  to  which 
their  attention  had  been  directed.     There 


232 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


was  scarcely  an  important  position  in  Ber- 
keley's   Minute    Piiilosopher,   in    Butler's 
Analogy,  or  in  Edwards  on  the  Will,  over 
which  tliey  had  not  thus  debated  with  the 
utmost  intensity.     Night  after  night,  nay. 
month  after  month,  for  two  sessions,  they 
met  only  to  study  or  to   dispute ;  yet  no 
unkindly    feeling    ensued.      The    process 
seemed  rather  hke  blows  in  that  of  weld- 
ing iron  to  knit  them  closer  together.     Sir 
James  said,  that  his  companion  as  well  as 
himself  often   contended  for   victory,   yet 
never,  so  far  as  he  could  then  judge,  did 
either  make  a  voluntary  sacrifice  of  truth, 
or  stoop  to   draw    to   and  fro  the  serra 
^oyojiaxiai,  as  is  too  often  the  case  with  or- 
dinary controvertists.     From  these  discus- 
Bions,   and    from    subsequent    meditation 
upon  them,  Sir  James  learned  more  as  to 
"principles   (snch.  at  least  he  assured  me 
was  his  delioerate  conviction)  than  from  all 
the  books  he   ever  read.     On    the   other 
hand,  Mr.  Hall  through  life  reiterated  his 
persuasion,  that  his  friend  possessed  an  in- 
tellect more   analogous  to   that  of  Bacon 
that  any   person   of  modern   times  ;    and 
tliat  if  he  had  devoted  his  powerful  under- 
standing to   metaphysics,   instead  of  law 
and  politics,  he  would  have  thrown  an  un- 
usual light  upon  that  intricate  but  valuable 
region  of  inquiry.     Such  was  the  cordial, 
reciprocal  testimony  of  these   two   distin- 
guished   men.     And  in  many   respects — 
latterly  I  hope  and  believe  in  all  the  most 
essential — it  might  be   truly  said  of  both 
"  as   face  answereth  to  face  in  a  glass,  so 
does  the  heart  of  a  man  to  his  friend." 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  first  of  the  se- 
ries of  letters  inserted  in  the  volume,  that, 
shortly  after  Mr.  Hall's  return  to  Aberdeen 
in  November,  1783,  he  received  an  invita- 
tion from  the  church  at  Broadmead  to  asso- 
ciate himself  with  Dr.  Caleb  Evans,  as  the 
assistant  pastor ;  an  invitation  which  he 
accepted  with  much  doubt  and  diffidence. 
After  some  correspondence  it  was  arranged 
that  Mr.  Hall  should  reside  at  Bristol,  in 
the  interval  (of  nearly  six  months)  be- 
tween the  college  sessions  of  1784  and  1785, 
and  then  return  to  Aberdeen  to  complete 
his  course.  In  this  important  session,  from 
the  beginning  of  November,  1784,  to  May, 
1785,  he  seems  to  have  devoted  himself 
most  sedulously  to  his  studies ;  especially 
the  Greek  language,  with  moral  and  intel- 
lectual philosophy,  and  those  otJier  depart- 
ments of  inquiry  which  are  most  intimate- 
ly related  to  theology.  During  the  ses- 
sion, too,  he  attended  Campbell's  lectures 
at  Marischal  College,  and  frequently  profit- 
ed by  the  doctor's  expository  discourses, 
delivered  once  each  fortnight;  while  he 
generally  attended  public  worship  at  the 
church  where  Mr.  Abercromhy  and  Mr. 
Peters,  both   regarded  as  holding  correct 


sentiments,  were  the  alternate  preachere- 
He  had  now  lost  his  chosen  companion, 
the  sharpener  of  his  faculties  by  animat- 
ed yet  friendly  debate ;  and  he  sought 
for  no  substitute  in  society,  but  resolved  to 
turn  the  deprivation  into  a  benefit,  by  a 
more  arduous  application  to  his  literary 
pursuits,  and  by  cultivating  habits  of  med- 
itation. "  I  now,"  said  he,  in  a  letter  to  his 
father,  "  find  retirement  prodigiously  sweet, 
and  here  I  am  entirely  uninterrupted  and 
left  to  my  own  thoughts."  In  this  disposi- 
tion he  commenced  and  concluded  the 
session. 

By  the  time  Mr.  Hall  had  thus  complet- 
ed his  academical  course,  his  mental  pow- 
ers, originally  strong,  had  attained  an  ex- 
traordinary vigor ;  and  with  the  exception 
of  the  Hebrew  language,  of  which  he  then 
knew  nothing,  he  had  become  rich  in  ht- 
erary,  intellectual,  and  biblical  acquisition. 
On  resuming  his  labors  at  Broadmead,  in 
conjunction  with  Dr.  Evans,  his  preaching 
excited  an  unusual  attention,  the  place  of 
worship  was  often  crowded  to  excess,  and 
many  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in 
Bristol,  including  several  clergymen,  were 
among  his  occasional  auditors. 

This  popularity  not  only  continued,  but 
increased,  until  he  removed  to  another 
sphere  of  action.  The  brilhancy  and  force 
of  his  eloquence  were  universally  ac- 
knowledged ;  while,  in  private  life,  his  in- 
structive and  fascinating  conversation  drew 
equal  admiration.  Yet  it  ought  not  to  be 
concealed  (for  I  simply  announce  his  own 
deliberate  conviction,  frequently  expressed 
in  after-life)  that  at  this  time  he  was  very 
inadequately  qualified  for  the  duties  of  a 
minister  of  the  gospel.  He  had,  it  is  true, 
firmly  embraced  and  cordially  relied  upon 
those  fundamental  truths  which  are  com- 
prehended in  the  declaration,  "  He  tliat 
Cometh  unto  God  must  believe  that  He  is, 
and  that  He  is  the  reward  er  of  them  that 
diligently  seek  him ;"  and  he  often  expia- 
ted, with  much  originality  and  beauty, 
upon  the  Divine  attributes,  and  constantly 
exhorted  men  to  adhere  closely  to  the  path 
of  duty ;  yet,  not  often  from  the  higher, 
namely,  the  evangelical  motives,  to  pure, 
and  benevolent,  and  holy  conduct.  His 
knowledge  of  Christianity,  as  a  system  of 
restoration  and  reconciliation,  was  compar- 
atively defective  and  obscure;  and  he  felt 
but  little  alive  to  those  peculiarities  of  the 
new  dispensation,  upon  which,  in  maturer 
life,  he  loved  to  dwell.  In  his  preaching 
he  dealt  too  much  in  generalities,  or  en- 
larged upon  topics  which,  though  in  a  cer- 
tain sense  noble  and  inspiring,  and  thus 
calculated  to  elevate  the  mind,  did  not  im- 
mediately flow  from  the  great  scheme  of 
redemption,  which  it  was  his  especial  of- 
fice   to    disclose.     The    extent  of  God'o 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


233 


matchless  love  and  mercy;  the  depth  of 
the  mystery  of  his  designs  ;  the  inexhaus- 
tible treasury  of  his  blessings  and  graces  ; 
the  wonderfid  benefits  flowing  from  the 
incarnation,  humiliation,  and  sacrifice  of 
the  Son  of  God  ;  the  delightful  privileges 
of  the  saints  ;  were  themes  to  which  he  re- 
curred far  less  frequently  than  in  later  days; 
and  he  persuaded  himself  that  this  was  not 
very  wrong,  because  his  colleague,  Dr.  Ev- 
ans, who  had  "  the  care  of  the  church," 
adverted  so  incessantly  to  the  doctrines  of 
our  Lord's  Divinity  and  atonement,  or 
spiritual  influence  and  regeneration,  as  to 
leave  room  for  him  to  explore  other  regions 
of  instruction  and  interest. 

It  is  possible  that  Mr.  Hall,  from  his  hab- 
it of  self-depreciation,  may  have  a  httle 
overcharged  this  picture :  yet  the  notes  of 
several  of  his  sermons,  preached  from  1785 
to  1789,  taken  down  by  one  of  the  congre 
gation,  and  which  are  now  in  my  posses- 
sion, confirm,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the 
existence  of  the  serious  defect  which  he 
subsequently  so  much  deplored. 

Considering  his  early  age,  twenty-one, 
it  was  manifestly  unfavorable  to  the  correct 
development  of  his  character  as  a  preach 
er,  that  in  August,  1785,  only  three  months 
after  his  quitting  Aberdeen,  he  was  appoint- 
ed classical  tutor  in  the  Bristol  Academy, 
on  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Newton.  Thai 
additional  appointment  he  held  for  more 
than  five  years,  and  discharged  its  duties 
with  marked  zeal  and  activity,  and  with 
commensurate  success.  At  this  period  of 
his  life  he  was  celebrated  as  a  satirist,  and 
would  overwhelm  such  of  his  associates  as 
tempted  him  to  the  use  of  those  formidable 
weapons  with  wit  and  raillery,  not  always 
playfiil.  Aware,  however,  that  ihis  propen- 
sity was  calculated  to  render  him  unamia- 
ble,  and  to  give  permanent  pain  to  others 
(a  result  which  the  generosity  of  his  dispo- 
sition made  him  anxious  to  avoid,)  he  en- 
deavored to  impose  a  restraint  upon  him- 
self, by  writing  the  essay  on  the  '•  Charac- 
ter of  Cleander ;"  in  which  he  exposes, 
with  just  severity,  that  species  of  sarcasm 
to  which  he  believed  himself  most  prone  ; 
and  thus,  by  its  publication,  gave  to  others 
the  opportunity,  when  he  slid  into  this 
practice,  of  reproving  him  in  his  own  lan- 
guage. 

It  seems  to  have  been  remarkably,  and 


be  evinced  by  a  few  extracts  from  the 
journals  of  two  of  his  constant  friends. 

.  Mr.  Fuller  writes,  "  1784,  May  7. 
Heard  Mr.  Robert  Hall,  jun.,  from  -He 
that  increaseth  knowledge  incrcaseth  sor- 
row.' Felt  very  solemn  in  hearing  some 
parts.     The  Lord  keep  that  youn^  man  !" 

Again,  "  1785,  June  14.  Taken  up  with 
the  company  of  Mr.  Robert  Hall,  jun.;  feel 
much  pain  for  him.  The  Lord,  in  mercy 
to  him  and  his  churches  in  this  country, 
keep  him  in  the  path  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness." 

In  like  manner,  Dr.  Ryland :  "  June  8, 
1785.  Robert  Hall,  jun.,  preached  wonder- 
fully from  Rom.  viii.  IS,  'For  I  reckon 
that  the  sufferings  of  the  present  time  are 
flot  worthy  to  be  compared  to  the  glory 
that  shall  be  revealed  in  us.'  I  admire 
many  things  in  this  young  man  exceeding- 
1}^,  though  there  are  others  that  make  me 
fear  for  him.  O  that  the  Lord  may  keep 
him  humble,  and  make  him  prudent!" 

Again,  "  June  15.  Rode  to  Clipstone  to 
attend  the  minister's  meeting.  R.  Hall, 
jun.,  preached  a  glorious  sermon,  on  the 
immutability  of  Gfod,  from  James  i.  17, 
'  The  Father  of  lights,  with  whom  is  no 
variableness,  nor  shadow  of  turning.'  " 

Again,  "  1786,  June  13.  Sent  ofi"  a  let- 
ter to  Robert  Hall,  jun.,  which  I  %vrote 
chiefly  in  answer  to  one  of  his  some 
months  ago,  wherein  he  replied  to  mine 
concerning  some  disagreeable  reports  from 
Birmingiiam  :  added  some  new  hints  re- 
specting another  matter  lately  reported. 
O  that  God  may  keep  that  young  man  in 
the  way  of  trutli  and  holiness." 

It  hence  appears,  that  Dr.  Ryland,  who 
was  nearly  twelve  years  older  than  Mr. 
Hall,  and  had  known  him  from  his  child- 
hood, did  not  rest  satisfied  with  silent  la- 
mentations. This  exceflent  man,  fearing 
that  his  young  friend  was  about  to  precipi- 
tate himself  into  a  very  dangerous  course, 
sought  by  kind  but  strong  expostulation  to 
rescue  him  from  the  peril ;  and  thus  ad- 
dressed him : 

"My  very  dear  Friend, 

"  The  fullest  consciousness  that  I  have  a 
right  to  call  you  so,  as  really  feeling  an 
earnest  and  tender  concern  for  your  wel- 


doubtless  mercifully,  overruled,  that  during! fare,  and  the  recollection   that   you  appa 


this  period  of  Mr.  Hall's  history,  though 
his  more  judicious  and  wise  friends  were 
often  grieved  by  the  free  and  daring  spec- 
ulations which  he  advanced  in  private,  he 
never  promulgated  direct  and  positive  er- 
ror from  the  pulpit.  And  thus  they  who 
were  filled  with  apprehension  on  account 
of  sallies  in  conversation  would  listen  with 
delight  to  his  public  addresses.  This  will 
Vol.  3. — Dd. 


rently  allowed  it  when  I  last  saw  you,  en- 
courages me  to  write  to  you:  though  I 
may  as  well  tell  you  at  once  that  I  am 
going  to  write  to  you  in  the  same  strain  of 
complaint  and  censure  which  I  have  been 
constrained  to  use  before.  And  indeed  my 
fears  and  grief  were  never  excited  to  such 
a  degree  concerning  you  as  they  now  are, 
I  still  hope,  however,  you  have  much  love 


234 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


to  God  ;  and  I  trust  so  much  conviction  of 
my  sincere  friendship,  that  you  will  not 
say  of  me  as  one  said  of  Micaiah,  '  I  hate 
him,  for  he  is  always  saying  evil  of  me.' 
Indeed,  the  things  that  grieve  me  I  shall  in- 
dustriously conceal  from  everybody  as  long 
as  I  can ;  but  I  fear  they  will  spread  fast 
enough :  for  if  you  openly  utter  all  your 
mind,  there  are  not  many  wlio  will  mourn 
in  secret  over  the  report. 

"  It  gave  me  extreme  uneasiness  to  hear 
this  week,  of  the  general  disgust  you  had 
given  to  your  former  friends  at  Birmingham 
on  your  last  visit.  Verily  I  wish  that  nei- 
ther you,  nor  I,  nor  others  may  fight  for 
the  truth  with  infernal  weapons.  I  would 
wish  to  feel  in  my  inmost  soul  the  tenderest 
pity  for  the  most  erroneous  men  in  the 
world,  and  to  show  all  proper  respect,  to 
men  of  science,  and  men  who  are  regular 
in  their  outward  conduct.  Nor  should  I  at 
all  approve  of  violent  or  harsh  language,  or 
like  to  speak  my  opinion  of  the  state  of 
individuals.  But  at  the  same  time,  I  can- 
not but  think  that  the  lusts  of  the  mind  may 
as  effectually  ruin  a  man  as  'the  lusts  of 
the  flesh.''  And  I  must  get  a  good  way 
towards  Socinianism  myself  before  I  have 
any  strong  hope  that  a  Socinian,  living 
and  dying  such,  will  see  the  kingdom  of 
God.  When  the  merciful  Jesus  declared, 
'  He  that  believetia  shall  be  saved,'  &c.,  I 
cannot  believe  that  he  meant  simply,  that 
he  shall  be  saved  who  believes  that  Jesi(s 
teas  not  an  impostor,  and  who  believes  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  But  these 
two  articles  are,  I  believe,  the  whole  of 
Dr.  Priestley's  Christianity,  and  if  once  I 
Avere  to  think  this  Christianity  enough  to 
carry  a  man  to  heaven,  I  should  not,  I  fear 
be  very  strenuous  in  my  endeavors  to  con- 
vince men  of  the  danger  of  self-righteous- 
ness, and  the  necessity  of  a  reliance  on  the 
atonement.  Oh !  my  dear  friend,  can  I 
conceive  that  your  mind  was  deeply  im- 
pressed with  a  sense  of  the  divine  purity 
and  the  justice  of  God's  law,  when  you 
could  utter  so  vain  and  vile  a  speech  as 
this?" 

The  doctor  then  cites  the  language  im- 
puted to  Mr.  Hall.  It  implied,  that  if  he 
were  the  Judge  of  all,  he  could  not  con- 
demn Dr.  Priestley.  After  animadverting 
strongly  upon  the  phrase  which  he  under- 
stood was  actually  employed,  he  proceeds 
thus : 

"  It  is,  I  am  sure,  not  maiievolence,  but 
sincere  love,  that  makes  mc  jealous  of  you. 
May  the  Lord  keep  you.  I  Avish  you 
would  look  over  afresli  the  epistle  to  the 
Galatians  and  examine  whether  your  charity 
is  as  chaste  as  Paul's.  I  allude  to  a  proverb 
you  have  doudtlcss  heard — '  Charity  is  an 


angel  while  she  rejoiceth  in  the  truth,  a 
harlot  when  she  rejoiceth  in  iniquity  ;'  em- 
bracing those  whom  she  should  rather  pity 
and  weep  over. 

"  Study  to  enter  into  the  very  spirit  of 
Paul's  discourse,  1  Cor.  i.  18— 31,  or  Gal.  ii. 
15, 21 ;  and  if  this  is  consistent  with  suppos- 
ing it  would  be  unfair  for  God  to  punish 
any  man  for  rejecting  the  gospel,  who  un- 
derstood chymistry  and  philosophy,  why, 
then  retain  your  favorable  opinion  of  th© 
sal'ety  of  Socinians. 

•'  Receive  this  as  a  proof  of  the  affection 
with  which  I  am 

"  Your  faithful  friend 

"J.  Ryland." 

Many  high-spirited  young  men,  we  caa 
readily  imagine,  would  have  treated  such 
a  letter  as  this  with  contempt ;  while  others 
would  have  replied  to  it  in  a  lofty  tone  of 
surprise  and  indignation.  But  Dr.  Ryland's 
young  friend,  notwithstanding  the  errors 
into  which  his  impetuosity  had  hurried  him, 
had  too  much  generosity  to  regard  as  in- 
sulting what  he  knew  was  dictated  by  al- 
fection ;  and  therefore,  anxious  to  show 
that  he  could  bear  reproof,  and  be  thankful 
for  it,  he  promptly  replied : 

"My  dear  Friend, 

"  I  have  just  received  your  letter,  and 
think  it  of  so  much  importance  as  to  de- 
serve an  immediate  answer.  Accordingly 
without  the  least  delay,  I  have  set  myself 
to  reply  to  it.  I  am  exceedingly  obliged 
to  you  for  your  friendly  expostulation,  be- 
cause I  know  it  is  the  effusion  of  a  pious 
and  benevolent  heart  that  wishes  me  well. 
With  respect  to  the  conversation  at  Bir- 
mingham, to  which  you  allude,  I  shall  con- 
ceal nothing." 

He  then,  at  the  same  time  that  he  denies 
I  he  precise  language  that  was  imputed  to 
him,  states  what  he  did  really  say ;  and 
aims  to  justify  the  sentiment  which  he  had 
maintained :  disclaiming,  however,  any  ap- 
proximation to  Socinian  doctrine. 

"  You  seem  to  suspect  I  am  far  gone  in 
Socinianism ;  but  in  this,  my  dear  friend, 
give  me  leave  to  say.  you  are  utterly  mis- 
taken. Since  I  first  began  to  reflect,  I  do 
not  recollect  a  time  when  1  was  less  in- 
clined to  Socinianism  than  at  present.  I 
can  truly  say,  it  would  remove  from  me  all 
my  salvation  and  all  my  desire," 

Again  reverting  to  the  expression,  he 
adds, 

"  Allowing  it  to  be  improper,  or  too 
strong,  I  can  only  say,  it  does  not  belong  to 
all  to  speak  equally  temperately  ;  that  the 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


235 


crime  of  expression  can  only  be  judged 
from  the  feelings,  and  that  1  am  certain  I 
did  not  utter  it  with  any  lightness  of  heart 
but  with  deep  feelings  of  earnestness  and 
eincerity.  Your  charge  of  imprudence  I 
cordially  admit ;  and  now  see,  with  more 
clearness  than  I  formerly  did,  that  the  im- 
prudent should  never  come  into  company 
with  the  malicious. 

"  I  had  more  to  say ;  but  have  no  room. 
I  sincerely  thank  you  for  your  letter,  and 
shall  always  be  extremely  grateful  for 
your  correspondence,  with  good  wishes, 
and  your  prayers. 

"  Beheve  me,  as  ever, 

"  affectionately  yours, 

"R.  Hall,  junior." 

These  letters  would  not  have  been  in- 
serted after  the  lapse  of  fifty  years,  but  for 
the  salutary  lesson  which  they  supply. 
If  Christian  friendship  always  manifested  it- 
self in  such  fidelity  as  is  here  evinced,  and 
uniformly  experienced  so  kind  and  ingenu- 
ous a  reception,  what  a  different  aspect, 
in  a  few  years,  would  the  Christian  world 
assume  I 

When  Mr.  Hall  was  about  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  he  had  an  opportunity  of 
hearing  Mr.  Robinson,  his  predecessor  at 
Cambridge,  preach ;  and  was  so  fascinated 
with  his  manner  as  to  resolve  to  imitate  it. 
But  after  a  few  trials  he  relinquished  the 
attempt.  The  circumstance  being  after- 
ward alluded  to,  he  observed,  "  Why,  sir, 
I  was  too  proud  to  remain  an  imitator. 
After  my  second  trial,  as  I  was  walking 
home,  I  heard  one  of  the  congregation  say 
to  another,  'Really,  Mr.  Hall  did  remind 
us  of  Mr.  Robinson !'  That,  sir,  was  a 
knock-down  blow  to  my  vanity ;  and  I  at 
once  resolved  that  if  ever  I  did  acquire  repu 
tation,  it  would  be  my  own  reputation,  be- 
longing to  my  own  character,  and  not  be  that 
of  a.  likeness.  Besides,  sir,*  if  I  had  not  been 
a  foolish  young  man  I  should  'have  seen  how 
ridiculous  it  was  to  imitate  such  a  preacher  as 
Mr.  Robinson.  He  had  a  musical  voice  'and 
was  master  of  all  its  intonations;  he  had  won- 
derful self-possession,  and  could  say  what  he 
pleased,  when  he  pleased,  and  fiow  he 
pleased  ;  while  my  voice  and  manner  were 
naturally  bad  ;  and  far  from  having  self 
command,  I  never  entered  the  pulpit  with- 
out omitting  to  say  something  that  I  wished 
to  say,  and  saying  something  that  1  wished 
unsaid :  and  besides  all  this,  I  ought  to 
have  known  that  for  me  to  speak  slow  was 
ruin."  "  Why  so  ?"  "  I  wonder  that  you, 
a  student  of  philosophy,  should  ask  such  a 
question.  You  know,  sir,  that  force,  of 
momentum,  is  conjointly  as  the  body  and 
velocity ;  therefore,  as  my  voice  is  feeble 


*  Mr.  Hall  very  frequently  repeated   the  word  *■;>  i 
his  conversation,  capeciaUy  if  he  becaino  amma:ed. 


what  is  wanted  in  body  must  be  made  up 
in  velocity,  or  there  will  not  be,  cannot  be 
any  impression." 

This  remark,  though  thrown  off  hastily, 
in  tinreserved  conversation,  presents  the 
theory  of  one  important  cause  of  the  suc- 
cess of  his  rapid  eloquence. 

Shortly  after  this,  Mr.  Hall  was,  for  the 
first  time,  in  Mr.  Robinson's  society ;  I  be- 
lieve in  London.  Mr.  Robinson  Avas  afflu- 
ent in  flatteries  for  those  who  worshipped 
him,  while  Mr.  Hall  neither  courted  flattery 
nor  scattered  its  incense  upon  others.  In 
speaking  of  the  Socinian  controversy,  the 
elder  indulged  in  sarcasm  upon  "juvenile 
defenders  of  the  faith,"  and  made  various 
efforts  to  "  set  the  young  man  down,"  which 
tempted  Mr.  Hall  to  reply  that  "  if  he  ever 
rode  into  the  field  of  public  controversy, 
he  should  not  borrow  Dr.  Abbadie's  boots.''^ 
This  enigmatical  retort*  Mr.  Robinson  un- 
derstood, and  probably  felt  more  than  Mr. 
Hall  had  anticipated ;  for  he  had  about 
that  time  quitted  the  field,  put  off  "  the 
boots,"  and  passed  to  the  verge  of  Socini- 
anism.  In  the  course  of  some  discussions 
that  iblloAved,  Mr.  Hall,  as  most  of  those 
who  were  present  thought,  completely  ex- 
posed the  dangerous  sophistry  by  which 
Mr.  Robinson  endeavored  to  explain  away 
some  very  momentous  truths.  Mr.  Robin- 
son, preceiving  that  the  stream  of  opinion 
fell  in  with  the  arguments  of  his  young  op- 
ponent, and  vexed  at  being  thus  foiled,  lost 
his  usual  placidity  and  courtesy,  and  sud- 
denly changed  the  topic  of  conversation, 
saying,  "  The  company  may  be  much 
better  employed  than  by  listening  to  a  raw 
school-boy,  whose  head  is  crammed  with 
Scotch  metaphysics."  Nothing  but  a 
consciousness  that  the  "  raw  school-boy" 
had  defeated  him  would  have  thus  thrown 
him  off  his  guard. 

In  1788,  Mr.  Hall,  weary  of  the  solitude 
to  which  he  was  often  subjected,  as  a  mere 
lodger,  and  anticipating  marriage  in  the 
course  of  a  few  months  (an  anticipation, 
however,  which  was  not  realized,)  hired  a 
house  ;  his  sister  Mary,  afterward  Mrs. 
James,  kindly  consenting  to  superintend 
his  domestic  concerns.  From  a  letter  which 
he  then  wrote  to  his  father  I  extract  a  few 
passages. 

"  Feb.  lOth.  1788. 

"  We  have  a  great  deal  of  talk  here 
about  the  slave-trade ;  as  I  understand, 
from  your  letter,  you  have  had  too.  A  pe- 
tition has  been  sent  from  hence  to  parlia- 
ment for  the  abolishing  it ;  and  a  commit- 


'  The  allusion  was  to  the  defence  of  the  Divinity  of 
our  Lord,  published  in  French,  by  Dr.  Abbadie  in  his 
■'  Vindication  of  the  Truth  of  the  Chrislian  Religion  ;" 
a  work  from  which  Mr.  Robinson  was  Ihoucht  to  ha¥e 
borrowed  many  of  the  arguments  in  his  "  Pica  for  th^ 
Divinity,"  &c  witUout  acknowieUginent. 


236 


MEMOIR  OF  ROBERT  HALL. 


lee  ie  formed  to  co-operate  with  that  in  Lon- 
don, in  any  measures  that  nia}-  be  taken 
to  promote  their  purpose.  At  Bristol  much 
opposition  is  made  by  the  merchants  and 
their  dependents,  who  are  many,  perhaps 
most  of  them,  engaged  in  it.  Our  petition 
was  signed  by  eight  hundred,  or  upwards; 
which,  considering  that  7>(>  appti.catiun  has 
been  made  to  any,  we  tliink  a  great  num- 
ber. Many  tilings  have  been  written  in 
the  papers  on  both  sides:  some  pieces  I 
have  written  myself  under  the  signature 
Britannicus,  which  I  purpose  to  get  print- 
ed in  a  k\v  pamphlets,  and  shall  send  one 
of  them  to  you.  The  injustice  and  inhu- 
manity of  the  trade  are  glaring,  and  upon 
this  ground  I  mainly  proceed :  upon  the 
policy  of  abolishing  it  I  treat  lightly,  be- 
cause I  am  dubious  about  it ;  nor  can  it  be 
of  great  consequence  to  the  question  in 
hand ;  for,  if  it  be  proved  cruel  and  unjust 
it  is  impious  to  defend  it 

'•  I  am  afraid  the  abolition  will  not  take 
place  speedily,  if  at  all.  The  trading  and 
mercantile  interest  will  make  great  outcry ; 
the  scheme  will  be  thought  chimerical,  and 
after  producing  a  few  warm  speeches,  will, 
I  fear,  die  away." 

******** 

"My  own  temper,  1  know,  needs  some 
correction,  and  it  will  be  my  daily  endeav- 
or to  mend  it :  it  wants  gentleness.  Mr. 
M has  done  me  much  good  by  con- 
vincing me,  from  his  own  example,  to  what 
f)erfeclion  a  temper  naturally  keen  and 
ofty  may  be  carried." 
******** 

"  So  far,  I  am  happy  that  my  duty  and 
my  gratification  lie  in  the  same  direction  : 
so  that  every  step  I  take  towards  improve- 
ment may  be  a  step  tov.'ards  real  pleasure. 
One  inconvenience,  indeed,  I  labor  under 
with  respect  to  my  temper,  by  being  con- 
nected with  my  sister:  and  that  is,  she 
never  tries  ity 

A  serious  trial  of  another  kind  now, 
however,  awaited  Mr.  Hall — a  painful 
misunderstanding  between  him  and  his 
friend  and  colleague  Dr.  Evans.  It  con- 
tinned  not  only  to  disturb  the  minds  of 
both,  but,  as  might  be  expected,  to  create 
partisans  among  their  respective  friends, 
and  indeed  to  endanger  the  peace  of  the 
chvirch  at  Broadmead,  for  more  than  two 
years.  I  have  read  various  written  papers, 
and  some  pamphlets,  which  relate  to  this 
painful  affair;  and  cannot  but  conclude 
that,  like  many  others,  it  originated  in  such 
trifling  misconceptions  as,  in  more  felicitous 
circumstances,  neither  party  would  have 
suffered  to  disturb  his  thoughts  (or  an  hour. 
A  few  hasty  expressions,  retorted  by  oth- 
ers both  hasty  and  strong,  tempted  the 
doctor  and  his  friends  to  accuse  Mr.  Hall 


of  ingratitude,  and  a  want  of  deference  to 
his  superior  in  age  and  station  ;  he,  in  his 
turn,  repelled  the  accusation,  in  language 
too  natural  to  a  young  man  glowing  with 
a  lofty  spirit  of  independence :  and  thus, 
new  charges  and  fresh  recriminations  arose. 
The  interposition  of  friends  availed  but 
little;  for  their  unhallowed  passions  be- 
came ignited  too.  After  many  montha 
spent  in  this  unseemly  strife,  a  meeting 
between  the  belligerent  parties  was  held, 
in  the  presence  of  two  friends  of  each,  at 
the  Mansion  House,  the  Mayor  of  Bristol 
being  one  of  the  persons  chosen  by  Dr. 
Evans.  No  beneficial  effects  resulted  from 
this  meeting;  the  individuals,  who  hoped 
by  their  interposition  to  ensure  the  restora- 
tion of  amity,  having  long  before  ceased  to 
be  impartial  judges  in  the  affair.  The 
parties  on  both  sides,  who  were  convened 
on  the  occasion,  published  their  respective 
statements ;  from  which  it  appears  that  one 
of  them  thought  Mr.  Hall  justifiable  and 
censured  Dr.  Evans ;  while  the  other  ap- 
proved of  the  doctor's  conduct,  and  con- 
demned that  of  Mr.  Hall. 

It  Avill  not,  then,  be  expected  that  I  should 
draw  from  the  obscurity  which  time  has 
cast  over  them  more  particulars  relating  to 
this  unhappy  collision.  Nor,  indeed,  should 
I  have  adverted  to  it,  had  it  not  operated 
strongly  in  preparing  Mr.  Hall  for  his  re- 
moval from  Bristol.  Whatever  regret  it 
might  occasion  him,  on  subsequent  medita- 
tion it  excited  no  self-reproach,  nor  left  any 
malevolent  feeling.  On  the  decease  of 
Dr.  Evans,  which  took  place  in  1791,  his 
former  colleague  prepared  an  inscription 
for  his  monument;  and  he  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing letter  to  his  brother-in-law,  Mr. 
Isaac  James,  in  reply  to  that  which  an- 
nounced the  doctor's  death. 

»  Cambridge,  Av^.  12,  1791. 
"Dear  Brother, 

"  The  contents  of  your  letter  received 
this  day  have  affected  me  more  than  al- 
most any  tiling  of  the  kind  I  ever  met  with 
in  my  life.  It  is  in  all  points  of  view  a 
most  solemn  event ;  but,  from  obvious  cir- 
cumstances, to  me  it  cannot  fail  of  being 
peculiarly  so.  It  is  truly  affecting  to  recol- 
lect the  friendship  that  so  long  subsisted 
between  us,  and  that  it  should  end  so  un- 
happily in  a  breach  that  admits  of  no  re- 
pair, no  remedy !  Yet,  though  1  feel  most 
pungently  upon  this  occasion,  I  am  happy 
to  be  able  to  join  with  you  in  declaring  that 
my  conscience  is  not  loaded  with  guilt. 
Abating  too  much  of  an  unhappy  violence, 
I  have  the  mens  conscia.  recti.  Were  the 
circumstances  to  occur  again,  a  breach 
would,  as  before,  be  inevitable.  But 
though,  in  injustice  to  myself,  I  say  thug 
mucli,  there  is  no  one  more  disposed  to  la- 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL, 


237 


merit  the  deceased  than  myself,  or  who 
has  a  truer  sensibility  of  the  real  virtues  of 
his  character.  I  have  written  to  Mr.  Higgs, 
and  therefore  I  need  say  the  less  to  you 
upon  these  melancholy  topics.  The  chief; 
purpose,  indeed,  of  my  troubling  you  at 
present  is  to  request  you  will  be  so  kind  as 
to  give  me  the  earliest  and  most  particular 
account,  of  every  thing  that  passes  at  his 
funeral;  the  persons  present,  the  sermon, 
the  impression  of  the  event,  deep  no  doubt 
and  awful,  the  whole  state  of  things  at 
Bristol,  their  future  prospects  and  inten- 
tions, every  thing  relating  to  these  matters 
that  you  know.  The  situation  of  the  fami- 
ly and  the  church,  though  I  doubt  not  I  am 
the  object  of  their  joint  abhorrence,  I  most 
sincerely  compassionate.  May  God  guide 
and  comfort  them.  I  tliink  you  and  all  ray 
friends  ought  now  to  bury  all  that  is  past 
and  renew  a  connection  with  the  church, 
if  their  temper  will  permit  you.  My 
friends  will  most  oblige  vie  by  carrying  it 
respectfully  to  the  doctor's  family  and 
memory.  '  Anger  may  glance  into  the 
bosom  of  a  wise  man,  but  it  rests  only  in 
the  bosom  of  fools ;'  and  our  best  improve- 
ment of  the  death  of  this  useful  servant  of 
God  will  be  to  imitate  his  excellences  and 
forget  his  errors.  Pray  write  as  soon  as 
possible.  I  shall  be  extremely  impatient 
till  I  hear.     I  am  dear  brother, 

"  Your  affectionate  brother, 

"  R.  Hall." 
"  To  Mr.  Isaac  JamesP 

Before  this  time  it  was  generally  appre- 
hended that  Mr.  Hall's  sentiments  had,  on 
some  momentous  points,  deviated  consider- 
ably from  the  accredited  standards  of  even 
moderate  orthodoxy;  and  he  had  given 
much  pain  to  some  of  his  Baptist  friends 
on  account  of  his  views  with  regard  to  re- 
baptizing.  Some  correspondence  took  place 
between  him  and  the  Broadmead  church 
on  these  subjects:  and,  as  well  that  the 
sentiments  he  then  really  held  may  be 
known,  as  that  the  extent  of  his  declension 
into  positive  error  may  be  judged  of  from 
his  own  language,  I  shall  here  insert  the 
frank  exposition  of  his  opinions,  which  he 
addressed  to  the  church  when  he  was  on 
the  eve  of  dissolving  his  connection  with  it. 

"  TJmrsday,  Dec.  9th.  1790. 
"My  dear  Brethren, 

"  Every  token  of  your  respect  and  at- 
tachment sensibly  affects  me ;  and,  as  you 
have  requested  me  to  explain  myself  on 
those  sentiments  to  which  I  alluded  as 
reasons  of  separation,  I  think  it  a  duty  I 
owe  to  myself  and  to  you  to  give  you  all 
the  satisfaction  in  my  power. 

"  1st.     In  the  first  place,  I  am  a  firm  be- 


liever in  the  proper  divuiity  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  in  the  merits  of  Christ  as  the  sole 
ground  of  acceptance  in  the  sight  of  God, 
without  admitting  works  to  have  any 
share  in  the  great  business  of  justification  : 
and  in  the  necessity  of  Divine  influence 
to  regenerate  and  sanctify  the  mind  of 
every  man,  in  order  to  his  becoming  a 
real  Christian.     Thus  far  in  the  affirmative. 

"  2dly.  In  the  second  place,  I  am  not  a 
Calvinist,  in  the  strict  and  proper  sense  of 
that  term.  I  do  not  maintain  the  federal 
headship  of  Adam,  as  it  is  called,  or  the 
imputation  of  his  sin  to  his  posterity  ;  and 
this  doctrine  I  have  always  considered,  and 
do  still  consider,  as  the  foundation  of  that 
system.  I  believe  we  have  received  from 
our  first  parents,  together  with  various 
outward  ills,  a  corrupt  and  irregular  bias 
of  mind  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  my 
firm  opinion  that  we  are  liable  to  condem- 
nation only  for  our  own  actions,  and  that 
guilt  is  a  personal  and  individual  thing. 
I  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  de- 
crees, and  of  course  in  the  predestination 
of  all  events,  of  which  the  number  of  the 
finally  saved  is  one.  But  this  appears  to 
me  a  different  thing  from  the  doctrine  of 
absolute  election  and  reprobation,  as  it  had 
ever  been  explained  by  Calvinists,  which 
does  not  meet  my  approbation.  Without 
going  into  a  large  field  of  metaphysical 
discussion,  this  is  all  I  think  it  requisite  to 
say  respecting  my  orthodoxy ;  but  there 
are  two  other  points  which  have  occasion- 
ed a  good  deal  of  conversation,  and  from 
some  quarters  a  good  deal  of  censure ; 
upon  which  I  shall  therefore  beg  leave  to 
explain  myself  in  a  few  words. 

"  3dly.  I  am,  and  have  been  for  a  long 
time,  a  materialist,  though  I  have  never 
drawn  your  attention  to  this  subject  in  my 
preaching:  because  I  have  always  con- 
sidered it  myself,  and  wished  you  to  con- 
sider it,  as  a  mere  metaphysical  speculation. 
My  opinion,  however,  upon  this  head  is, 
that  the  nature  of  man  is  simple  and  uni- 
form ;  that  the  thinking  powers  and  facul- 
ties are  the  result  of  a  certain  organization 
of  matter ;  and  that  after  death  he  ceases 

to  be  conscious  until  the  resurrection.^^ 
******** 

"  Much  has  been  said  upon  my  opinions 
respecting  baptism,  and  I  am  happy  to 
have  this  opportunity  of  explaining  my 
sentiments  on  that  subject  in  particular,  as 
it  affects,  not  only  the  propriety  of  my 
former  relation  to  this  church,  but  of  any 
future  connection  I  may  form  with  any 
other  Christian  society.  On  this  point 
much  mistake,  much  misrepresentation,  I 
hope  not  voluntary,  has  taken  place ;  and 
on  this  account  I  trust  you  will  excuse  my 
dwelling  upon  it  a  little  more  particularly 
than  its  importance  in  other  respcctis  might 


238 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


eeeni  to  justify.  It  has  been  lield  out  to  the 
world  by  noine  that  1  am  not  a  lioptist 
I  am,  both  in  respect  to  tlio  subject  and  to 
the  mode  of  this  institution,  a  Baptist. 
To  apply  this  ordinance  to  uiiants  appears 
to  me  a  perver.«ion  of  tlie  intention  of  the 
sacred  institution;  aixl  the  primitive,  the 
regularproper  mode  of  aiiministration  I  take 
to  be  immersinn.  Still  it  appears  tome  that 
tjprinkling'.  tliough  an  innovation,  does  not 
deprive  baptism  of  its  essential  validity,  so 
as  to  put  the  person  that  has  been  sprinkled 
in  adult  age.  upon  a  footing  with  the  un bap- 
tized. The  whole  of  my  sentiments 
amounts  to  this  ;  I  would  not  myself  bap- 
tize in  any  other  manner  tJiau  by  immer- 
tiion.  because  I  look  upon  immersion  as  the 
ancient  mode,  that  ii  best  represents  the 
meaning  of  the  original  term  employed, 
and  the  substantial  import  of  this  institu- 
tion; and  because  I  should  think  it  right  to 
guard  against  the  spirit  of  innovation,  which 
in  positive  rites  is  always  dangerous  and 
progressive :  but  I  should  not  think  my- 
self authorized  to  rebaptize  any  one 
who  has  been  sprinkled  in  adult  age.  I 
shall  only  remark,  in  addition  to  what  I 
have  already  said  upon  this  point,  that  if 
it  be  a  sufficient  objection  to  my  union 
with  a  Baptist  congregation ;  then,  as  all 
Christendom  is  composed  of  Baptists  or 
Pjedobaptists,  it  amounts  to  my  exclusion, 
as  a  minister,  from  every  Christian  society 
throughout  the  whole  earth :  an  interdict 
equally  ab-surd  and  inhuman,  founded 
upon  a  conduct  merely  negative  in  chimeri- 
cal situations  seldom  or  never  likely  to  oc- 
cur. 

"  I  have  thus,  in  compliance  with  your 
wishes,  and  with  all  the  perspicuity  in  my 
power,  in  a  few  words  explained  to  you 
my  religious  opinions,  with  a  more  particu- 
lar view  to  the  subjects  on  which  I  may 
be  supposed  most  to  err ;  and  this  avowal 
I  have  made,  partly  as  a  testimony  of  the 
respect  I  bear  you,  and  partly  to  vindicate 
my  character  from  any  suspicion  of  ambi- 
guity or  reserve  ;  but  not  at  all  with  the 
remotest  wish  to  win  popularity  or  to 
court  your  suffrages  ;  for  at  present  it  is 
as  little  in  my  power  to  accept  any  invita- 
tion to  continue,  as  it  may  be  in  your  in- 
clination to  give  it,  as  I  hold  myself  en- 
gaged in  honor  as  a  probationer  for  six 
months  to  a  respectable  society  at  Cam- 
bridge. May  peace  and  prosperity  attend 
you. 

"  I  am,  your  friend  and  brother, 

"  With  the  greatest  respect, 

"R.  Hall." 

The  vexations  and  perplexities  in  which 
Mr.  Hall  had  been  for  some  time  involved 
doubtless  facilitated  his  removal  to  another 
sphere  of  action.    And  he  who  duly  medi- 


tates upon  the  way  in  which  the  great 
Head  of  the  church  renders  the  movements 
of  his  providence  subservient  to  his  merci- 
ful purposes  in  redemption,  will,  I  am  per- 
suaded, trace  the  superintending  hand  on 
this  occasion. 

Mr.  Robinson,  the  pastor  of  the  church 
at  Cambridge  with  which  Mr.  Hall  waa 
now  about  to  be  connected,  was  a  man  of 
extensive  powers,  of  some  genius,  and  of 
considerable  industry  and  research.  Fas- 
cinating as  a  preacher,  delightful  as  a  com- 
panion, perseveringly  skilful  in  the  insinua- 
tion of  his  sentiments,  his  influence  could 
not  but  be  great.  From  the  profession  of 
orthodox  opinions,  he  had  passed  by  a 
rather  rapifl  transition,  not  to  Socinianism, 
but  far  beyond,  to  the  very  borders  of  infi- 
delity ;  such,  at  least,  was  the  substance  of 
his  declaration  to  Dr.  Priestley,  whom  he 
thanked  for  preserving  him  from  that  aw- 
ful gulf  Vain  speculation  was  substituted 
for  knowledge,  faith,  and  experience,  con- 
fession and  prayer  but  seldom  made  a  part 
of  the  public  worship  which  he  conducted, 
his  effusions  before  sermon  consisting  al- 
most altogether  of  ascriptions  of  praise ; 
and  the  congregation  became  so  transform- 
ed and  deteriorated  in  consequence,  that 
among  the  more  intelligent  classes,  with 
oidy  two  or  three  exceptions,  "  he  was  es- 
teemed the  best  Christian  who  was  most 
skilled  in  disputation,"  not  he  who  evinced 
most  of  the  "  spirit  of  Christ."  The  ma- 
jority of  the  poorer  members,  however, 
escaped  the  contagion,  and  were  ready  to 
co-operate  with  the  late  Mr.  Foster,  who 
was  then  the  senior  deacon,  and  another 
of  the  deacons,  who  equally  deplored  the 
evils  which  had  fallen  upon  them.  Cordi- 
ally attached  to  those  doctrines  which  they 
regarded  as  fundamental,  and  therefore  as 
constituting  the  basis  of  church  union,  they 
were  preparing  to  call  upon  the  whole  body 
to  consider  the  expediency  of  requesting 
Mr.  Robinson  to  resign,  when  his  sudden 
death  at  Birmingham,  just  after  he  had 
been  preaching  in  Dr.  Priestley's  pulpit, 
rendered  such  a  measure  unnecessary. 
On  the  news  of  this  event  reaching  Cam- 
bridge, Mr.  Foster,  who  was  then  on  his 
death-bed,  made  it  his  last  request  to  some 
of  the  most  influenital  men  in  the  church, 
that  they  would  never  consent  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  Socinian  eis  Mr.  Robinson's 
successor. 

From  this  account  of  the  slate  of  the 
church  at  Mr.  Robinson's  decease,  it  will 
appear  how  difficult  it  was  to  select  a  suc- 
cessor who  would  be  approved  by  all; 
how  difficult.,  also,  for  that  successor  to 
walk  steadily  in  the  path  of  duty. 

Mr.  Hall,  who  by  this  time  had  attained 
a  high  reputation  as  a  preacher,  was  invit- 
ed, in  June  or  July,  1790,  to  preach  at  Cam- 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


239 


'bridge  for  one  month ;  after  which  the  invi- 
tation was  renewed  for  a  longer  term.  In 
July  the  following  year,  he  was  invited  to 
take  the  pastoral  charge ;  the  letter  an- 
nouncing his  acceptance  of  the  important 
trust  will  be  found  in  another  part  of  this 
volume. 

In  these  transactions  and  their  conse- 
quences still  unfolding,  the  wisdom  and 
mercy  of  God  are  strikingly  manifested. 
There  was  at  that  time  no  man  of  eminence 
among  the  Baptists,  besides  Mr.  Hall,  who 
could  for  a  moment  have  been  thought  of 
by  the  church  at  Cambridge  as  a  fit  suc- 
cessor to  Mr.  Robinson ;  nor  was  there  any 
Baptist  church  and  congregation  with 
which  he  could  become  connected  with  the 
same  prospect  of  being  useful  and  happy, 
according  to  the  views  he  then  entertained. 
Had  Mr.  Hall's  religious  principles  and 
feelings  been  such  in  1790  and  1791  as  they 
became  a  few  years  afterward,  not  even 
his  talents  would  have  made  them  palata- 
ble ;  and  a  connection,  had  it  been  formed, 
would  soon  have  been  dissolved:  on  the 
other  hand,  had  the  church  been  decidedly 
and  entirely  Socinianized  he  could  not 
conscientiously  have  become  its  pastor. 
The  providential  correlation  soon  began  to 
thow  itself  Their  looseness  of  sentiment 
on  many  points,  which  even  then  he  thought 
momentous,  led  him  to  enforce  them  fre- 
quently with  the  utmost  energy ;  while  his 
known  freedom  of  opinion  on  other  points, 
which  they  also  had  been  led  to  canvass 
freely,  preserved  him  ii-om  the  odium  of 
orthodoxy.  Thinking  themselves  liberal 
and  unshackled,  they  could  not  but  con- 
gratulate one  another  that  tiieir  new  pastor, 
a  man  of  splendid  talents,  was  almost  as 
liberal  and  unshackled  as  fhey  were. 
Then  again,  their  want  of  devotional  seri- 
ousness, by  the  force  of  contrast,  heighten- 
ed his  estimate  of  the  value  of  true  piety  ; 
and  this  produced  an  argumented  earnest- 
ness and  fidelity,  which  they  first  learned 
to  tolerate,  and  afterward  to  admire.  Thus 
by  the  operation  of  an  incessant  action  and 
reaction,  continued  for  years,  each  party 
exerted  a  salutary  influence  on  the  other  ; 
and  at  lengrth  both  church  and  pastor  be- 
came so  distinguislied  for  piety,  harmony, 
and  affection,  that  they  who  had  knovvn 
and  lamented  their  former  state  were  com- 
pelled to  exclaim,  -'This  hath  God 
wrought." 

The  death  of  Mr.  Hall's  father,  which 
occurred  in  March,  1791,  had  indeed  tend- 
ed greatly  to  brin^'  his  mind  to  the  state 
of  serious  thoutrht  with  which  he  entered 
upon  the  pastorial  office.  Meditatin?  with 
the  deepest  veneration  upon  the  unusual 
excellences  of  a  parent  now  for  ever  lost 
to  him,  he  was  led  to  investigate,  with  re- 
newed earnestness,  the  truth  as  well  as 


value  of  those  high  and  sacred  principles 
from  which  his  eminent  piety  and  admira- 
ble consistency  so  evidently  flowed.  He 
called  to  mind,  too,  several  occasions  on 
which  his  father,  partly  by  the  force  of 
reason,  partly  by  that  of  tender  expostula- 
tion, had  exhorted  him  to  abandon  the 
vague  and  dangerous  .speculations  to  which 
he  was  prone.  Some  important  changes 
in  Mr.  Hall's  sentiments  resulted  from  an 
inquiry  conducted  under  such  solenm  im- 
pressions ;  and  among  these  may  be  men- 
tioned his  renunciation  of  materialism, 
which  he  often  declared  he  "buried  in  his 
father's  grave." 

Attentive  to  the  voice  of  heavenly  ad- 
monition, thus  addressing  him  trom  various 
quarters,  he  entered  upon  his  new  duties 
with  earnest  desires  that  he  might  be  able 
"  to  commend  himself  to  every  man's  con- 
science in  the  sight  of  God."  Feeling  that 
to  him  was  consigned  tlie  charge  of  trans- 
ibrming,  with  God's  assistance,  a  cold  and 
sterile  soil  into  a  fruitful  field,  he  determin- 
ed not  to  satisfy  himself  with  half-meas- 
ures, but  proceeded  to  expose  error,  and 
defend  what  he  regarded  as  essential  truth. 
The  first  sermon,  therefore,  which  he  de- 
livered at  Cambridge,  after  he  had  assum- 
ed the  office  of  pastor,  was  on  the  doctrine 
of  the  atonement,  and  its  practical  tenden- 
cies. Immediately  after  the  conclusion  of 
the  service,  one  of  the  congregation,  who 
had  followed  poor  Mr.  Robinson  through 
all  his  changes  of  sentiment,  went  into  tlie 
vestry,  and  said,  "  Mr.  Hall,  this  preaching 
won't  do  for  us :  it  will  only  suit  a  congre- 
gation of  old  women."  "  Do  you  mean  my 
sermon,  sir,  or  the  doctrine  ?"  "  Your  doc- 
trine?'' "  Why  is  it  that  the  doctrine  is  fit 
only  lor  old  women?"  "Because  it  may 
suit  the  musings  of  people  tottering  upon 
the  brink  of  the  grave,  and  who  are  eager- 
ly seeking  comfort."  "  Thank  you,  sir, 
for  your  concession.  The  doctrine  will  not 
suit  people  of  any  age,  unless  it  be  true  ;  and 
if  it  be  trite,  it  is  not  fitted  lor  old  woman 
alone  but  is  equally  important  at  every  age." 

This  individual,  and  three  or  four  other 
men  of  influence,  with  about  twenty  from 
tlie  poorer  classes,  shortly  afterward  with- 
drew from  the  congregation,  and  met  to- 
lirether  on  the  Sunday  evenings  at  a  pri- 
Viite  house.  The  then  Rev.  William 
Freud,  fellow  and  tutor  of  Jesus  College, 
an  avowed  Socinian.  became  their  religiou.s 
instructor.  This  separate  assembly,  how- 
ever, did  not  continue  many  months;  for 
the  person  at  whose  house  they  met  wa;;, 
ere  long,  taken  up  and  tried  for  sedition, 
and  convicted  ;  and  the  proceedings  against 
Mr.  Frend,  on  account  of  \\U  pamphlet  en- 
titled "Peace  and  Union.'"  which  for  .so 
long  a  time  kept  the  University  at  Cam- 
bridge in   i  state  of  great  agitation,  aaJ 


240 


MEMOIR    OF     ROBERT    HALL. 


which  ended  in  his  expulsion  from  it,  drew 
away  his  attention  from  the  little  band  of 
seceders. 

Mr.  Hall's  ministerial  labors,  at  this  in- 
teresting period  of  his  lilb,  were  blessed 
with  the  happiest  results,  when  the  benefit 
iseemed  likely  to  be  for  a  wliile  suspended 
by  the  intrusion  of  violent  political  discus- 
sion. The  impression  made  throughout 
Europe  by  the  French  revolution  of  1789 
was  such,  that  not  merely  here  and  there 
an  individual  indulged  in  political  specula- 
tion, but  almost  every  man  threw  himself 
into  the  vortex  of  controversy.  The  cler- 
gy of  every  order  and  station,  the  laity  of 
every  rank  and  class,  yielded  alike  to  the 
impulsion  ;  and  he  who  did  not  declare  his 
decided  and  cordial  adhesion  to  one  or  oth- 
er of  the  contending  parties  might  expect 
the  censure  of  both,  for  his  want  of  spirit 
or  of  principle.  Cambridge,  hitherto  cliar- 
acterized  as  the  whig  university,  was,  at 
this  epoch,  split  into  the  most  violent  party 
divisions,  and  the  public  was  deluged  with 
sermons  from  the  pulpit,  and  pamphlets 
from  the  press,  in  which  the  respective  ad- 
vocates of  "  things  as  they  are,"  and  of 
"things  as  they  should  be,"  defended  their 
opposite  views  with  the  utmost  zeal,  and  too 
often  with  the  most  uuhecoming  rancour. 

At  such  a  season  Mr.  Hall,  then  under 
thirty  years  of  age,  was  not  likely  to  main- 
tain an  entire  silence.  When  a  man's 
qaiescence  was  sufficient  to  render  his 
principles  equivocal,  he  was  certainly  not 
one  who  would  make  a  secret  of  his  opin- 
ions. He  thought  that  political  ethics  had 
almost  ceased  to  be  referable  to  any  princi- 
ple of  pure  ethics. 

He  hesitated  not  to  avow  that  the  grand 
■object  of  all  good  government  must  be 
to  promote  the  happiness  of  the  govern- 
ed, to  assist  every  individual  in  its  attain- 
ment and  security.  He  regarded  a  govern- 
ment chiefly  anxious  about  the  emoluments 
■of  office,  or  aiming  to  consolidate  its  own 
power  at  home  and  to  aid  the  efforts  of 
despots  abroad,  while  it  neglected  the  com- 
fort and  welfare  of  individuals  in  middle  or 
lower  life,  whose  burdens  it  augmented  by 
u  mistaken  course,  as  a  government  that 
should  be  comlitutionally  opposed  by  every 
lawful  means. 

He  gave  to  such  subjects,  also,  more 
than  political  considerations.  He  looked 
•upon  those  European  governments  which 
were  founded  on  oppression,  and  trampled 
on  the  natural  rights  of  man,  as  operating 
most  fatally  in  the  extinction  of  light  and 
virtue.  He  regarded  the  conditions  of 
those  who  tyrannize,  and  of  those  who  are 
the  objects  of  tyranny,  as  each  productive  of 
a  numerous  and  distinct  class  of  vices ; 
and  thought  that  the  consequent  darkness, 
ignorance,  and  criminality  of  the  general 


mass  under  despotic  governments,  iu  great 
measure,  it"  not  entirely,  incapacitated  them 
for  the  pure  and  elevated  enjoyments  of 
heaven.  It  was  hence  a  permanent  convic- 
tion of  his  mind,  "  that  he  who  is  instru- 
mental in  perpetuating  a  corrupt  and  wick- 
ed government  is  also  instrumental  in  un- 
fitting his  fellow-men  for  the  felicity  of  the 
celestial  mansions."  Could  it  then  be 
matter  of  surprise  that,  believing  and  feel- 
ing all  this,  he  should  exult  when  "  tlie 
empire  of  darkness  and  of  despotism  had 
been  smitten  with  a  stroke  which  sounded 
through  the  universe ;"  or,  when  other 
ministers  of  the  gospel  were  signalizing 
themselves  by  opposing  this  view  of  things, 
that  he  should,  for  a  short  intervaf,  be 
drawn  aside  from  pursuits  more  congenial 
with  his  prevailing  tastes,  and,  in  some  im- 
portant respects,  I  thhik,  more  compatible 
with  his  holy  calling,  and  at  once  endeavor 
to  prove  that  '•  Christianity  is  consistent 
with  a  love  of  freedom,"  and  that  true 
Christianity  will  prevail  most  where  genu- 
ine freedom  is  most  diffused  and  best  under- 
stood ? 

Cordial,  however,  as  was  Mr.  Hall's  at- 
tachment to  a  cause  in  which  he  conceived 
man's  best  interests  to  be  closely  interwo- 
ven, and  strong  as  was  his  hatred  of  des- 
potic measures,  or  what  he  regarded  as 
sucli,  either  at  home  or  abroad,  I  do  not 
think  that  even  their  joint  operation  Avould 
have  overcome  his  repugnance  to  writing, 
had  it  not  been  for  skilful  abetters,  who 
first  worked  upon  his  feelings,  and  then  ex- 
torted from  him  the  promise  of  preparing 
a  work  for  the  public.  Such,  if  I  have  not 
been  misinformed,  was  the  origin  of  his 
first  pohtical  pamphlet ;  and  such,  I  know, 
from  his  own  declaration,  often  repeated, 
was  the  origin  of  the  eloquent  and  power- 
ful "  Apology  for  the  Freedom  of  the 
Press."  The  evening  after  the  event  oc- 
curred 1o  which  he  alludes  in  the  "  Apolo- 
gy," he  attended  a  periodical  meeting  of 
a  book-society,  constituted  principally  of 
members  of  his  own  congregation,  and  of 
Mr.  Simeon's,  and  visually  denominated 
Alderman  ImPs  Club,  that  distinguished 
ornament  of  Mr.  Simeon's  congregation 
being  the  treasurer.  Every  person  pre- 
sent expressed  himself  in  terms  of  the 
strongest  indignation  at  the  insult  offered  to 
Mr.  INIusgrave  ;  every  one  thought  it  high- 
ly desirable  that  some  man  of  talent  at 
Cambridge  should  advocate  the  principles 
maintained  by  the  friends  of  liberty,  es- 
pecially of  those  who  avowed  evangelical 
seniiments,  and  the  necessity  for  their 
united  activity,  in  the  present  state  of  the 
country  and  of  Europe.  Mr.  Hall  spoke 
as  decidedly  as  any  of  them  with  regard 
to  the  urgent  necessities  of  the  case;  when 
they  all,  having  brought  hira  precisely  into 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL, 


241 


the  position  at  which  they  were  aiming, 
exclaimed  that  it  was  he  to  Avhom  alone 
they  could  look  in  this  exigency.  "  Alder 
man  Ind,  you  know,  sir,"  said  he,  "  was  an 
excellent  man ;  pure  as  a  seraph,  and  gen 
tie  as  a  lamb.  I  thought  that  if  he  felt 
roused,  if  he  could  join  with  the  rest  in 
urging  me,  I  might  bring  all  hesitation  to  a 
truce  ;  and  so,  in  an  evil  hour,  I  yielded  to 
their  entreaties.  1  went  home  to  my  lodg- 
ings, and  began  to  write  immediately :  sat 
up  all  night ;  and,  wonderful  for  me,  kept 
up  the  intellectual  ferment  for  almost  a 
month ;  and  then  the  thing  was  done.  I 
revised  it  a  little  as  it  went  through  the 
the  press ;  but  I  have  ever  since  regretted 
that  I  wrote  so  hastily  and  superficially 
upon  some  subjects  brought  forward, 
which  required  touching  with  a  master- 
hand,  and  exploring  to  their  very  founda- 
tions. So  far  as  I  understand  the  purely 
political  principles  which  are  advanced  in 
that  pamphlet,  they  are,  I  believe,  correct : 
at  all  events  they  are  mine  still.  But,  I 
repeat  it,  I  yielded  in  an  evil  hour;  es- 
pecially if  I  had  any  wish  to  obtain  per- 
manent reputation  as  a  political  writer. 
Perhaps,  however,  the  pamphlet  had  its 
use  in  those  perilous  times."  Such  was 
Mr.  Halfs  account  of  this  publication. 
How  far  it  indicates  the  spirit  of  self-de- 
preciation, in  which,  almost  throvigh  life, 
he  characterized  his  own  productions,  they 
who  are  best  acquainted  with  the  "  Apolo- 
gy" will  be  most  competent  to  decide  ;  un- 
less, indeed,  their  prepossessions  and  preju- 
dices should  disqualify  them  for  deciding 
aright. 

But,  whatever  might  be  Mr.  Hall's  opin- 
ion of  this  work,  it  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  regarded  bj'-  the  public  as  of  little 
value.  Three  editions  were  called  for,  1 
believe,  within  less  than  six  months ;  and 
then  the  author  not  sanctioning  a  republi- 
cation, various  editions  were  printed  and 
circulated  surreptitiously.  Its  more  splen- 
did and  impressive  passages  were  repeat- 
edly quoted  in  the  periodicals  of  the  day, 
and  many  of  its  arguments  were  cited  as 
perfectly  conclusive.  It  was  also  widely 
circulated  in  America:  and  is  there  still 
regarded  as  having  been  powerfully  influ- 
ential in  diftusing  those  liberal  political 
principles  which,  of  late,  liave  acquired  so 
marked  an  ascendency  in  Britain. 

Mr.  Hall,  however,  experienced  such  in- 
conveniences from  his  political  celebrity, 
as  induced  him  to  recede,  not  from  his 
principles,  or  from  the  avowal  of  them  in 
private,  but  from  the  further  advocacy  of 
them  in  public.  It  forced  upon  him  the  so- 
ciety of  men  whose  conduct  and  character 
he  could  not  approve ;  it  tended  to  draw 
him,  much  more  than  he  could  conscien- 
tiously justify,  from  retirement  and  study ; 

Vol.  3. — Ee. 


and  thus,  ere  long  he  became  of  opinion 
to  adopt  his  own  words,  "  that  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  is  in  danger  of  losing  some- 
thing of  its  energy  and  sanctity ,"by  em- 
barking on  the  stormy  element  of  political 
debate."  His  elegant  eulogium  on  Dr. 
Priestley,  in  his  first  pamphlet,  and  the 
warm  terms  of  admiration  in  which  he 
used  to  speak  of  him  in  private,  tempted 
many  to  fancy,  and  to  say,  that  he  also 
was  a  Socinian  at  heart ;  and  although  his 
preaching  became  more  and  more  distin- 
guished by  the  introduction  and  energetic 
application  of  evangelical  truth,  he  still 
found  himself  often  so  equivocally  placed 
as  to  render  his  denial  of"  Socinianism 
quite  imperative.  On  one  of  these  occa- 
sions, Mr.  Hall  having,  in  his  usual  terms, 
panegyrized  Dr.  Priestley,  a  gentlemen 
who  held  the  doctor's  theological  opinions, 
tapping  Mr.  Hall  upon  the  shoulder  with 
an  indelicate  freedom  from  which  he  recoil- 
ed, said,  "Ah!  sir,  we  shall  have  you 
among  us  soon,  I  see."  Mr.  Hall,  startled 
and  offended  by  the  rude  tone  of  exulta- 
tion in  which  this  was  uttered,  hastily  re- 
plied, '■'Me  among  you,  sir !  me  among  you  ! 
Why,  if  that  were  ever  the  case,  I  should 
deserve  to  be  tied"  to  the  tail  of  the  great 
red  dragon,  and  whipped  round  the  nether- 
most regions  to  all  eternity  !" 

Notwitlistanding  the  reasons  Mr.  Hall 
thus  had  for  some  degree  of  reserve,  yet  in 
this,  as  in  every  period  of  his  life,  he  dis- 
played a  remarkable  relish  for  social  inter- 
course. He  did  not  court  the  society  of 
literary  men  ;  indeed,  he  rather  shrank 
from  it,  because  he  felt  the  risk  of  having 
his  thoughts  too  much  engrossed  by  mere 
matters  of  language  or  of  science :  he  had 
acquired  enough  of  both  to  value  them 
greatly ;  yet  he  desired  to  regard  them 
principally  as  subservient  to  the  higher 
purposes  of  his  profession.  Besides  this, 
the  philosophy  of  mind,  in  which  he  took 
extreme  interest  was  then  but  little  cultivat- 
ed at  Cambridge.  Happily,  however,  the 
leading  individuals  in  his  congregation 
were  very  intelligent  and  well-informed 
able  to  appreciate  his  talents  justly,  and 
skilful  in  bringing  his  conversational  pow- 
ers into  full  action.  With  one  or  other  of 
these  he  usually  spent  his  evenings,  se- 
lecting most  frequently  those  who  possess- 
ed the  enjoyments  of  domestic  life,  and 
often  stealing  in  earlier  than  he  was  expect- 
ed, that  he  might  for  an  hour  share  in  the 
gambols  and  gayety  of  the  children. 

He  was,  but  only  for  a  short  time,  an  im- 
itator of  Dr.  Johnson.  Some  years  after- 
ward, when  reminded  of  this,  he  replied, 
"Yes,  sir:  I  aped  Johnson,  and  I  preached 
Johnson ;  and  I  am  afraid  with  little  more 
of  evangelical  sentiment  than  is  to  be 
found  in  his  Essays :  but  it  was  youthful 


242 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


folly,  and  it  was  very  great  folly.  I  might 
as  well  have  attempted  to  dance  a  horn- 
pipe in  the  cumbrous  costume  of  Gog  and 
Magog.  My  puny  thoughts  could  not 
sustain  the  load  of  the  words  in  which  I 
trieil  to  clothe  them." 

There  needed  not,  in  truth,  the  principle 
of  imitation  to  produce  great  similarity  in 
some  important  respects  between  these  two 
extraordinary  men.  They  manifested  the 
physical  difference  between  a  melancholic 
and  a  cheerful  temperament ;  in  conse- 
quence of  which,  the  one  was  slow  and 
measured  in  utterance,  the  other  rapid  and 
urgent.  But,  in  conversation,  both  evinced 
a  ready  comprehension  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject, a  quick  and  decisive  accuracy  in  an- 
swering, and  a  perfect  self-dependence. 
They  both  disliked  a  protracted  debate, 
and  would  sometimes  terminate  a  discus- 
sion, when  it  was  growing  tiresome,  by  a 
strong  and  pointed  observation  which  it 
was  difficult  to  encounter.  Both  were 
alike  in  exhibiting  a  rather  more  than  ordi- 
nary degree  of  faith  in  things  of  a  preter- 
natural or  mysterious  description.  In  both 
too,  there  were  the  similarities  of  acute  in- 
tellect united  with  splendid  imagination ; 
and  of  a  natural  majesty  of  mental  and 
moral  genius  which  commanded  veneration. 
But  in  the  correction  of  his  faults,  and  the 
improvement  of  his  virtues,  Mr.  Hall  pos- 
sessed, in  his  superior  piety,  an  immease 
advantage  over  Dr.  Johnson. 

In  argument  he  was  impetuous,  and 
sometimes  overbearing ;  but  if  he  lost  his 
temper  he  was  deeply  humbled,  and  would 
often  acknowledge  himself  to  blame.  On 
one  of  these  occasions,  when  a  dsicussion 
had  become  warm,  and  he  had  evinced  un- 
usual agitation,  he  suddenly  closed  the  de- 
bate, quitted  his  seat,  and,  retiring  to  a  re- 
mote part  of  the  room,  was  overheard  by  a 
lady,  who  was  just  entering,  to  ejaculate 
with  deep  feeling,  "  Lamb  of  God  !  Lamb 
of  God  !  calm  my  perturbed  spirit !" 

Mr.  Hall's  personal  habits,  not  only  at 
tlie  time  of  which  I  am  now  speaking,  but 
in  a  certain  degree  through  life,  though 
not  precisely  those  of  an  absent  man,  were 
those  of  one  whose  mental  occupations 
kept  his  thoughts  at  a  distance  from  vari- 
ous matters  of  ordinary  observance,  and 
made  him  regardless  of  a  thousand  things 
which  most  persons  never  forget.  Thus. 
on  his  return  from  an  evening  visit,  if  not 
watched,  he  would  take  a  wrong  hat  or 
great-coat;  if  not  sought  after  by  some  of 
the  congregation,  he  would  mistake  the 
proper  eveninjr  of  a  week-day  service, 
having  in  such  cases  been  so  absorbed  in 
study,  as  to  lose  a  day  in  his  reckom'iig ;  for 
the  same  reason,  he  often  mistook  the  day 
or  the  hour  of  an  ajipointmenf ;  when  on 
my  of  his  journeys  to  London  he  engaged 


to  take  up  the  letters  of  his  friends,  it  was 
not  unusual,  after  his  return,  to  find  them 
all  in  his  portmanteau,  or  in  his  great-coat 
pocket.  These,  or  similar  instances  of  for- 
getfulness,  occurred  daily;  but,  exciting 
the  attention  of  his  affectionate  and  watch- 
ful friends,  they  seldom  exposed  him  to  se- 
rious inconvenience. 

None  of  these  peculiarities  sprang  from 
an  affectation  of  singularity  ;  they  simply 
marked  an  inattention  lo  things  of  minor 
importance.  Nor  was  there  united  with 
them  a  regardlessness  of  the  proprieties  of 
society,  a  disdain  of  such  civilities  and  at- 
tentions as  were  usual  in  the  classes  with 
whom  he  most  associated.  He  had  never 
aimed  to  acquire  a  facility  in  the  manners 
and  habits  of  genteel  hie;  but  he  had  a 
native  ease  and  grace,  which  was  obvious- 
ly distinguishable  from  any  acquired  habit 
It  was  a  grace  that  could  neither  be  bought 
nor  borrowed ;  on  all  proper  occasions 
heightened  by  the  dignity  which  naturally 
comported  with  his  character  and  office ; 
and  uniformly  blended  Avith  that  genuine 
simplicity  which  often  accompanies  intel- 
lectual greatness,  and  is  always,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  an  attribute  of  moral  greatness. 

Several  particulars  in  the  preceding  ac- 
count of  Mr.  HaU'sfirstyears  at  Cambridge 
will  be  illustrated  by  the  following  brief 
sketch,  which  I  have  received  from  a  gen- 
tleman who  had  the  most  favorable  oppor- 
tunities, as  well  as  the  requisite  taste  and 
discrimination,  for  correctly  estimating  his 
character. 

"  I  had  but  a  slight  acquaintaiiee  idth 
Robert  Hall  from  1790  to  1793:  from 
thence  to  the  end  of  1796  I  knew  him  inti- 
mately. At  that  period  his  creed  was  im- 
perfect, wanting  the  personality  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  wavering  between  the 
terrors  of  Calvin  and  the  plausibilities  of 
Baxter.*  His  infirmities,  which  were  in- 
creasing, he  concealed  with  dexterity,  op- 
posed with  vigor,  and  sustained  with  un- 
common patience.  In  his  ministerial  situa- 
tion he  Avas  far  from  easy ;  and  he  was  ve- 
hemently severe  upon  Robinson  for  leaving 
his  church  a  wilderness,  and  bequcatliing 
his  successor  a  bed  of  thorns. 

"His  religious  conversation  in  company 
was  not  frequent,  and  for  the  most  part  doc- 
trinal;  but,  in  private,  his  experimental 
communications  were  in  beauty,  elevation, 
and  compass  beyond  all  I  ever  heard.  The 
memory  of  a  man  of  seventy-tiiree  will 
not  afford  particulars;  and  the  general  im- 
pression can  neither  be  obliterated  nor  ex- 
pressed. 

'•  In  his  manners  he  was  a  close  imitator 
of  Dr.  Johnson ;  fond  of  tea-table  talk,  and 
of  the  society  of  cultivated  females,  who 


■  Thin  jitira-iHiilniV  will 
respeoUd  corretjioodent. 


:t3  o(  my  truly 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


243 


had  the  taste  to  lend  him  an  ear,  and  the 
ability  requisite  to  make  attention  a  favor. 
He  has  confessed  to  me  the  taking  thirty 
cups  of  tea  in  an  afternoon,  and  told  me 
his  method  was  to  visit  four  families,  and 
drink  seven  or  eight  cups  at  each. 

"  He  knew,  as  well  as  any  man,  what 
bad  men  were,  and  what  good  men  should 
be  ;  yet  was  often  wrong  in  his  judgment 
of  individuals.  From  this  deficiency  in 
the  knowledge  of  mankind,  he  sometimes 
trusted  his  false  and  abused  his  true  friends : 
when  he  perceived  his  error  he  changed 
his  conduct,  but,  I  suspect,  very  seldom 
confessed  his  mistake. 

"  He  did  not  then  read  much ;  but  was 
probably  more  hindered  by  pain  than  by 
indolence.  A  page,  indeed,  was  to  him 
more  serviceable  than  a  volume  to  many. 
Hints  from  reading  or  discourse,  passing 
through  his  great  mind,  expanded  into 
treatise  and  systems,  until  the  adopted 
was  lost  in  the  begotten  ;  so  much  so,  that 
the  whole  appeared  original.  I  am  per- 
suaded, however,  that  when  I  knew  him  he 
had  not  by  many  degrees,  attained  his 
meridian.  I  should  regret  my  incapacity 
to  do  him  justice,  and  give  you  assistance, 
were  I  not  persuaded  that  only  the  bud 
was  exhibited  to  me,  while  the  bloom  and 
the  fruit  were  reserved  for  those  more  de- 
serving to  be  happy." 

I  had  the  privilege  of  becoming  first 
known  to  Mr.  Hall  in  January,  1797.  Du- 
ring that  year  we  dined  daily  at  the  same 
table  :  the  next  year  we  met  almost  every 
morning  to  read  together :  and  for  some 
years  afterward  scarcely  a  week  passed 
in  which  I  was  not  three  or  four  times  in 
his  society.  When  I  first  became  acquaint- 
ed with  him  I  was  young,  and  ignorant  of 
nearly  every  thing  but  the  most  rudi- 
mental  knowledge  of  language  and  sci- 
ence ;  of  which  I  possessed  just  enough  to 
employ  as  instruments  of  inquiry.  I  was 
eager  to  acquire  information ;  but  ran 
some  risk  of  turning  my  mind  to  that 
which  was  useless,  or  merely  showy,  in- 
stead of  directing  its  best  energy  to  that 
which  was  truly  valuable.  In  such  cir- 
cumstances, to  be  allowed  the  friendship 
and  enjoy  the  advice  and  assistance  of 
such  a  man  was  among  my  richest  bless- 
ings. Scarcely  a  thought  worth  preserv- 
ing, scarcely  a  principle  of  action  worth 
reducing  to  practice,  scarcely  a  source  of 
true  enjoyment,  but  I  derived  from  him,  or 
I  was  led  to  receive,  or  to  appreciate  more 
correctly  through  his  agency.  If,  then,  for 
some  pages,  my  name  should  occur  more 
often  in  immediate  association  with  that 
of  my  beloved  and  reverend  friend  than 
may  seem  consistent  with  ordinary  rules, 
may  I  be  freed  from  the  charge  of  ego- 
tism? csjiecially,  if  I  assure  the  reader, 


that  while  nothing  affords  me  more  pleas- 
ure, nothing  awakens  more  gratitude  to 
the  Father  of  Mercies,  then  the  retrospect 
of  the  intellectual  and  higher  than  intellec- 
tual delights  which  were  then  mine,  few 
things  more  humble  me  than  the  conviction 
that  though  I  enjoyed  them  so  long,  I  suf- 
fered them  to  pass  away  without  commen- 
surate improvement. 

Mr,  Hall  kindly  admitted  me  to  the  pri- 
vacy of  his  study,  in  addition  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  frequent  intercourse  with  him 
in  the  society  of  his  friends.  Desirous  to 
assist  others  in  forming  their  estimate  of 
this  extraordinary  individual,  I  shall  not 
merely  speak  of  his  character,  habits,  and 
pursuits,  but  occasionally  introduce  some 
of  his  conversational  remarks ;  confining 
myselfj  however,  to  such  as  from  their 
brevity  always  occur  to  my  thoughts  in 
the  ipsissima  verba  originally  employed. 
If  I  do  not  succeed  in  depicting  the  man, 
which  indeed  I  feel  conscious  is  far  beyond 
my  powers,  I  may  at  least  attempt  to  de- 
scribe him  as  he  then  appeared  to  me. 

When  I  first  saw  Mr.  Hall  I  was  struck 
with  his  well-proportioned  athletic  figure, 
the  unassuming  dignity  of  his  deportment, 
the  winning  frankness  which  marked  all 
that  he  uttered,  and  the  peculiarities  of  the 
most  speaking  countenance  I  ever  contem- 
plated, animated  by  eyes  radiating  with 
the  brilliancy  imparted  to  them  by  benevo- 
lence, wit,  and  intellectual  energy.  When 
he  spoke,  except  in  the  most  ordinary  chit- 
chat, to  which  however  he  seldom  descend- 
ed, he  seemed  not  merely  to  communicate 
his  words,  but  himself:  and  I  then  first 
learned  the  difference  between  one  who 
feels  while  he  is  speaking,  and  whose  com- 
municative features  tell  you  that  he  does, 
and  one  who  after  he  has  spoken  long  and 
with  apparent  earnestness  still  does  not 
feel.  I  then  learned  also,  that  though  tal- 
ents may  convey  their  results  to  others, 
and  activity  may  carry  on  others  in  ita 
stream  ;  yet  there  is  something  distinct  in 
the  structure  of  a  great  mind  which  never 
can  be  so  transferred  to  another  as  to  be- 
come its  native  characteristic.  Mr.  Hall 
had  a  buoyancy  and  playfulness  when 
among  his  select  friends,  which  were  re- 
markably captivating.  Among  strangers 
there  Avas  a  reserve  for  a  short  time,  but 
it  was  soon  shaken  off,  especially  if  he 
found  that  they  were  pious  or  intelligent. 
The  presence  of  a  man  who  gave  himself 
airs  of  condescension  usually  induced  him 
to  remain  silent  or  to  retire.  He  could  en- 
joy the  society  of  men  of  moderate  infor- 
mation ;  and  it  Avas  interesting  to  observe 
hov/  by  a  few  apt  questions  he  could  as- 
certain in  what  direction  their  pursuits  laj', 
and  then  so  draw  them  out  as  to  give  them 
the  pleasure  of  feeling  that  they  were  con- 


244 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


tributing  to  his  stock  of  that  knowledge 
which  they  could  not  but  think  useful. 
He  was  eminently  alive  to  the  emotions  of 
pity,  an  affection  always  calculated  to  in- 
spire attachment,  but  which,  in  a  man  of 
abstract  habits  is,  I  fear,  very  unusual. 
He  wag  generous  by  nature,  as  well  as 
upon  principle,  and  in  seasons  of  attliction 
would  remarkably  identify  himself  with 
those  who  most  needed  sympathy.  He 
rather  avoided  than  sought  expressions  of 
thankfulness ;  and  sometimes  when  he  be 
came  oppressed  by  them  would  hastily 
say,  "  Thank  you,  thank  you ;  you  have 
said  more  than  enough ;  remember,  God 
has  sent  into  the  world  a  more  powerful 
and  more  noble  sentiment  than  even  grati 
tude." 

For  some  years  he  made  it  a  rule  to  pay 
a  pastorial  visit  to  every  member  of  his 
church  once  each  quarter.  He  did  the 
same  also  with  regard  to  such  of  his 
ordinary  hearers  as  he  thought  willing  to 
receive  him  as  a  minister  of  religion. 
These  w3re  not  calls,  but  visits,  and  usual- 
ly paid  on  evenings,  that  he  might  meet 
the  whole  assembled  family.  Among  the 
lower  classes,  to  make  them  quite  at  their 
ease,  he  would  sit  down  with  them  at  sup- 
per ;  and  that  this  might  involve  them  in 
no  extra  expense,  he  took  care  they  should 
all  know  that  he  preferred  a  basin  of  milk.* 

He  persuaded  the  poorer  members  oi"  his 
church  to  form  little  meetings,  for  reading, 
religious  conversation,  and  prayer,  going 
"  from  house  to  house."  These  were  held 
once  a  fortnight,  I  think,  in  the  summer 
time ;  once  a  week  during  the  winter.  He 
made  it  a  point  of  official  duty  to  attend 
them  frequently;  and  regarded  them,  with 
the  weekly  meetings  in  the  vestry,  as  the 
best  themometer  for  ascertaining  the  rehg- 
ious  state  of  his  people. 

Proceeding  thus,  It  was  not  surprising 
that  he  conciliated  the  affections  of  his 
friends,  and  secured  the  veneration  of  the 
pious  ;  that  he  extended  around  him  a 
growing  conviction  of  hia  excellence,  and 
carried  on  many  in  the  stream  of  his  men- 
tal and  moral  power. 

In  him  all  was  at  the  utmost  remove 
from  gloom  or  moroseness.  Even  the 
raillery  in  which  he  indulged  showed  his 
good-nature,  and  was  exceedingly  playful ; 
and,  notwithstanding  the  avowed  and  la- 
mented impetuosity  in  argument  to  which 
he  was  prone,  nothing,  m  far  as  I  ever 
saw,  but  conceit,  ingrafted  upon  stupidity, 

*  The  poorer  widows  of  his  Hock  were  not  forgotten  in 
these  periodical  visits.  To  them,  tie  said,  he  rep.iired 
for  religious  instruction,  and  was  seldom  disappointed. 
On  such  occasions  he  selected  his  ever  favorite  re- 
past of  tea.  It  was  his  practice  to  carry  tea  and  .su- 
gar with  him,  takin?  especial  care  that  there  should 
be  more  than  could  possibly  be  needed,  and  asking 
permission  lo  Icavo  the  remainder  behind  liiui. 


provoked  liis  impatience,  and  called  forth 
a  severity  which  he  scarcely  knew  how 
to  restrain.*  With  regard  to  disposition, 
the  predominant  features  were  kindness 
and  cheerfulness.  He  never  deliberately 
gave  pain  to  any  one,  except  in  those  few 
extreme  cases  where  there  appeared  a 
moral  necessity  of  "  rebuking  sharply"  for 
the  good  of  the  offender.  His  kindness  to 
children,  to  servants,  to  the  indigent,  nay, 
to  animals,  was  uniformly  manifest.  And 
such  was  his  prevailing  cheerfulness  that 
he  seemed  to  move  and  breathe  in  an  at- 
mosphere of  hilarity,  which  indeed  his 
countenance  always  indicated,  except  when 
the  pain  in  his  back  affected  his  spirits,  and 
caused  his  imagination  to  dwell  upon  the 
evils  of  Cambridgeshire  scenery. 

This  was,  in  his  case,  far  from  a  hypo- 
thetical grievance.  It  seriously  diminished 
his  happiness  at  Cambridge,  and  at  length 
was  the  main  cause  of  his  quitting  it.  In 
one  of  my  early  interviews  with  him,  be- 
fore I  had  been  a  month  at  that  place,  he 
said  to  me,  "  What  do  you  think  of  Cam- 
bridge, sir?"  "It  is  a  very  interesting 
place."  "  Yes,  the  place  where  Bacon,, 
and  Barrow,  and  Newton  studied,  and 
where  Jeremy  Taylor  was  born,  cannot 
but  be  interesting.  But  that  is  not  what 
I  mean  ;  what  do  you  say  to  the  scenery, 
sir?"  "  Some  of  the  public  buildings  are 
very  striking,  and  the  college  walks  very 
pleasing ;  but — "  and  there  I  hesitated : 
he  immediately  added,  "  But  there  is 
nothing  else  to  be  said.  What  do  you 
think  of  the  surrounding  country,  sir? 
Does  not  it  strike  you  as  very  insipid  ?" 
"  No,  not  precisely  so."  "  Ay,  ay  :  I  had 
forgotten;  you  come  from  a  flat  country; 
yet  you  must  love  hills  ;  there  are  no  hills 
here."  I  replied,  "  Yes,  there  are ;  there 
are  Madingley  hill,  and  the  Castle  hill, 
and  Gogmagog  hill."  This  amused  him 
exceedingly,  and  he  said,  "  Why,  as  to  Ma- 
dingley, there  is  something  in  that;  it  re- 
minds you  of  the  Cottons,  and  the  Cottoni- 
an  Library;  but  that  is  not  because  Ma- 
dingley is  a  high  hill,  but  because  Sir 
Robert  Cotton  was  a  great  man ;  and  even 
he  was  not  born  there.  Then,  as  to  your 
second  example,  do  you  know  that  the 
Castle  hill  is  the  place  of  the  public  execu- 
tions ?  that  is  no  very  pleasant  association 
sir  ;  and  as  to  your  last  example,  Gogma- 
gog hill  is  five  miles  off,  and  many  who  go 


*  The  following  is  ,in  instance  of  liis  manner  of  check- 
ing inordinate  vanity.  A  preachrr  of  this  character 
Ivaving  delivered  a  sermon  in  Mr.  Hall's  hearing,  press- 
ed him,  with  a  disgusting  union  of  self-complacency 
and  indelicacy,  lo  state  what  he  thought  of  the  sermon. 
Mr.  Hall  remained  silent  for  some  time,  hoping  that  his 
silence  would  be  rightly  interpreted  ;  but  this  only 
caused  the  ((tiestion  lo  be  pressed  with  greater  earnest- 
ness. Mr.  Hall,  at  length,  said,  '•  There  was  one  very 
fine  pa.ssage,  sir."  "1  am  rejoiced  to  hear  you  say  so. 
Pray,  sir,  which  was  it?"  "Why,  sir,  it  was  the  pas- 
sage from  the  pulpit  into  the  vestry." 


MEMOIR  OF  ROBERT  HALL, 


245 


there  are  puzzled  to  say  whether  it  is  nat- 
ural or  artificial.  'Tis  a  dismally  flat 
country,  sir ;  dismally  flat.*  Ely  is  twelve 
miles  distant,  but  the  road  from  Cambridge 
thither  scarcely  deviates  twelve  inches 
from  the  same  level ;  and  tliat's  not  very 
interesting'.  Before  I  came  to  Cambridge 
I  had  read  rn  the  prize  poems,  and  in  some 
other  works  of  fancy,  of  '  the  banks  of  the 
Cam,'  of  'the  sweetly  flowing  stream,' 
and  so  on ;  but  when  I  arrived  here  I  was 
sadly  disappointed.  When  I  first  saw  the 
river  as  I  passed  over  King's  College 
Bridge,  I  could  not  help  exclaiming.  Why, 
the  stream  is  standing  still  to  see  people 
drown  themselves  !  and  that,  I  am  sorry  to 
say,  is  a  permanent  leelling  with  me."  I 
questioned  the  correctness  of  this  impres- 
sion, but  he  immediately  rejoined,  "  Shock- 
ing place  for  the  spirits,  sir ;  I  wish  you 
may  not  find  it  so  ;  it  must  be  the  very  fo- 
cus of  suicides.  Were  you  ever  at  Bristol, 
sir  ?  there  is  scenery,  scenery  worth  look- 
ing upon,  and  worth  thinking  of;  and  so 
there  is  even  at  Aberdeen,  with  all  its  sur- 
rounding barrenness.  The  trees  on  the 
banks  of  the  Don  are  as  fine  as  those  on 
the  banks  of  the  Cam ;  and  the  river  is 
alive,  sir ;  it  falls  over  precipices,  and  foams 
and  dashes,  so  as  to  invigorate  and  inspire 
those  who  Avitness  it.  The  Don  is  a  river 
sir,  and  the  Severn  is  a  river;  but  not 
even  a  poet  would  so  designate  the  Cam, 
unless  by  an  obvious  figure  he  termed  it 
the  sleeping  river." 

The  semi-playful  and  rapid  manner  in 
which  he  uttered  things  of  this  kind  did 
not  always  conceal  the  deep  feeling  of  in- 
curable and  growing  dislike  with  which  he 
was  struggling. 

When  1  first  became  known  to  Mr.  Hall, 
he  had  recently  determined  to  revise  and 
extend  his  knowledge  in  every  department 
"  to  re-arrange  the  whole  furniture  of  his 
mind,  and  the  economy  of  his  habits,"  and 
to  become  a  thorough  student.  He  pro- 
posed devoting  six  hours  a  day  to  reading; 
but  these,  unless  his  friends  sought  after 
him,  were  often  extended  to  eight  or  nine. 
He  thought  himself  especially  defective  in 
a  tasteful  and  critical  acquaintance  with 
the  Greek  poets  ;  and  said  he  should  "  once 

■  On  Mr.  Hail's  last  visit  to  Cambridge,  one  of  his 
friends  took  him  out  for  a  morning's  ride,  and  showed 
him  the  improvements  as  to  cultivation,  by  means  of 
new  enclosures,  &c.  "  True,"  said  he,  '■  but  still  there 
IS  that  odious  flatness,  that  insipid  sameness  of  scenery 
all  around."  Then,  with  a  tone  of  great  seriousness,  he 
added,  "  I  always  say  of  my  Cambridge  friends,  when 
I  witness  their  contentedness  in  such  a  country, '  Herein 
i.-^  the  faith  and  patience  of  the  saints  !'  My  faith  and 
patience  could  not  sustain  me  under  it,  with  the  unvary- 
inc  kindness  of  my  friends  in  addition." 

On  .another  morning  ride  his  companion  said,  "  Look 
at  these  fields,  wiih  the  crops  of  corn  so  smooth  and  so 
abundant;  .are  not  they  pleasant?  and  do  tbey  not  excite 
Uie  idea  of  plenty  1  He  rejoined,  with  his  usual  prompt- 
ness. "Oh  !  yes;  .and  so  does  a  large  meal-tub  filled  to 
the  brim.  But  I  was  not  thinking  of  plentv,  but  of 
beauty."  '        ■ ' 


more  begin  at  the  beginning."  He  set  to 
work,  therelbre,  upon  the  best  treatises  on 
the  Greek  metres  then  extant.  He  next 
read  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  iwice  over, 
critically ;  proceeded  with  equal  care 
through  nearly  all  the  tragedies  of  Sopho- 
cles and  Euripides;  and  thence  extended 
his  classical  reading  in  all  directions.  To 
the  Latin  and  Greek  poets,  orators,  histori- 
ans, and  philosophers  he  devoted  a  part  of 
every  day,  for  three  or  four  years.  He 
studied  them  as  a  scholar,  but  he  studied 
them  also  as  a  moralist  and  a  philoso- 
pher ;  so  that,  while  he  appreciated  their 
peculiarities  and  beauties  with  his  won- 
ted taste,  and  carefully  improved  his  style 
of  writing  and  his  tone  of  thinking,  by  the 
best  models  which  they  present,  he  suf- 
fered them  not  to  deteriorate  the  accura- 
cy of  his  judgment  in  comparing  their  val- 
ue with  that  of  the  moderns.  Perhaps, 
however,  this  assertion  should  be  a  little 
qualified :  for,  not  only  at  the  period  of 
which  I  am  now  speaking,  but,  in  great 
measure,  through  life,  while  he  spoke  of 
the  Greek  and  Latin  poetry  in  accordance 
with  the  sentiments  and  feelings  of  every 
competent  classical  scholar,  he,  with  very 
few  exceptions,  unduly  depreciated  the 
poetry  of  the  present  times. 

Much  as  he  delighted  in  classical  litera- 
ture, he  was  by  no  means  inclined,  nor 
could  he  have  reconciled  it  with  his  notions 
of  duty,  to  circumscribe  his  reading  within 
its  limits.  The  early  Christian  fathers, 
the  fathers  of  the  Reformation,  the  theolog- 
ical writers,  both  puritan  and  episcopalian, 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  most  valu- 
able authors  on  all  similar  topics  down  to 
the  present  time,  including  the  most  es- 
teemed French  preachers,  were  all  perused 
with  his  characteristic  avidity :  what  was 
most  valuable  in  them  became  fixed  in  his 
unusually  retentive  memory ;  and  numer- 
ous marginal  and  other  references  in  the 
most  valuable  of  his  books  prove  at  once 
the  minuteness  and  closeness  of  his  atten- 
tion, and  his  desire  to  direct  his  memory  to 
the  substances  of  thought,  and  not  un- 
necessarily to  load  it  with  mere  apparatus. 

Like  many  other  men  of  letters,  Mr. 
Hall,  at  this  period,  found  the  advantage 
of  passing  from  one  subject  to  another  at 
short  intervals,  generally  of  about  two 
hours  :  thus  casting  off  the  mental  fatigue 
that  one  subject  had  occasioned  by  direct- 
ing his  attention  to  another,  and  thereby 
preserving  the  intellect  in  a  state  of  elastic 
energy  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of 
time  devoted  daily  to  study. 

Not  long  after  he  had  entered  upon  this 
steady  course  of  reading,  he  commenced 
the  study  of  Hebrew,  under  Mr.  Lyons, 
who  then  taught  that  language  in  the  uni- 
versity.    He  soon  became  a  thorough  pro- 


246 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


ficient  in  it;  and,  finding  it  greatly  to  in- 
crease his  knowledge  of  tiie  Old  Testa- 
ment, as  well  as  of  its  relation  to  the  New, 
and  considerably  to  improve  and  enlarge 
the  power  of  Scripture  interpretation,  he, 
from  thence  to  the  close  of  lil'e,  suffered 
scarcely  a  day  to  p;x.ss  without  reading  a 
portion  of  the  Old  Testament  in  the  origi- 
nal. This  practice  flowed  naturally  from 
one  of  his  principles  of  action,  namely,  to 
go  to  the  fountain-head  Ibr  information, 
rather  than  to  derive  it  from  tlie  streams ; 
and  from  the  continued  application  of  that 
principle,  it  was  found  that  his  habit  of 
reading  originals  often  impaired  the  accu- 
racy of  his  quotation  of  passages  from 
our  authorized  version,  Imving,  in  fact,  be- 
come more  familiar  with  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  texts  than  with  any  translation. 
This,  which  was  often  conjectured  by  some 
of  his  hearers  at  Cambridge,  was  amply 
confirmed  by  the  subsequent  observation 
of  his  intimate  and  much  esteemed  friend 
Mr.  Ryley,  at  Leicester. 

It  would  be  useless  to  record,  even 
briefly,  Mr.  Hall's  opinions  of  the  nume- 
rous authors,  ancient  and  modern,  which 
he  read  at  this  period  with  such  close  at- 
tention, since  they  accord  generally  with 
those  of  all  men  of  correct  taste  and  sound 
judgment.  Yet  perhaps  I  may  state,  with 
regard  to  his  chief  uninspired  favorite 
among  the  Greek  writers,  that  to  none  of 
the  ornaments  of  pagan  antiquity  did  he 
reler  in  such  terms  of  fervid  eulogy  as  to 
Plato.  Not  Cudworth  himself  could  ap- 
preciate him  more  highly.  He  often  ex- 
pressed hi.?  astonishment  at  the  neglect 
into  which  he  apprehended  the  writings  of 
Plato  were  sinking ;  and  said,  that  an  en- 
tire disregard  of  tliem  would  be  an  irrefra- 
gable proof  of  a  shallow  age.  Milton,  he 
remarked,  gave  the  noblest  proofs,  in  his 
prose  writings,  of  a  knowledge  and  love  of 
Plato ;  and  he  expressed  a  surprize,  almost 
bordering  upon  contempt,  in  reference  to 
those  who  classed  this  wonderful  man  with 
the  schoolmen.  It  was  his  frequent  remark 
that  even  when  Plato  wrote  upon  the  most 
abstract  subjects,  whether  moral,  metaphys 
ical,  or  mathematical,  his  style  was  »-. 
clear  as  the  purest  stream,  and  that  his 
diction  was  deeply  imbued  with  the  poetic 
spirit.  On  occasions  when  he  ran  no  risk 
of  the  charge  of  pedantry,  he  .would,  by 
appropriate  quotations,  confirm  these  views. 
He  delighted  to  expatiate  upon  this  philos- 
opher's notions  of  vice  and  virtue,  of  idle- 
ness and  industry  ;  and  often  adduced  the 
Platonic  definition  of  education,  as  "that 
which  qualifies  men  to  be  good  citizens, 
and  renders  them  fit  to  govern  or  to  obey." 
On  one  occasion  he  pointed  to  a  passage, 
in  the  first  Republic,  I  think,  from  which 
it  appeared  that  Plato  perceived  the  advan- 


tages resulting  from  the  subdivision  of  la- 
bor, and  suggested  the  natural  progress  of 
such  subdivision  in  proportion  to  the  ad- 
vance of  civilization. 

In  speaking  of  this  philosopher,  Mr. 
Hall  illustrated  his  view-  of  the  evil  of 
studying  a  Greek  author  with  the  aid  of  a 
Latin  version  by  a  reference  to  Se7'raurs''s 
magnificent  edition  of  his  works,  in  the 
Latin  version,  of  which  he  said  he  had  of- 
ten detected  errors.  He  also  mentioned  a 
ridiculous  blunder  of  one  of  the  English 
translators,  who  had,  it  seems,  availed  him- 
self of  a  Latin  version,  in  which,  as  was 
customar)^  two  or  three  hundred  yeara 
ago,  the  omission  of  an  m  or  an  n  was  in- 
dicated by  a  bar  placed  over  the  preceding 
letter.  Disregarding  this  superposed  bar, 
the  translator  had  read  liirudo  instead  of 
huimdo,  and  thus,  upon  Plato's  authority, 
declaring  the  horse-leech,  instead  of  the 
swalloiv,  to  be  the  harbinger  of  the 
spring  1 

I  have  dwelt  rather  longer  upon  these 
topics  than  Avould  be  at  all  necessary,  were 
it  not  to  correct  the  notion  which  some 
persons  have  entertained,  that  Mr.  Hall 
was  indolent,  and  that  though  when  stimu- 
lated to  the  effort,  he  would  exert  himself 
as  a  profound  thinker,  yet  he  was  not  a  man 
of  research,  or,  in  the  ordinary  acception, 
a  good  scholar. 

When  Mr.  Hall  proposed  that  we  should 
devote  an  hour  every  morning  to  reading 
together,  he  asked  me  to  assist  him  in  his 
mathematical  studies,  adding  that  as  a  mat- 
ter of  mutual  advantage  it  might  be  well 
that  on  alternate  mornings  I  should  be  his 
mathematical  tutor,  and  he  my  instructer 
in  metaphysics.  To  this  proposal  I  glad- 
ly assented ;  and  it  has  long  been  my  per- 
suasion that  the  scheme  flowed  in  great 
measure  from  his  desire  to  call  my  atten- 
tion to  general  literature,  and  especially  to 
the  science  of  mind. 

At  that  period,  though  he  was  strong 
and  active,  he  often  suffered  extremely 
from  the  pain  to  which  I  have  before  ad- 
verted, and  vdiich  was  his  sad  companion 
through  life.  On  entering  his  room  to 
commence  our  reading,  I  could  at  once  tell 
whether  or  not  his  night  had  been  refresh- 
ing ;  for,  if  it  had,  I  found  him  at  the  table, 
the  books  to  be  studied  ready,  and  a  vacant 
chair  set  for  me.  If  his  night  had  been 
restless,  and  the  pain  still  continued,  I 
found  him  lying  on  the  sofa,  or  more  fre- 
quently upon  three  chairs,  on  which  he 
could  obtain  an  easier  position.  At  such 
seasons,  scarcely  ever  did  a  complaint  is- 
sue from  his  lips  ;  but  inviting  me  to  take 
the  sofa,  our  reading  commenced.  They 
however,  who  knew  Mr.  Hall  can  conjec- 
ture how  often,  if  he  became  interested,  l\e 
would  raise  liimaelf  from  the  chairs,  utter 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL 


247 


a  few  animated  expressions,  and  then  re- 
sume the  favorite  reciinin<>-  posture.  Some- 
limes,  when  he  was  surtering  more  than 
usual,  he  proposed  a  walk  in  the  fields, 
where,  with  the  appropriate  book  as  our 
companion,  we  could  pursue  the  subject 
If  he  was  the  preceptor,  as  was  commonly 
the  case  in  these  peripatetic  lectures,  he 
soon  lost  the  sense  of  pain,  and  nearly  as 
soon  escaped  from  our  author,  whoever  he 
might  be,  and  expatiated  at  large  upon 
some  train  of  inquiry  or  explication  which 
our  course  of  reading  had  suggested.  As 
his  thoughts  enkindled,  both  his  steps  and 
his  Avords  became  quicker,  until,  ere  long, 
it  was  difficult  to  say  whether  the  body  or 
the  mind  were  brought  most  upon  the 
stretch  in  keeping  up  with  him.  This  pe- 
culiarity I  have  noticed  in  a  lew  other  men 
of  vigorous  intellect  and  lively  imagination. 

Mr.  Hall's  avowed  object  in  recurring  at 
all  to  his  mathematical  studies  was,  the.  ac- 
quisition of  so  much  geometry,  trigonome- 
try, and  conic  sections  as  would  enable  him 
thoroughly  to  comprehend  tlie  entire  scope 
of  the  reasoning  in  Maclaurin's  "Account 
of  Sir  Isaac  Newton's  Philosophical  Dis- 
coveries." For  this,  indeed,  his  college 
studies  had  in  a  great  measure  prepared 
him  ;  and  there  would  have  been  but  little 
to  learn,  could  he  have  been  satisfied  to 
proceed  as  students  often  do.  But  it  was 
not  in  his  nature  to  advance,  unless  he  as- 
certained the  firmness  of  the  ground  at 
every  step.  He  reasoned  philosophically, 
for  instance,  upon  the  nature  of  ratios  and 
proportions ;  so  that  we  had  to  clear  our 
way  through  the  recondite  lectures  of  Bar- 
row relative  to  those  points,  before  we 
could  advance  to  trigonometry.  His  logi- 
cal habits,  also,  made  him  very  reluctant  to 
pass  over  any  geometrical  proposition  in 
which  he  could  not  trace  the  analysis  as 
well  as  the  synthesis.  In  this  manner,  and 
with  such  views,  we  went  through  the  pro- 
posed course.  Of  what  utility  all  this 
was  ultimately  to  Mr.  Hall  I  cannot  precise- 
ly say;  but  I  can  testify  that  it  was  of  perma- 
nent advantage  by  his  mathematical  pre- 
ceptor, who  had  not  previously  formed  the 
habit  of  tracing  apparent  results  to  their 
foundations ;  but  who,  from  that  period, 
pursued  science  with  a  new  interest,  kept 
his  eye  more  steadily  upon  ultimate  princi- 
ples, and  learned  to  value  such  researches 
quite  as  much  f jr  their  intellectual  discipline 
as  for  the  practical  benefit.* 

In  reference  to  the  philosophy  of  mind, 
after  we  had  gone  slightly    over  Locke's 

■  Shortly  after  iiiv  removal  to  Wnolwicli  I  inviied  my 
late  valued  friend  Dr.  Hi-.'.lon  to  dino  with  Mr.  Hall  at 
my  house.  Mr.  Hall,  for  tlie  purpose  of  drawin:;  the 
doctor  into  conversation,  asked  liirii  a  few  questions 
suggested  by  some  of  Barrow's  disquisitions  in  refer- 
ence to  mathematical  measure,  and  its  application  to 
force,  momentum,  &c.  They  essentiaily  involved  the 
metaphysics  of  the  Euhjecls  of  inquiry.    He  also  expa- 


Essay,  his  Conduct  of  the  Understanding", 
and  Watt's  Ontology,  which  I  have  read 
before,  we  studied  Berkeley,  Wollaston, 
Hartley,  Andrew  Baxter,  Reid,  some  por* 
tions  of  Bacon's  Essays,  and  of  his  Trea- 
tise on  the  advancement  of  Learning  ;  or 
rather,  I  should  say,  I  had  the  advantage 
of  learning  what  was  most  or  least  valua- 
ble in  each  and  all  of  these,  from  this  admi- 
rable living  commentator.  We  were  about 
to  proceed  to  Search's  (Abraham  Tucker's) 
"  Light  of  Nature,"*  when  some  circum- 
stances, which  I  cannot  recall  to  mind,  ren- 
dered it  inconvenient  for  us  thus  to  meet, 
and  brought  these  delightful  readings  and 
commentaries  to  a  close.  We  did  not  then 
go  through  any  of  Dugald  Stewart's 
works,  Mr.  Hall  regarding  him  as  an  ele- 
gant expositor  of  Reid,  but  greatly  inferior 
in  originality.  From  Bacon's  Essays  he 
used  to  read  passages  aloud,  with  the 
warmest  expressions  of  commendation. 

I  must  not  omit  to  specify,  as  a  peculiar- 
ity in  the  structure  of  Mr.  Hall's  mind, 
that  although  in  every  important  case  he 
detected,  and  placed  in  the  utmost  promi- 
nence, an  essential  defect  in  the  reasoning, 
at  too  rapid  generalization,  or  any  other  un- 
warrantable deduction,  that  occurred  in 
Berkeley,  or  Watts,  or  Hartley,  he  was  very 
slow  to  perceive,  very  reluctant  to  admit,  any 
such  in  the  writings  of  Andrew  Baxter.  The 
reader  who  is  conversant  with  such  specu- 
lations will  recollect,  tliat  in  the  second  vol- 
ume of  Baxter's  book  on  "  the  Soul,"  he 
affirms  that  our  dreams  are  prompted  by 
separate  immaterial  beings,  and  defends  his 
theory  with  much  ingenuity.  As  he  ad- 
vanced in  Baxter's  arguments,  Mr.  Hall 
exclaimed,  "This  is  very  beautiful,  sir; 
yet  I  apprehend  there  must  be  some  flaw 
in  the  reasoning."  I  suggested  one  or  two 
objections;  he  showed  immediately,  that 
they  could  not  apply.  On  our  next  meet- 
ing he  accosted  me  with,  "  Well,  sir,  have 
you  detected  any  fallacy  in  Baxter's  theo- 
ry ?"  "  Yes,  I  think  I  have."  This,  how- 
ever, was  soon  disposed  of  and  then  another 
and  another.  I  at  length  referred  to  Du- 
gald Stewart's  theory,  after  examining 
which,  he  said,  "I  do  not  think  this  is 
tenable :  but  I  suppose  it  must  be  admitted 
that  Baxter  does  not  quite  make  out  his 
case.  Yet  he  was  a  man  of  great  acumen, 
why  did  the  Scotch  philosophers  run  him 
down  so  ?" 


lialed  upon  the  iinaitinalive  as  well  a.s  the  national  pro- 
cess involved  in  the  pencsi.s  of  curves  by  motion,  as 
tauu'lit  by  Barrow  and  Newton.  The  next  day  Dr.  Hut- 
ton  said  to  me,  "  What  an  e.xtraordinary  man  that 
friend  of  yours  is !  Why,  he  was  born  to  be  a  mathe- 
matician. If  you  could  persuade  him  to  give  himself 
up  to  the  sciences,  as  Priestley  did,  he  would  teach  us 
all  something." 

*  Mr.  Hall  characterized  this  as  a  work  in  which  h<^ 
noblest  philosophy  wa.^  brought  down  >y  a  uiapfrr  hnntl 
and  placed  within  the  reach  of  e'-orv  i;.3;i  of  tound  w*- 
dcrr.tanrilr.-. 


248 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


"  "Yes, 
of  his 
"  No." 


Still  further  to  illustrate  Mr.  Hall's  char- 
acter, his  turn  of  thought  and  expression, 
I  will  now  bring  together  a  few  such  inci- 
dents and  short  remarks,  occurring  betAveen 
1796  and  1803,  as  present  themselves  most 
vividly  to  my  mind. 

It  will  already  have  appeared  that  be- 
nevolence was  a  prevailing  characteristic. 
When  he  had  aided  a  poor  man  to  the  full 
extent  of  his  own  pecuniary  means,  he 
would  sometimes  apply  to  one  of  his  afflu- 
ent friends.  "  Poor is  in  great  dis- 
tress :  some  of  his  family  are  ill,  and  he 
cannot  supply  proper  necessaries.  Lend 
me  five  shillings  for  the  poor  fellow :  I  will 
pay  you  again  in  a  fortnight,  unless  in  the 
mean  time  you  find  that  the  case  deserves 
your  help,  and  then  the  donation  shall  be- 
come yours." 

His  disapprobation  of  'avarice  bore  a 
natural  relation  to  his  own  benevolence. 
Being  informed  that  a  rich  man  in  the 
neighborhood,  who  was  by  no  means  cele- 
brated for  his  liberality,  had  attended  to  a 
tfile  of  distress  without  relieving  it,  he 
said,  "  Yes,  sir :  he  would  listen,  but  with- 
out inclining  his  head.  He  may  lend  a  dis 
tant  ear  to  the  murmurings  from  the  vale 
beneath,  but  he  remains  like  a  mountain 
covered  with  the  perpetual  snow." 

On  another  occasion,  a  person  talking  to 
him  of  one  whom  they  both  knew,  and 
who  was  very  penurious,  said,  "  Poor 
wretch  !  you  might  put  his  soul  into  a  nut 
shell."  "  Yes,  sir,"  Mr.  Hall  replied.  "  and 
even  then  it  would  creep  out  at  a  maggot 
hole." 

His  love  of  sincerity  in  words  and  ac- 
tions was  constantly  apparent.  Once, 
while  he  was  spending  an  evening  at  the 
house  of  a  friend,  a  lady  who  was  there  on 
a  visit,  retired,  that  her  little  girl,  of  four 
years  old,  might  go  to  bed.  She  returned 
in  about  half  an  hour,  and  said  to  a  lady 
near  her,  "  She  is  gone  to  sleep.  I  put  on 
my  night-cap,  and  lay  down  by  her,  and 
she  soon  dropped  off."  Mr.  Hall,  who 
overheard  this,  said,  "  Excuse  me,  madam : 
do  you  wish  your  child  to  grow  up  a  liar  ?" 
"  Oh  dear  no,  sir  ;  I  should  be  shocked  at 
such  a  thing."  "  Then  bear  with  me 
while  I  say,  you  must  never  act  a  lie  be- 
fore her :  children  arc  very  quick  observers, 
and  soon  learn  that  that  which  assumes  to  be 
what  it  is  not  is  a  lie,  whether  acted  or  spo- 
ken." This  was  uttered  with  a  kindness 
which  precluded  oflpnoe,  yet  with  a  serious- 
ness that  could  not  be  forgotten. 

His  dislike  to  compliments  was  thus  ex- 
pressed :  "  In  compliments  two  and  two  do 
not  make  four ;  and  twenty  and  twenty 
fall  very  far  short  of  forty.  Deal  not  then 
in  that  deceitful  arithmetic." 

It  was  said  in  Mr.  Hall's  hearing  that  [most  out  of  tune   with  the   otlier  words, 
"compliments  were  pleasing  truths,  and i Listen  again:   'Thou  hast  dehvered  my 


flatteries  pleasing  untruths."  He  remarked 
"  Neither  of  them  are  pleasing  to  a  man  of 
reflection,  for  the  falsehoods  in  this  case  so 
nearly  assume  the  semblance  of  truth,  that 
one  is  perplexed  to  tell  which  is  actually 
given ;  and  no  man  is  pleased  with  per- 
plexity." 

"  You  remember  Mr.  ■ 
very  well."  "  Were  you  aware 
fondness  for  brandy  and  water?" 
"  It  was  a  sad  habit,  but  it  grew  out  of  his 
love  of  story  telling;  and  that  also  is  a 
bad  habit,  a  very  bad  habit  for  a  min- 
ister of  the  gospel.  As  he  grew  old, 
his  animal  spirits  flagged,  and  his  stories 
became  defective  in  vivacity :  he  therefore 
took  to  brandy  and  water;  weak  enough 
it  is  true,  at  first,  but  soon  nearly  '  halt-and- 
half '  Ere  long  he  indulged  the  habit  in 
a  morning ;  and  when  he  came  to  Cam- 
bridge he  would  call  upon  me,  and  before 
he  had  been  with  me  five  minutes  ask  for 
a  little  brandy  and  water,  which  was  of 
course,  to  give  him  artificial  spirits  to  ren- 
der him  agreeable  in  his  visits  to  others. 
I  felt  great  difiiculty ;  for  he,  you  know, 
sir,  was  much  older  than  I  was  :  yet,  being 
persuaded  that  the  ruin  of  his  character,  if 
not  of  his  peace,  was  inevitable,  unless 
something  was  done,  I  resolved  upon  one 
strong  effort  for  his  rescue.  So  the  next 
time  that  he  called,  and,  as  usual,  said, 
'  Friend  Hall,  I  will  thank  you  for  a  glass 
of  brandy  and  water,'  I  replied,  'Call 
things  by  their  right  names,  and  you  shall 
have  as  much  as  you  please.'  '  Why, 
don't  I  employ  the  right  name  !  I  ask  for 
a  glass  of  brandy  and  water.'  'That  is 
the  current,  but  not  the  appropriate  name ; 
ask  for  a  glass  of  liquid  fire,  and  distilled 
damnation,  and  you  shall  have  a  gallon." 
Poor  man,  he  turned  pale,  and  for  a  mo- 
ment seemed  struggling  with  anger.  But, 
knowing  that  I  did  not  mean  to  insult  him, 
he  stretched  out  his  hand,  and  said,  '  Broth- 
er Hall,  I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart.'  From  that  time  he  ceased  to  take 
brandy  and  water." 

In  one  of  my  early  interviews  with  Mr. 
Hall,  I  used  the  word  felicity  three  or  four 
times  in  rather  quick  succession.  He  ask- 
ed, "  Why  do  you  say  felicity,  sir  1  Hap- 
piness is  a  better  word,  more  musical,  and 
genuine  English,  coming  from  the  Saxon." 
"  Not  more  musical,  I  think,  sir."  "  Yes, 
more  musical,  and  so  are  words  derived 
from  the  Saxon  generally.  Listen,  sir : 
'  My  heart  is  smitten  and  withered  like 
grass;'  there's  plaintive  music.  Listen 
again  sir :  '  Under  tlie  shadow  of  tliy  wings 
will  I  rejoice ;'  there's  cheerful  music." 
"  Yes,  but  rejoice  is  French."  "  True, 
but  all  the  rest  is  Saxon,  and  rejoice  is  al 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


249 


eyes  from  tears,  my  soul  from  death,  and 
my  feet  from  falling ;'  all  Saxon,  sir,  except 
delivered.  I  could  think  of  the  word  tear, 
sir,  till  I  wept.  Then  again,  for  another 
noble  specimen,  and  almost  all  good  old 
Saxon-English :  '  Surely  goodness  and 
mercy  shall  follow  me  all  the  days  of  my 
life ;  and  I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  for  ever.' " 

Shortly  after  this  I  was  reading  the 
original  edition  of  Doddridge's  Pneumat- 
ology,  and  asked  Mr,  Hall  to  lend  me  Kip- 
pis's  edition,  in  which  the  reference  to 
other  authorities,  on  the  various  topics  dis- 
cussed, are  greatly  increased.  He  told  me 
that  he  did  not  possess  Kippis's  edition,  in 
a  tone  which  then  surprized  me  a  little,  as 
it  showed  that  he  did  not  highly  estimate 
Kippis's  authority.  I  therefore  asked, 
"  Was  not  Dr.  Kippis  a  clever  man  1"  "  He 
might  be  a  very  clever  man,  by  nature, 
for  aught  I  know,  but  he  laid  so  many  books 
upon  his  head  that  his  brains  could  not 
move."  This  was  to  me,  who,  at  that  pe- 
riod, devoted  much  more  time  to  reading 
than  to  thinking,  an  admirable  lesson. 

On  being  asked  whether  he  was  an  Ar- 
minian  or  a  Calvinist,  he  said :  "  Neither, 
sir,  but  I  believe  I  recede  farther  from  Ar- 
minianism  than  from  Calvinism.  If  a,  man 
profess  himself  a  decided  Arminian,  I  infer 
from  it  that  he  is  not  a  good  logician  ;  but, 
sir,  it  does  not  intefere  with  his  personal 
piety ;  look  at  good  Mr.  Benson,  for  exam- 
ple. I  regard  the  question  more  as  meta- 
physical than  reUgious." 

A  lady  who  had  been  speaking  of  the 
Supreme  Being  with  great  familiarity,  but 
in  religious  phraseology,  having  retired,  he 
said :  "  I  wish  I  knew  how  to  cure  that  good 
lady  of  her  bad  habit.  I  have  tried,  but  as 
yet,  in  vain.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  affect 
this  kind  of  familiarity  with  the  King  of 
kings,  and  speak  of  him  as  though  he  were 
a  next-door  neighbor,  from  the  pretence  of 
love.  Mr.  Boyle's  well  known  habit  was 
infinitely  to  be  commended.  And  one  of 
our  old  divines,  I  forget  which,  well  re- 
marks, that,  'Nothing  but  ignorance  can 
be  guilty  of  this  boldness ;  that  there  is  no 
divinity  but  in  a  humble  fear,  no  philosophy 
but  shows  itself  in  silent  admiration.'  " 

When  two  or  three  gentlemen  were  dis- 
cussing the  question,  whether  a  man  of  no 
religion  can  be  a  successful  minister  of  the 
gospel,  surprise  was  expressed  that  Mr. 
Hall  remained  silent.  "Sir,  (said  he,  in 
reply,)  I  would  not  deny  that  a  sermon 
from  a  bad  man  may  sometimes  do  good ; 
but  the  general  question  does  not  admit  of 
an  argument.  Is  it  at  all  probable,  that 
one  who  is  a  willing  servant  of  Satan, 
(and  that,  you  know,  sir,  is  the  hypothesis 
you  assume,)  will  fight  against  him  with 

Vol.  3.— Ff. 


all  his  might,  and  if  not,  what  success  can 
be  rationally  expected  ?" 

Mr.  Hall  did  not  permit  his  sedulous  cul- 
tivation of  the  mind  to  draw  him  aside 
from  the  cultivation  of  the  heart.  The 
evidences  were,  indeed,  very  strong,  that 
his  preparation  for  ministerial  duty  was 
devotional  as  well  as  intellectual.  Thus, 
his  public  services,  by  a  striking  gradation, 
for  months  and  years,  evinced  an  obvious 
growth,  in  mental  power,  in  literary  acqui- 
sition, and  in  the  seriousness,  affection  and 
ardor  of  a  man  of  piety.  His  usefulness 
and  his  popularity  increased;  the  church 
and  congregation  became  considerably  aug- 
mented ;  and  in  1798  it  was  found  necessa- 
ry to  enlarge  the  place  of  worship  to  ac- 
commodate about  two  hundred  more  per- 
sons. 

Early  in  the  year  1799,  a  severe  fever, 
which  brought  him,  in  his  own  appprehen- 
sion,  and  that  of  his  friends,  to  the  brink  of 
the  grave,  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  ex- 
periencing the  support  yielded  by  the  doc- 
trines of  the  cross  "in  the  near  views  of 
death  and  judgment."  He  "never  before 
felt  his  mind  so  calm  and  happy."  The 
impression  was  not  only  salutary,  but  abid- 
ing; and  it  again  prompted  him  to  the 
investigation  of  one  or  two  points,  with 
regard  to  which  he  had  long  felt  himself 
floating  in  uncertainty.  Although  he  had 
for  some  years  steadily  and  earnestly  en- 
forced the  necessity  of  divine  influence  in 
the  transformation  of  character,  and  in  per- 
severance in  the  course  of  consistent,  holy 
obedience,  yet  he  spoke  of  it  as  "  the  influ- 
ence of  the  spirit  of  God,"  and  never  in 
express  terms,  as  "the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit."  The  reason  was,  that  though 
he  fully  believed  the  necessity  of  spiritual 
agency  in  commencing  and  continuing  the 
spiritual  life,  he  doubted  the  doctrine  of  the 
distinct  personality  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
But  about  this  time  he  was  struck  with  the 
fact  that,  whenever  in  private  prayer  he 
was  in  the  most  deeply  devotional  frame, 
"  most  overwhelmed  with  the  sense  that  he 
was  nothing,  and  God  was  all  in  all,"  he 
always  feit  himself  inclined  to  adopt  a  trin- 
itarian  doxology.  This  circumstance,  oc- 
curring frequently,  and  more  frequently 
meditated  upon  in  a  tone  of  honest  and 
anxious  inquiry,  issued  at  length  in  a  per- 
suasion that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  really  and 
truly  God,  and  not  an  emanation.  It  was 
not,  however,  until  1800,  that  he  publicly 
included  the  personality  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  his  statements  of  the  doctrine  of  spirit- 
ual influence. 

In  attempting  to  give  some  idea  of  the 
general  character  and  style  of  Mr.  Hall's 
public  services,  while  I  had  the  privilege 
of  hearing  him  at  Cambridge,  I  feel  that  I 


250 


MEMOIR    OF     ROBERT    HALL. 


shall  neither  adequately  describe  what  hi.' 
preaching  really  was,  nor  even  do  justice 
to  my  own  conceptions  of  it. 

His  manner  ol'  reading  the  scriptures  at 
the  beginning  of  the  service,  was  not  gen- 
erally interesting ;  nor  did  the  portion  read 
always  bear  an  obvious  reference  to  the 
text  or  subject  afterwards  brought  forward. 
But  when  passages  ol"  scripture  were  quot- 
ed in  the  sermon,  they  were  so  delivered 
as  to  give  to  their  true  meaning  the  most 
intelligible  prominence  and  Ibrce. 

His  prayers  were  remarkable  for  their 
Kimplicity  and  their  devotional  feeling.  No 
person  could  listen  to  them  without  being 
persuaded  that  he  who  uttered  them  was 
really  engaged  in  prayer,  Avas  holding 
communion  with  his  God  and  Father  in 
Christ  Jesus.  His  tones  and  his  counte- 
nance throughout  these  exercises  were 
those  of  one  most  deeply  imbued  with  a 
sense  of  his  unworthincss,  and  throwing 
himself  at  the  leet  of  the  Great  Eternal, 
conscious  that  he  could  present  no  claim 
for  a  single  blessing,  but  the  blood  of 
atonement,  yet  animated  by  the  cheering 
hope  that  the  voice  of  that  blood  would 
prevail.  The  structure  of  these  prayers 
never  indicated  any  preconceived  plan. 
They  were  the  genuine  eiibsions  of  a  truly 
devotional  spirit,  animated  by  a  vivid  re- 
collection of  what  in  his  own  state,  in  that 
of  the  congregation,  of  the  town  and  vicin- 
ity, needed  most  ardently  to  be  laid  before 
the  Father  of  Mercies.  Thus,  they  were 
remarkably  comprehensive,  and  furnishetl 
a  far  greater  variety  on  the  successive 
occasions  of  public  worship,  than  those  of 
any  other  minister  whom  I  have  ever 
known.  The  portions  which  were  devoted 
to  intercession  operated  most  happily  in 
drawing  the  atiections  of  his  people  towards 
himself;  since  they  showed  how  completely 
his  Christian  sympathy  had  prepared  him 
to  make  their  respective  cases  his  own. 

The  commencement  of  his  sermons  did 
not  excite  much  expectation  in  strangers, 
except  they  were  such  as  recollected  how 
the  mental  agitation,  produced  by  diffidence, 
characterized  the  first  sentences  of  some 
of  the  orators  of  antiquity.  He  began 
with  hesitation,  and  often  in  a  very  low  and 
feeble  tone,  coughing  frequently,  as  though 
he  were  oppressed  by  asthmatic  obstruc- 
tions. As  he  proceeded,  his  manner  be- 
came easy,  graceful,  and  at  length  highly 
impassioned  ;  his  voice  also  acquired  more 
flexibility,  body  and  sweetness,  and  in  all 
his  happier  and  more  successful  etlbrts: 
swelled  into  a  stream  of  the  most  touchins" 
and  impressive  melody.  The  larther  he 
advanced,  the  more  B])ontaneous,  natural, 
and  free  Irom  labor,  seemed  the  progress- 
ion uf  thought.     He  aimourjced  the  results 


of  the  most  extensive  reading,  of  the  most 
patient  investigation,  or  of  the  profoundest 
thinking,  with  such  unassuming  simplicity, 
yet  set  them  in  such  a  position  of  obvious 
and  lucid  reality,  that  the  auditors  wonder- 
ed how  things  so  simple  and  manifest 
should  have  escaped  them.  Throughout 
his  sermons  he  kept  his  subject  thoroughly 
in  view,  and  so  incessantly  brought  Ibr- 
ward  new  arguments,  or  new  illustrations, 
to  confirm  or  to  explain  it,  that  with  him 
amplification  was  almost  invariably  accu- 
mulative in  its  tendency.  One  thought 
was  succeeded  by  another,  and  that  by 
another  and  another,  each  more  weighty 
than  the  preceding,  each  more  calculated 
to  deepen  and  render  permanent  the  ulti- 
mate impression.  He  could  at  pleasure 
adopt  the  unadorned,  the  ornamental,  or 
the  energetic ;  and  indeed  combine  them 
in  every  diversity  of  modulation. 

In  his  higher  flights,  what  he  said  of 
Burke  might,  with  the  slightest  deduction, 
he  applied  to  himself,  "that  his  imperial, 
fancy  laid  all  nature  under  tribute,  and  col- 
lected riches  from  every  scene  of  the  cre- 
ation, and  every  walk  of  art ;"  and  at  the 
same  time,  that  could  be  affirmed  of  Mr^ 
Hall  which  could  7iot  be  alfiimed  ol'  Mr.- 
Burke,  that  lie  never  fatigued  and  oppress- 
ed by  gaudy  and  superfluous  imagery.- 
Whenever  the  subject  obviously  justified 
it,  he  would  yield  the  reins  to  an  eloquence 
more  diffusive  and  magnificent  than  the 
ordinary  course  of  pulpit  in.-^truction  seem- 
ed to  require  ;  yet  so  exquLsite  was  his  per- 
ception of  beauty,  and  so  sound  his  judg- 
ment, that  not  the  coldest  taste,  provided  it 
were  real  taste,  could  ever  wish  an  image 
omitted  which  Mr.  Hall  had  introduced. 
His  inexhaustible  variety  augmented  the 
general  effect.  The  same  images,  the 
same  illustrations,  scarcely  ever  recurred. 
So  ample  were  his  stores,  that  repetition  of 
every  kind  was  usually  avoided ;  while  in 
his  illustrations  he  would  connect  and  con- 
trast what  was  disjointed  and  opposed,  or 
distinctly  unfold  what  was  abstracted  or 
ob.scure,  in  such  terms  as  were  generally 
intelligible,  not  only  to  the  well-informed, 
but  to  the  meanest  capacity.  As  he  ad- 
vanced to  his  practical  applications,  all  his 
mental  powers  were  shown  in  the  most 
palpable  but  finely  balanced  exercise.  His 
mind  would,  if  I  may  so  speak,  collect  itself 
and  come  Ibrth  with  a  luminous  activity, 
proving,  as  he  advanced,  how  vast,  and,  in 
some  important  sen.ses,  how  next  to  irresist- 
ible, those  powers  were.  In  such  seasons 
his  preaching  conmuinicated  universal  ani- 
mation: his  conLTegation  would  seem  to 
partake  of  his  spirit,  to  think  and  lt.'el  as  he 
did.  to  be  fully  infiuenced  by  the  presence 
of  the  objects  which  he  had  placed  before 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


251 


them,  fully  actuated  by  the  motives  which 
he  had  enforced  with  such  energy  and  pa- 
thos. 

All  was  doubtless  heightened  by  his  sin- 
gular rapidity  of  utterance ;  by  the  ryth- 
mical structure  of  his  sentences,  calculated 
at  once  for  the  transmission  of  the  most 
momentous  truths,  for  the  powers  of  his 
voice,  and  for  the  convenience  of  breathing 
freely  at  measured  intervals;  and,  more 
than  all,  by  the  unequivocal  earnestness 
and  sincerity  which  pervaded  the  whole, 
and  by  the  eloquence  of  his  most  speaking 
countenance  and  penetrating  eye.  In  his 
sublimer  strains,  not  only  was  every  faculty 
of  the  soul  enkindled  and  in  entire  opera- 
tion, but  his  very  features  seemed  fully  to 
sympathize  with  the  spirit,  and  to  give  out, 
nay,  to  throw  out,  thought  and  sentiment, 
and  feeling. 

From  the  commencementof  his  discourse 
an  almost  breathless  silence  prevailed, 
deeply  impressive  and  solemnizing  from 
its  singular  intenseness.  ,  Not  a  sound  was 
heard  but  that  of  the  preacher's  voice ; 
scarcely  an  eye  but  was  fixed  upon  him ; 
not  a  countenance  that  he  did  not  watch, 
and  read  and  interpret,  ae  he  surveyed 
them  again  and  again  with  his  rapid,  ever- 
excursive  glance.  As  he  advanced  and 
increased  in  animation,  five  or  six  of  the 
auditors  would  be  seen  to  rise  and  lean 
forward  over  the  front  of  their  pews,  still 
keeping  their  eyes  upon  him.  Some  new  or 
striking  sentiment  or  expression  would,  in  a 
i^\Y  minutes  cause  others  to  rise  in  like 
manner :  shortly  afterwards  still  more,  and 
so  on,  until,  long  before  the  close  of  the 
sermon,  it  often  happened  that  a  conside- 
rable portion  of  the  congregation  were 
seen  standing ;  every  eye  directed  to  the 
preacher,  yet  now  and  then  for  a  moment 
glancing  from  one  to  another,  thus  trans- 
mitting and  reciprocating  thought  and  feel- 
ing: Mr.  Hall  himself,  though  manifestly 
absorbed  in  his  subject,  conscious  of  the 
whole,  receiving  new  anin)ation  from  what 
he  thus  witnessed,  reflecting  it  back  upon 
those  who  were  already  alive  to  the  inspir- 
ation, until  all  that  were  susceptible  of 
thought  and  emotion  seemed  wound  up  to 
the  utmost  limit  of  elevation  on  earth  ; 
when  he  would  close,  and  they  reluctantly 
and  slowly  resume  their  seats.* 


*  .Striking  evidences  of  the  most  stimulating  immedi- 
ate iiripression  ol'tcn  occurred.  I  snecify  only  two  ex- 
amples 

1.1  IslJ,  Mr.  Hall,  who  then  resided  at  Leicester,  paid 
one  of  his  peri.idical  visits  to  Bristol,  and,  as  usual,  of- 
ten preiched  at  Broadmead.  He  delivered  a  most  sol- 
e  iir.  and  impressive  sermon  on  the  tett  "dead  in  tres 
pis^e?  and  sins;"  of  which  the  concludini  appeals 
were  remarkably  suhlime  and  awful.  The  nwment  he 
hi.d  delivered  the  last  sentence,  Dr.  Rvland,  then  Ihe 
pistorof  the  cHkcIi,  hasiened  part  of  the  way  up  (he 
pulpit  .»ldirs,and  while  the  tears  trickled  down  his  vene 
rable  lace,  exclaimed,  with  a  vehemence  which  aston- 
ished both  the  preacher  and  the  congregation ;  "  Let  all 


Scenes  like  this  I  have  witnessed  repeat- 
edly, so  productive  of  intense  and  hallowed 
feeling,  that,  after  an  interval  of  more  than 
thirty  years,  they  present  themselves  to  my 
mind  with  a  more  vivid  influence  than 
many  of  the  transactions  of  the  last  month. 

And  surely  the  delightful  retrospection 
may  be  safely  indulged,  when  it  is  consid- 
ered that  these  sublime  exertions  were 
made  for  the  promotion  of  man's  best  inter- 
ests ;  to  warn  the  impenitent ;  to  show  to 
the  sinner  the  fatal  error  of  his  way ;  to 
invite  the  self-condemned  to  the  only,  the 
all-efiectual  remedy;  to  console  and  en- 
courage the  faithlul";  to  distribute  the  bread 
of  life  among  those  who  must  otherwise 
perish;  to  "build  up  the  church  in  her 
most  holy  faith ;"  when  it  is  known,  also, 
that,  while  men  of  taste  and  intellect  were 
both  gratified  and  instructed,  the  unculti- 
vated rustic  heard,  and  understood,  and 
received  the  Word  of  Life,  and  went  on 
his  way  rejoicing. 

Numerous  and  diversified  as  were  the  feel- 
ings excited  by  this  extraordinary  preacher, 
none  were  more  prevailing  than  surprise 
that  one  so  richly  endowed  should  seem  so 
utterly  unconscious  of  it,  and  gratitude  that 
the  Great  Head  of  the  church  should  have 
called  such  a  man  to  his  service,  and  placed 
him  in  so  important  a  station  as  Cam- 
bridge, when  his  intellectual  powers  were 
in  their  full  maturity  and  vigor. 

I  must  not,  I  perceive,  allow  myself  to 
sketch  the  diflference  between  his  .sermons 
and  his  expositions,  or  between  his  preach- 
ing at  Cambridge  and  in  the  neighboring 
villages :  nor  must  I  dwell  upon  the  weekly 
evening  services,  when  he  met  a  few  of 
his  people,  chiefly  of  the  poorer  classes,  in 
the  vestry  of  his  place  of  worship,  and,  in 
a  strain  of  the  most  chaste  and  simple  elo- 
quence, comforted  and  instructed  them  in 
the  "  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of 
God."*     The  diversity  of  his  powers,  the 


that  are  al  ve  in  Jerusaiem  pray  for  the  dead  that  they 

may  live  !" 

In  1814,  Mr.  Hall,  while  preaching  among  his  old 
friends  at  Cambridge,  just  before  he  commenced  the 
application  of  his  sermon,  uttered  a  short,  but  very  fer- 
vent ejaculatory  prayer,  during  whicli  the  whole  con- 
'-'reirarion  arose  from  iheir  seals.  Mr.  Hall  seemed 
surprized  for  a  nioinent,  and  but  for  a  moment,  and 
remained  iti  prayer  for  about  tive  minutes.  He  then 
resumed  his  sermon,  and  continued  preaching  for  more 
than  twenty  minutes,  in  such  a  strain  of  magnificent  and 
o  erwheluiing  eloquence,  as  the  extraordinary  inrident 
might  be  expected  to  produce,  from  powers  and  feelings 
like  his,  the  whole  congregation  standing  until  the  close 
of  t'le  sermon. 

*  The  topics  of  these  evening  lectures  were  often  bi- 
ograptiical.  The  lives  and  characters  of  Jacob,  Joseph, 
Moses,  Elijah,  Hannah,  Samuel,  Ruth,  Daniel,  &c.  were 
briefly  delineated,  and  made  the  basis  of  some  useful 
practical  reflections.  Whenever  the  subject  would  fair- 
ly allow  it,  these  reflections  had  an  apprnpriafe  bearing 
upon  the  duties,  the  trials  and  perplexitie.=,  of  persona 
in  humble  life.  The  sermon  on  "John  fulfilled  hia 
course,''  inserted  in  the  present  volume,  is  very  analo- 
gous in  its  character  to  the  discourses  to  which  I  her« 
refer  :  but  its  commencement  is  more  elaborate. 


252 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


sincerity  of  his  character,  the  warrutli  of 
his  love  to  God  and  man,  were  in  all  alike 
apparent :  and  no  one  that  was  not  the  vic- 
tim of  prejudice,  or  the  plave  of  sin,  could 
have  seen  him  ena:aged  in  the  service  of 
God,  without  being  ready  to  testify,  "  this 
man  must  have  read  much,  thought  much, 
and  prayed  much,"  to  be  thus  admirably 
furnished  for  his  great  work. 

It  would  be  highly  instructive  and  grati- 
fying to  know  by  what  process  so  finished 
a  preacher,  .so  exquisite  and  tastelul  a  wri- 
ter;  as  Mr.  Hall,  prepared  his  respective 
compositions  for  the  pulpit  and  the  press. 
But  the  reluctance  with  which  he  spoke 
either  of  himself  or  ol"  his  occupations,  de- 
prives us  of  much  of  this  desirable  infor- 
mation. At  the  time  when  our  intercourse 
was  most  frequent  and  unrestrained,  I  have 
often  been  with  him  while  he  was  prepar- 
ing for  the  pulpit,  and  have  occasionally 
ventured  to  ask  him  a  few  questions ;  his 
answers,  always  frank  and  elucidatory,  how- 
ever concise,  enabled  me,  by  means,  also, 
of  frequent  reference  to  his  notes  on  differ- 
ent sermons  which  I  heard  delivered,  to 
form  tolerably  satisfactory  conjectures  as  to 
the  course  pursued.  He  then  stated,  as  he 
since  has  to  different  friends,  that  he  never 
proceeded  even  to  think  of  adopting  a  spe- 
cific text,  as  fitted  for  a  sermon,  until  the 
matter  it  presented  stood  out  in  the  form  of 
a  particular,  distinct,  and  precise  topic ;  he 
could  then  take  it  up  and  lay  it  down  as  he 
pleased.  Of  his  extraordinary  power  of 
abstraction  I  have  already  spoken.  By  its 
means  he  could,  at  pleasure,  insulate,  nay 
in  a  manner  enclose  himself,  from  every 
thing  aro;md  him ;  and  thus  pursue  his 
mental  operations.  It  was  usual  with  him 
to  have  five  or  six  subjects  under  simulta- 
neous training;  to  either  of  which  he  could 
direct  his  attention  as  inchnation  or  neces- 
sity required.  The  grand  divisions  of 
thought,  the  heads  of  a  sermon,  for  exam- 
ple, he  would  trace  out  with  the  most  prom- 
inent lines  of  demarcation ;  and  these  for 
some  years  applied  all  the  hints  that  he 
needed  in  the  pulpit,  except  on  extraordi- 
nary occasions.  To  these  grand  divisions 
he  reffered,  and  upon  them  suspended  all 
the  subordinate  trains  of  thought. 

The  latter,  again,  appear  to  have  been 
of  two  classes  altogether  distinct;  outline 
trains  of  thought,  and  trains  into  which 
much  of  the  detail  was  interwoven.  In  the 
outline  train,  the  whole  plan  was  carried 
out  and  completed  as  to  the  argument:  in 
that  of  detail,  the  illustrations,  image.*,  and" 
subordinate  proofs,  were  selected  and  clas- 
sified ;  and  in  those  instances  where  the 
force  of  an  argimient,  or  the  probable  suc- 
cess of  a  general  application,  would  mainly 
depend  upon  the  language^  even  that  was 
selected  and  appropriated,  sometimes  to  the 


precise  collocation  of  the  words.  Of  some 
sermons,  no  portions  whatever  were  wrought 
out  thus  minutely;  the  language  employed 
in  preaching  being  that  which  spontane- 
ously occurred  at  the  time:  of  others,  this 
minute  attention  was  paid  to  ihe  verbal 
structure  of  nearly  half:  of  a  few,  the  en- 
tire train  of  preparation,  almost  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end,  extended  to  the  very 
sentences.  Yet  the  marked  peculiarity 
consisted  in  this,  that  the  process,  even 
when  thus  directed  to  minutias  in  his  more 
elaborate  eflforts,  did  not  require  the  use  of 
the  pen ;  at  least  at  the  time  to  which  these 
remarks  principally  refer.*  For,  Mr.  Hall 
had  a  singular  laculty  for  continuous  men- 
tal composition,  apart  from  the  aid  which 
writing  supplies.  Words  were  so  disci- 
plined to  his  use,  that  the  more  he  thought 
on  any  subject,  the  more  closely  were  the 
topics  of  thought  associated  with  appropri- 
ate terms  and  phrases ;  and  it  was  manliest 
that  he  had  carefully  disciplined  his  mind 
to  this  as  an  independent  exercise,  proba- 
bly to  avoid  the  pain  and  fatigue  which 
always  attended  the  process  of  writing. 
Whenever  he  pleased  he  could  thus  pursue 
the  consecution  to  a  great  extent,  in  sen- 
tences, many  of  them  perfectly  formed  and 
elaborately  finished,  as  he  went  along,  and 
easily  called  up  again  by  memory,  as  occa- 
sion required ;  not,  however,  in  their  sepa- 
rate character,  as  elements  of  language, 
but  because  of  their  being  fully  worked 
into  the  substance  of  thought.  It  hence 
happened  that  the  excellence  which  other 
persons  ol'ten  attain  as  to  style,  from  the 
use  of  the  pen,  in  written,  visible  composi- 
tion (employing  the  eye  upon  words,  in- 
stead of  fixing  the  memory  upon  substan- 
tial mental  product,  and,  it  may  be,  dimin- 
ishing the  intellectual  power  by  substitut- 
ing for  one  of  its  faculties  a  mechanical 
result,)  he  more  successfully  and  uniformly 
attained  by  a  purely  meditative  process. 
And  I  am  persuaded  that  if  he  could  have 
instantly  impressed  his  trains  of  thought 
upon  paper,  with  the  incorporated  words, 
and  with  the  living  spirit  in  which  they 
were  conceived,  hundreds  if  not  thousands 
of  passages  would  have  been  preserved,  as 
chaste  and  polished  in  diction,  as  elastic 
and  energetic  in  tone,  as  can  be  selected 
from  any  part  of  his  works.  What,  how- 
ever, could  not  thus  be  accomplished  by 
the  pen,  has  been  achieved,  as  to  immedi- 
ate impression,  in  the  pulpit;  and  hence 


'  Mr.  Hall,  doubtless,  varied  liis  manner  of  prepara- 
tion in  different  periods.  For  three  or  four  years  after 
his  seltlpinent  at  Leicester,  he  wrote  down  nearly  a 
third  of  the  sermon,  and  left  all  the  rest  to  flow  from  the 
outline  plan  while  he  was  preachinjr-  But  for  some 
years  afterwards  he  seldom  allowed  his  notes  to  eAceeil 
two  pae;os,  and  is  thoupht  to  have  indulged  himself  more 
llian  at  any  other  period  of  his  life  in  entirely  extempo- 
raneous elo(|UPnce.  At  that  time  his  sermons  wera 
especially  distinsuished  by  simplicity  and  pathos.. 


MEMOIR    OP    ROBERT    HALL. 


253 


his  celebrity,  unequalled,  in  modern  times, 
as  a  sacred  orator. 

In  preparing  for  the  press  the  process 
was  in  many  respects  essentially  different. 
There  was,  from  the  outset,  a  struggle  to 
overcome  the  reluctance  to  write,  arising 
from  the  anticipation  of  increased  pain, 
which  he  knew  must  be  endured  so  long 
as  he  was  engaged  in  the  mechanical  act ; 
and  at  every  return  to  the  labor  he  had  a 
new  reluctance  to  surmount.  There  was, 
moreover,  the  constant  effort  to  restrain  a 
mind  naturally  active,  ardent,  and  rapid  in 
all  its  movements,  to  a  slow  progression ; 
nay,  a  farther  effort,  and,  to  a  mind  so  con- 
stituted, a  very  irksome  one,  to  bring  the 
thoughts  back  from  the  ultimate  issue  to 
which  they  were  incessantly  hastening,  and 
cause  them  to  pass  and  repass,  again  and 
again,  by  a  comparatively  sluggish  course, 
the  successive  links  in  a  long  chain.  Nor 
was  this  all.  He  had  formed  for  himself, 
as  a  writer,  an  ideal  standard  of  excellence, 
which  could  not  be  reached  :*  his  percep- 
tion of  beauty  in  composition  was  so  deli- 
cate and  refined,  that  in  regard  to  his  own 
productions,  it  engendered  perhaps  a  fas- 
tidious taste ;  and,  deep  and  prevailing  as 
was  his  humility,  he  was  not  insensible  to 
the  value  of  a  high  reputation,  and  there- 
fore cautiously  guarded  against  the  risk  of 
diminishing  his  usefulness  among  certain 
classes  of  readers,  by  consigning  any  pro- 
duction to  the  world  that  had  not  been 
thoroughly  subjected  to  the  labor  Uvkb. 
Hence  the  extreme  slowness  with  which  he 
composed  for  the  press ;  writing,  improv- 
ing, rejecting  the  improvement;  seeking 
another,  rejecting  it ;  recasting  whole  sen- 
tences and  pages ;  often  recurring  precise- 
ly to  the  original  phraseology;  and  still 
oftener  repenting,  Avhen  it  was  too  late, 
that  he  had  not  done  so.  All  this  he  la- 
mented as  a  serious  delect,  declaring  that 
it  gave,  in  his  own  view,  to  his  written 
compositions,  an  air  of  stiffness  and  formal- 
ity, which  deprived  him  of  all  complacency 
in  them.  And  I  cannot  but  think  that,  not- 
withstanding the  exquisite  harmony  and 
beauty  which  characterize  every  thing  that 
he  has  published,  they  were,  even  in  point 
of  felicity  of  diction,  and  the  majestic  cur- 
rent and  force  of  language,  inferior  to  the 
"winged  words"  that  escaped  from  his 
lips,  when  "  his  soul  was  enlarged"  in  the 
discharge  of  ministerial  duty. 

May  we  not  suggest  a  probable  reason 
for  this,  by  observing,  that  when  Mr.  Hall 
stood  forth  as  the  minister  of  the  sanctuary, 
he  placed  the  fire  upon  the  altar  in  the 
humble  confidence  that  it  would  be  kept 
alive  by  the  communication  of  grace  and 


•  "  I  am  tormented  with  the  desire  of  writing  better 
than  I  caa." 


spirit  from  on  high;  but  that,  when  he 
came  before  the  public  as  an  author,  he 
sometimes  extinguished  hia  own  flame,  pure 
and  ethereal  as  it  notwithstanding  was,  in 
his  efforts  to  ornament  the  vase  in  which 
he  held  it  up  to  view.* 

But  I  must  not  dwell  longer  on  these 
topics. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1799,  Mr. 
Hall  had  the  happiness  of  renewing  per- 
sonal intercourse  with  his  early  friend. 
Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  James)  Mackintosh, 
being  about  to  deliver  a  course  of  lectures 
on  the  Law  of  Nature  and  Nations,  in  Lin- 
coln's Inn  Hall,  deemed  it  expedient,  for 
the  completion  of  some  of  the  extensive 
researches  which  that  important  undertak- 
ing required,  to  reside  for  a  few  months  at 
Cambridge,  that  he  might  consult  the  more 
valuable  of  the  college  libraries,  as  well  as 
the  public  library  belonging  to  the  univer- 
sity generally.  Another  distinguished  in- 
dividual, the  late  Dr.  Samuel  Parr,  spent 
several  weeks  at  Cambridge  at  the  same 
time,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  some  of 
his  old  friends,  of  associating  with  Mr. 
Mackintosh,  and  of  becoming  personally 
acquainted  with  Mr.  Hall,  whose  character 
he  had  long  known  and  highly  valued. 
Mr.  Hall,  pleased  to  refresh  his  spirits  in 
the  society  of  his  beloved  fellow-student, 
and  by  no  means  unwilling  to  glean  some- 
thing from  the  stores  of  so  profound  a 
scholar  as  Dr.  Parr,  often  spent  his  eve- 
nings with  these  two  eminent  men,  and  a 
few  members  of  the  university,  who  were 
invited  to  their  select  parties,  and  with 
whom,  from  that  time,  he  cultivated  an  in- 
timacy. 

This  circumstance  led  to  the  formation 
of  Mr.  Hall's  most  inveterate  habit ;  that 
of  smoking.  Previously  to  this  period  he 
had  always  censured  the  practice  in  .the 
strongest  terms;  but,  on  associating  with 
Dr.  Parr,  his  aversion  to  what  he  used  to 
denominate  an  "  odious  custom,"  soon 
passed  away.  The  Doctor  was  always 
enveloped  in  a  dense  cloud  of  smoke,  from 
sun-rise  until  midnight;  and  no  person 
could  remain  in  his  company  long  without 
great  inconvenience,  unless  he  learnt  to 
smoke  in  self-defence.  Mr.  Hall,  therefore, 
made  the  attempt,  and  quickly  overcame 
every  obstacle.  I  well  recollect  entering 
his  apartment  just  as  he  had  acquired  this 
happy  art ;  and,  seeing  him  sit  at  ease,  the 
smoke  rising  above  his  head  in  lurid,  spiral 
volumes,  he  inhaling  and  apparently  enjoy- 
ing its  fragrance,  I  could  not  suppress  my 

'  That  Mr.  Hall  did  not  always  require  much  time  for 
the  production  of  elegant  and  spirited  wriling,  interspers- 
ed with  passages  of  remarkable  beauty,  and  of  the 
most  elaborate  polish,  is  plain  from  his  two  earliest  pub- 
lications, both  composed  currente  calamo,  and  each  yield- 
ing as  powerful  and  finished  specimens  of  style  and 
thought  as  can  be  drawn  from  his  work^ 


254 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL, 


astonishment  *•  O  sir,  (said  he)  I  am  only 
qunlifying  myself  for  the  society  of  a  Doc- 
tor of  Divinity;  and  this,  iiolding  up  the 
pipe,  is  my  test  of  admission." 

Mr.  Hall's  Cambridge  friends  were  di- 
vided in  their  feelings  and  wislies  with 
regard  to  this  new  practiro.  Tlie  majority 
approved  it.  from  a  beliei'  that  the  narcotic 
influence  of  tobacco  would  mitigate  the 
pain  which  he  liad  so  long  endured.  Oth- 
ers, apprehen(h'ng  that  his  habit  of  con- 
verting vverij  thing-  info  a  source  of  enjoy- 
ment would  transform  him  into  an  unremit- 
ting smoker,  and  that  injury  to  his  health 
would  ensue,  ventured  to  expostulate  with 
him.  I  belonged  to  the  latter  class,  and 
put  info  his  hands  Dr.  Adam  Clarke's 
pamphlet  on  ''  The  Use  and  Abuse  of  To- 
bacco," with  a  request  that  he  would  read 
it.  In  a  iew  days  he  returned  if,  and  at 
once,  as  if  to  preclude  discussion,  said. 
"Thank  you,  sir,  for  Adam  Clarke's 
pamphlet.  I  can't  refute  his  arguments, 
and  I  can't  give  up  smoking." 

We  now  approach  the  time  when  Mr. 
Hall  acquired  a  signal  extension  of  celeb- 
rity. Many  who  had  hailed  the  French 
Revolution  of  1789  as  an  event  productive 
of  extensive  benefit,  were  compelled  to  ad- 
mit, after  a  few  years,  that  the  great  lead- 
ers in  that  Revolution,  and  .still  more  their 
followers,  committed  grievous  blunders,  and 
grosser  crimes,  from  the  want  of  higher 
than  political  principles  to  control  their 
actions.  Yet,  in  the  false  security  which 
some  felt,  and  others  insidiously  aimed  to 
inspire,  it  was  suspected  by  but  few,  that 
much  of  our  periodical  literature,  had  under 
the  plea  of  encouraging  free  discussion, 
become  irreligious  in  its  tendency,  and  that 
various  unprincipled  demagogues  in  Lon- 
don and  the  large  manufacturing  towns, 
not  only  held  up  to  admiration  the  conduct 
of  the  detestable  actors  in  "  the  reign  of 
terror,"  but  were  constantly  exerting  them- 
selves to  disseminate  democracy  and  athe- 
ism conjointly.  Such,  however,  was  the 
fact.  From  1795  to  1799,  debating  rooms 
were  opened  in  various  parts  of  the  me- 
tropolis, in  which  the  most  barefaced  infi- 
delity was  taught,  and  to  which  the  lower 
classes  were  invited,  often  on  Sunday  eve- 
nings, by  a  variety  of  specious  allurements. 
Mr.  Hall  was  no  sooner  aware  of  the  exist- 
ence of  these  sources  of  evil,  and  of  the 
mischief  they  produced,  than  he  began  to 
use  the  voice  of  warning,  in  his  private 
intercourse  among  his  people,  and  to  im.- 
press  upon  such  of  the  young  as  he  feared 
had  received  a  sceptical  bias,  that  of  all 
fanaticism  the  fanaticism  of  infidelity  then 
prevalent  was  at  once  tlie  most  preposte- 
rous and  the  most  destructive. 

Mr.  Hall's  persuasion  of  the  continuance 
and  growth  of  this  infidel  spirit,  induced 


him  to  preach  and  publish  his  celebrated 

sermon  on  "Modern  Infidelity;"  which 
was  not,  therefore,  as  many  affirmed,  a 
hasty  production,  written  under  excited 
feelings  and  false  alarms,  but  the  dehberate 
result  of  a  confirmed  belief,  that  the  most 
strenuous  eflbrts  were  required  to  repel 
mischief  so  awfully  and  insidiously  diffus- 
ed. 

Before  the  publication  of  this  sermon,  its 
author  had  fully  "  counted  the  cost"  as  to 
the  obloquy  wiiich  it  would  bring  upon 
him  from  various  quarters ;  but  he  did  not 
at  all  anticipate  its  extraordinary  success, 
and  the  corresponding  extension  of  his 
reputation.  As  repeated  editions  were 
called  for,  he  yielded  his  assent  with  great 
hesitation,  from  a  fear  that  the  copies 
would  remain  unsold ;  and  he  was  the  last 
to  see,  what  every  one  else  perceived,  that 
it  ha.d  carried  his  celebrity  as  a  profound 
thinker  and  eloquent  writer  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  denomination  to  which  he  was 
so  bright  an  ornament. 

Immediately  after  this  sermon  issued 
from  the  press,  the  consistency  and  integri- 
ty of  the  author  were  vehemently  attacked 
in  several  letters  which  appeared  in  the 
"  Cambridge  Intelligencer,"  then  a  popular 
and  widely  circulated  newspaper.  Its  edi- 
tor, Mr.  Flower,  had  received  in  an  ill  spirit 
Mr.  Hall's  advice  that  he  would  repress 
the  violent  tone  of  his  political  disquisi- 
tions, and  had,  from  odier  causes  which 
need  not  now  be  developed,  become  much 
disposed  to  misinterpret  his  motives  and 
depreciate  his  character.  He,  therefore, 
managed  to  keep  alive  the  controversy  for 
some  months,  occasionally  aiding,  by  his 
own  remarks,  those  of  his  correspondents 
who  opposed  Mr.  Hall,  and  as  often  cast- 
ing illiberal  insinuations  upon  the  individ- 
ual who  had  stepped  forward  in  defence  of 
the  sermon  and  its  author.  A  few  months 
after  this  discussion  subsided,  Mr.  Flower, 
who  had  been  summoned  before  the  house 
of  lords,  and  imprisoned  in  Newgate  for  a 
libel  on  Bishop  Watson,  published  an  ex- 
culpatory panq^hlet ;  in  which,  with  a  view 
to  draw  the  attention  of  the  public  as  spee- 
dily as  possible  from  his  own  unmanly  and 
disingenuous  conduct,  while  at  the  bar  of 
the  house,  he  soon  passed  from  his  person- 
al defence  to  a  virulent  attack  upon  Mr. 
Hall,  his  former  pastor. 

Shortly  afterwards,  another  controvert- 
ist,  a  Mr.  Anthony  Robinson,  unwilling 
that  Mr.  Flower  and  his  coadjutors  should 
gather  all  tlie  laurels  in  so  noble  a  conflict, 
hastened  into  the  field ;  and,  it  must  be 
admitted,  left  them  far  behind.  He  pub- 
lished, in  a  pamphlet  of  more  than  sixty 
pages,  "An  Examination"  of  Mr.  Hall's 
Sermon.  He  did  not  bring  against  the 
preacher  the   positive  charge  of  apoetacy 


MEMOIR    OP    ROBERT    HALL. 


255 


having  discrimination  enough  to  see  that  it 
was  one  thing  to  refer  the  atrocities  of  the 
reign  of  terror  to  the  pohtical  principles  of 
the  perpetrators,  and  quite  another  to  as- 
cribe them  to  their  avowed  and  unblushing 
atheism.  But  the  crimes  that  he  imputed 
to  Mr.  Hall,  were,  that  he  was  "  an  imitator 
of  Mr.  Burke,"  that  he  was  "  fierce  and 
even  savage  in  expression,"  that  his  "char- 
ges against  atheism  are  unfounded,"  and 
"  that  he  taught  that  it  was  excusable,  if  not 
meritorious,  to  punish  men  for  errors  in 
religious  opinions !"  For  himself,  he  main- 
tained, that  "  all  men  are  essentially  alike 
in  moral  conduct ;"  that  the  sum  of  all  the 
morality  of  religionists  is,  "  do  good  unto 
the  household  of  faith,  and  to  them  only ; 
kill,  plunder,  calumniate  the  heretics ;"  that 
"  all  public  religions  are  opposed  to  all  pri- 
vate moralify ;"  that  "  atheism  (on  the 
contrary)  tends  but  little  to  alter  our  moral 
sentiments  ;"  and  that  "  all  religions  except 
the  belief  that  rewards  are  to  be  conferred 
upon  the  beneficent,  and  for  that  service 
exclusively,  are  not  merely  as  bad,  but 
infinitely  worse  than  any  kind  or  degree 
of  sceplicism  ;"  because  "  atheism  leave; 
every  human  present  motive  in  full  force, 
whilst  every  religion  or  mode  of  faith  dif- 
ferent from  what  is  above  expressed,  chan- 
ges the  name  and  the  nature  of  morality, 
saps  the  foundation  of  all  benevolence,  and 
introduces  malice,  hostility  and  murder, 
under  the  pretext  of  love  to  God.?''  This 
being  a  fair  specimen  of  the  shameless 
impiety  with  which  the  press  then  teemed, 
we  need  not  wonder  at  the  applauses  be- 
stowed upon  Mr.  Hall  for  advancing  with 
such  singular  talent  and  ability  to  stem  the 
torrent. 

With  the  exception  o^  a  few  letters  from 
private  friends,  who  disapproved  of  his 
denominating  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy 
"  the  Christian  priesthood,"  every  commu- 
nication he  received  was  highly  gratifying, 
especially  as  it  did  justice  to  his  motives. 
The  most  distinguished  members  of  the 
university  were  loud  in  his  praises :  numer- 
ous passages  in  the  sermon  which  were 
profound  in  reasoning,  or  touching  and 
beautiful  in  expression,  were  read  and  eu- 
logized in  every  college  and  almost  every 
company;  and  the  whole  composition  was 
recommended  in  the  charges  and  sermons 
of  the  dignified  and  other  clergy  in  terms 
of  the  warmest  praise.  The  "Monthly 
Review"  (then  the  leading  critical  journal") 
the  "British  Critic,"  (at  that  time)  under 
the  able  superintendence  of  Dr.  Nares,  and 
other  reviews,  gave  to  the  sermon  the 
highest  commendation.  Kelt  in  his  "  Ele- 
ments of  General  Knowledge,"  William 
Beleham  in  his  "History  of  Great  Britain," 
Dr.  Parr  in  the  notes  to  his  celebrated 
'"  Spital  Sermon,"  and  many  othert;,  were 


profuse  in  their  expressions  of  panegyric. 
From  that  time  Mr.  Hall's  reputation  was 
placed  upon  an  eminence,  which  it  will 
probably  retain  as  long  as  purity  and  ele- 
vation of  style,  deeply  philosophical  views 
of  the  springs  and  motives  of  action,  and 
correct  theological  sentiments,  are  duly  ap- 
preciated in  the  world.* 

Of  the  letters  received  by  Mr.  Hall  on 
this  occasion,  the  following  from  the  pen  of 
his  friend  Mackintosh,  has  escaped  the  rav- 
ages of  time. 

'•  Serle  St.  Lincoln's  Inn,  26  March,  1800. 

"Dear  Hall, 

"From  the  enclosed  letter,  you  will 
see  the  opinion  which  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don! has  formed  of  your  sermon,  and  you 
will  observe  that  he  does  some  justice  to 
your  merit.  Mr.  Archdeacon  Eaton,  to 
Whom  tlie  letter  was  written,  has  allowed 
me  to  send  it  to  you  ;  and  I  thought  it 
might  not  be  disagreeable  to  you  to  have 
it,  as  the  opinion  of  a  man,  not  indeed  of 
very  vigorous  understanding,  but  an  ele- 
gant writer,  a  man  of  taste  and  virtue,  not 
to  mention  his  high  station  in  the  church. 

"  I  last  night  had  a  conversation  about 
the  sermon  with  a  man  of  much  gi-eater 
talents,  at  a  place  where  theological,  or 
even  literary  discussions,  are  seldom  heard. 
It  was  with  Air.  Windham,  at  the  Duchesif 
of  Gordon's  rout.  I  asked  him  whether  he 
had  read  it.  He  told  me  that  he  had,  that 
he  recommended  it  to  every  body;  and, 
among  others,  on  that  very  day,  to  the  new 
Bishop  of  Bangor,  who  had  dined  with 
him.  He  said  that  he  was  exceedingly 
struck  with  the  style,  but  still  more  with 
the  matter.  He  particularly  praised  the 
passage  on  vanity  as  an  admirable  com- 
mentary on  Mr.  Burke's  observations  on 
vanity  in  his  character  of  Rousseau.  He 
did  not  like  it  the  worse,  he  said,  for  being 
taken  from  the  source  of  all  good,  as  he 
considered  Mr.  Burke's  works  to  be.  He 
thought,  however,  that  you  had  carried 
your  attack  on  vanity  rather  too  far.  He 
had  recommended  the  sermon  to  Lord 
Grenville,  who  seemed  sceptical  about  any 
thing  good  coming   from  the  pastor  of  a 


*  On  tlic  publication  of  Dr.  Parr's  "Spita!  Sermon," 
I  took  a  copy  of  it  to  Mr.  Hall ;  and  sat  down  at  his  table 
vvliilp  lie  liastily  turned  over  the  leaves.  lie  was  greatly 
amused  by  tlie  cursory  examination,  but  had  evidently 
no  expectation  that  any  of  the  notes  referred  to  hmi- 
elf.  "What  a  profusion  of  Greek,  sir!  Why,  if  I 
were  to  write  so,  they  would  call  tne  a  pedant ,  hut  il  is 
all  natural  in  Parr."  "  What  a  strange  medley,  sir. 
The  gown.smeii  will  call  him  Farrago  Parr."  At  leugth 
I  saw  his  eye  glance  upon  the  notes  which  relate  lo  him- 

If.  His  countenance  underwent  the  most  rapid  chan- 
ges, indicating  surprise,  regret,  and  pity  :  in  a  very  few 
minutes  he  threw  down  the  book,  and  exclaimed,  "  Poor 
man  !  poor  man  !  lam  very  sorry  for  him  !  He  is  cej-- 
taiuly  insane,  Hir  !  Where  were  his  friends,  sir  !  Was 
there  nobody  to  sift  the  folly  out  of  his  notes,  and  pre- 
vent Us  publication  )     Poor  man  "' 

I  Dr.  Porleus.    This  enclosure  is  not  now  i»taut. 


256 


MEMOIR  OF  ROBERT  HALL. 


Baptist  congregation,  especially  at  Cam- 
bridge. 

"This,  you  see,  is  the  unhappy  impress- 
ion which  Priestley  has  made,  and  which, 
if  you  proceed  as  you  have  so  nobly  begun, 
you  will  assuredly  efface.  Bat  you  will 
never  do  all  the  good  which  it  is  in  your 
power  to  do,  unless  you  assert  your  own 
importance,  and  call  to  mind  that,  as  the 
dissenters  have  no  man  comparable  to  you, 
it  is  your  province  to  guide  them,  and  not 
to  be  guided  by  their  ignorance  and  big- 
otry. I  am  almost  sorry  you  thought  any 
aplogy  due  to  those  senseless  bigots  who 
blamed  you  for  compassion  [towards]  the 
clergy  of  France,  as  innocent  sufferers  and 
as  martyrs  of  the  Christian  faith  during 
tlie  most  barbarous  persecution  that  has 
fallen  upon  Christianity,  perhaps  since  its 
origin,  but  certainly  since  its  establishment 
by  Constantine.  *  *  *  *  * 
*  *  *  I  own  I  thought  well  of 
Horsley  when  I  found  him,  in  his  charge, 
call  these  unhappy  men  "our  Christian 
brethren:"  the  bishops  and  clergy  of  the 
persecuted  church  of  France  !  This  is  the 
language  of  truth.  This  is  the  spirit  of 
Christianity. 

"  I  met  with  a  combination  in  Ovid,  the 
other  day,  which  would  have  suited  your 
sermon.  Speaking  of  the  human  descend- 
ants of  the  giants,  he  says : 

'  Setl  et  ilia  propago 
Contemptrix  superum,  Se-ev^que  avidissinia  c.Tdis 
Et  violenta  fuit.    Scires  e  sanguine  notos.' 

Met.  I.  ICO. 

"  The  union  of  ferocity  with  irreUgion  is 
agreeable  to  your  reasoning. 

"  I  am  going  to  send  copies  of  my  third 
edition*  lo  Paley  and  Watson,  to  Fox  and 
the  Lord  Chancellor.t  I  should  hke  to 
send  copies  of  your  sermon  with  them.  If 
you  will  direct  six  copies  to  be  sent  here, 
I  shall  distribute  them  in  such  a  manner  as 
will,  I  think,  not  be  hurtful. 

"  Mrs.  Mackintosh  joins  me  in  the  most 
kind  and  respectful  remembrance.  Be- 
lieve me  ever, 

"Dear  Hall, 

"  Your  affectionate  friend, 
"James  Mackintosh." 

Mr.  Mackintosh  continued  to  evince 
both  the  steadiness  of  his  friendship  for 
Hall,  and  the  high  value  which  he  set  upon 
this  sermon,  by  frequently  quoting  it  and 
applying  it  to  the  elucidation  of  the  Lec- 
tures which  he  was  then  delivering  in 
Lincoln's  Inn.  Several  of  his  auditors 
were,  in  consequence,  induced  sometimes 
to  spend  their  Sundays  at  Cambridge,  that 
they  might  listen  to  the  pulpit  instructions 


•  Of  the  Discourse  on  the  Btndy  of  the  Law  of  Nature 
end  Nations, 
t  The  Earl  of  Rosslyn. 


of  the  individual  of  whom  they  had  heard 
so  much.  Many  also  of  the  members  of 
the  universit}^,  including  not  merely  under- 
graduates, but  college  fellows  and  tutors, 
were  often  seen  at  the  Baptist  place  of 
worship.  These  sometimes  amounted  to 
fifty  or  sixty :  and  a  few  of  them  attended 
so  constantly  upon  the  afternoon  services, 
that  they  became  almost  regarded  as  reg- 
ular hearers.  Among  the  latter,  some 
have  since  become  distinguished  men,  and 
occupy  important  stations  either  in  the 
church  or  in  the  public  service,  as  statesmen 
or  senators. 

The  attendance  of  so  many  university 
students  upon  the  services  of  a  dissenting 
minister,  at  length  began  to  excite  alarm 
among  the  "  Heads  of  Houses ;"  of  whom 
a  meeting  was  summoned  to  consider  the 
expediency  of  interposing  some  authorita- 
tive measure  to  prevent  this  irregularity. 
But  Dr.  Mansel,  then  master  of  the  largest 
college,  Trinity,  and  afterwards  bishop  of 
Bristol,  "  declared  that  he  could  not  be  a 
party  in  such  a  measure :  he  admired  and 
revered  Mr.  Hall,  both  lor  his  talents  and 
for  his  genuine  liberality ;  he  had  ascer- 
tained that  his  preaching  was  not  that  of  a 
partisan,  but  of  an  enlightened  minister  of 
Christ;  and  that  therefore  if  he  were  not 
the  master  of  Trinity  he  should  certainly 
often  attend  himself;  and  that  even  now 
he  had  experienced  a  severe  struggle  be- 
fore he  could  make  up  his  mind  to  relin- 
quish so  great  a  benefit."  Shortly  after 
this  he  personally  thanked  Mr.  Hall,  not 
only  for  his  sermon,  but  for  his  general  ef- 
forts in  the  Christian  cause ;  and,  through 
the  medium  of  a  common  friend,  endeav- 
ored to  induce  him  to  enter  the  established 
church.  This,  I  believe,  was  the  only  di- 
rect attempt  to  persuade  Mr.  Hall  to  con- 
form. 

None  of  these  circumstances  were  per- 
mitted to  draw  Mr.  Hall  aside  from  his 
ordinary  course.  His  studies,  his  public 
duties,  his  pastoral  visits,  were  each  assign- 
ed their  natural  place,  as  before.  If  there 
were  any  change,  it  was  manifest  in  his  in- 
creased watchfulness  over  himself,  and, 
perhaps,  in  giving  a  rather  more  critical 
complexion  than  before  to  certain  portions 
of  his  morning  expositions,  and  in  always 
concluding  them  with  such  strong  practical 
appeals  as  might  be  suited  to  a  congrega- 
tion of  mixed  character. 

If  I  do  not  greatly  mistake,  however,  his 
sentiments  with  regard  to  controversy  in 
general  were  considerably  modified  from 
this  period.  The  language  of  the  preface 
to  his  sermon,  on  the  advantages  of  union, 
became  the  language  of  his  heart  and  con- 
duct ;  so  that  he  abstained  from  public  dis- 
cussions except  on  questions  that  seemed 
of  vital   importance,   either   in  regard  to 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


257 


fundamental  truth,  or  the  essential  privi- 
leges of  Christians.  Having  learnt  that 
one  of  the  severest  trials  of  human  virtue 
is  the  trial  of  controversy,  he  resolved,  on 
occasions  when  silence  became  inexpedi- 
ent or  censurable,  not  to  repel  even  injus- 
tice and  misrepresentation  in  an  angry 
spirit.  Thus  when  he  undertook  the  refu- 
tation of  Bishop  Horsley's  charge,  that 
village  preachers  among  methodists  and 
dissenters  were  teachers  of  insubordina- 
tion and  sedition,  indignant  as  he  doubt- 
less felt  at  so  unjust  an  insinuation,  he  op- 
posed it  in  a  manner  as  remarkable  for  the 
conciliatory  spirit  which  it  exhibits,  as  for 
the  singular  train  of  original  thought  and 
cogent  argument  which  runs  through  that 
interesting  fragment. 

In  little  more  than  two  years  after  the 
publication  of  the  sermon  on  Modern  Infi- 
delity, Mr.  Hall  again  appeared  before  the 
public  as  an  author.  The  transient  peace 
of  Amiens  was  celebrated  by  a  general 
thanksgiving  throughout  England,  on  the 
1st  of  June  1802.  In  the  sermon  preached 
by  Mr.  Hall  on  that  occasion,  he  endeav- 
ored first  to  awaken  the  gratitude  of  his 
auditors  by  a  most  touching  picture  of  the 


ing  ihem  as  prisoners  of  war ;  and  then  me- 
naced this  country  with  invasion.  So 
strange,  and  in  some  respects,  so  atrocious  a 
commencement  of  hostilities,  had  a  singular 
effect  in  melting  down  dissension,  and  dif- 
fusing a  spirit  of  almost  unexampled  una- 
nimity, among  all  ranks  and  classes  of  the 
community.  To  adopt  Mr.  HaH's  emphat- 
ic language  :  "  It  was  a  struggle  for  exist- 
ence, not  for  empire.  It  must  surely  be 
regarded  as  a  happy  circumstance  that  the 
contest  did  not  take  this  shape  at  an  ear- 
lier period,  while  many  were  deceived 
by  certain  specious  pretences  of  liberty 
into  a  favorable  opinion  of  our  enemy's 
designs.  The  popular  delusion  had  pass- 
ed ;  the  most  itnexampled  prodigies  of 
guilt  had  dispelled  it;  and,  after  a  series 
of  rapine  and  cruelty,  had  torn  from 
every  heart  the  last  fibres  of  mistaken  ■par- 
tiality.'''' At  this  momentous  period  Mr. 
Hall's  love  of  his  country  was  again  sig- 
nally evinced.  On  the  fast  day,  19th  Oc- 
tober 1S03,  he  preached  at  Bristol,  where 
he  was  then  on  a  visit,  a  sermon  after- 
wards published  ;  "  The  Sentiments  proper 
to  the  Present  Crisis,"  which  had  the  hap- 
piest effect  in  enkindling  the  flame  of  gen- 


horrors  01  war,  from  which  Europe  had  erous,  active  patriotism, 
just  escaped :  and  then  to  apply  the  grati-  ' 

tude  so  excited,  to  acts  of  benevolence.  I 
have  already  adverted  to  Mr.  Hall's  rea- 
sons for  preaching  that  sermon  memoriter^ 
without  deviation  from  his  own  written 
copy.  I  recur  to  it  for  a  moment  merely 
to  state,  that  though  it  was  delivered  with 
the  most  impressive  dignity,  and  with  less 
rapidity  than  that  to  which  he  usually 
yielded  himself,  yet,  in  one  or  two  parts,  he 
obviously  felt  great  difficulty  in  checking 
his  inclination  either  to  modify  his  lan- 
guage, or  to  expatiate  more  at  large.  This 
was  especially  observable  at  the  passage 
commencing  with  "  Conceive  but  for  a  mo- 
ment the  consternation  which  the  approach 
of  an  invading  army  would  impress  on  the 
peaceful  villages  in  this  neighborhood." 
He  mentioned  afterwards  that  the  struggle 
between  his  desire  to  correct  what,  he  just 
then  saw,  was  "  a  confusion  in  the  group- 
ing," and  his  determination  "not  to  deviate 
from  his  lesson,"  was  such  as  rendered  it 
almost  impossible  for  him  to  proceed.  To 
this  kind  of  perplexity  he  never  again  ex- 
posed himself 

The  nation  had  scarcely  tasted  the  bless- 
ings of  peace,  when  a  dispute  on  one  of 
the  articles  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens  involv- 
ed us  in  a  fresh  war  with  the  French. 
Buonaparte,  then  first  consul,  aware  of  the 
British  ascendency  at  sea,  resolved  first  to 
attack  our  continental  dominions.  He  also 
seized  on  the  persons  and  property  of  the 
numerous  English  who  had  visited  France 
during  t!ie  brief  interval  of  peace,  detain- 

VoL.  3.— Gc. 


This  sermon,  perhaps,  excited  more 
general  admiration  than  any  of  the  au- 
thor's former  productions ;  on  account  of 
its  masterly  exposure  of  prevailing  errors, 
its  original  and  philosophical  defence  of 
some  momentous  truths,  and  its  remarkable 
appropriateness  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
crisis.  The  last  ten  pages  were  thought 
by  many  (and  by  Mr.  Pitt  among  the  num- 
ber) to  be  fully  equal  in  genuine  eloquence 
to  any  passage  of  the  same  length  that 
can  be  selected  from  either  ancient  or  mod- 
ern orators.  They  were  re-printed  in  vari- 
ous periodical  publications,  and  widely  cir- 
culated in  every  direction ;  and  they  evi- 
dently suggested  some  of  the  finest  thoughts 
in  Sir  .Tames  Mackintosh's  splendid  defence 
of  Peltier,  the  editor  of  TJAmbigu,  who  was 
tried  in  London  for  a  libel  on  Buonaparte. 

In  an  old  manuscript  of  Mr.  Hall's,  con- 
taining outline  notes  of  sermons  preached 
by  him  in  1801,  1802,  and  1803,  scarcely 
any  of  them  occupying  more  than  two 
pages,  there  are  inserted  the  first  rude 
sketch  of  this  valuable  sermon,  and,  at  the 
distance  of  several  pages,  a  few  hints  of 
thovights  and  sentences  designed  to  be  in- 
troduced near  the  close. 

"I.  Particulars  in  which  our  notions  are 
wrong,  or  'we  speak  not  aright,'  with  re- 
gard to  national  judgments. 

"  1.  Political  speculations  on  the  second- 
ary causes  of  our  calamities,  exclusive  of 
a  regard  to  the  hand  of  God. 

"2.  Wanton  and  indiscriminate  censure 
of  the  conduct  of  our  rulers. 


258 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL, 


"  We  are  permitted  within  ....  limits  to 
animadvert  on  tiie  measures  of  govern- 
ment. 

"  3.  A  confidence  in  an  arm  of  flesh. 

"  Cursed  is  man,  &c, 

"  4.  A  reliance  on  our  supposed  superior 
virtue. 

"  5.  General  lamentations  on  tlie  corrup- 
tions of  the  age. 

"  Right  sentiments.  An  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  justice  and  dominion  of  God. 

"  Sincere  confession  of  our  sins.  Dan. 
ix.  8.     Zech.  X.  11,  &c." 

Such  was  the  original  synopsis.  The 
hints  intended  to  he  wori<ed  in  towards  the 
close  of  the  sermon,  are  as  below. 

"Eternal  God!  (O  thou)  who  ha.st  at 
once  declared  thyself  the  God  of  peace 
and  the  Lord  of  hosts,  go  forth  v/ith  our 
armies  and  shelter  (shield)  their  heads  in 
the  day  of  battle  :  give  them  (endow  them 

with)  that  undaunted  courage,  that 

from  trouble  which  springs  from  a  sense  of 
thy  presence. 

"Under  thy  conduct,  and  fighting  under 
thy  banners,  we  will  employ  all  the  resour- 
ces which  lie  within  our  reach,  ....  with- 
out trusting  in  an  arm  of  flesh  ....  while 
we  behold  with  the  eye  of  faith,  what  thy 
prophet  discerned  in  ancient  times,  the 
plains  filled  with  horses  of  fire  and  chariots 
of  fire. 

"  There  is  surely  not  one  person  here 
who  will  tempt  himself  to  ....  by  tJie  fear 
of  death,  when  he  reflects  that,  in  the  fai" 
ure  of  this  great  enterprise,  should  the 
crisis  arrive,  he  must  feel  a  thousand  deaths 
in  tite  extinction  of  religion,  in  the  spolia- 
tion of  property,  in  the  violation  of  chastity. 

in  the  confusion  of  all  orders when 

all  that  is  noble  or  holy,  will  be  trampled 

upon when  death  would  be  sought 

with  the  avidity  of .  .  .  .  when  the  enemies 

triumphs  will  be  felt  in mourn  .  .  .  .  , 

freedom  entombed." 

I  have  here  presented  the  incipient 
germs  of  tbought  and  expression,  in  this 
extraordinary  production,  from  a  persua- 
sion that  the  man  of  research  into  tlie  op- 
erations of  intellect,  will  be  deeply  interest- 
ed on  comparing  tliem  with  their  finished 
result. 

On  looking  back  upon  the  preceding  pa- 
ges, I  perceive  that  I  have  laid  myself  open 
to  the  charge  of  dwellinor  too  long  upon 
that  portion  of  Mr.  Hall's  life  during  which 
I  also  resided  at  Cambridge.  Let  me  sim- 
ply observe,  then,  that  it  was  the  portion  in 
which  his  fine  ciiaracter  assiuned,  by  the 
means  I  ha  to  been  tracing,  its  true  place 
in  public  estimation ;  and  that  I  may  be 
tbririven,  if  I  have  thus  dwelt  upon  that 
hrigiit  ])eriod  of  my  own  existence,  in  which 
T  was  open  to  tlie  constant  influence  of  as- 
sociation witli  one  so  pre-eminent  in  menial 


and  moral  excellence.  Yet  I  am  not  dis- 
posed to  allow  the  interesting  memory  of 
a  long  friendship  to  interfere  with  biograph- 
ical fidelity.  I  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Hall's 
richer  qualities  agreeably  to  the  estimate  1 
then  formed,  but  with  a  conviction  that  they 
had  not  at  that  period  reached  their  lull 
maturity  and  vigor.  I  shall  now  advert  to 
a  few  of  his  defects,  but  with  an  equally 
strong  persuasion  that  they  diminished  as 
his  age,  and  judgment,  and  piety  advanc- 
ed. 

I  have  already  remarked,  that  Mr.  Hall 
was  impetuous  in  argument.  I  must  here 
add,  that  he  sometimes  contended  more  for 
victory  than  for  truth.  I  never  knew  him 
voluntarily  lake  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
wrong  side  of  an  argument,  for  the  sake  of 
showing  how  adroitly  he  could  carry  on 
the  advocacy  of  any  opinions  which  he,  for 
the  moment,  took  the  fancy  to  maintain  ] 
but,  if  ever  he  precipitated  himself  into  the 
assertion  of  erroneous  sentiment,  he  would 
strenuously  defend  his  opinion ;  and,  on 
such  occasions,  would  seem  more  pleased 
with  perplexing  and  confounding  his  oppo- 
nents, than  with  faithfully  endeavoring  to 
set  either  them  or  himself  right.  This 
habit  was  very  much  restrained,  if  not  al- 
together overcome,  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
life.  Be  it  observed,  however,  that  at  no 
time  did  it  tempt  him  to  trifle  with  the 
sanctities  of  religion. 

Besides  this  yielding  to  the  temptation 
of  making  the  matter  of  truth  and  error  a 
prize  for  contest,  there  was  another  thing 
which,  in  social  life,  depreciated  the  prac- 
tical value  of  his  great  ability,  namely,  a 
random  carelessness  in  throwing  out  opin- 
ions and  estimates  of  subjects,  books,  or 
men.  Many  of  those  opinions  were  graph- 
ically correct,  and  highly  valuable,  and 
they  were  usually  clothed  in  an  aphoris- 
matic  terseness  of  language ;  yet,  were 
too  often  such,  that  plain,  credulous  listen- 
ers for  instruction,  regarding  him  as  an 
oracle,  would  leave  him  incorrect  and  fal- 
lacious notions  of  the  topics  on  which  he 
had  spoken ;  and  would,  therefore,  be 
strangely  perplexed  two  or  three  weeks 
afterwards,  on  hearing,  or  hearing  report- 
ed, contrary  opinions  on  the  same  subjects 
stated  by  him  subsequently,  when  farther 
invesliijation  had  cerrecled  his  judgment. 
Sometimes,  too,  especially  when  indulging 
in  panegyric,  he  would,  t^\-en  in  conversa- 
tion, give  himself  up  to  the  feelings  of  the 
orator,  and  allow  his  fancy  to  escape  into 
the  ideal,  sketching  tlie  picture  then  exist- 
ing in  his  own  thouizhls,  rather  than  that 
of  the  individual  whom  he  imagined  him- 
self describing. 

It  was  also  much  to  be  regretted,  that 
when  in  company,  he  did  not  keep  habitu- 
ally in  view  the  good  which  his  great  lal- 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


259 


ents  and  high  character  qualified  him  to  [  During  the  early  months  of  the  year  1803, 
impart.  His  conversation,  though  always  the  pain  in  Mr.  Hall's  back  increased,  both 
conveying  information  on  the  various  sub-iin  intenseness   and   continuity;    depriving 


jects  generally  brought  forward  in  culti 
vated  society,  did  not  indicate  the  prevail- 
ing purpose  of  leading  the  minds  of  oth- 
ers in  a  right  direction.  Or,  if  he  entered 
society  with  this  determination,  he  fre- 
quently permitted  the  circumstances  into 
which  he  was  thrown,  to  divert  him  from 
his  purpose :  thus  giving  away  his  admira- 
ble conversational  powers  to  the  mere  cas- 
ual train  of  topics,  many  of  them  trivial  in 
interest.  There  could  not  but  be  various 
acute  remarks,  and  every  now  and  then  a 
piece  of  valuable  disquisition,  or  a  most 
important  sentiment,  or  an  eloquent  flow  of 
striking  observations;  yet  there  was  not  a 
systematic  bearing  towards  positive  utihty. 
Often,  indeed,  has  Mr.  Hall  lamented  this 
defect :  often,  as  we  have  been  returning 
from  a  party  which  he  had  kept  alive  by 
the  brilliancy  and  variety  of  his  observa- 
tions, has  he  said,  "  Ah !  sir,  I  have  again 
contributed  to  the  loss  of  an  evening,  as  to 
every  thing  truly  valuable :  go  home  with 
me,  that  we  may  spend  at  least  one  hour  in 
a  manner  which  becomes  us." 

It  should  be  added,  however,  that  it  was 
only  in  larger  parties  that  this  occurred.  I 
never  spent  an  evening  with  him  alone,  or 
with  the  addition  of  one  or  two  select  com- 
panions, in  which  the  sublimer  purposes  of 
religious,  as  well  as  intellectual  intercourse, 
were  no!  prevailingly  kept  in  view. 

In  adverting  to  the  deficiencies  in  Mr. 
Hall's  character,  I  must  farther  remark, 
that  he  did  not  always  seem  adequately 
alive  to  special  modes  and  efforts  of  utility 
There  were  times  when  his  apparent  indif- 
ference must  have  been  thought  scarcely 
compatible  with  his  uniform  benevolence 
and  piety,  unless  by  those  who  were  thor- 
oughly aware  that  his  infirmities  often 
compelled  him  to  avoid  active  exertions, 
except  those  which  fell  within  the  range  of 
ministerial  duty;  yet,  at  other  seasons,  he 
exerted  himself  so  powerfully  and  success- 
fully in  favor  of  some  grand  object,  as,  in 
great  measure,  to  compensate  for  his  habit- 
uality  avoiding  the  ordinary  detail  of  minor 
operations. 

His  defects,  on  whatever  occasions  they 
showed  themselves,  were  as  remote  as  pos- 
sible from  littleness,  and  were  such  as 
would  be  most  naturally  found  in  a  noble 
character.  We  may  hence  learn,  however, 
that  a  man,  though  far  enriched  above  his 
fellows  with  intellectual  and  spiritual  en- 
dowments, still  manifests  the  frailties  of  a 
fallen  being;  and  that  it  always  behoves 
us,  therefore,  with  Christian  discrimination. 
to  distinguish  between  grace  and  nature : 
to  give  to  God  his  own  glory,  and  to  refer 
to  men  their  own  infirmities. 
But  I  must  return  from  this  digression. 


him  almost  always  of  refreshing  sleep,  and 
depressing  his  spirits  to  an  unusual  degree. 
On  one  of  his  visits  to  Kettering  and  its 
neighborhood,  he  consulted  Dr.  Kerr,  of 
Northampton,  who  recommended  him  to 
reside  a  kv7  miles  from  Cambridge,  and  to 
have  recourse  to  horse  exercise.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  advice,  he  took  a  house  at 
Shelford,  a  village  about  five  miles  from 
Cambridge;  and  the  frequent  and  short 
journeys  on  horseback  which  thus  became 
necessary  for  a  season,  seemed  beneficial. 
Yet,  the  advantage  was  not  of  long  con- 
tinuance. He  missed  his  delightful  eve- 
nings spent  in  the  society  of  the  intelligent 
classes  of  the  congregation  (of  whom  there 
was  a  much  higher  proportion  than  in  most 
congregations,)  and  he  missed  still  more, 
the  simple,  heart- refreshing  retmarks  of  the 
poor  of  his  flock,  whose  pious  converse  had 
always  been  peculiarly  soothing  to  his 
mind.  It  is  true,  he  there  enjoyed  inter- 
course with  two  excellent  men,  both  of 
whom  he  cordially  esteemed,  Mr.  James 
Nutter,  a  valuable  member  of  his  church 
at  Cambridge,  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Thom- 
ason,  afterwards  one  of  the  East-India 
Company's  chaplains  at  Calcutta.  With 
these  friends  he  sometimes  spent  his  eve- 
nings ;  and  in  company  with  the  latter,  who 
was  Mr.  Simeon's  curate  at  Trinity  church, 
he  frequently  rode  to  Cambridgs  on  the 
Sunday  mornings:  these  brothers  in  the 
gospel  ministry  proceeding  thus  pleasantly, 
"  in  the  unity  of  the  Spirit,"  to  their  re- 
spective spheres  of  labor  in  the  church  of 
God.  Gratifying,  however,  as  this  inter- 
course was,  both  to  Mr.  Hall  and  his  valu- 
ed neighbors,  it  still  left  him  too  much 
alone,  and  too  much  exposed  to  all  the  mor- 
bid influences  of  a  disordered  body,  and  of 
a  mind  overstrained.  Often  has  he  been 
known  to  sit  close  at  his  reading,  or  yet 
more  intensely  engaged  in  abstract  thought, 
for  more  than  twelve  hours  in  the  day ;  so 
that,  when  one  or  both  of  his  kind  friends 
have  called  upon  him,  in  the  hope  of  draw- 
ing him  from  his  solitude,  they  have  found 
him  in  such  a  state  of  nervous  excitement, 
as  led  them  to  unite  their  efforts  in  persuad- 
ing him  to  take  some  mild  narcotic,  and 
I'Ctire  to  rest.  The  painful  result  may  be 
anticipated.  This  noble  mind  lost  its  equi- 
librium ;  and  he  who  had  so  long  been  the 
theme  of  universal  admiration,  now  became 
the  subject  of  as  extensive  a  sympathy. 
This  event  occurred  in  November  1804. 
Mr.  Hall  was  placed  under  the  care  of  Dr. 
Arnold,  of  Leicester,  whose  attention,  with 
the  blessing  of  God,  ui  about  two  months, 
restored  him  both  to  mental  and  bodily 
health. 
During  this  afflictive  suspension  of  hla 


260 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT     HALL. 


pastoral  duties,  his  church  and  congrega- 
tion gave  the  most  unequivocal  prool's  that 
they  had  caught  somevt'hat  of  hk  generous 
and  exalted  spirit,  and  that  tliey  were  de- 
sirous to  conduce  to  his  welfare  in  temporal 
things,  in  acknowledgment  of  the  spiritual 
blessings  he  had  been  the  means  of  convey- 
ing to  them.  They  set  on  foot  a  subscrip- 
tion, to  which  themselves  conlributed  most 
liberally,  and  which,  by  the  aid  of  other 
friends,  became  sufficient  to  produce,  be- 
sides a  hfe  annuity  of  one  hundred  pounds, 
a  farther  sum  nearly  equal,  vested  in  gov- 
ernment securities ;  the  latter  to  be  at  his 
own  disposal  at  death:  each  sum  being 
properly  vested  in  trustees. 

In  April  1S05,  he  resumed  his  ministerial 
functions  at  Cambridge :  but,  it  being 
deemed  inexpedient  for  him  to  re-occupy 
hia  house  at  Shelford,  he  engaged  another 
at  Foulmire,  about  nine  miles  from  Cam- 
bridge. This  spot,  doubtless,  was  unwisely 
selected ;  as  his  opportunities  of  social  in- 
tercourse with  old  and  intimate  friends 
were  almost  enlirely  cut  off,  and  he  was 
thus  left  to  feed  more  upon  his  own  thoughts 
than  in  any  preceding  part  of  his  life. 
The  evil  did  not  show  itself  in  his  public 
ministrations,  which  were  regarded  as  more 
devout,  intellectual,  and  impressive,  than 
they  had  ever  been;  nor  in  any  diminution 
of  relish  for  works  in  which  genius  stood 
forth  in  defence  of  religious  truth ;  as  his 
exquisite  critique  upon  Foster's  Essays, 
written  at  this  period,  amply  evinces.  But 
the  evils  resulting  from  solitude  and  a  re- 
turn of  his  old  pain  with  more  than  its 
usual  severity,  ere  long  began  to  show 
themselves.  Sleepless  nights,  habitual  ex- 
clusion from  society,  a  complete  self-ab- 
sorption, and  the  incessant  struggle  between 
what  was  due  to  a  church  and  congrega- 
tion which  had  given  such  signal  proofs  of 
affection  for  him,  and  what  he  felt  to  be 
necessary  for  his  own  preservation,  a  speedy 
removal  from  air  and  scenery  that  more 
and  more  impaired  his  health  and  oppress- 
ed his  spirits :  these,  at  about  twelve  months 
after  his  former  attack  at  Shelford,  produc- 
ed a  recurrence  of  the  same  maladj^,  Avhich 
again  laid  him  aside  from  public  duty. 

He  soon,  however,  recovered  the  com- 
plete balance  of  his  mental  powers,  under 
the  judicious  care  of  the  late  Dr.  Cox,  of 
Fish  Ponds,  near  Bristol.  It  was  regarded 
as  essential  to  the  permanent  possession  of 
mental  health  and  vigor,  that  he  should 
resign  the  pastoral  office  at  Cambridgc\ 
that  he  should,  for  a  year,  at  least,  seek 
retirement  in  a  spot  selected  and  cordially 
approved  by  himself,  abstain  from  preach- 
ing, and  as  far  as  possible,  avoid  all  strong 
excitement. 

Pursuant  to  this  advice,  he  sent  in  his 
letter  of  resignation.     Thus  terminated  a 


connection  which  had  subsisted  for  fifteen 
years,  and  had  been  of  great  benefit  to  Mr. 
"Hall's  character;  while,  by  the  divine 
blessing  upon  his  labors,  it  had  transform- 
ed a  society  that  was  rapidly  sinking  under 
the  influence  of  cold,  or  disputatious  specu- 
lators, into  a  flourishing  church  and  con- 
gregation, "  bringing  forth  the  fruits  of 
righteousness,"  and  shining  in  the  lustre 
of  a  consistent  Christian  profession.  It  is 
pleasing  to  remark  that  the  attachment  on 
both  sides  remained  undiminished  until  Mr. 
Hall's  death. 

On  recovering  from  this  attack,  he  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  his  old  friend  Sir  James 
Mackintosh,  then  Recorder  of  Bombay, 
which  was  written  soon  after  Sir  James 
had  heard  of  his  first  indisposition.  It  ia 
highly  interesting,  both  as  a  memorial  of 
genuine  friendship,  and  as  a  beautiful  ex- 
hibition of  elevated  and  delicate  sentiment. 
My  insertion  of  it  will  not,  however,  be 
regarded  as  a  proof  that  I  entii-ely  adopt 
the  theory  which  the  writer  so  elegantly 
sketched. 

''Bombay,  Sept.  21,  1805. 
"My  dear  Hall, 

"  I  believe  that,  in  the  hurry  of  leaving 
England,  I  did  not  answer  the  letter  which 
you  Avrote  lo  me  in  December  1S03.  I  did 
not,  however,  forget  3'our  interesting  young 
friend,  from  whom  I  have  had  one  letter 
t>om  Constantinople,  and  to  whom  I  have 
twice  written  at  Cairo,  where  he  now  is. 
No  request  oi^  yours  could,  indeed,  be  lightly 
esteemed  by  me. 

"  It  happened  to  me  a  few  days  ago,  in 
drawing  up  fmerely  for  my  own  use)  a 
short  sketch  of  my  life,  that  I  had  occasion 
to  give  a  faithful  statement  of  my  recollec- 
tion of  the  circumstances  of  my  first  ac- 
quaintance with  yo\a.  On  the  most  impar- 
tial survey  of  my  early  hfe,  I  could  see 
nothing  which  tended  so  much  to  excite 
and  invigorate  my  understanding,  and  to 
direct  it  towards  high,  though,  perhaps, 
scarcely  accessible  objects,  as  my  intimacy 
with  you.  Five  and  twenty  years  are  now 
past  since  we  first  met;  yet  hardly  any 
thing  has  occurred  since,  which  has  left  a 
deeper  or  more  agreeable  impression  on 
iny  mind.  I  now  remember  the  extraordi- 
nary union  of  brilliant  fancy  with  acute 
intellect  which  would  have  excited  more 
admiration  than  it  has  done,  if  it  had  been 
dedicated  to  the  amusement  of  the  great 
and  the  learned,  instead  of  being  conse- 
crated to  the  far  more  noble  office  of  con- 
soling, instructing,  and  reforming  the  poor 
and  the  ibrgotten. 

"  It  was  then  too  early  for  me  to  discover 
that  extreme  purity,  which  in  a  mind  pre- 
occupied with  tlie  low  realities  of  life,  would 
have  been  no  natural  companion  of  so  much; 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


261 


activity  and  ardor,  but  which  thoroughlylall   its  imperfections;    and    employ   your 


detached  you  from  the  world,  and  made 
you  the  inhabitant  of  regions  where  alone 
It  is  possible  to  be  always  active  without 
impurity,  and  where  the  ardor  of  your  sen 
sibility  had  unbounded  scope  amidst  the 
inexhaustible  combinations  of  beauty  and 
excellence. 

"It  is  not  given  to  us  to  preserve  an 
exact  medium.  Nothing  is  so  difficult  as 
to  decide  how  much  ideal  models  ought  to 
be  combined  with  experience ;  how  much 
of  the  future  should  be  let  into  the  present, 
in  tlie  progress  of  the  human  mind.  To 
ennoble  and  purify,  without  raising  us  above 
the  sphere  of  our  usefulness  ;  to  qualify  us 
for  what  we  ought  to  seek,  without  unfit- 
ting us  lor  that  to  which  we  must  submit ; 
are  great  and  difficult  problems,  which  can 
be  but  imperfectly  solved. 

''  It  is  certain  the  child  may  be  too  manly, 
not  only  for  his  present  enjoyments,  but  for 
his  future  prospects.  Perhaps,  my  good 
friend,  you  have  iailen  into  this  error  of 
superior  natures.  From  this  error  has,  I 
think,  arisen  that  calamity  with  which  it 
has  pleased  Providence  to  visit  you,  Avhich, 
to  a  mind  less  fortified  by  reason  and  relig- 
ion, I  should  not  dare  to  mention,  but  which 
I  really  consider  in  you  as  little  more  than 
the  indignant  struggles  of  a  pure  mind 
with  the  low  realities  which  surround  it; 
the  fervent  aspirations  after  regions  more 
congenial  to  it:  and  a  momentary  blind- 
ness, produced  by  the  fixed  contemplation 
of  objects  too  bright  for  human  vision.  I 
may  say,  in  this  case,  in  a  far  grander 
sense  than  that  in  which  the  words  were 
originally  spoken  by  our  great  poet, 


• "And  yet 

"  '  The  light  which  led  astray  was  light  from  heaven.' 

"  On  your  return  to  us,  you  must  surely 
have  found  consolation  in  the  only  terres- 
tial  produce  which  is  pure  and  truly  exquis- 
ite ;  in  the  affections  and  attachments  you 
have  inspired,  which  you  were  most  worthy 
to  inspire,  and  which  no  human  pollution 
can  rob  of  their  heavenly  nature.  If  I 
were  to  prosecute  the  reflections,  and  in- 
dulge the  feelings,  which  at  this  moment 
fill  my  mind,  I  should  soon  venture  to 
doubt,  whether,  for  a  calamity  derived  from 
such  a  source,  and  attended  with  such  con- 
solations, I  should  so  far  yield  to  the  views 
and  opinions  of  men,  as  to  seek  to  condole 
with  you.  But  I  check  myself,  and  I  ex- 
hort you,  my  most  worthy  friend,  to  check 
your  best  propensities,  for  the  sake  of  at- 
taining their  object.  You  cannot  live  for 
men  without  living  with  them.  Serve  God 
then  by  the  active  service  of  men.  Con- 
template more  the  good  you  can  do,  than 
the  evil  you  can  only  lament.  Allow  your- 
self to  see  the  loveliness  of  virtue  amidst 


moral  imagination,  not  so  much  by  bring- 
ing it  into  contrast  with  the  model  of  ideal 
perfection,  as  in  gently  blending  some  of 
the  fainter  colors  of  the  latter  with  the 
brighter  hues  ol'  real  experienced  excel- 
lence ;  thus  heightening  their  beauty,  in- 
stead of  broadening  the  shade  which  must 
surround  us  till  we  awaken  from  this  dream 
in  other  spheres  of  existence. 

"  My  habits  of  life  have  not  been  favor- 
able lo  this  train  of  meditation.  I  have 
been  too  busy  or  too  trifling.  My  nature 
perhaps  would  have  been  better  consulted, 
if  I  had  been  placed  in  a  quieter  station, 
where  speculation  might  have  been  my 
business,  and  visions  of  the  fair  and  good 
my  chief  recreation.  When  I  approach 
you,  I  feel  a  powerlul  attraction  towards 
this  which  seems  the  natural  destiny  of  my 
mind ;  but  habit  opposes  obstacles,  and 
duty  calls  me  otij  and  reason  frowns  on 
him  who  wastes  that  reflection  on  a  destiny 
independent  of  him,  which  he  ought  to 
reserve  for  actions  of  which  he  is  the  mas- 
ter. 

In  another  letter  I  may  write  to  you  on 
miscellaneous  subjects ;  at  present  I  cannot 
bring  my  mind  to  speak  of  them.  Let  me 
hear  from  you  soon  and  often. 

"  Farewell,  my  dear  friend. 

"Yours  ever  most  laithfully, 

"James  Mackintcsh." 

Two  visitations  of  so  humiliating  a  ca- 
lamity within  the  compass  of  a  year  deeply 
affected  Mr.  Hall's  mind.  Happily,  how- 
ever, for  himself  and  for  the  world,  his 
spirits  soon  recovered  their  wonted  tone ; 
and  the  permanent  impression  on  his  char- 
acter was  exclusively  religious.  His  own 
decided  persuasion  was,  that,  however  vivid 
his  convictions  of  religious  truth,  and  of 
the  necessity  of  a  consistent  course  of  evan- 
gelical obedience  had  formerly  been,  and 
however  correct  his  doctrinal  sentiments 
during  the  last  four  or  five  years,  yet  that 
he  did  not  undergo  a  thorough  transforma- 
tion of  character,  a  complete  renewal  of 
his  heart  and  affections,  until  the  first  of 
these  seizures.  Some  of  his  Cambridge 
friends,  who  visited  him  at  Shelford,  previ- 
ously to  his  removal  to  Dr.  Arnold's  and 
witnessed  his  deep  prostration  of  soul  while 
he  read  the  fifty-first  psalm,  and  made  each 
verse  the  subject  of  penitent  confession  and 
of  a  distinct  prayer,  were  rather  inclined 
to  concur  with  him  as  to  the  correctness  of 
the  opinion.  Be  this,  however,  as  it  may 
(and  the  wonderful  revelations  of  "the  great 
day"  can  alone  remove  the  doubt.)  there 
can  be  no  question  that  from  this  period  he 
seemed  more  to  live  under  the  prevailing 
recollection  of  his  entire  dependence  upon 
God,  that  his  habits  were  more  devotional 


262 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


than  they  had  ever  before  been,  his  exer- 
cises more  fervent  and  more  elevated. 

In  a  letter  written  to  liis  friend  Mr.  Phil- 
lips, of  Claphani,  after  his  recovery,  he 
thus  adverts  lo  his  alDiptioiis : 

"I  cannot  look  back  iijion  tlie  events 
which  have  befallen  nie,  without  admira- 
tion and  oratitude.  T  am  a  monument  of 
the  goodness  and  of  the  severity  of  God. 
My  sutieriners  have  been  extreme,  and  the 
kindness  of  God.  in  interposing  in  my  be- 
half unspeakable.  Pray  lor  me,  my  dear 
friend,  that  I  may  retain  an  indelible  sense 
of  the  mercies  received,  and  that  the  incon- 
ceivable afflictions  I  have  undergone  may 
'  work  tor  me  the  peaceable  fruits  of  right- 
eousness.' I  am  often  afraid  lest  it  should 
be  with  me  as  with  the  ancient  Israelites, 
who,  after  they  had  sung  the  praises  of 
God,  '  soon  forgot  his  Avorks.'  O !  that  a 
life  so  signally  redeemed  from  destruction, 
may  be  as  signally  employed  in  that  which 
is  alone  the  true  end  of  life,  the  service  of 
God.  But  my  heart  is  'hke  a  deceitful 
bow,'  continually  prone  to  turn  aside ;  so 
that  nothing  but  the  powet-ful  impulse  of 
divine  grace  can  fix  it  in  a  right  aim." 

At  this  time,  I  believe,  Mr.  Hall,  under 
the  persuasion  to  which  I  have  just  allude 
made  a  solemn  dedication   ot^  himself  to 
God,  renewing  the  act  annually  on  the  re 
currence  of  his  birth-day.     One  of  these 
touching  and    impressive   record 
has  been  found  among  his  papers,  will 
feel  assured,  be  read  Avith  deep  interest. 

"An  Act  of  solemn  Dedication  of  iMy- 
sEi.F  TO  God. 
"  O  Lord,  thou  that  searchest  the  heart 
and  triest  the  reins  of  the  children  of  men. 
be  thou  the  witness  of  what  I  am  now 
about,  in  the  strength  of  thy  grace,  to  at- 
tempt :  that  grace  1  humbly  and  earnesdy 
implore,  to  give  validity  and  effect  to  that 
act  of  solemn  engagement  of  mj'self  to 
thy  service,  on  which  I  am  about  to  enter. 
'  Thou  knowest  my  foolishness,  and  my 
sins  are  none  of  them  hid  from  thee.'  '  I 
was  born  in  sin,  and  in  iniquity  did  my 
mother  conceive  me.'  I  am  an  apostate, 
guilty  branch  of  an  apostate  guilty  root, 
and  my  life  has  been  a  series  of  rebel- 
lions and  transgressions,  in  whieh  I  have 
walked  '  according  to  the  course  ol'  this 
world;  according  to  the  Prince  of  the  poAv- 
er  of  the  air,  the  spirit  thai  now  worketh 
in  the  children  of  disobedience.''  Hoav 
shall  I  confess  my  transgressions  before 
thee  ;  what  numbers  can  reach ;  what  words 
can  adequately  express  them!  ''My  ini 
quities  have  increased  over  vnj  head,  and 
my  transgressions  have  grown  up  itntu 
Heaven.'  O  Lord,  I  esteem  it  a  wonderi'ul 
mercy  that  I  have  not  long  since  been  cut 
off  in  U^e  midet  of  my  sine,  and  been  sent 


to  hell  before  I  had  an  opportunity  or  a 
heart  to  repent.  Being  assured  li-om  the 
word  of  God  of  thy  gracious  and  merciful 
nature,  and  of  thy  wiUingness  to  pardon 
and  accept  penitent  believing  sinners  on  the 
ground  of  the  blood  and  righteousness  of 
thine  OAvn  adorable  Son,  'Avho  died,  the 
just  for  the  unjust,  to  bring  them  to  God,' 
and  that  '  him  thatcometh  to  him  he  Avill  in 
noAvise  cast  out,'  I  do  most  humbly  pros- 
trate myself  at  the  footstool  ot"  his  cross, 
and  through  him  enter  into  thy  covenant. 
1  disclaim  all  right  to  myself  from  hence- 
fonli,  to  my  soul,  my  body,  my  time,  my 
health,  my  reputation,  my  talents,  or  any 
thing  that  belongs  to  me.  I  confess  myself 
to  be  the  property  of  the  glorious  Redeem- 
er, as  one  whom  I  hund)ly  hope  he  has 
redeemed  by  his  blood  to  be  part  of  '  the 
first  fruits  of  his  creatures.' 

"  I  do  most  cheerfully  and  cordially  re- 
ceive him  in  all  his  offices,  as  m)'  priest, 
my  prophet,  and  my  king.  I  dedicate  my- 
self to  him,  to  serve,  loA-e  and  trust  in  him 
as  my  hfe  and  my  salvation  to  my  life's 
end. 

"  I  renounce  the  Devil  and  all  his  Avorks, 
the  fiesh  and  the  Avorld,  Avith  heartfelt  regret 
that  I  should  have  been  enslaved  by  them 
so  long.  I  do  solemnly  and  deliberately 
take  thee  to  be  my  full  and  satisfying  good, 
and  eternal  portion  in  and  through  thine 
Avhichl^'^orable  Son  the  Redeemer,  and  by  the 
1  assistance  of  the  blessed  Spirit  of  all  grace, 
the  third  person  in  the  triune  God,  A\'hom  I 
take  to  be  my  sanctifier,  and  comforter  to 
the  end  of  time,  and  through  a  happy 
eternity,  praying  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may 
deign  "to  take  perpetual  possession  of  my 
heart  and  fix  his  abode  there. 

"I  do  most  solemnly  devote  and  give  up 
myself  to  the  FatluT,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  agreeably  to  the  terms  of  the 
Gospel  Covenant,  and  in  humble  expecta- 
tion of  the  blessings  it  ascertains  to  sincere 
believers.  I  call  thee  to  Avitness,  O  God  f 
the  truth  and  realitj'  of  this  surrender  of 
all  1  have,  and  all  I  am,  to  thee ;  and,  con- 
scious of  the  unspeakable  deceitfulness  of 
my  heart,  I  humbly  and  earnestly  implore 
the  influence  of  thy  Spirit  to  enable  me  to 
stand  steadfast  in  this  covenant,  as  AA'ell  as 
an  interest  in  the  blood  of  the  Son,  that  I 
may  be  forgiven  in  those  instances  (alas  ! 
that  such  an  idea  should  be  possible.)  in 
which  I  ma}',  in  any  degree,  sAverA'e  from 
it. 

"  Done  this  [2d J  day  of  May  1809,  seven 
o'clock  in  the  CA^ening,  Leicester. 

"Robert  Hall." 


Mr.  Hall,  on  his  removal  from  Dr.  Cox's, 
spent  some  months  among  his  relatives 
and  friends  in  Leicestershire.  At  Arnsby 
he  retraced  the  scenes  of  his  youtli,  often 


MEMOIR     OF     ROBERT     HALL. 


263 


visited  the  grave-yard,  which  would  nat- 
urally awaken  many  interesting  recollec- 
tions of  his  early  life,  and  on  these  occa- 
sions he  has  more  than  once  been  seen 
kneeling  at  his  father's  grave,  engaged  in 
earnest  prayer.  He  afterward  resided,  for 
a  time,  at  Enderby,  a  pleasant  and  seques- 
tered village,  five  miles  from  Leicester, 
where,  by  the  united  influence  of  calm  re- 
tirement and  gentle  spontaneous  occupation 
he  gradually  regained  his  bodily  health, 
with  great  mental  tranquility,  and  a  renew- 
ed capacity  for  usefulness  in  the  church. 

His  friends  Dr.  Ryland  and  Mr.  Fuller, 
persuaded  of  the  benefits  that  would  flow 
from  drawing  his  attention  to  a  specific  ob- 
ject, requested  him  to  investigate  the  criti- 
cal pecuHarities  of  some  difficult  texts  in 
the  New  Testament,  respecting  which  Dr. 
Marshman  had  asked  the  opinion  of  his 
friends  in  England.  This  judicious  appli- 
cation directed  his  thoughts  to  some  of  his 
old  and  favorite  inquiries,  and  produced  the 
most  salutary  effects.*  From  this  he  pass- 
ed to  other  literary  occupations,  thence  to 
closer  biblical  study,  and,  in  due  time, 
when  his  strength  and  self-possession  were 
adequately  restored  to  permit  the  exertion 
without  injury,  he  returned  to  the  delightful 
work  of  "  proclaiming  the  good  tidings  of 
peace." 

He  first  preached  in  some  of  the  villages 
around  him ;  and  then,  occasionally,  to  a 
small  congregation  assembling  at  a  chapel 
in  Harvey  lane,  Leicester,  which  had  sever- 
al years  before  been  under  the  care  of  that 
eminent  man  Dr.  Carey,  now  of  Seram- 
pore.  The  congregation  had  been  dimin- 
ishing for  some  years,  and  at  this  time  did 
not  exceed  two  hundred  and  fifty :  the 
church  consisted  of  seventy-six  members. 
After  having  preached  to  them  a  few 
months,  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  be- 
come their  stated  pastor ;  and  his  ministe 
rial  labors  were  soon  followed  by  tokens 
of  good.  "  The  people,"  said  he  in  a  letter 
to  Dr.  Ryland,  "  are  a  simple-hearted,  af- 
fectionate, praying  people,  to  whom  I 
preach  with  more  pleasure  than  to  the  more 
refined  audience  at  Cambridge.  We  have 
had,  through  mercy,  some  small  addition, 
and  hope  for  more.  Our  meetings  in  gen- 
eral, our  prayer-meetings  in  particular,  are 
well  attended." 

With  this  church  he  continued  connected 
nearly  twenty  years.  The  church  and  con- 
gregation steadily   increased   during   that 


For  inore  than  two  years  he  employed  much  time  in 
a  cridMl  exainin-.ition  of  the  Now  Testament,  and  in 
arranging  such  corroded  Iranslitions  as  he  deemed  im- 
portant, with  short  reasons  for  his  deviating  from  the 
authorized  version  ;  intending  to  publish  the  whole  in  a 
(lauiphlct  of  about  one  hundred  p^srg.  Just  as  he  had 
finisliod  this  work,  ho  for  the  first  liiop  s^iw  Mackni-dit's 
new  Transhtjoii  of  t.l,c  Apo.ifolic  !ip,stl.-s ;  and  tingling 
mm'iell  auticiixited  in  m-tny  of  the  corrections  which  he 
ttought  iao.qt  viljible.  d^str.j  e.l  his  manuscript. 


long  interval,  and  scarcely  any  thing  of  mo- 
ment occurred  to  interrupt  their  internal 
peace.  The  place  of  worship,  which  when 
Mr.  Hall  first  settled  there  would  not  con- 
veniently hold  ibur  hundred  persons,  was 
enlarged  in  1809  lor  the  reception  of  about 
eight  hundred ;  and  in  1817  a  second  en- 
largement rendered  it  capable  of  accommo- 
dating a  thousand  persons.  In  1826,  at  the 
close  of  Mr.  Hall's  labors  there,  the  place 
was  comfortably  filled,  and  the  members  of 
the  church,  besides  those  who  it  is  believed 
hud  gone  to  their  eternal  reward,  amount- 
ed to  nearly  three  hundred.  More  than  a 
hundred  of  those  who  constituted  the  eve- 
ning congregation  were  pious  members  of 
the  Church  of  England. 

In  the  autumn  of  1807  Mr.  Hall  removed 
from  Enderby  to  a  house  in  Leicester, 
which  he  engaged  partly  that  he  might 
more  conveniently  associate  with  the  people 
of  his  charge,  and  partly  in  anticipation  of 
his  marriage,  which  took  place  in  March, 
1808.  This  event  gave  great  and  sincere 
satisfaction  to  his  old  and  intimate  friends, 
most  of  whom  had  long  regretted  that  one 
so  evidently  formed  for  domestic  enjoy- 
ments should  for  so  many  years  have  lived 
without  attaining  them  ;  and  had  no  doubt, 
indeed,  that  an  earlier  marriage  would,  by 
checking  his  propensity  to  incessant  retire- 
ment and  mental  abstraction,  have  preserv- 
ed him  from  the  heavy  afflictions  which  had 
befallen  him.  As  Mrs.  Hall  still  lives  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  her  incomparable  hus- 
band, I  must  not  permit  myself  more  than 
to  testify  how  highly  he  estimated  her  kind- 
ness and  affection,  and  how  ol'ten,  in  his 
conversation,  as  well  as  in  his  letters,  he 
expressed  his  gratitude  to  God  for  giving 
him  so  pious,  prudent,  and  devoted  a  wife. 
Of  their  five  children,  three  daughters  and 
one  son  survive.  Another  son  died  in 
1814. 

Mr.  Hall's  residence  at  Leicester  was  not 
only  of  longer  continuance  than  at  any  oth- 
er place,  but  I  doubt  not  that  it  was  the  pe- 
riod in  which  he  was  most  happy,  active, 
and  useful.  His  domestic  comfort  at  once 
contributed  to  a  more  uniform  flow  of  spir- 
its than  he  had  for  some  time  experienced, 
and  greatly  to  the  regularity  of  his  habits. 
The  increase  both  of  attentive  hearers  and 
of  the  number  among  them  who  were  ad- 
mitted to  church-feiiowship,  supplied  con- 
stant reason  for  encouragement  and  thank- 
fulness. He  was  also  within  the  reach  of 
ministers  and  others,  of  different  persua- 
sions, men  of  decided  piety,  and  some  of 
them  of  considerable  attainments,  who 
knew  how  to  appreciate  the  extraordinary 
advantages  of  frequent  intercoiirse  with 
such  an  individual;  thus  yielding  him  the 
delight  of  an  interchange  of  soul  and  senii 
ment;  besides  that  fruit  of  friendship  so  apt- 


264 


MEMOIR     OF     liODERT     HALL. 


iy  characterized  by  Lord  Bacon  :  "  Who- 
soever hath  his  mind  franglit  witli  many 
thoughts,  Ills  wits  and  understanding  do 
clarity  and  break  up  in  the  conmiunicating 
and  discoursing  with  another,  he  losscth 
hie  thoughts  more  easily,  he  marshalleth 
them  more  orderly,  he  seeth  how  they  look 
wlien  they  are  turned  into  words,  and  he 
waxeth  wiser  than  himself,  olten  more  by 
an  hour's  discourse  than  by  a  day's  medita- 
tion."* 

Leicester,  from  its  situation  in  the  heart 
of  the  midland  counties,  as  well  as  from  its 
importance  in  a  leading  inland  manufac- 
ture, was  the  cenrte  of  influence  and  ope- 
ration to  a  considerable  distance  around ; 
and  the  concurrence  of  many  favorable  cir- 
cumstances had  rendered  it  the  centre  also 
of  a  religious  influence,  and  of  religious  op- 
erations, (liffiising  themselves  incessantly 
with  a  new  and  growing  impulse.  To  this 
the  Zealand  activity  of  the  late  Rev.  Thom- 
as Robinson  of  Leicester,  and  of  Mr.  Hall's 
lather,  had  greatly  contributed  ;  and  many 
clergymen  and  dissenting  ministers  in  Lei- 
cestershire and  the  neighboring  counties, 
were,  in  their  respective  fields  of  labor,  in- 
strumental in  producing  the  most  cheering 
and  successful  results.  The  attention  of 
the  Christian  w^orld  had  been  recently  in- 
vited, or,  I  might  i>erhaps  say,  summoned, 
to  promote  the  noble  objects  of  missionary 
societies,  Bible  societies,  Sunday  and  other 
schools  for  the  instruction  of  the  poor  ;  and 
the  summons  had  been  obeyed  in  a  univer- 
sality and  cordiality  of  vigorous  Christian 
effort,  and  in  a. spirit  ol'concihation  and  har- 
mony, such  as  tlie  world  had  not  yet  known. 
Placed  in  the  midst  of  so  extensive  a  sphere 
of  benevolent  and  sacred  influence,  Mr. 
Hall  was  soon  roused  to  a  measure  of  ac- 
tivity and  a  diversity  of  employment  to 
which  he  had  hitherto  been  a  stranger. 
The  Bible  Society  at  Leicester,  missionary 
societies  there  and  all  around,  asked  and 
received  his  aid  ;  and  these,  with  the  differ- 
ent public  services  of  frequent  occurrence 
among  orthodox  dissenters,  gave  occasion 
to  the  happiest  exercise  of  his  varied  pow- 
ers. 

His  religious  character  thus  became  cor- 
rectly estimated  by  a  much  larger  portion 
of  the  comnmnity.     Instead  of  being  known 


■  Mr.  Hall,  however,  from  the  midway  position  of  Lei- 
cester, between  London  and  the  large  towns  in  Lanca- 
shire ami  Yorkshire,  was  much  exposed  to  interrnplioiis, 
<See  p.  282.)  Many  per.<!ons  who  had  but  a  slicht  ac- 
quaintance with  him  would  invariably  spend  a  day  at 
Leicester  in  their  way  from  London  to  Liveri)Ofil,  Man- 
chester, Sheffifcid,  <Vr.,  or  from  either  of  those  places  to 
London,  that  they  might,  during  the  greater  part  of  it,  en- 
joy his  society  ;  and,  though  he  often  fell  this  to  be  a  real 
annoyance,  yet  such  was  his  feeling  of  what  wa.<  clue  to 
strangers  in  point  of  courtesy,  that  it  was  not  until  he  had 
sustained  the  inconvenience  for  almost  twenty  years  that 
ho  would  consent  that  this  class  of  visitors  shouM  be  in- 
formed he  would  not  hn  at  k-iisure  to  see  thoiii  until 
«^e«in''- 


chiefly  to  n)en  of  reading  and  taste,  as  an 
author  who  had  appeared  before  the  world 
on  a  few  monu-ntous  occa.«ions,  and.  after 
a  striking  exhibition  of  intellectual  and  mor- 
al energy,  htid  hastened  back  to  his  retire- 
ment, he  now  became  much  more  known 
and  revered  as  the  correct  and  eloquent  in- 
terpreter of  the  Christian  failh,  the  intreped 
iissertor  of  its  infinite  superiority  to  all  hu- 
man .systems  of  philosophy  or  ntorals. 
Long  had  he  been  admired  by  the  intelli- 
gent as  a  great  man  ;  the  circumstances  in 
which  he  now  moved  Avith  so  much  philan- 
thropic ardor  caused  him  to  be  regarded, 
not  merely  by  these,  but  by  pious  men  of" 
every  persuasion,  as  a  good  man,  rejoicing 
to  consecrate  his  best  faculties  to  the  spe- 
cific objects  of  the  Christian  ministrj^,  and 
such  purposes  of  enlarged  exertion  a.s  were 
fully  compatible  with  his  holy  calling. 

Nor  were  these  efforts,  and  this  high  es- 
timate of  their  value,  confined  to  the  field  of 
activity  he  thus  occupied.  He  had.  on 
quitting  Bristol  in  1791,  consented  to  spend 
a  ^ew  weeks  with  his  friends  there  every 
two  years.  He  had  also  made  a  similar  ar- 
rangement for  visiting  Cambridge,  Avhere 
the  members  of  his  former  congregation 
had  peculiar  claims  upon  him.  Although 
his  invariable  dread  of  notoriety,  and, 
his  dislike  of  the  bustle  of  the  metropolis 
caused  his  visits  there  to  be  "  few  and  far 
between,"  yet  they  occurred  sufficiently  of- 
ten to  excite  almost  universally  the  high- 
est admiration  of  his  singular  qualities  as  a 
preacher,  and  convince  many  who  previ- 
ously had  contemplated  the  evangelical  sj's- 
tem  of  religion  with  great  disrelish  that  it 
was  the  only  foundation  of  elevated  morali- 
ty, and  that  its  cordial  adoption  was  not 
necessarily  repugnant  to  genius,  learning, 
and  intellectual  cultivation. 

Wherever  he  went,  he  was  called  to  ad- 
dress overflowing  congregations,  and  com- 
monly of  a  remarkable  mixed  character. 
Churchmen  and  dissenters ;  men  of  rank 
and  influence,  individuals  in  lower  stations; 
men  of  simple  piety,  and  others  of  deep  the- 
ological knowledge;  men  who  admired 
Christianity  as  a  beautiful  system,  and  those 
who  received  it  into  the  heart  of  faith  ;  men 
in  doubt,  others  involved  in  unbelief:  all 
resorted  to  the  place  where  he  was  announc- 
ed as  the  preacher.  Frequently  he  was 
apprized  of  this  peculiarity  in  the  structure 
of  the  auditory,  and  whenever  that  was  the 
;ase,  the  striking  appropriation  of  the  ser- 
mon to  the  assembly  was  always  manifest* 


'  While  this  sheet  was  going  through  the  press,  I  ac- 
cidentally found  among  some  old  letters  one  from  a 
iVicnd  residing  in  France,  in  wliicli  tliere  was  the  follow- 
ing allusion  to  Mr.  Ifall  by  a  French  Protestant  clergy- 
man, who  was  visiting  Bristol,  in  September,  1822,  In  a 
letter  addressed  to  another  Protestant  minister.  Mr. 
KiM-pezdron,  of  Aulnay,  he  savs. 

'•I  heard  Mr.  Robert  Hall  of  Leicester  last  Tuesday 
inorning ;  but  his  sermon  was  so  great,  so  good,  so  elo-. 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


265 


Mr.  Hall's  writings  during  his  residence 
at  Leicester,  though  by  no  means  numerous, 
tended  greatly  to  augment  his  influence  up- 
on society. 

The  first  of  these  was  published  anony- 
mously in  the  Eclectic  Review,  but  left  no 
room  for  hesitation  as  to  its  author.  It  was 
a  critique  upon  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Zeal 
without  Innovation,"  which  he  undertook  at 
the  earnest  entreaty  of  the  late  Mr.  Robin- 
son of  Leicester,  '•  who,  in  common  with  all 
the  serious  clergy  in  those  parts,  disapprov- 
ed the  pamphlet  highly."  As  it  is  no  part 
of  my  intention  to  present  elaborate  ac- 
counts of  Mr.  Hall's  successive  publications, 
it  may  suffice  for  me  to  remark  with  regard 
to  this  critique,  that  while  it  places  the  con- 
troversy between  the  puritans  and  their  op- 
ponents in  a  flood  of  light,  and  exhibits  the 
essential  importance  of  religious  liberty  to 
the  growth,  if  not  in  some  cases  to  the  ex- 
istence, of  genuine,  devotional  Christianity ; 
it  presents  a  more  admirable  picture  of  the 
character  of  the  evangelical  clergy,*  a  more 
powerful,  liberal  and  successful  defence  of 
their  object  and  conduct,  than  has  been,  as 
yet,  accomplished  by  any  other  person.  Ma- 
ny regard  it  as  among  the  most  iii.?tructive 
and  useful,  as  well  as  among  the  most  master- 
ly, of  Mr.  Hall's  productions.  It  abounds  in 
keen  satire,  in  irrefragable  argument,  in 
touching  description,  in  tasteful  imagery,  in 
exquisite  diction,  and  in  sentiments  of  a 
weight  and  worth  only  to  be  fully  estimat- 
ed by  men  whose  minds  are  elevated  above 
the  prejudices  which  tie  us  down  to  sects 
and  parties,  and  can  rejoice  at  the  extension 
of  true  religion  among  persons  of  any  per- 
suasion, or  through  the  instrumentality  of 
whomsoever  the  great  Head  of  the  church 
may  enjoy.  The  value  set  by  the  public 
upon  this  disquisition  was  evinced  in  the  rap- 
id sale  of  three  editions  in  a  separate  pam- 
phlet, independently  of  its  circulation  in  the 
Review. 

Of  the  sermons  published  by  Mr.  Hall  dur- 
ing his  residence  at  Leicester,  the  first  was 
preached  in  behalf  of  the  Sunday-school  con- 
nected with  his  own  congregation,  and  ap- 
peared under  the  title  of  '•  The  Advantages 
of  knowledge  to  the  Lower  Classes."  The 
subject  is  not  precisely  adapted  to  the  dec 
orations  of  eloquence ;  for  the  deplorable 
etTects  of  ignorance  and  the  blessings  of 
knowledge  are  best  exhibited  in  the  detail 
of  facts,  which  admit  of  no  embellishment 
Mr.  Hall's  desire  to  enlarge  the  capacity 
for  enjoyment  among  the  lower  classes,  as 
well  as  to  promote  their  highest  welfare. 


tempted  him,  however,  to  enter  this  region 
of  commonplaces,  and  thus  gave  a  fresh  op- 
portunity of  showing  how  an  original  think- 
er can  communicate  an  air  of  freshness  to  a 
worn-out  topic,  bring  up  to  the  surface  ar- 
guments and  illustrations  that  lie  far  below 
the  reach  of  ordinary  reasonere,  and  enforce 
them  with  a  warmth  and  energy  calculated 
equally  to  impress  and  to  convince.* 

The  next  two  sermons  are  of  a  much 
higher  order.  One  of  them,  on  "  The  Dis- 
couragements and  Supports  of  the  Christian 
Minister,"  was  addressed  to  the  Rev.  James 
Robertson,  on  his  ordination  over  the  In- 
dependent Church  at  Stretton,  Warwick- 
shire ;  the  other,  which  portrays  the  duties, 
discouragements,  and  supports  "  of  the 
Christian  Missionary,"  was  addressed  to  the 
Rev.  Eustace  Carey,  on  his  designation  as 
a  missionary  to  India.  In  these  the  author 
traces  with  a  master  hand  the  various  sour- 
ces of  discouragement  and  consolation  which 
appertain  to  the  respective  offices  of  the 
minister  and  the  missionary.  Like  one  in- 
timately acquainted  with  comparative  an- 
atomy, he  exhibits  the  points  of  agreement 
as  well  as  those  of  diversity,  in  the  different 
subjects,  with  the  most  convincing  discrimi- 
nations ;  while  conversant  as  v/eM  with  the 
morbid  as  the  healthy  anatomy  of  the  sub- 
jects before  him,  he  explores  to  its  inmost 
recess  that  universal  moral  disease  which 
calls  forth  the  efforts  of  both  ministers  and 
missionaries,  and  then  (where  the  analogy 
must  drop)  he  reveals  the  principles  and  the 
origin  of  an  infallible  cure.  Both  these  ad- 
dresses are  remarkable  for  their  originality 
and  variety ;  every  topic  successively  ad- 
vanced is  irradiated  with  eloquence,  and 
glows  with  feeling ;  and  so  skilfully  are  both 
the  discourses  conducted,  that  while  they 
are  avowedly  directed  to  the  minister  and 
the  missionary,  and  abound  in  the  most  val- 
uable instructions  to  them  respectively,  the 
private  Christian,  who  reads  with  devout 
attention,  may  derive  from  them  as  rich  in- 
struction for  himself,  and  as  many  directions 
for  his  own  religious  improvement,  as  though 
they  were  specifically  addressed  to  him 
alone.  This,  indeed,  was  a  decided  char- 
acteristic of  Mr.  Hall's  sermons.  He  who 
heard,  or  lie  who  read,  would  find   his  as- 


quent,  so  simple,  so  pion.s,  in  a  word,  so  complete  a  piece 
of  pulpit  oratory,  that  I  cannot  tell  you  any  tiling  about  it 
except  that  it  has  made  an  indeUible  impression  on  my 
mind.  1  thought  when  I  came  out  that  I  never  could 
preach  again." 

•  I  use  this  term  to  avoid  a  periphrasis,  and  because  it 
ia  intelligible  and  strictly  cUaructcristic. 

Vol.  1.— Hn. 


t  This  scniion,  as  woll  as  his  two  able  pamphlets  on 
the  "  Framework  Knitters'  Fund,"  and  in  "  Ileply  to 
Cobbett  and  others"  should  be  regarded  as  flowing  en- 
tirely from  his  benevolence.  This,  with  him,  had  never 
been  a  fleetins  sentiment  in  occasional  operation,  but 
one  that  was  permanently  fed  by  Christian  principles. 
It  was,  however,  greatly  extended,  to  adopt  his  own  lan- 
guage, "by  thos>i  impressions  of  tenderness  gratitude, 
and  sympathy  which  the  endearments  of  domestic  life 
supply,"  and  led  him  to  investigate  the  actual  circumstan- 
ces, of  the  neighI)oring  poor,  and  constantly  to  aim  at  the 
alleviation  of  their  distress.  Not  long  after  his  marriage 
when  his  own  pecuniary  resources  were  much  restrict- 
ed, he  proposed  to  fast  on  certain  days,  that  he  might 
have  it  in  his  powerto  distribute  more  among  the  needy ; 
and  he  thought  it  wrong  to  have  more  than  two  coats  wheo 
so  many  persons  around  him  weie  clothed  in  mere  rags^ 


26G 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


toiiisliment  and  udniirution  strongly  excit- 
ed ;  but  often,  if  not  always,  the  more  his 
emotion  was  enkindled  by  the  preacher,  the 
more  forcibly  was  he  compelled  to  retire  to 
"  the  chambers  of  imagery,"  and  examine 
liis  own  lieart. 

The  sudden  and  untimely  death  of  the 
Princess  Charlotte  of  Wales,  was  an  event 
calculated  to  make  the  deepest  impression 
imon  a  mind  constituted  like  Mr.  Hall's. 
The  illustrious  rank  of  the  victim,  her  youth 
and  recent  marriage,  the  atiecting  nature  of 
tlie  catastrophe,  its  probable  influence  upon 
the  reigning  monarch,  upon  the  succession 
to  the  Throne,  and  the  welfare  ol'  tiie  nation 
even  to  distant  ages ;  all  presented  them- 
selves to  his  thoughts  with  the  most  heart- 
stirring  energy.  He  preached  three  ser- 
mons on  the  occasion,  of  Avhichmany  of  the 
auditors  affirm  the  one  published  was  by  no 
means  the  best.  It,  however,  by  universal 
acknowledgment,  bore  the  palm  above  all 
the  numerous  valuable  sermons  that  were 
then  published.  It  embraces  the  various 
topics  that  would  occur  to  a  man  of  piety, 
feeling,  and  excursive  thought,  on  the  con- 
templation of  such  an  event,  the  mysteri- 
ousness  of  God's  providence,  the  vicissitudes 
of  empires,  the  aggravated  poignancy  of 
sudden  calamity  to  individuals  of  elevated 
station,  "  the  uncertainty  of  life,  the  frailty 
of  youth,  the  evanescence  ot"  beauty,  the 
nothingness  of  worldly  greartness,"  the 
blindness  of  man  to  futiu'ity,  "  the  human 
race  itself  withering"  away,  and  the  perpe- 
tuity of  God's  promises  as  the  great  and 
noble  contrast  to  universal  tYagility ;  these 
are  touched  in  succession  with  the  utmost 
tenderness,  beauty,  and  sublimity.  In  feli- 
city of  diction,  in  delicacy  and  pathos,  in 
the  rich  variety  of  most  exquisite  and  in-, 
structive  trains  of  thought,  in  their  cogent' 
application  to  truths  of  the  utmost  moment, 
in  the  masterly  combination  of  what  in  elo- 
quence, philosophy,  and  religion  was  best 
calculated  to  make  a  permanent  and  saluta- 
ry impression,  this  sermon  probably  stands 
unrivalled. 

Besides  the  various  sermons  and  reviews 
which  lie  wrote  and  published  during  his 
residence  at  Leicester,  he  composed  for 
circidation  among  tlie  associated  Baptist 
churches  in  the  counties  of  Northampton, 
Leicester,  and  Warwick,  two  tracts,  On  the 
Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  On  Hearing 
the  Word  ;  both  deeply  ind)ued  with  simple 
evangelical  truth,  and  rich  in  excellent  prac- 
tical n-marks.  fitted  for  the  beneficial  peru- 
sal of  all  classes.  There  were  also  other 
rompo.eitions  which  he  executed  with  singu- 
lar felicity.  I  mean  his  l)iograp]iical  sketch- 
es. They  are,  except  the  rapid  but  exqui- 
site sketches  of  Brain(^rd,  Fletcher  of  Mad- 
eley,  and  Henry  Martyn.  flic  delineations 
ofaJriauJ;  and  p(ihaps,  in  a  lew  partic- 


ulars, need  a  slight  allowance  for  the  high 
coloring  to  which  the  warmth  of  friendship 
tempts  us  when  meditating  upon  dej)arted 
excellence  ;  yet  they  are,  on  the  whole,  ex- 
act in  the  resemblance,  and  finely  exempli- 
fy the  author's  varied  powers,  especially 
his  delicate  and  accurate  discrimination  of 
the  degrees  and  shades  of  human  charac- 
ter. 

One  of  these,  the  character  of  the  Rev. 
John  Sutclifl',  is  an  unfinished  portrait ;  Mr. 
Hall,  after  a  few  unsatisfactory  trials,  relin- 
quishing the  attempt.  The  following  letter 
to  Mr.  Fuller,  on  the  occasion  of  this  fail- 
ure will  be  read  with  interest,  as  an  exam- 
ple both  of  his  diffidence  and  of  his  sense  of 
the  obligation  of  a  promise. 

"My  Deak  Brother, 

"  I  am  truly  concerned  to  tell  you  that  I 
cannot  succeed  at  all  in  my  attempts  to  draw 
the  character  of  our  dear  and  venerable 
brother  Sutclif!".  I  have  made  several  ef- 
forts, and  have  sketched,  as  well  as  I  could, 
the  outlines  of  what  I  conceive  to  be  his 
character ;  but  have  failed  in  producing 
such  a  portrait  as  appears  to  me  fit  lor  the 
public  eye.  I  am  perfectly  convinced  that 
your  intimacy  with  him,  and  your  powers 
of  discrimination,  will  enable  you  to  present 
to  posterity  a  much  juster  and  more  impress- 
ive idea  of  jiim  than  I  can.  I  am  heartily 
Sony  I  promised  it.  But  promises  1  hold 
sacred  ;  and  therefore,  il'you  insist  upon  it, 
and  are  not  willing  to  release  me  from  my 
engagement,  I  will  accomj)lish  the  task  as 
well  as  I  can.  But  if  you  will  let  the  mat- 
ter \i-dsfisnb  stVewito,  without  reproaching  me, 
you  will  oblige  me  considerabl)^  It  appears 
to  n\t  that,  if  1  ever  possessed  a  faculty  of 
character -drawing,  I  have  lost  it,  probably 
for  want  of  use ;  as  I  am  fiir  from  taking 
any  delight  in  a  minute  criticism  on  char- 
acter, to  which,  in  my  younger  days,  I  Avas 
excessively  addicted.  Both  our  tastes  and 
talents  change  with  the  progress  of  years. 
The  purport  of  these  lines,  however,  is  to 
request  you  to  absolve  me  from  my  prom- 
ise, in  which  light  I  shall  interpret  your 
silence  ;  holding  myself  ready,  however,  to 
comply  with  your  injunctions. 
"  I  am,  my  dear  sir, 
"  Your  afTectionate  broiher. 

='  Sep.  1814.  "  R  Hall." 

For  several  years,  about  this  time,  Mr. 
Hall's  thoughts  were  gie^atly  occupied  upon 
the  subject  of  '•  Terms  of  Communion." 
His  first  publication  in  reference  to  it  ap- 
jieared  in  1S15:  but  they  who  were  admit- 
ted to  his  intimacy  will  recollect  how  often, 
three  or  four  years  before  its  ajipearance, 
he  advocated  a  cautious  revision  of  the  prac- 
tice of  nearly  idl  ciiurciies;  and  how  suc- 
cessfully he  refuted  the  arguments  of  those 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


267 


who  favored  any  narrow  system  of  exclu- 
sion. He  regarded  the  existence  of  a  prin 
ciple  wliich  made  so  many  churches  points 
oi  repulsion  instead  of  centres  of  union  as  a 
very  serious  evil ;  and  often  deplored  it  in 
language  similar  to  that  which  commences 
his  first  production  on  the   subject. 

The  discussion,  indeed,  is  neither  of  slight 
nor  of  temporary  interest.  It  involves  the 
prevailing  practice  of  every  church  in 
Christendom,  whether  established  or  inde- 
pendent of  an  establishment  ;  and  it  in 
eludes  an  answer  to  the  inquiry  how  purity 
of  faith  and  conduct  shall  be  preserved  with 
out  an  infringement  of  the  principles  requi 
site  to  make  every  church  a  portion  of  that 
sublime  invisible  society,  the  "  Church  Uni- 
versal," constituted  of  all  the  members  of 
Christ's  mystical  body. 

Rapidly  approaching,  as  we  seem  to  be, 
to  that  state  of  things  when  all  churches, 
national  as  well  as  others,  will  feel  the  ex- 
pediency, if  not  the  necessity,  of  reverting 
to  first  principles  in  modifying  and  improv 
ing  their  several  communities,  the  contro 
versy  on  "  Terms  of  Communion"  forces 
itself  upon  the  attention  as  one  of  primary 
importance,  serving  to  ascertain  and  deter- 
mine almost  every  question  of  value  in  ref- 
erence to  ecclesiastical  polity. 

I  thus,  though  but  for  a  moment,  advert 
to  this  controversy,  that  the  general  reader 
may  not  be  induced  to  under  value  it.  It 
occupies  a  considerable  portion  of  the  first 
volume  of  these  works,  besides  the  sub- 
stance of  a  distinct  pamphlet  inserted  in  the 
second  volume.  Of  the  diiierent  writers 
who  opposed  Mr.  Hall  on  this  occasion,  Mr. 
Kiaghorn  was,  unquestionably,  the  most 
acute  and  learned.  HLs  volume  should  be 
read  in  connection  with  Mr.  Hall's,  by  such 
as  wish  to  view  the  question  in  all  its  bear- 
ings. Mr.  Hall's  part  of  the  controversy  is 
conducted  with  his  characteristic,  frankness 
and  decision;  and  evinces  the  same  clearness 
copiousness,  strength,  and  majesty  of  diction 
as  he  uniformly  displayed  upon  every  subject 
to  which  he  bent  his  mind  with  all  its  power. 
Sometimes  when  a  narrow,  illiberal  senti- 
ment, calculated  to  check  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tian union  and  affection,  excites  his  indig- 
nation, he  rebukes  with  a  cutting  severity : 
and  I  feel  no  inclination  to  deny,  that,  in  a 
few  cases,  he  has  suffered  himself  to  indulge 
in  terms  of  sarcasm,  if  not  of  contempt,  that 
add  nothing  to  his  argument,  and  had  been 
better  spared.  Yet,  as  one  of  his  bitterest 
opponents  has  declared,  "it  was  seldom 
that  his  thunder  was  heard,  but  the  bolt  was 
felt ;  and  both  were  exercised  on  the  side  of 
truth  and  virtue." 

In  these,  as  in  others  of  his  controversal 
pieces,  the  reader  may  safely  reckon  upon 
much  that  is  eloquent  and  impressive,  apart 
from  what  immediately  relates  to  the  ques- 


tions under  debate.  Among  which  may  be 
specified  the  remarks  on  excommunication, 
the  beautiful  delineation  of  the  conduct  of 
our  Lord,  the  passages  distinguishing  be- 
tween conditions  of  salvation  and  meritori- 
ous conditions,  and  those  in  which  he  dis- 
criminates between  the  atonement  contem- 
plated as  a  fact  and  as  a  doctrine,  and 
thence  infers  the  •'  peculiar  glory  of  the  gos- 
pel in  contradistinction  from  the  law  of 
Moses." 

About  this  time*  Mr.  Hall  had  a  corres- 
pondence with,  a  friend  on  a  kindred  subject, 
that  of  occasional  communion.  That  indi- 
vidual, though  a  decided  Baptist,  and  long 
a  member  of  a  dissenting  church,  was  in  the 
habit  of  occasional  communion  with  an 
Episcopalian  chapel  in  his  neighborhood, 
the  minister  of"  which  held  evangelical  sen- 
timents. Mr.  Hall  expressed  a  desire  to  be 
acquainted  with  his  reasons  for  this  prac- 
tice. In  reply,  he  informed  Mr.  Hall  that 
he  thought  those  reasons  flowed  obviously 
from  the  principles  for  which  he  himself  was 
so  earnestly  and  successfully  contending : 
that  one  of  the  highest  enjoyments  of  a  man 
who  humbly  hoped  he  constituted  a  part  of 
the  church  universal  was  to  testify  his  feel- 
ing of  brotherhood  with  other  assemblies  of 
orthodox  Christians,  than  that  with  which 
he  was  immediately  connected,  by  holding 
communion  with  them  at  convenient  sea- 
sons ;  that  in  this  respect,  as  the  political 
grounds  of  dissent  were  of  very  little  value 
in  his  esteem,  he  made  no  mental  distino 
tion  between  established  and  separate 
churches  :  that,  having  no  conscientious  ob- 
jection to  kneeling  at  the  sacrament,  and 
having  resolved  never  to  communicate  even 
occasionally  but  where  he  had  reason  to  be- 
lieve the  bulk  of  those  who  partook  of  the 
sacrament  were  real  Christians,  he  felt  no 
hesitation  as  to  the  propriety,  while  he 
could  speak  decidedly  as  to  the  comfort,  of 
the  course  he  had  pursued.  He  stated, 
further,  that  with  Richard  Baxter  he  "  dis- 
owned the  principle  of  many  who  think  their 
presence  maketh  them  guilty  of  all  that  is 
faulty  in  the  public  worship  and  ministra- 
tion :  for  this  dissolveth  all  worshiping 
churches  on  earth,  without  exception  ;"  that 
he  considered  Baxter's  Refutation  of  Dr. 
Owen's  arguments  against  occasional  com- 
munion as  complete :  and  that  he  would 
rather  err  in  the  spirit  of  Baxter  and  Howe, 
on  such  a  question,  than  be  right  according 
to  the  narrow  measures  by  which  too  many 
would  enforce  a  contrary  practice.  Mr. 
Hall's  reply,  which  is  subjoined,  exempli- 

'  Nearly  at  lliis  tiiiio,  also,  viz.  in  .Sepleiiiber,  IS17,  lli« 
faculty  nf  Mariscli:il  Collei;f-,  Abentreii,  at  the  in.-Jtaiice 
oftlieii"  late  leanieil  principal,  Ur.  W.  I..  Brown,  confer- 
red upon  Mr.  Hall  the  deirrei^  of  D.  1).,  in  lesliinony  of 
their  liiiih  admiration  of  his  talents  and  character.  Ife 
felt  murli  gratified  by  this  mark  of  their  good  opinion  ; 
but,  having  a  conscientious  objection  to  the  title  of  doc- 
tor of  divinity,  lie  never  adopted  it. 


26B 


MEMOIR    OP    ROBERT    HALL, 


fies  his  usual  manner  of  guarding  against  a 
misapprehension  of  the  real  extent  of  his 
agreement  with  another  upon  any  disputed 
point. 

«  March,  6,  1818. 
"My  DfiAH  Frie]»d, 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  frank- 
ness with  which  you  have  answered  my 
inqitiries.  Perhaps  I  may  not  be  quite  | 
prepared  to  go  with  you  the  full  extent  of  | 
your  moderation;  though  on  this  I  have  by i 
no  means  made  up  my  niind.  I  admire  tliei 
spirit  with  which  you  are  actuated,  and  es- 
teem you  more  than  ever  for  the  part  you 
have  acted.  I  perfectly  agree  with  you 
that  the  old  grounds  of  dissent  are  the  true 
ones,  and  that  our  recent  apologists  have 
mixed  up  to  much  of  a  political  cast  in  their 
reasonings  upon  this  subject.  Though  I 
chould  depreciate  the  founding  of  ci/)uj  es- 
tablished church,  in  the  popular  sense  of 
that  term,  I  think  it  very  injudicious  to  la}' 
tliatas  the  corner-stone  of  dissent.  We  have 
much  stronger  ground  in  the  specijic  cor- 
ruptions of  the  Church  of  England,  ground 
which  our  pious  ancestors  occupied,  and 
which  may  safely  defy  every  attempt  of  the 
most  powerful  and  acute  minds  to  subvert. 
With  respect  to  occasional  conformity,  I  by 
no  means  think  it  involves  an  abandonment 
of  dissent;  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  that, 
were  I  in  a  private  station  (not  a  minister, 
I  mean,)  I  should,  under  certain  circuni- 
Btances,  and  in  certain  situations,  be  dispos- 
ed to  practise  it ;  though  nothing  would  in- 
duce me  to  acknowledge  myself  a  perma- 
nent member  of  tlie  Church  of  England. 

"  In  regard  to  episcopacy,  it  appears  to 
me  entirely  a  human,  though  certainly  a 
very  early  invention.  It  was  unknown,  I 
believe,  in  the  apostolical  times ;  with  the 
exception,  probably,  of  the  latter  part  of 
John's  time.  But,  as  it  was  practised  in  the 
second  and  third  centuries,  I  should  have  no 
conscientious  objection  to  it.  As  it  subsists 
at  present  among  us,  I  am  sorry  to  say  I 
can  scarcely  conceive  a  greater  [abuse.] 
It  subverts  equally  the  rights  of  pastors  and 
of  people,  and  is  nothing  less  than  one  of 
the  worst  relics  of  the  papal  hierarchy. 
Were  every  thing  else  what  it  ought  to  be 
in  the  established  church,  prelacy,  as  it  now 
subsists,  would  make  me  a  decided  dissent- 


•'  I  remain,  my  dear  sir,  with  great  esteem, 
"  Yours  most  aflectionately, 
"  R.  Hall."   . 

Mr.  Hall's  engagement  lor  the  press,  nu- 
merous and  heavy  as  they  were  to  one  who 
wrote  with  so  much  difficulty  and  pain,  did 
not  draw  him  aside  from  pastoral  watchtul- 
ness  over  his  church  and  congregation  ; 
nor  were  they  permitted  to  shorten  those 


hours  of  retirement  in  which  he  sought 
"converse  with  God."  Nothing,  on  the 
contrary,  was  more  evident  tlian  his  in- 
creased spirit  of  devotion  as  he  advanced 
in  Hfe.  About  the  year  1812,  he  commenc- 
ed the  practice  of  setting  apart  one  day  in 
a  month  for  especial  prayer  and  fasting. 
On  these  occasions  he  retired  into  his  study 
immediately  after  the  morning  domesti-c 
worship,  and  remained  there  until  the  eve- 
ning. Finding  this  eminently  conducive  to 
his  own  comfort,  at  the  end  of  about  two 
years  he  recommended  the  church  to  hold 
quarterly  fasts.  They  at  once  adopted  the 
recommendation ;  and  some  of  the  mem- 
bers often  speak  of  the  first  meeting  for  this 
purpose  as  a  most  extraordinary  season  of 
devout  and  solemn  feeling. 

About  the  same  time,  or  somewhat  earli- 
er, he  announced  his  opinion  of  the  disad- 
vantage arising  from  the  presence  of  others 
besides  the  communicants  on  sacramental 
occasions.  In  a  short  address  he  explain- 
ed the  customs  of  the  early  Christians  with 
regard  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  showed 
that  the  admission  of  spectators  who  were 
not  members  of  the  church  during  the  cele- 
bration was  comparatively  a  modern  inno- 
vation. He  pointed  out  the  inconclusive- 
ness  of  the  ordinary  arguments,  that  spec- 
tators often  receive  benefit  from  the  address- 
es of  the  ministers,  and  that  therefore  therr 
exclusion  was  cutting  them  offfrom  good,  and 
that  such  exclusion  was  an  infringement  of 
religious  liberty.  He  also  stated  that  the 
presence  of  such  spectators  deprived  him  of 
much  comfort  during  the  communion  service, 
and  that  he  should  regard  their  keeping  away 
as  a  personal  kindness  to  himself  His  ad- 
dress was  received  with  afi'ectionate  re- 
spect; and  from  that  time,  those  who  had 
previously  remained  to  witness  the  admin- 
istration discontinued  the  custom. 

Some  time  after  the  conclusion  of  his  part 
of  the  controversy  on  "  Terms  of  Commun- 
ion," he  made  an  effort  to  persuade  (he 
church  at  Harvey-lane  to  adopt  the  practice 
of  "  mixed  communion  ;"  but  finding  that  it 
would  disturb  the  peace  which  had  so  long 
subsisted  in  the  society,  he  relinquished  his 
intention,  and  recommended  the  formation 
of  a  distinct  church  on  the  mixed  commun- 
ion principle,  its  sacramental  service  being 
held  on  the  morning  of  the  same  Sabbath 
on  which  the  "strict  communion"  church 
held  its  corresponding  service  in  the  after- 
noon. This  plan  was  adopted  and  followed 
during  Mr.  Hall's  continuance  at  Leicester, 
without  causing  any  interruption  of  the 
harmony  which  prevailed  among  the  dif- 
ferent classes  of  worshipers. 

In  the  year  1823,  the  minister  of  a  Uni- 
tarian congregation  at  Leicester,  having 
delivered  a  series  of  what  are  usually  de- 
nominated "  challenge  lectures,"  in  delence 


MEMOIR  OP  ROBERT  HALL. 


269 


of  his  own  opinions,  to  hear  which  individ- 
uals of  other  persuasions  were  pubhcly  in- 
vited, Mr.  Hall  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  offer 
a  timely  antidote  to  the  evil.  He  therefore 
preached  twelve  lectures  on  the  points  at 
issue,  and  had  the  happiness  to  know  that 
they  were  serviceable  in  checking  the  dif- 
fusion of  Socinian  error.  He  was  strongly 
urged  by  several  members  of  his  congre- 
gation, and  by  various  neighboring  minis- 
ters, to  publish  the  whole  ;  but  uniformly 
replied,  that  though  he  believed  they  had 
been  beneficial,  he  was  conscious  they  con- 
tained nothing  that  could  be  regarded  as 
really  new  in  the  controversy  ;  and  that  Dr. 
Wardlaw  had  so  admirably  occupied  the 
ground  in  his  sermons,  already  before  the 
public,  that  any  thing  which  he  could  offer 
in  print  would  only  be  regarded  as  an  imper- 
tinent intrusion. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  Mr.  Hall's  res- 
idence at  Leicester,  he  suffered  much  from 
his  constitutional  complaint ;  and  neither 
his  habit  of  smoking,  nor  that  of  taking 
laudanum,*  seemed  effectually  to  elleviate 
his  sufferings.  It  was  truly  surprising  that 
this  constant  severe  pain,  and  the  means 
adopted  to  mitigate  it,  did  not  in  any  meas- 
ure diminish  his  mental  energy.  A  little 
difference  was,  perhaps,  discernible  in  the 
vivacity  of  his  conversation ;  but  his  preach- 
ing had,  as  yet.  lost  nothing  of  its  force. 
In  letters  to  his  friends  he  expressed  a  hope 
that  "  a  greater  savor  of  Jesus  Christ  ac- 
compianed  his  ministry ;"  and  remarked, 
that  "his  strain  of  preaching  was  much 
less  elegant,  but  more  intended  for  instruc- 
tion, for  awakening  conviction,  and  carry- 
ing home  truth  with  power  to  the  heart." 
And  thus  it  was  found,  that,  as  he  advanc- 
ed in  years,  though  there  might  be  a  little 
less  of  elaboration  and  polish,  there  was 
more  of  spiritual  feeling,  more  of  tender  and 
earnest  expostulation,  and  of  that  pungen- 
cy of  application  to  the  heart  and  con- 
science, which  resulted  from  an  enlarged 
acquaintance  with  human  character,  and  a 
deeper  knowledge  of  "  the  things  of  God." 
That  the  Divine  blessing  accompanied 
these  labors,  and  in  many  cases  rendered 
the  impression  permanent,  the  history  of  the 
church  and  congregation  abundantly  proves. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Ryland  in  1S25  led  to 
Mr.  Hall's  invitation  to  take  the  pastoral 
office  over  the  church  at  Broadmead,  Bris- 
tol, an  office  which  had  been  long  and  hon- 
orably sustained  by  that  excellent  individu- 
al. After  some  months  spent  in  anxious 
deliberation,  in  advising  with  his  friends, 
and  seeking  counsel  from  above,  fi-om  the 
dread  he  felt  lest  he  "  should  rush  into  a 
sphere  of  action  to  which  he  was  not  called, 

*  In  1812  he  took  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  drops  eve- 
ry night.  Before  1S26  the  quantity  had  increased  (oone 
thousand  drops. 


and  offend  God  by  deserting  his  proper 
post,"  he  at  length  decided  to  dissolve  hrs 
long  and  happy  connection  with  the  church 
at  Leicester.  The  day  of  separation,  the 
last  sacrainent  Sabbath,  March  26,  1826, 
was  a  day  of  anguish  to  him  and  them,  of 
which  I  shall  not  attempt  the  description. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  he  went  through  the 
ordinary  public  duties  of  the  day  with  toler- 
able composure  ;*  but  at  the  sacramental 
service  he  strove  in  vain  to  conceal  his 
emotion.  In  one  of  his  addresses  to  the 
members  of  the  church,  on  adverting  to  the; 
pain  of  separation,  he  was  so  much  affect- 
ed that  he  sat  down,  covered  his  face  with 
his  hands,  and  wept ;  they,  sharing  in  his 
distress,  gave  unequivocal  signs  of  the 
deepest  feeling.  Mr.  Eustace  Carey,  who 
was  present,  continued  the  devotional  part 
of  the  service,  until  Mr.  Hall  was  sufficient- 
ly recovered  to  proceed.  At  the  close  of 
the  solemnity  the  weeping  became  again 
universal,  and  they  parted  "  sorrowing  most 
of  all  that  they  should  see  his  face  no 
more." 

Very  shortly  afterward  the  church  receiv- 
ed from  Mr.  Hall  the  following  letter  of  re- 
signation. 

"to    the    church    op     CHRIST  MEETING    IN 
HARVEY-LANE,  LEICESTER. 

"  3d  April,  1826. 

"My  DEAR  Brethren  and  Sisters, 

"I  take  this  opportunity  of  solemnly  and 
affectionately  resigning  the  pastoral  charge 
which  I  have  long  sustained  among  you, 
and  of  expressing,  at  the  same  time,  the 
deep  sense  I  shall  ever  retain  of  the  marks 
of  affection  and  esteem  with  which,  both 
collectively  and  individually,  you  have  hon- 
ored me. 

"  Though  the  providence  of  God,  has  as  I 
conceive,  called  me  to  labor  in  another  part 
of  his  vineyard,  my  solicitude  for  your  spir- 
itual welfare  will  ever  remain  unimpaired, 
nor  will  any  thing  give  me  more  joy  than 
to  hear  of  your  growth  in  grace,  peace,  and 
prosperity.  My  prayer  will  never  cease  to 
ascend  to  the  God  of  all  comfort,  that  he 
will  establish  your  hearts  in  love,  unite  you 
more  and  more  in  the  fellowship  of  saints, 
and  make  you  fruitful  in  every  good  work. 

"  Let  me  earnestly  entreat  you  to  guard 
most  anxiously  against  whatever  may  tend 
to  weaken  your  union,  diminish  your  affec- 
tion, or  imbitter  your  spirits  against  each 
other.  '  Let  brotherly  love  continue :' 
'  seek  peace  and  pursue  it  5'  and  '  may  the 
God  of^  peace,  who  brought  again  from  the 


■  In  order  that  neither  his  feelings  nor  lliose  of  the 
congregation  might  be  too  severely  tried  during  the  pub- 
he  services,  he  preached  two  sermons  fortlie  Baptist 
Mission:  that  in  the  morning  from  Ephes.  iii.  8,  "Unto 
me,  who  am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  is  this 
grace  given,  that  I  should  preach  among  the  gentiles  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  ;"that  in  the  evening  from 
Matt,  vl.  10,  "Thy  kingdom  come." 


270 


MEMOIR    OF     ROBERT    HALL. 


dead  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  great 
Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  stublish,  strengthen, 
settle,  and  make  you  perfect.' 

"  I  hope  that,  in  the  choice  of  a  .succes- 
sor, you  will  earnestly  and  anxioufily  seek 
Divine  direction  ;  prefer  the  useful  to  the 
splendid;  the  solid  to  the  glittering  and 
showy  ;  and  be  supplied  with  a  pastor  who 
will,  in  doctrine,  exhibit  •  uncorruptness, 
gravity,  sincerity,  and  sound  speech  which 
cannot  be  condemned.'  and  be  in  manner 
and  behavior  a  pattern  to  believer.s. 

■'  Permit  me.  on  this  occasion,  to  return 
you  my  sincere  acknowledgments  for  the 
uniform    kindness   with    which   you   have 


he  had  suffered  so  much  and  so  long.  It 
had  become,  as  his  esteemed  friend  Mr. 
Addington  termed  it,  "an  internal  appara- 
tus of  torture;"  yet,  such  was  the  peculiar 
structure  of  his  mind,  doubtless  ibrfified 
and  prepared  lor  patient  endurance  by  an 
energy  imparted  from  al)ove,  that  though 
his  appointment  by  day  and  by  night  was 
incessant  pain,  yet  high  enjoyment  was,  not- 
withstanding, the  law  of  his  existence. 

Between  his  final  removal  to  Bristol  and 
his  death,  he  visited   his  friends  at  (Jam- 
bridge  twice,  namely,  in    1827  and   ]Si!9. 
These  visits  were  undertaken  with  the  sense 
of  responsibility  of  one  who  had  formerly 
treated  me,   the  respectful   attention   j'ou  [been  their  pastor:  and  he  made  it  a  rule  so 
have  paid  to  my  ministry,  and  the  candor  i  to  arrange  his  time  while  there  as  to  see, 
with  which  you  have  borne  my  infirmities,  converse  with,  and  exhort  every  member  of 


"  With  my  most  earnest  prayers  for  your 
spiritual  and  eternal  welfare,  I  remain, 
"  My  dear  brethren  and  sisters, 
"  Your  obliged   and   ati'ectionate  friend 
and  brother, 
"  Robert  Hall." 


the  church,  and  a  great  proportion  of  the 
congregation.  He  )iaid  also  one  visit  to 
his  recently-quitted  fiock  at  Leicester  ;  and 
I  two  to  his  friends  in  London.  On  these  oc- 
jcasions  the  anxiety  to  hear  him  preach  was 
las  great  as  it  had  ever  been  ;  while  his  ser- 
imons  were  characterized  in  a  high  degree 
Mr.  Hall  was  in  his  sixty-second  year  i  by  the  qualities  that  had  long  distinguished 
when  he  removed  to  Bristol,  the  scene  of  j  them,  with  the  addition  ol"  a  stronger  man- 
his  first  continuous  labors,  and  now  to  be-  ifestation  of  religious  and  benevolent  affec- 
come  the  scene  of  his  closing  ministry. 'tions,  a  still  more  touciiing  persuasiveness 
Someof  the  friends  of  his  early  life  still  sur- 1  of  manner,  continued  with  an  increasing 
vived  to  welcome  hie  return  among  them  ;  intensity  of  feeling,  with  deeper  and  deep- 
and  many  others,  who  had  profited  by  his  er  solemnity  of  appeal :  the  entire  effect 
pulpit  exertions  on  his  periodical  visits  to !  being  greatly  augmented  by  the  sudden  in- 
Bristolj  congratulated  themselves  that  he  to  troduction,  just  as  the  last  sentence  seemed 
whom,  under  God,  they  owed  so  much  had  I  dropping  from  his  lips,  of  some  new  topic 
become  their  pastor.  All  thing.s,  indeed 'of  application  or  of  caution,  most  urgently 
except  his  infirm  state  of  health,  seemed  loi  pressed;  as  though  he  could  not  cease  to 
conspire  in  promoting  his  own  happiness  as  I  invite,  to  warn,  to  expostulate,  until  the 
well  as  the  prosperity  of  the  church  with /"Great  Master  of  assemblies"  vouchsafed 
which  he  had  again  connected  himself.  to  him  the  assurance  that  he  had  not  been 

The  church  and  congregation  soon  re-  pleading  his  cause  in  vain, 
ceived  numerous  accessions.     In  writing  to       Mr.  Hall's  increasing  infirmities  did  not 
a  friend,  early  in  1829,  he  says,  "I  continue  | extinguish  his  literarj'-  ardor,  or  abate  his 
to   be   very  happy  with  my  people,  from  love  of  reading.     Except  during  the  first 


whom  I  daily  receive  every  demonstration 
of  affection  and  respect.  Our  attendance 
is  as  good  as  I  could  wish ;  and  we  have 
added  to  the  Baptist  church,  during  the 
last  year,  twenty-seven,  and  six  are  stand- 
ing candidates  ibr  baptism.  For  these  to- 
kens of  the  Divine  presence  I  desire  to  be 
thankful." 

His  heavenly  Father,  during  the  conclud- 
ing years  of  his  life,  made  a  rich  provision 
for  his  social  enjoyments,  both  in  his  family 
and  among  his  friends.  Besides  the  com- 
fort of  frequent  associations  with  many  of 
his  own  flock,  his  pleasures  were  greatly 
heightened  by  intercour.se  with  Mr.  Foster, 
and  the  tutors  of  the  Baptist  Academy,  as 
well  as  with  several  clergymen  and  other 
ministers  and  laymen,  residing  in  Bristol 
and  its  vicinity.  It  is  true,  that  wherev- 
er he  went,  or  in  whatever  he  engaged,  he 
carried  with  him  the  complaint  from  which 


years  of  his  residence  at  Cambridge,  read- 
ing, and  the  thinking  it  called  forth,  were 
his  incessant  occupation  to  the  very  close 
of  life;  and  both  the  pursuit  and  its  appli- 
cation to  the  benefit  of  others  yielded  him 
the  highest  dehght.  In  his  early  life,  as  I 
have  already  mentioned,  it  was  common 
with  him  to  carry  on  five  or  six  different 
courses  of  study  simultaneously.  But  for 
the  last  ten  or  twelve  years,  he  mostly  con- 
fined himself  to  one  book  at  a  time,  and 
read  it  to  the  end.  His  reading  continued 
to  be  very  extensive  and  varied  (tor  it  was 
his  decided  opinion  that  every  species  of 
knowledge  might  be  rendered  subservient 
to  religion,)  but  his  predilection,  next  to  the 
scriptures,  was  tor  works  of  clear,  strong, 
and  conclusive  reasoning,  though  convey- 
ed in  language  far  from  elevated,  and 
sometimes  perhaps  obscure.  Thus  he,  for 
full  sixty  years,  read  Jonathan  Edward's 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


271 


writings  with  undiminished  pleasure.  And 
of  Chillingworth's  "Religion  of  Protes- 
tants" he  has  often  been  known  to  say,  "  It 
is  just  like  reading  a  novel :"  which,  indeed, 
was  his  usual  expression  of  commendation 
with  regard  to  such  works  of  a  dry  or  ab- 
stract nature  as  discovered  subtilty,  depth, 
or  vigor  of  thought.  In  this  class  he  plac- 
ed the  works  of  Jeremy  Bentham,  for  whom 
he  entertained  the  highest  estimation,  as  an 
original,  profound,  and  accurate  thinker ; 
observing  often,  that  in  the  particular  prov- 
ince of  his  speculations,  the  science  of  leg- 
islation, he  had  advanced  to  the  limits  of 
reason ;  and  that  if  he  were  compelled  to 
legislate  for  the  world  upon  uninspired  prin- 
ciples, "he  should  take  Bentham,  and  go 
from  state  to  state  with  as  firm  a  step  as 
though  he  walked  upon  a  pavement  of  ad- 
amant."* 

If,  at  any  time,  he  could  not  settle  a  point 
of  interest  without  studying  a  language  of 
which  he  was  ignorant,  that  constituted  no 
impediment.  Shortly  before  he  quitted 
Leicester,  a  friend  found  him  one  morning, 
very  early,  lying  on  the  carpet,  with  an 
Italian  dictionary  and  a  volume  of  Dante 
before  him.  Being  about  to  quit  the  room, 
he  said,  "  No,  sir,  don't  go.  1  will  tell  you 
what  I  have  been  about  for  some  weeks. 
A  short  time  since  I  was  greatly  delighted 
with  a  parallel  between  the  Paradise  Lost 
and  the  Divine  Comedy  of  Dante  which  I 
read  in  the  Edinburgh  Review.  But  in 
matters  of  taste,  as  well  as  others,  I  always 
like  to  judge  for  myself;  and  so  I  have  been 
studying  Italian.  I  have  caught  the  idiom, 
and  am  reading  Dante  with  great  relish ; 
though  I  cannot  yet  say,  with  Milton, 

"  '  Now  my  (ask  is  smoollily  done, 
I  can  fly  nr  I  can  nin.'  " 

It  may  seem  somewhat  out  of  place,  yet  I 
shall  be  forgiven  if  I  here  insert  an  extract 
of  a  letter  just  received  from  Mr.  Ryley 
one  of  Mr.  Hall's  most  intelligent  Leices- 
ter friends,  in  reference  to  his  course  of 
reading  there. 

"  It  was  what  some  men  might  think  de- 
sultory ;  but  it  was  essentially  a  constant 
habit  of  grappling  with  the  strong.  Belles 
Lettreshe  did  not  altogether  neglect,  though 
he  iield  the  average  of  such  literature  in 
small  estimation.  Poetry  he  seldom  read, 
nor  did  he  seem  to  me  to  have  even  studied 
it  con  amore.  He  thought  Gray's  Elegy 
the  finest  thine  ever  written.  Milton  was 
his  favorite.  There  was  something  pecu 
liar  in  his  habits  respecting  poetry.  He 
spoke  slightly  of  poets,  with  few  exceptions, 
and  those  few  by  no  means  what  might 
have  been  expected  irom  his  own  highly 


lie  always  rproiiinieniU'd  tliosn  who  were  likely  to 
bo  oflTendeil  willi  tljo  slranu'enoss  of  liiTilliam'.-:  sivlc  to 
stii.ly  his  prluciplrs  lliroimh  lh(?  mc-diuin  <il'  liis  clciianl 
French  coniiiniit.ilor  M.  Dmnonl. 


imaginative  cast  of  mind.  Yet,  when  he 
did  get  hold  of  an  exquisite  poem,  he  would 
read  it  with  intense  attention,  apparently 
with  the  deepest  interest,  and  then  abuse 
it.  With  the  exception  of  Milton,  who  is, 
in  fact,  an  antique,  he  preferred  the  ancient 
to  the  modern  poets.  Of  the  poetry  of  our 
own  day,  he  spoke  with  a  contempt  which 
an  accurate  or  extensive  acquaintance  with 
it  would  have  compelled  him  to  relinquish. 
He  had  not,  I  think,  made  history  a  distinct 
and  consecutive  study,  though  he  had  read 
many  of  the  original  historians.  He  seem- 
ed to  feel  this  of  late  years,  and  gave  much 
of  his  time  to  the  subject." 

His  enjoyment  of  the  writings  of  the  il- 
lustrious men  of  Greece  and  Rome  remain- 
ed unimpaired  to  the  last.  Plato,  Aristotle, 
and  Cicero  suggested  to  him  many  noble 
arguments  in  favor  of  an  internal  spring  of 
morality,  which  he  employed  with  his  wont- 
ed skill  in  support  of  the  rehgion  of  pure 
motive  and  devotedness  of  spirit.  Virgil's 
Georgics  he  characterized  as  the  most  fin- 
ished of  human  compositions  ;  and  he  con- 
tinued to  prefer  Virgil  to  Homer.  He 
greatly  admired  the  copiousness,  grace,  and 
harmony  of  Cicero's  diction  ;  but  consider- 
ed Demosthenes  by  far  the  most  powerful 
orator  the  world  had  known;  and  after 
speaking  with  fervid  applause  of  the  ora- 
tion Tc/Jt  ^TCipavoVj  added,  that  he  thought  it 
impossible  for  a  man  of  soul  and  feeling  to 
read  a  single  page  without  catching  fire. 
Only  a  few  months  before  his  last  illness,  in 
classifying  the  difll'erent  natures  and  respec- 
tive effects  of  the  eloquence  of  reason,  of 
passion,  and  of  imagination,  he  selected  hi.s 
principal  illustrations  from  Demosthenes, 
and  endeavored  to  show  that  Avhere  the 
two  former  kinds  of  eloquence  existed  in 
due  proportion,  the  third  was  of  very  mi- 
nor consequence.  Tiie  individual  to  whom 
he  made  these  remarks  was  struck,  as  he 
proceeded,  with  the  development  whicii 
they  supplied  of  the  causes  of  the  deep  im- 
pression made  by  his  own  pulpit  addresses ; 
and  imputed  his  more  sparing  use  of  image- 
ry in  later  years,  rather  to  the  deliberate 
conviction  of  his  mind,  than  to  any  diminu- 
tion of  the  imaginative  faculty. 

But  I  nuist  restrain  myself,  and  pass  to 
Mr.  Hall's  every-day  habits  after  his  return 
to  Bristol.  The  course  of  his  life  at  home, 
when  not  interrupted  by  visitors,  was  very 
uniform.  He  generally  rose  and  took  his 
breakfast  about  nine  o'clock.  Breakfast 
was  immediately  succeeded  by  family  wor- 
ship. At  this  exercise  he  went  regularly 
through  the  scriptures,  reading  a  portion 
of  the  Old  Testament  in  the  morm'ng,  and 
of  the  New  Testament  in  the  evening.  On 
Sunday  morning  he  almost  invariably 
read  the  ninety-second  Psalm,  beitiir  ^hort. 
and  appropriate  to  the  day.     lie  al  o  read 


272 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


in  his  family  the  translation  of  the  four  Gos- 
pels by  Campbell,  whom  he  particularly  ad- 
mired, and  often  recommended,  as  an  ac- 
curate translator,  and  a  critic  of  great 
acutenesa,  taste,  and  judgment.  He  sel- 
dom made  any  remarks  on  the  portion  of 
scripture,  except  when  strangers  were 
present,  who,  he  knew,  would  be  disap- 
pointed at  their  entire  omission.  He  re- 
garded himself  as  very  incompetent  to  ren- 
der this  brief  kind  of  exposition  instructive. 
In  the  prayer  tiiat  succeeded,  he  was  not  in 
the  babit  of  forming  his  petitions  on  the 
passage  of  scripture  just  read,  though  the 
prayer  was  usually  of  considerable  length, 
and  very  minute  in  its  appropriation.  He 
adverted  specifically  to  all  the  persons  be- 
longing to  his  family  present  and  absent : 
never  forgot  the  people  of  his  care ;  and 
dwelt  on  the  distinct  cases  of  members  of 
the  church  that  were  under  any  kind  of  tri- 
al or  affliction. 

After  breakfast  and  worship,  he  retired 
into  hie  study,  and  uniformly  spent  some 
time  in  devotion,  afterward  generally  read- 
ing a  portion  of  the  Hebrew  Bible.  For 
the  last  two  years,  he  read  daily  two  chap 
ters  of  Matthew  Henry's  Commentary.  As 
he  proceeded  he  felt  increasing  interest 
and  pleasure ;  admiring  the  copiousness, 
variety,  and  pious  ingenuity  of  the  thoughts, 
the  simplicity,  strength,  and  pregnancy  of 
the  expressions.  He  earnestly  recommend- 
ed this  commentary  to  his  daughters  ;  and 
on  hearing  the  eldest  reading,  tor  success- 
ive mornings,  to  the  second,  he  expressed 
the  highest  delight.  The  remainder  of  the 
morning  until  dinner,  about  three  o'clock, 
was  spent  in  reading  some  work  of  learn- 
ing or  of  severe  thought.  After  dinner  he 
generally  retired  to  his  study,  and,  if  not  in 
60  much  pain  as  to  prevent  it,  slept  for 
eome  time. 

On  Tuesday  evenings  were  held  what 
are  termed  "  the  conferences,"  in  the  vestry 
of  the  Broadmead  chapel :  they  are  meet- 
ings ordinarily  attended  by  about  two  hun- 
dred persons,  at  which  two  of  the  students 
belonging  to  ihe  Bristol  Education  Socie- 
ty, or  one  of  the  students  and  the  president, 
speak  on  a  passage  of  scripture  previously 
Helected  for  the  purpose.  Mr.  Hall  always 
attended  on  these  occasions,  and  conclud- 
ed by  speaking  for  about  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  on  the  subject  of  the  preceding  ad- 
dresses. He  also  attended  the  prayer- 
meetings,  in  the  same  place,  on  Thursday 
evenings  ;  except  once  a  montii,  namely,  on 
the  Thursday  previous  to  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper,  when  he  preach- 
ed. 

The  other  evenings  in  the  week,  except 
Saturday  (and  that,  indeed,  not  always  ex- 
cepted,) he  usually  ppent  at  the  house  of 
oxu)  or  otlier  of  his  congregation,  with  a 


very  few  friends,  who  were  invited  to  meet 
him.  His  inability  to  walk  having  greatly 
increased,  his  friends  generally  sent  a  car- 
riage for  him  about  six  o'clock,  and  convey- 
ed him  back  about  ten. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  he  had  great- 
er fondness  for  retirement  or  for  company. 
It  displeased  him  if,  especially  by  sudden 
interruptions,  he  was  obliged  to  give  up 
his  morning  hours  of  study  to  visitors  ;  and 
it  would  commonly  have  been  a  disappoint- 
ment, if  he  had  not  the  opportunity  of  spend- 
ing hie  evenings  in  society.  If  he  were,  at 
any  time,  thrown  among  persons  of  distin- 
guished talents  and  attainments,  and  their 
general  character  pleased  him,  it  was  soon 
shown  how  truth  and  knowledge  might  be 
educed  by  the  operation  of  intellect  upon 
intellect,  and  how  rich  a  field  of  instruction 
and  delight  would  thus  be  open  for  the  gen- 
eral enjoyment  of  the  party.  Usually, 
however,  his  choice  turned  simply  upon  the 
prerequisite  of  piety;  he  sought  for  no 
other  acquisitions  in  his  associates  from  the 
graces  of  the  Spirit ;  intelligence  added  to 
the  enjoyment,  but  was  not  essential  to  it. 
The  society  of  old  friends  had  with  him  an 
exquisite  charm,  which  was  greatly  height- 
ened if  their  fathers  had  been  known  and 
esteemed  by  him  or  his  father,  such  inter- 
course, requiring  no  eli'ort,  gave  full  scope 
to  his  affections,  without  disturbing  his  men- 
tal repose.  He  uniformly  retired  from 
these  evening  parties  full  of  grateful  refer- 
ences to  the  pleasure  which  he  had  felt.  If 
any  of  his  family  who  accompanied  him 
happened  to  say  that  the  evening  had  been 
dull,  he  would  reply,  "  I  don't  think  so.  It 
was  very  pleasant.  I  enjoyed  it.  I  enjoy 
every  thing."  Considering  the  continuity 
of  his  Eutferings,  how  touching  a  commen- 
tary is  this  upon  the  inspired  aphorism, 
"  the  good  man  shall  be  satisfied  from  him- 
self!" 

Mr.  Hall  commonly  retired  to  rest  a  little 
before  eleven  o'cIock  ;  but  after  his  first 
sleep,  which  lasted  about  two  hours,  he 
quitted  his  bed  to  obtain  an  easier  position 
on  the  floor,  or  upon  three  chairs ;  and 
would  then  employ  himself  in  reading  the 
book  on  which  he  had  been  engaged  dur- 
ing the  day.  Sometimes,  indeed  often,  the 
laudanum,  large  as  the  doses  had  become, 
did  not  sufficiently  neutrahze  his  pain  to 
remove  the  necessity  for  again  quitting  hia 
bed.*  In  these  cases  he  would  again  put 
on  the  dress  prepared  to  keep  him  ade- 
quately warm,  and  resume  his  reading. 
On  Sunday  mornings,  as  soon  as  he  awoke 
it  was  usual  with  him  to  say.  "  This  is  the 
Lord's  day.     This  is  the  day  the  Lord  hath 


■  For  iiiorf  Iti;iri  Ivvt-iity  yp.irs  lie  had  nol  been  alile  10 
passa  wliole  nielli  in  be<).  Whpn  lliis  is  borne  in  mind, 
it  is  truly  snrprisin;;  that  lie  wroto  and  published  so 
imich ;  nay,  tJiat  he  did  not  sink  into  dotage  before  he 
was  fitly  years  of  age. 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


273 


made;  let  us  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  it." 
And  he  often  impressed  it  on  his  family  that 
they  ought  "not  to  think  their  own  thoughts," 
or  "  to  find  their  own  pleasure,"  on  that  day. 

He  did  not  pursue  any  plan  of  training  or 
of  discipline  with  his  children.  He  was  re- 
remarkably  affectionate  and  indulgent ;  but 
he  did  nothing  systematically  to  correct  de- 
fects, to  guide  or  excite  their  minds.  Now 
and  then  he  recommended  his  daughters  to 
read  some  particular  book ;  one,  perhaps, 
that  he  had  himself  read  with  peculiar  sat- 
isfaction :  but  beyond  this  there  do  not  ap- 
pear to  have  been  any  direct,  specific  en- 
deavors to  impart  knowledge,  or  in  any 
uniform  manner  to  inculcate  religious  prin- 
ciples. 

When,  however,  any  of  his  children  were 
about  to  quit  home  for  a  short  time,  it  was 
his  practice  to  summon  them  to  his  study, 
exhort  them,  and  pray  with  them.  One  of 
his  daughters,  on  writing  to  a  friend  after 
his  death,  says,  "Well  I  remember  that 
when  I  was  a  child,  on  leaving  home  for  a 
few  days,  or  on  going  te  school,  he  would 
call  me  into  the  study,  give  me  the  tender- 
est  advice,  make  me  to  kneel  down  by  him 
at  the  same  chair,  and  then,  both  bathed  in 
tears,  would  he  fervently  supplicate  the  Di- 
vine protection  for  me.  This,  I  believe,  he 
did  with  regard  to  all  of  us  on  leaving 
home,  while  young."  Their  minds  were 
also  often  deeply  impressed  by  hearing  him, 
as  they  passed  his  study  door,  commending 
them,  by  name,  with  the  utmost  fervency, 
to  God,  and  entreating  those  blessings  for 
each  which,  in  his  judgment,  each  most 
needed.* 

Periodical  private  fasts,  such  as  those 
■which  be  observed  at  Leicester,  he  contin- 
ued to  observe  at  Bristol,  making  them 
seasons  of  extraordinary  self-examination, 
prayer,  and  renewed  dedication  to  God. 
He  was  not  in  the  habit  of  keeping  a  reg- 
ular journal,  nor,  generally  speaking,  did  he 
approve  of  it,  from  a  persuasion  that  it 
tempted  to  an  artificial  tone  of  expression 
which  did  not  accord  with  the  actual  state 
of  the  heart.  But  on  some  solemn  occa- 
sions he  made  a  short  note  in  one  of  his 
memorandum  books,  containing  hints  of 
texts,  &.C. 

Thus:  "New-year's  day,  January  1st, 
1826.  I  have  begun  the  year  with  a  sin- 
cere resolution,  in  the  strength  of  Divine 
grace,  to  devote  myself  wholly  and  entirely 
to  God :  but,  knowing  my  extreme  weak- 
ness and  corruption,  I  dare  place  no  de- 
pendence whatever  on  my  own  resolutions. 
I  have,  on  many  occasions,  found  them  un- 
^table  as  water.     I  can  only  cast  myself  on 

■  Hislidbit  or  (iiMl,  audible,  |)i-ivale  prayer  rested  upon 
the  conyiclion  that  silent  prayer  was  apt  to  degenerate 
into  ineililation,  while,  from  our  compound  nature,  a  man 
cannot  but  be  affected  by  the  sound  of  his  own  voice, 
when  adequately  exprcesiog  what  is  reall?  felt. 

Vol.  3.— Ii. 


the  mercy  of  my  God,  and  cry  with  the 
Psalmist,  '  Hold  thou  nie  up,  and  I  shall  be 
safe.'  O  Thou  most  holy  and  merciful 
Lord  God,  I  beseech  Thee  to  take  up  thine 
abode  in  my  heart,  and  shape  me  entirely 
anew.     Amen.     Amen," 

Again,  on  his  birth-day,  1828.  "  This 
day  I  commence  my  64th  [65th]  year. 
What  reason  have  I  to  look  with  shame 
and  humiliation  on  so  long  a  tract  of  years 
spent  to  so  little  purpose!  Alas!  I  am 
ashamed  of  my  barrenness  and  unprofita- 
bleness. Assist  me,  O  Lord,  by  Thy  grace, 
that  I  may  spend  the  short  residue  of  my 
days  in  a  more  entire  devotion  to  Thy  ser- 
vice. It  is  my  purpose,  in  the  strength  of 
Divine  grace,  to  take  a  more  minute  inspec- 
tion into  the  state  of  my  heart,  and  the  ten- 
or of  my  actions,  and  to  make  such  obser- 
vations and  memorandums  as  circumstan- 
ces may  suggest.  But  to  Thee,  O  Lord, 
do  I  look  for  all  spiritual  strength,  to  keep 
Thy  way,  and  do  Thy  will." 

JVlr.  Hall  still  evinced  a  peculiar  solici- 
tude for  the  welfare  of  the  poorer  members 
of  his  flock,  and  greatly  lamented  his  inca- 
pacity, from  the  loss  of  locomotive  energy 
to  seek  them  out  in  their  own  habitations, 
and  associate  with  them  frequently,  as  he 
had  done  with  the  poor  at  Cambrige  and 
Leicester.  He  publicly  expressed  his  con- 
cern that  some  plan  was  not  arranged  for 
his  meeting  them  in  small  parties  at  specifi- 
ed times,  and  assured  them  of  the  cordial 
readiness  with  which  his  part  of  such  a  plan 
should  be  executed.  This,  I  believe,  was 
not  accomplished. 

The  indications  of  infirm  age  now  rapid- 
ly exhibited  themselves,  but  happily,  were 
unaccompanied  by  a  decaying  mind  or  a 
querulous  spirit.  The  language  of  his  con- 
duct and  of  his  heart  corresponded  with  that 
of  the  pious  ancient,  "  Lord,  give  me  pa- 
tience now,  and  ease  hereafter!"  If  tem- 
pests come  they  will  not  last  long,  but  soon 
will  be  hushed  into  an  eternal  calm. 

His  inability  to  take  exercise,  on  account 
of  the  gradual  increase  of  his  complaint, 
gave  rise,  about  six  years  before  his  death, 
to  another  disorder,  formidable  in  its  nature 
and  fatal  in  its  issue.  The  indications  of  a 
plethoric  habit  became  more  and  more  ap- 
parent. "  Tiius,"  adopting  the  language 
of  Mr.  Addington,  "  the  system  of  the  blood- 
vessels had  a  laborious  duty  to  perform  in 
circulating  their  fluid,  which,  for  want  of 
the  full  aid  of  muscular  exertion,  could  not 
be  equally  distributed.  The  smaller  ones 
on  the  surface  of  the  body,  and  in  the  ex- 
tremities, never  appeared  to  derive  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  blood  to  furnish  the  usual 
proportion  of  animal  heat,  while  the  large 
trunks  in  the  interior  became  overloaded. 
The  natural  consequence  was,  that  the 
heart,  on  whose  power  the  propulsion  of 


274 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


the  blood  to  the  extremities  depends,  being 
over  stimulated  and  oppressed  by  the  con- 
dition of  the  large  vessels,  bacame  weak- 
ened ;  and,  occasionally  failing  in  the  reg- 
ular and  equable  transmission  of  the  blood, 
would  produce  a  sensation  of  distress  in  the 
region  of  the  chest."  The  malady,  thus 
produced,  becoming  more  and  more  severe. 
Mr.  Hall,  when  in  London  in  1828.  was 
persuaded  by  his  friends  to  take  the  advice 
of  an  eminent  physician :  from  which  how- 
ever, no  permanent  good  resulted.  By  the 
summer  of  1830,  the  disorder  had  increased 
so  seriously  that  his  medical  friends  at  Bris- 
tol recommended  a  suspension  of  his  pasto- 
ral duties  for  a  few  weeks,  that  he  might 
try  the  effect  of  a  total  change  of  air  and 
scene. 

He  therefore  spent  some  time  at  Cole- 
ford,  in  the  forest  of  Dean,  in  the  society  of 
his  old  and  valued  friend  the  Rev.  Isaiah 
Birt.  He  also  spent  a  few  weeks  at  Chel- 
tenham. At  both  these  places  he  preached 
with  his  accustomed  talent;  and  his  gener- 
al appearance,  too  clearly  indicating  that 
the  close  of  his  ministerial  labors  was  at 
hand,  gave  a  deeper  impression  to  his  in- 
structions and  exhortations.  When  absent 
from  home  he  was  in  the  habit  of  writing 
to  his  children.  My  narrow  limits  have 
prevented  my  giving  extracts  from  any  of 
those  letters ;  but  I  am  induced  to  insert 
part  of  one,  written  at  this  time  to  his  son, 
who  had  been  placed  with  a  respectable 
chymist  and  druggist  at  Bristol,  in  the  hope 
that  it  may  be  useful  to  other  youths  in 
similar  circumstances. 

«  mh  October,  1830. 

"My  dear  Robert, 

"  I  have  long  designed  to  write  to  you, 
that  I  might  communicate  to  you  some 
hints  of  advice,  which  I  could  convey  more 
easily,  and,  perhaps,  more  affectually,  than 
by  speaking. 

"  I  need  not  lell  yotr,  my  dear  boy,  how 
solicitous  I  am  for  your  welfare  in  both 
worlds,  and  how  often  I  have  borne  you  on 
my  heart  in  my  secret  addresses  to  that 
Father  which  is  in  heaven.  But,  alas  !  the 
prayers  of  parents  for  their  children  will 
avail  nothing,  if  they  are  not  induced  to 
pray  for  themselves,  'for  every  one  must 
give  an  account  oi"  him  self  to  God.'  I  hope 
my  dear  child,  you  do  not  live  in  the  entire 
neglect  of  this  most  important  duty :  let  me 
entreat  yon  to  attend  to  ii  constantly,  and 
never  to  begin  or  end  a  day  without  it. 
Daily  entreat  the  pardon  of  your  sins,  for 
the  sake  of  the  Redeemer,  and  earnestly 
implore  the  assistance  of  his  grace,  to  en- 
able you  to  resist  temptation,  and  to  live  in 
such  a  manner  as  shall  prepare  you  for  a 
blessed  immortality.  Pray  do  not  neglect, 
at  the  same  time  to  read  a  portion,  longer 


or  shorter,  of  the  Word  of  God.  '  Where- 
with shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  ways, 
but  by  taking  heed  thereto  according  to  thy 
Word?' 

"  I  hope,  my  dear  Robert,  you  will  con- 
tinue in  your  present  situation.  On  the 
supposition  of  your  doing  so  (and  I  can  do 
nothing  better  for  you,)  let  me  entreat  you 
to  make  it  your  constant  care  to  conciliate 

the  esteem  of  Mr.  C ,  which  you  will 

certainly  do,  if  you  cheerfully  comply  with 
his  orders,  and  make  his  interest  your  own. 
Nothing  injures  the  character  of  a  young 
man  more  than  restlessness  and  fickleness ; 
nothing,  on  the  contrary,  secures  his  credit 
and  comfort  like  a  steady  and  persevering 
attention  to  the  duties  of  his  station.  Eve- 
ry situation  has  its  inconveniences  and  its 
difficulties ;  but  time  and  perseverance  will 
surmount  the  one,  and  make  you  almost 
insensible  of  the  other.  The  consciousness 
of  having  overcome  difficulties,  and  combat- 
ed trials  successfully,  will  afford  you,  in  the 
issue,  a  far  higher  satisfaction  than  you  can 
ever  hope  to  obtain  by  recoiling  from  them. 

"  Combat  idleness  in  all  its  forms ;  noth- 
ing is  so  destructive  as  idle  habits,  nothing 

so  useful  as  habits  of  industry. 

******* 

"Never  demean  yourself  by  contending 
about  trifles  ;  yield  in  things  of  small  mo- 
ment to  the  inclinations  and  humors  of  your 
companions.  In  a  word,  my  dear  boy, 
make  yourself  amiable. 

"  Fear  God  and  love  your  fellow-crea- 
tures, and  be  assured  you  will  find  '  Wis- 
dom's ways,  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  her 
paths,  paths  of  peace.' 

"  To  say  all  in  one  word,   '  If  you  are 
wise,  my  heart  shall  rejoice,  even  mine.' 
"I  am 
"  Your  affectionate  father, 

"Robert  Hall." 

On  Mr.  Hall's  return  to  Bristol  towards 
the  end  of  October,  hopes  were  entertained 
that  his  health  was  improved,  and  his 
strength  recruited  ;  but  they  were  only  of 
short  duration.  The  spasmodic  affection 
of  the  chest  occurred  with  increasing  fre- 
quency, and  in  a  more  alarming  character. 
In  one  instance,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1831, 
the  attack  was  so  severe  as  to  threaten  im.- 
mediate  dissolution.  It  passed  off.  howev- 
er, as  former  attacks  had  done,  on  taking 
blood  from  the  arm  ;  and  soon  afterward  he 
returned  tospendtheremainder  of  the  even- 
ing with  the  friends  whom  he  had  left  when 
the  paroxysm  came  on  ;  and  in  his  usual 
cheerful  and  happy  spirit,  took  his  ordinary 
share,  and  evinced  an  undiminished  inter- 
est, in  the  conversation. 

The  morning  of  that  day  had  been  sig- 
nalized by  the  extraordinary  pathos  which 
he  imparted  to  the  religious  services,  at  a 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL, 


275 


prayer-meeting,  held,  according  to  annual 
custom,  in  the  vestry  at  Broadmead.  The 
intensity  of  his  devotional  feelings,  and  the 
fervor  of  his  supplications  in  behalf  of  the 
assembled  congregation,  as  well  as  the 
glowing  affection  and  deep  solemnity  with 
which  he  addressed  them,  as  he  reviewed 
the  past  dispensations  of  Providence,  and 
anticipated  some  of  the  probable  events  of 
the  year  now  opening  upon  them,  both  in 
relation  to  them  and  himself,  excited  the 
strongest  emotion,  and,  in  connection  with 
the  events  that  immediately  followed,  made 
an  indellible  impression  upon  their  minds : 
nearly  all  his  subsequent  addresses,  wheth- 
er on  the  Sunday  or  the  week-day  evening 
services,  partook,  more  or  less,  of  the  same 
pathetfc  and  solemnly  anticipatory  charac- 
ter. One  of  the  most  impressive  of  these, 
of  which  many  of  the  congregation  retain  a 
vivid  recollection,  was  delivered  on  the 
morning  of  Sunday,  January,  16th.  The 
text  from  which  he  preached  was,  Deuter- 
onomy xxxiii.  25  :  "  Thy  shoes  shall  be  iron 
and  brass  ;  and  as  thy  days,  so  shall  thy 
strength  be." 

In  this  discourse  he  seemed  to  be  prepar- 
ing his  people  and  himself  for  that  event  by 
which  they  were  to  be  deprived  of  their  in- 
valuable pastor,  and  he  to  be  freed  from  an- 
guish and  sorrow  :  when  his  soul,  liberated 
from  its  chain,  and  clothed  in  the  Redeem- 
er's righteousness,  was  to  go  forth,  "first 
into  liberty,  then  into  glory." 

A  highly  valued  correspondent,*  enables 
me  to  present  the  following  summary  of 
Mr.  Hall's  application  or  improvement; 
which,  from  its  occasion,  as  well  as  its  ex- 
cellence, cannot  but  be  read  with  lively  in- 
terest. 

"  Improvement.  1.  Take  no  thought,  no 
anxious,  distressing,  harrassing  thought  for 
the  morrow;  suffer  not  your  minds  to  be 
torn  asunder  by  doubt  or  apprehension. 
Consider,  rather,  what  is  the  present  will  of 
God,  and  rest  satisfied  and  content ;  with- 
out anticipating  evils  which  may  never  ar- 
rive. 

"  Do  not  heighten  your  present  sorrows 
by  a  morbid  imagination.  You  know  not 
what  a  day  may  bring  foith.  The  future 
ia  likely  to  be  better  than  you  expect,  as 
well  as  worse.  The  real  victory  of  Chris- 
tians arises  from  attention  to  present  duty. 
This  carries  them  from  strength  to  strength. 

"  Some  are  alarmed  at  the  thought  of 
death  ;  they  say.  How  shall  I  meet  the  ag- 
onies of  dissolution !  But  when  you  are 
called  to  die,  you  will,  if  among  God's  chil- 
dren, recieve  dying  consolation,  Be  satis- 
fied if  you  have  the  strength  to  live  to  God, 
that  God  will  support  you  when  you  come 


•  The  R«v.  Thomas  Grinfield,  A.  M.,  of  Clifton,  near 
Bneto!.  ' 


to  die.  Some  fear  persecution,  lest,  at  such 
a  season,  they  should  '  make  shipwreck  of 
faith  and  of  a  good  conscience :'  '  As  thy 
day  is,  such  shall  thy  strength  be.' 

"  2.  Consider  to  what  it  is  we  owe  our 
success.  If  we  are  nearer  our  salvation 
than  -when  we  believed,  let  us  not  ascribe  it 
to  ourselves,  to  our  own  arm,  but  to  the 
grace  of  God :  '  Not  I,  but  the  grace  of 
God  with  me,'  enabling  me  to  sustain,  and 
to  conquer.  If  we  continue,  it  is  '  because 
we  have  obtained  help  of  God:'  we  are 
^kept  by  his  mighty  power  unto  salvation.' 
In  all  our  sufferings,  if  Christians,  we  are 
perpetually  indebted  to  Divine  succor. 

"  3.  Let  us  habitually  look  up  to  God,  in 
the  exercise  of  faith  and  prayer.  Instead 
of  yielding  ourselves  to  dejection,  let  ua 
plead  the  promises,  and  flee  to  the  Divine 
Word.  He  has  been  accustomed  to  sus- 
tain the  faithful :  and  He  is  '  the  same  yes- 
terday, to-day,  and  for  ever.'  He  is  never 
weary :  look  to  Him :  '  they  that  wait  on 
him  shall  mount  up  with  eagles'  wings ; 
run,  and  not  be  weary  ;  walk,  and  not  faint.' 
Go  to  him  in  prayer,  cling  to  His  strength, 
lay  hold  on  His  arm.  You  have  a  power- 
ful Redeemer :  '  be  strong  in  the  power  of 
His  might!  Draw  down  the  succors  of 
His  grace,  which  will  enable  you  to  go 
on,  'from  strength  to  strength,'  until  you 
appear  before  God  in  Zion." 

The  last  service  at  Broadmead  in  which 
Mr.  Hall  took  any  part  was  the  church 
meeting  (when  only  the  members  of  the 
church  are  assembled)  on  Wednesday  the 
9th  of  February.  His  closing  prayer  on 
that  occasion  is  spoken  of  as  most  spiritual 
and  elevated,  exhibiting  in  its  highest  man- 
ifestation, the  peculiar  union  of  humility, 
benevolence,  and  fervor,  by  which  his  de- 
votional exercises  had  very  long  been  char- 
acterized. 

On  the  next  evening,  Thursday,  the  usu- 
al monthly  sermon  preparatory  to  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  to 
have  been  delivered ;  but  Mr.  Hall's  dis- 
charge of  this  duty  was  prevented  by  a  se- 
vere attack  of  the  complaint  in  his  chest, 
which  came  on  just  after  he  had  retired  to 
his  study  to  prepare  for  that  service.  This 
was  the  commencement  of  the  series  of 
paroxysms  which  terminated  in  his  dissolu- 
tion. 

"  Early  on  the  Sunday  morning  (I  again 
quote  one  of  the  letters  of  my  esteemed 
friend  Mr.  Addington)  being  requested  to 
see  him,  I  found  him  in  a  condition  of  ex- 
treme suffering  and  distress.  The  pain  in 
his  back  had  been  uncommonly  severe  dur- 
ing the  whole  night,  and  compelled  him  to 
multiply,  at  very  short  intervals,  the  doses  of 
his  anodyne,  until  he  had  taken  no  less  than 
125  grains  of  solid  opium,  equal  to  more 
than  3,000  drops,  or  nearly  four  ounces,  of 


276 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL 


laudanum  !  This  was  the  only  instance  in 
whicli  I  had  ever  seen  him  at  all  overcome 
by  the  soporific  quality  of  the  medicine ; 
and  it  was,  even  then,  hard  to  determine 
whether  the  effect  was  owing  so  much  to 
the  quantity  administered  as  to  the  unusual 
circumstance  of  its  not  having  proved,  even 
for  a  short  time,  an  effectuaF  antagonist  to 
the  pain  it  was  expected  to  relieve. 

^  Inured  as  he  was  to  the  endurance  of 
pain,  and  unaccustomed  to  any  strong  ex- 
pression of  complaint,  he  was  forced  to  con- 
fess that  his  present  agony  was  unparallel- 
ed by  any  thing  in  his  former  experience. 
The  opium  having  failed  to  assuage  his 
pain,  he  was  compelled  to  remain  in  the 
horizontal  posture  ;  but  while  in  this  situa- 
tion, a  violent  attack  in  his  chest  took  place 
which  in  its  turn  rendered  an  upright  posi- 
tion O'f  the  body  no  less  indispensible.  The 
struggle  tlvat  ensued  between  these  oppos- 
ing and  alike  urgent  demands  became  most 
appalling,  and  it  was  dilficult  to  imagine 
that  he  could  survive  it ;  especially,  as  from 
the  extreme  prostration  of  vital  energy,  the 
remedy  by  which  the  latter  of  those  affec- 
tions had  often  been  mitigated,  viz.  bleed- 
ing, could  not  be  resorted  to.  Powerful 
stimulants,  such  as  brandy,  opium,  ether, 
and  ammonia,  were  the  only  resources ;  and, 
in  about  an  hour  from  my  arrival,  we  had 
the  satisfaction  of  finding  him  greatly  re- 
lieved and  expressing  his  hvely  gratitude 
to  God. 

"  The  whole  of  his  demeanor  throughout 
this  agonizing  crisis,  as  well  as  during 
the  remainder  of  the  day,  a  day  of  much 
suffering,  exhibited,  in  a  striking  degree, 
the  efficacy  of  Christian  faith  and  hope,  in 
supporting  and  tranquilizing  the  mind  of 
their  possessor,  in  a  season  of  extreme  and 
torturing  affliction.  His  language  abound- 
ed with  expressions  at  once  of  the  deepest 
humility  and  of  thankfulness  to  God  for  his 
'unspeakable  mercies,'  together  with  affec- 
tionate acknowledgments  of  the  care  and 
assiduities  of  his  family  and  the  friends 
around  him." 

From  this  time  the  paroxysms  increased 
rapidly  both  in  frequency  and  severity  ;  and 
Mr.  Hall,  in  the  intervals  between  their  oc- 
currence, was  usually  so  weak  and  exhaust- 
ed as  seldom  to  be  able  to  converse  with 
those  around  him.  His  expressions  howev- 
er, insulated  and  broken  as  they  often  were, 
proved  that  he  was  able  fully  to  exercise 
that  trust  in  God  which  is  the  grand  princi- 
ple of  religion,  and  that  thus  trusting  in  liim, 
his  soul  was  kept  in  peace.'  No  murmuring. 
no  language  oi  irritability  escaped  from  his 
lips. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  dwell  upon  the 
melancholy  detail  of  the  ten  days  previous 
to  his  death.  I  will  only  record  a  few  such 
expressions  as  serve  to  show  that,  acute  as 


were  his  sufferings,  God  left  him  not  with'' 
out  support. 

Thus,  when  he  first  announced  his  ap- 
prehension that  he  should  never  again  min- 
ister among  his  people,  he  immediately  ad- 
ded, "  But  I  am  in  God's  hands,  and  I  re- 
joice that  I  am.  I  am  God's  creature,  at 
his  disposal,  for  life  or  death  ;  and  tliat  is  a 
great  mercy." 

Again,  "  I  have  not  one  anxious  thought, 
either  for  life  or  death.  What  1  dread  most 
are  dark  days.  But  I  have  had  none  yet : 
and  I  hope  I  shall  not  have  any." 

Again,  "  I  tear  pain  more  than  death.  If 
I  could  die  easily,  I  think  I  would  rather  go- 
than  stay ;  for  I  have  seen  enough  of  the 
world,  and  I  have  an  humble  hope.'^ 

On  another  occasion,  a  friend  havfng  said 
to  him,  '  This  God  will  be  our  God,'  he  re- 
plied, "■  Yes,  he  will,  he  will  be  our  guide 
even  unto  death." 

On  recovering  from  one  of  his  severe 
paroxysms,  he  adverted  to  the  affectionate 
attentions  of  his  beloved  wife  and  daughters, 
as  well  as  his  numerous  comforts,  and  ex- 
claimed, "  What  a  mercy  }t  is  to  have  so 
many  alleviations  !  I  might  have  been  de- 
prived of  all  these  comforts  ;  I  might  have 
been  in  poverty ;  I  might  have  been  the  most 
abject  wretch  on  the  face  of  the  earth." 

During  one  night,  in  which  the  attacks 
were  a  little  mitigated  in  number  and  sever- 
ity, he  frequently  expressed  the  most  lively 
gratitude  to  God,  as  well  as  his  simple,  un- 
shaken reliance  on  his  Saviour ;  and  repeat- 
ed nearly  the  whole  of  Robinson's  beauti- 
ful hymn. 

"  Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing! 
Tune  my  heart  to  sins  thy  grace ; 
Streams  of  mercy  never  ceasins 
Call  for  songs  of  endless  praise  !"  &c. 

The  same  night,  under  one  of  the  parox- 
ysms, he  said  to  the  friend  who  was  with 
him,  "  Why  should  a  living  man  complain  ? 
a  man  for  the  punishment  of  his  sins  ?  I 
have  not  complained,  have  I,  sir?  and  I 
won't  complain." 

When  Dr.  Prichard  was  invited  to  join 
Mr.  Chandler  and  Mr.  Addington  in  con- 
sultation, on  his  arrival  Mr.  Hall  arose  and 
received  him  so  much  in  his  wonted  cordial, 
courteous  manner,  as,  at  the  first  moment, 
almost  to  check  the  apprehension  of  danger. 
On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  he  expa- 
tiated on  the  mercy  of  God  in  bringing  him 
to  close  his  life  at  Bristol. 

His  prevailing  kindness  was  evinced 
throughout,  in  his  solitude  for  the  comfort 
of  those  who  sat  up  with  him  at  night,  or 
who  remained  in  the  house  to  be  called  to 
his  assistance  if  necessary.  He  also  exhort- 
ed the  members  of  his  "family,  and  others 
occasionally  present,  to  make  religion  the 
chief,  the  incessant  concern ;  urging  espe- 
cially upon  some  of  the  young  among  his 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL. 


27T 


friends  the  duly  of  openly  professing  their 
attachment  to  Christ  and  his  cause. 

When  he  was  a  httle  recovered  from  one 
of  his  severe  paroxysms,  "  I  asked  him," 
says  Mr.  Chandler,  "  whether  he  felt  much 
pain.  He  replied  that  his  sufferings  were 
great :  '  but  what,'  he  added,  '  are  my  suf- 
ferings to  the  sufierings  of  Christ?  his  suf- 
ferings were  infinitely  greater:  his  suffer- 
ings were  complicated  :  God  has  been  very 
merciful  to  me — very  merciful :  lam  a  poor 
creature — an  unworthy  creature ;  but  God 
has  been  very  kind — very  merciful.'  He 
then  alluded  to  the  character  of  the  suffer- 
ing of  crucifixion,  remarking  how  intense 
and  insufferable  they  must  have  been,  and 
asked  many  minute  questions  on  what  I 
might  suppose  was  the  process  by  which 
crucifixion  brought  about  death.  He  par- 
ticularly inquired  respecting  the  effect  of 
pain ;  the  nervous  irritation  ;  the  thirst ;  the 
oppression  of  breathing ;  the  disturbance  of 
the  circulation ;  and  the  hurried  action  of 
the  heart,  till  the  conversation  gradually 
brought  him  to  a  consideration  of  his  own 
distress ;  when  he  again  reverted  to  the 
lightness  of  his  sufferings  when  contrasted 
with  those  of  Christ.  He  spoke  of  our 
Lord's  '  enduring  the  contradiction  of  sin- 
ners against  himself ;'  of  the  ingratitude 
and  unkindness  he  received  from  those  for 
whom  he  went  about  doing  good ;  of  the 
combination  of  the  mental  and  corporeal  ag- 
onies sustained  on  the  cross  ;  the  length  of 
time  during  which  our  Lord  hung;  the  ex- 
haustion occasioned,  &c.  He  then  remarked 
how  differently  he  had  been  situated ;  that 
though  he  had  endured  as  much  or  more  than 
fell  to  the  lot  of  most  men,  yet  all  had  been  in 
mercy.  I  here  remarked  to  him,  that  with 
most  persons  the  days  of  ease  and  comfort 
were  far  more  numerous  than  those  of  pain 
and  sorrow.  He  replied,  '  But  I  have  been 
a  great  sufferer  in  my  time  ;  it  is,  however, 
generally  true  :  the  dispensations  of  God 
have  been  merciful  to  me.'  He  then  ob- 
served, that  a  contemplation  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ  was  the  best  antidote  against 
impatience  under  any  troubles  we  might  ex- 
perience ;  and  recommended  me  to  reflect 
much  on  this  subject  when  in  pain  or  dis- 
tress, or  in  expectation  of  death." 

"  During  the  whole  of  this  severe  illness, 
he  read  much  in  Campbell's  translation  of 
the  Gospel ;  and,  at  intervals,  one  of  his 
daughters  read  to  him,  from  this  version, 
his  favorite  to  the  last.  On  the  morning  of 
the  21st,  the  day  on  which  he  died,  he  had 
it  laid  before  him,  as  usual,  and  read  it  him- 
self in  his  ordinary  recumbent  attitude." 

Mrs.  Hall,  in  the  course  of  this  morning, 
remarking  to  him  that  he  appeared  better, 
and  expressing  her  hopes  that  he  would  re- 
cover; he  replied,  "Ah!  my  dear,  let  us 
hope  for  the  best,  and  prepare    for   the 


worst."  He  then  stated  his  opinion  that 
this  day  would  be  critical.  When  his  med- 
ical attendants  met  in  consultation,  a  little 
after  noon,  he  seemed  rather  belter ;  and 
Mr.  Chandler  left  him,  between  one  and 
two  reclining  on  the  sofa,  leaning  on  his  el- 
bow with  aa  much  muscular  energy  as  ev- 
er. 

"  Before  leaving  him,"  he  remarks,  "  I  ex- 
plained to  him  the  plan  of  proceeding  to  be 
observed  ;  on  which  he  bowed,  saying,  that 
whatever  we  wished  he  would  comply  with, 
he  would  do  whatever  we  desired  ;  beg- 
ging that  he  might  not  interfere  with  my 
duties  to  other  patients,  and  adding  that  he 
thought  he  should  be  very  comfortable  till 
my  return. 

"In  a  very  short  time,  and  before  I  had 
reached  home,  I  was  summoned  to  behold 
the  last  agonizing  scene  of  this  great  and 
extraordinary  man.  His  difficulty  of  breath- 
ing had  suddenly  increased  to  a  dreadful 
and  final  paroxysm.  It  seems  this  last  par- 
oxysm came  on  more  gradually  than  was 
usual  Avith  those  which  preceded.  Mr.  Hall 
finding  his  breathing  becoming  much  worse, 
first  rose  more  on  his  elbow,  then  raised  his 
body,  supporting  himself  with  his  hands,  till 
the  increasing  agitation  obliged  him  to  rise 
completely  on  the  sofa,  and  to  place  his  feet 
in  hot  water ;  the  usual  means  he  resorted 
to  for  relief  in  every  paroxysm.  Mrs.  Hall, 
observing  a  fixation  of  his  eyes,  and  an  un- 
usual expression  on  his  countenance,  and 
indeed  in  his  whole  manner,  became  alarm- 
ed by  the  sudden  impression  that  he  Avas 
dying ;  and  exclaimed  in  great  agitation, 
'  This  can't  be  dying !'  when  he  replied,  '  It 
is  death — it  is  death — death  !  Oh  the  suffer- 
ings of  this  body  !'  Mrs.  Hall  then  asking 
him,  'But  are  you  comfortable  in  your 
mind?'  he  immediately  answered,  'Very 
comfortable — very  comfortable  !'  and  ex- 
claimed, '  Come  Lord  Jesus — Come.'  He 
then  hesitated,  as  if  incapable  of  bring- 
ing out  the  last  word ;  and  one  of  his 
daughters,  involuntarily,  as  it  were,  antici- 
pated him  by  saying,  '  Gtuickly !'  on  which 
her  departing  father  gave  her  a  look  express- 
ive of  the  most  complacent  delight. 

"  On  entering  his  room,  I  found  him  sit- 
ting on  the  sofa,  surrounded  by  his  lament- 
ing family ;  with  one  foot  in  the  hot  water, 
and  the  other  spasmodically  grasping  the 
edge  of  the  bath  ;  his  frame  waving  in  vio- 
lent, almost  convulsive  heavings,  sufficient- 
ly indicative  of  the  process  of  dissolution. 
I  hastened,  though  despairingly,  to  admin- 
ister such  stimulants  as  might  possibly 
avert  the  threatening  termination  of  life ; 
and  as  I  sat  by  his  side  for  this  purpose  he 
threw  his  arm  over  my  shoulders  for  sup- 
port, with  a  look  of  evident  satisfaction  that 
I  was  near  him.  He  said  to  me,  '  I  am  dy- 
ing :  death  is  come  at  last :  all  will  now  be 


278 


MEMOIR    OF    ROBERT    HALL, 


useless.'  As  I  pressed  upon  him  draughts 
of  stimulants,  he  intimated  that  he  would 
take  them  if  I  wished  ;  but  he  believed  all 
was  useless.  On  my  asking  him  if  he  suf- 
fered much,  he  replied,  '  Dreadfully.'  The 
rapidly  increasing  gasping  soon  overpower- 
ed his  ability  to  swallow,  or  to  speak,  ex- 
cept in  monosyllables,  few  in  number,  which 
I  could  not  collect ;  but,  whatever  might  be 
the  degree  of  his  suffering  (and  great  it 
must  have  been,)  there  was  no  failure  of 
his  mental  vigor  or  composure.  Indeed,  so 
perfect  was  his  consciousness,  that  in  the 
midst  of  these  last  agonies,  he  intimated  to 
me  very  shortly  before  tlie  close,  with  his 
accustomed  courteousness,  a  fear  lest  he 
should  fatigue  me  by  his  pressure ;  and 
when  his  family,  one  after  another,  gave 
way  in  despair,  he  followed  them  with  sym- 
pathizing looks,  as  they  were  obliged  to  be 
conveyed  from  the  room.  This  was  his  last 
voluntary  movement;  for  immediately  a 
general  convulsion  seized  him,  and  he  quick 
jy  expired." 

O !  how  inconceivablyblessed  is  the  change 
when,  at  the  moment  of  utmost  agony,  the 
soul  enters  the  regions  of  endless  joy ;  pass 
es  from  the  land  of  the  dying  to  the  land  of 
the  living  ;  from  the  society  of  saints  to  the 
blissful  presence  of  the  King  of  saints,  where 
knowledge,  illumination,  purity,  and  love 
flow  for  ever  and  ever  from  the  Inexhausti 
ble  Fountain !  Such  is  the  ineffable  re 
ward  which  awaits  all  the  faithful  followers 
of  the  Lamb.  "  Father,  I  will  that  they 
also  whom  thou  hast  given  me  be  with  me 
where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold  my  glory." 

Nothing,  I  feel,  would  be  more  presump- 


tuous than  for  me  to  attempt  to  portray  ful- 
ly the  literary,  intellectual,  or  religious  char- 
acter of  my  inestimable  friend.  I  have 
known,  and  still  know,  many  whom  I  great- 
ly value,  many  whom  I  cordially  love  and 
admire,  many  from  whom  I  have  learned 
much  and  might  have  learned  more,  but  for 
ray  incapacity  to  receive  what  they  were 
ready  to  impart ;  but  I  have  known  none  in 
whom  so  many  elements  of  mental  and  mor- 
al greatness  were  so  happily  combined  as 
in  Mr.  Hall ;  none  whose  converse  and 
whose  diversified  knowledge  have  so  con- 
stantly interested,  charmed,  and  instructed 
me ;  none  whose  transcendant  qualities  ex- 
cited so  high  and  overawing  a  veneration, 
yet  none  whose  humility  and  cordiality,  ex- 
quisitely blending  with  genius  and  piety, 
inspired  so  unhesitating  a  confidence. 

His  profound  acquaintance  with  the  mind 
and  heart,  and  his  corresponding  faculty  of 
tracing  and  separating  the  springs  of  hu- 
man action,  gave  him  an  unusual  influence 
with  the  present  race  as  a  sacred  orator : 
while  he  seems  to  be  one  of  the  few  men 
whose  creative  intellect,  and  whose  singular 
ability  in  the  development  of  religious 
truth,  and  the  illustration  and  confirmation 
of  many  principles  of  universal  and  increas- 
ing interest,  qualify  them  to  operate  with  as 
extensive  an  influence  in  moulding  the  in- 
tellectual and  moral  character  of  succeed- 
ing generations. 

His  varied  and  extraordinary  powers, 
thus  diffusively  applied  to  the  most  momen- 
tous subjects,  will  be  seen  from  his  "  Works," 
which  are  now  collected  that  they  may  con- 
stitute his  noblest  monument,  the  most  en- 
during tribute  to  his  memory. 


THE   END. 


STRICTURE 

ON 

SANDEMANIAN  f  S 

IN  "S^.    ^4 

TWELVE  LETTERS  TO  A  FRIEND. 


By  rev.  ANDREW  FULLER, 


LETTER    I. 

Introduction. 

"My  dear  Friend, 

I  HAVE  been  told  more  than  once  that 
my  not  answering  the  piece  written  some 
years  since  by  Mr.  A.  M'Lean  has  been 
considered  as  a  proof  that  I  felt  it  unan- 
swerable. But,  if  so,  I  must  have  felt  the 
productions  of  many  other  opponents  un- 
answerable as  well  as  his ;  for  I  have  sel- 
dom had  the  last  word  in  a  controversy. 
The  truth  is,  I  was  not  greatly  inclined  to 
answer  Mr.  M.  I  felt  disgusted  with  the 
illiberality  of  his  repeatedly  arraigning  my 
motives,  his  accusing  me  of  intentional 
misrepresentations,  and  his  insinuating  as 
though  I  could  "  take  either  side  of  a  ques- 
tion as  I  found  occasion."  I  contented  my- 
self, therefore,  with  writing  a  small  tract, 
called  The  Great  Question  Answered;  in 
which,  while  complying  with  the  desire  of 
a  friend,  I  endeavored  to  state  my  views 
unthout  controversy ;  and  as  Mr.  M.  had 
given  a  caricature  description  of  what  my 
principles  would  amount  to,  if  applied  in 
tlie  form  of  an  address  to  the  unconverted, 
I  determined  to  reduce  them  to  that  form ; 
hoping  also  that,  with  the  blessing  of  God, 
they  might  prove  of  some  use  to  the  parties 
addressed. 

Whether  it  was  owing  to  this  tract  or 
not,  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  friends 
of  religion,  who  attended  to  the  subject, 
did  me  justice  at  the  time,  and  that  even 
those  who  favored  Mr.  M's  side  of  the  ques- 
tion thought  he  must  have  mistaken  the 
drift  of  my  reasoning,  as  well  as  have  im- 
puted motives  to  me  of  which  I  was  inno- 
cent. 

Whatever  Mr.  M.  may  think  of  me,  I 
do  not  consider  him  as  capable  of  either 
intentional  misrepresentation,  or  taking  eith- 
er side  of  the  question  as  he  may  find  oc- 
caeion.     That  my  principles  are  misrepre- 


sented by  him,  and  that  in  a  great  numo^. 
of  instances,  I  could  easily  prove :  but  the 
opinion  that  I  have  of  his  character  leads 
me  to  impute  it  to  misunderstanding  and 
not  to  design. 

I  am  not  conscious  of  an  anbrotherly 
feehng  towards  Mr.  M.  In  resuming  the 
subject,  however,  after  such  a  lapse  of  time 
I  have  no  mind  to  write  a  particular  answer 
to  his  performance,  though  I  may  frequent- 
ly notice  his  arguments.  It  is  in  conse- 
quence of  observing  the  nature  and  ten- 
dency of  the  system  that  I  undertake  to  ex- 
amine it.  Such  an  examination  will  not 
only  be  more  agreeable  to  my  own  feel- 
ings, but  more  edifying  to  the  reader,  than 
either  an  attack  on  an  individual  opponent 
or  a  defence  of  myself  against  him. 

In  calling  the  sentiments  I  oppose  San- 
demanianism,  I  mean  nothing  invidious. 
The  principles  taught  by  Messrs.  Glass  and 
Sandeman,  about  half  a  century  ago,  did 
certainly  give  a  new  turn  and  character  to 
almost  every  thing  pertaining  to  the  relig- 
ion of  Christ,  as  must  appear  to  any  one 
who  reads  and  understands  their  publica- 
tions. In  the  north  it  is  the  former  of  these 
authors  who  gives  name  to  the  denomina- 
tion ;  with  us  it  is  the  latter,  as  being  most 
known  by  his  writings. 

I  have  denominated  Sandemanianism  a 
system ;  because  it  not  only,  as  I  have  said, 
affects  the  whole  of  Christianity,  but  indu- 
ces all  who  embrace  it  to  separate  from 
other  Christians.  Mr.  Sandeman  manifest- 
ly desired  that  the  societies  which  were 
connected  with  him  should  be  unconnected 
with  all  others,  and  that  they  should  be 
considered  as  the  only  true  churches  of 
Christ.  Such  a  view  of  things  amounts  to 
more  than  a  difference  on  a  few  points  of 
doctrine ;  it  is  a  distinct  species  of  religion, 
and  requires,  for  distinction's  sake,  to  have, 
a  name,  and  till  some  other  is  found  by 
which  it  can  be  designated  it  must  be  call- 
ed after  that  of  its  author. 

If.  is  not  my  design  to  censure  Sandema- 


280 


FULLER    ON    S  ANDEM  ANIANISM. 


nianism  in  the  gross.  There  are  many 
things  in  the  system  which,  in  my  judgment 
are  wortliy  of  serious  attention.  If  Mr. 
Sandeman  and  his  followers  had  only 
taught  tliat  faith  has  revealed  truth  lor  its 
object,  or  that  which  is  true  antecedently 
to  its  being  believed,  and  whether  it  be  be- 
lieved or  not ;  that  the  finished  work  of 
Christ,  exclusive  of  every  act,  exercise,  or 
thought  of  the  human  mind,  is  that  for  the 
sake  of  which  a  sinner  is  justified  before 
God  5  that  no  qualifications  of  any  kind  are 
necessary  to  warrant  our  believing  in  him ; 
and  that  the  first  scriptural  consolation  re- 
ceived by  the  believer  arises  from  the  gos- 
pel, and  not  from  reflecting  on  the  feelings 
of  his  own  mind  towards  it ;  they  would 
have  deserved  well  of  the  church  of  Christ. 

Whether  those  against  whom  Mr.  S.  in- 
veighs, under  the  name  of  popular  preach- 
ers, were  so  averse  to  these  principles  as 
he  has  represented  them  is  another  ques- 
tion. I  have  no  doubt,  however,  but  they 
and  many  other  preachers  and  writers  of 
the  present  times  stand  corrected  by  him 
and  by  other  writers  /who  have  adopted  his 
principles. 

Mr.  Ecking  (in  his  Essays,  p.  33)  re- 
marks on  some  passages  in  Mr.  Boston's 
Fourfold  State  with  much  propriety,  par- 
ticularly on  such  language  as  tlie  follow- 
ing: "Do  what  you  can;  and  it  may  be 
while  you  are  doing  what  you  can  for  your- 
selves God  will  do  for  you  what  you  ca7i- 
not."  Again:  "Let  us  believe  as  Ave  can, 
in  obedience  to  God's  command,  and  while 
we  are  doing  so,  although  the  act  be  at  the 
beginning  but  natural,  yet,  in  the  very  act, 
promised  and  purchased  grace  strikes  in 
and  turns  it  into  a  supernatural  act  of  be- 
lieving." From  other  parts  of  Mr.  Bos- 
ton's work,  it  appears  that  he  did  not  con- 
eider  grace  as  promised  to  any  of  the  works 
of  the  unregenerate ;  but  allowing  him,  by 
"promised  grace"  in  this  passage,  to  mean 
that  which  was  promised  to  Christ  on  be- 
half of  those  who  were  given  him  by  the 
Father,  yet  the  language  is  unscriptural 
and  dangerous,  as  giving  the  sinner  to  un- 
derstand that  his  inability  is  something  that 
excuses  him,  and  that  in  doing  what  he  cnn 
while  in  enmity  to  God  he  obeys  the  divine 
command,  and  is,  at  least  in  a  more  hope- 
ful way  of  obtaining  supernatural  grace. 
The  apostles  exhorted  sinners  to  repent 
and  believe  the  gofpel,  and  to  nothing  short 
of  it,  making  no  account  of  their  inability. 
If  we  follow  their  example,  God  may  lionor 
his  own  ordinances  by  accompanying  them 
with  his  Holy  Spirit;  but,  as  to  any  thing 
being  done  in  concurrence  with  the  endeav- 
ors of  the  unregenerate,  we  have  no  such 
idea  held  out  to  us  in  the  oracles  of  God. 

It  is  God's  ordinary  method,  indeed,  prior 
to  his  bestowing  that  supernatural  grace 


which  enables  a  sinner  to  repent  emd  be- 
lieve the  gospel,  by  various  means  to  awak- 
en him  to  reflection  and  to  the  serious  con- 
sideration of  his  condition  as  a  transgressor 
of  the  divine  law.  Such  convictions  may 
last  for  a  considerable  time,  and  may  issue 
in  true  conversion ;  but  they  may  not :  and 
so  long  as  the  gospel-way  of  salvation  is 
rejected  or  neglected,  in  favor  of  some  self- 
righteous  scheme,  there  is  nothing  truly 
good  in  them.  They  are  as  the  noise  and 
the  shaking-  of  the  dry  bones,  but  not  the 
breath  of  life.  They  are  the  means  by 
which  God  prepares  the  mind  for  a  wel- 
come reception  of  the  gospel,  but  they  con- 
tain no  advance  towards  Christ  on  the  part 
of  the  sinner.  He  is  not  nearer  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  nor  less  in  danger  of  the 
wrath  to  come,  than  when  he  was  at  ease 
in  his  sins.  Nay,  notwithstanding  the  out- 
ward reformation  which  such  convictions 
ordinarily  produce,  he  is  not,  upon  the 
whole,  a  less  sinner  in  the  sight  of  God 
than  he  was  before.  On  the  contrary, 
"He  who  continues,  under  all  this  light, 
and  contrary  to  the  plain  dictates  and  press- 
ing painful  convictions  of  his  own  con- 
science, obstinately  to  oppose  and  reject 
Jesus  Christ,  is,  on  the  account  of  this  his 
impenitence  and  obstinacy,  under  this  clear 
light  and  conviction  of  conscience,  (what- 
ever alteration  or  reformation  has  taken 
place  in  him  in  other  repects.)  more  guilty, 
vile,  and  odious  in  God's  sight  than  he  was 
before."* 

For  a  minister  to  withhold  the  invitations 
of  the  gospel  till  he  perceives  the  sinner 
sufficiently,  as  he  thinks,  convinced  of  sin, 
and  then  to  bring  them  forward  as  some- 
thing to  which  he  is  entitled,  holding  up 
his  convictions  and  distress  of  mind  as 
signs  of  grace,  and  persuading  him,  on 
this  ground,  to  think  himself  one  of  God's 
elect  and  warranted  to  believe  in  Christ,  is 
doing  worse  than  nothing.  The  comfort 
which  the  apostles  presented  to  awakened 
sinners  consisted  purely  in  the  exhibition 
of  Christ  and  the  invitations  to  believe  in 
him.  Neither  the  company  addressed  by 
Peter  nor  the  Philippian  jailor  were  en- 
couraged from  any  tiling  in  the  state  of 
their  own  minds,  though  both  were  deeply 
impressed,  but  from  the  gospel  only.  The 
preachers  might  and  would  take  encour- 
agement on  perceiving  them  to  be  pricked 
in  their  hearts,  and  might  hope  for  a  good 
issue ;  but  it  had  been  at  their  peril  to  en- 
courage them  to  hope  for  mercy  any  oth- 
erwise than  as  believing  in  the  Son  of  God. 

The  Hy'per-Calvinisls,  who  set  aside  the 
invitations  of  the  gospel  to  the  unregene- 
rate, abound  in  these  things.  They  are 
aware  that  the  scriptures  do  invite  sinners 


Uopkin's  True  State  of  the  Unregenerate,  p.  6. 


FULLER    ON    S  ANDEM  ANI  ANISM. 


281 


of  some  sort  to  believe  in  Christ ;  but  thenl perceived  sin  to  be  exceeding  sinful.     Suck 
they  conceive  them  to  be  sensible  sinners  a  conviction  of  sin  cannot  consist  with  a  re 


only.  It  is  thus  that  the  terms  hunger, 
thirst,  labor,  heavy-laden,  &c.,  as  used  in  the 
scripture  invitations,  are  considered  as  de- 
noting spiritual  desire,  and  as  marking  out 
the  persons  who  are  entitled  to  come  to 
Christ.  That  gospel  invitations  should  be 
addressed  to  sinners  as  the  subjects  of  those 
wants  and  desires  which  it  is  adapted  to 
satisfy,  such  as  the  thirst  for  happiness, 
peace,  rest,  &c.,  is  no  more  than  might  be 
expected.  It  had  been  strange  if  living 
waters  had  been  presented  to  them  who  in 
no  sense  were  thirsty,  or  rest  to  them  who 
were  in  no  sense  weary  and  heavy-laden  ; 
but  it  does  not  follow  that  this  thirst  and 
this  weariness  are  spiritual.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  who  are  invited  to  buy  and  eat, 
without  money  and  without  price,  are  sup- 
posed to  be  "spending  their  money  for 
that  which  is  not  bread  ;"  are  admonished 
as  "  wicked"  men  to  forsake  their  way ;  and 
invited  to  return  to  the  Lord  under  a  prom- 
ise of  abundant  pardon,  on  their  so  return- 
ing. "  The  heavy-laden,"  also,  are  sup- 
posed as  yet  not  to  have  come  to  Christ,  nor 
taken  his  yoke,  nor  learned  his  spirit ;  and 
surely  it  could  not  have  been  the  design  of 
Christ  to  persuade  them  to  think  well  of 
their  state,  seeing  he  constantly  teaches  that 
till  a  sinner  come  to  him,  or  believe  in  him, 
he  is  under  the  curse.  It  is  also  observable 
that  the  promise  o^rest  is  not  made  to  them 
as  heavy-laden,  but  as  coming  to  Christ  with 
their  burdens.  There  is  no  proof  that  all 
who  were  "pricked  in  their  hearts"  under 
Peter's  sermon,  and  who  inquired,  "  What 
shall  we  do  ?"  believed  and  were  saved. 
On  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  be  intimated 
that  only  a  part  of  them  "  gladly  received 
the  word,  and  were  baptized."  Had  they 
■all  done  so,  it  would  probably  have  been 
said,  "  Then  they  gladly  received  his  word, 
and  were  baptized."  Instead  of  this  it  is 
said,  "  Then  they  that  gladly  received  his 
word  were  baptized,"  &c.  implying  that 
there  were  some  who,  though  pricked  in 
their  hearts,  yet "  received  not"  the  word  of 
the  gospel,  and  were  not  baptized  ;  and  who 
might  leave  the  place  under  an  impression 
that  the  forgiveness  of  sins  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  was  a  hard  saying.  There  are 
many,  it  is  to  be  feared,  who  at  this  day  feel 
guilt  to  be  a  heavy  burden,  and  yet  never 
bring  it  to  Christ ;  but  lay  it  down  on  some 
self-rigliteous  resting-place,  and  so  perish 
forever. 

It  docs  not  follow,  however,  that  all  con- 
victions of  sin  are  to  be  resolved  into  the 
operations  of  an  awakened  conscience 
There  is  such  a  thing  as  a  conviction  of  the 
evil  nature  of  sin,  and  tliat  by  a  view  of  tlie 
epirituality  and  equity  of  the  divine  law. 
It  was  by  tiie  "  commandment"  that  Paul 

Vol.  3. — Jj. 


jection  of  the  gospel  way  of  salvation,  but, 
as  soon  as  it  is  understood,  instantly  leads 
the  sinner  to  embrace  it.  It  ie  thus  that 
"  through  the  law  we  become  dead  to  the 
law,  that  we  may  live  unto  God." 

I  may  add,  the  attention  of  Christians 
appears  to  have  been  too  much  drawn 
towards  what  may  be  called  subjective  relig- 
ion, to  the  neglect  of  that  which  is  objective. 
Many  speak  and  write  as  though  the  truth 
of  the  gospel  was  a  subject  out  of  doubt,  and 
as  though  the  only  question  of  importance 
was,  whether  they  be  interested  in  its  bless- 
ings ;  and  there  are  not  a  few  who  have  no 
doubt  of  their  behevingthe  former,  but  ma- 
ny doubts  respecting  the  latter.  Hence,  it 
is  probable,  the  essence  of  faith  came  to  be 
placed,  not  in  a  belief  of  the  gospel,  but  in 
a  persuasion  of  our  being  interesed  in  its 
benefits.  If,  however  we  really  believe  the 
one.  there  is  no  scriptural  ground  to  doubt 
of  the  other;  since  it  is  constanlly  declared 
that  he  who  believeth  the  gospel  shall  be 
saved. 

If  the  attention  of  the  awakened  sinner, 
instead  of  being  directed  to  Christ,  be  turn- 
ed inward,  and  hie  mind  be  employed  in 
searching  for  evidences  of  his  conversion, 
the  effect  must,  to  say  the  least,  be  uncom- 
fortable, and  may  be  fatal ;  as  it  may  lead 
him  to  make  a  righteousness  of  his  religious 
feelings,  instead  cf  looking  out  of  himself  to 
the  Saviour. 

Nor  is  this  all :  If  the  attention  of  Chris- 
tians be  turned  to  their  own  feelings,  in- 
stead of  the  things  which  should  make 
them  feel,  it  will  reduce  their  religion  to 
something  vastly  different  from  that  of  the 
primitive  Christians.  Such  truths  as  the 
following  were  the  life  of  their  spirits :  "  Je- 
sus Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save  sin- 
ners." "  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according 
to  the  scriptures  ;  and  was  buried,  and  rose 
again  the  third  day,  according  to  the  scrip- 
tures." "  Remember  that  Jesus  Christ,  of 
the  seed  of  David,  was  raised  from  the  dead 
according  to  the  gospel."  "  We  have  a 
great  high-priest  that  has  passed  into  the 
heavens,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,"  &c.  But, 
by  the  turn  of  thought  and  strain  of  conver- 
sation in  many  religious  connections  of  the 
present  day,  it  would  seem  as  if  these  things 
had  lost  their  influence.  They  are  become 
"  dry  doctrines,"  and  the  parties  must  have 
something  else.  The  elevation  and  de- 
pression of  their  hopes  and  fears,  joys  and 
sorrows,  is  with  them  the  favorite  theme. 
The  consequence  is,  as  might  be  expected, 
a  living  to  themselves  rather  than  to  liira 
that  died  and  rose  again  ;  and  a  mind  ei- 
ther elated  by  unscripuiral  enjoyment  or 
depressed  by  miserable  despondency.  It  is 
not  by  thinking  and  talldng  of  the  senea- 


282 


FULLER    ON     S  A  N  DE  M  ANI  AN  ISM. 


tions  of  hunger,  but  by  feeding  on  the  living 
ahmeiit,  that  we  are  filled  and  strengthened. 

Whether  the  above  remarks  will  satisfy 
Mr.  M'Lean  that  these  are  "  really  my  fix- 
ed sentiments,"  and  that  he  has  greatly 
misunderstood  the  ends  for  which  I  wrote 
the  piece  on  which  he  animadverted,  and 
of  course  misrepresented  my  principles  as 
to  their  effect  on  awakened  sinners,  I  can- 
not tell.*  Be  this  as  it  may,  I  trust  other 
readers  will  be  under  no  temptation  to  do 
me  injustice. 

But,  whatever  danger  may  arise  from 
those  principles  which  are  too  prevalent 
among  us,  they  are  not  the  only  errors,  nor 
does  all  the  danger  arise  from  that  quarter. 
Subjective  religion  is  as  necessary  in  its 
place  as  objective.  It  is  as  true  that  "  with- 
out holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord,"  as 
that  "  without  the  shedding  of  blood  there 
is  no  remission."  It  is  necessary  to  look 
into  ourselves  for  the  purpose  of  conviction, 
though  not  for  the  cause  of  salvation  ;  and 
though  the  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  gos- 
pel is  without  us,  and  independent  of  our 
state  of  mind  towards  it,  yet  this  is  not  the 
case  with  respect  to  evidence  of  an  inter- 
est in  its  blessings.  We  have  no  warrant 
to  expect  eternal  life  but  as  being  the  sub- 
jects of  those  things  to  which  it  is  promis- 
ed. 

I  do  not  perceive,  therefore,  how  it  can 
be  justly  affirmed,  as  it  lately  has  been,  that 
"self-examination  is  not  calculated  to  quiet 
the  conscience,  to  banish  slavish  fear,  or  to 
remove  doubts  and  apprehensions  of  our 
being  unbelievers ;"  and  still  less  how  it 
can  be  maintained  that  "  peace  of  mind 
founded  on  any  thing  in  ourselves  will  al- 
ways puff  us  up  with  pride."  If  the  state 
of  our  souls  be  bad,  indeed,  self-examination 
must  disquiet  the  conscience,  rather  than 
quiet  it :  but  are  there  no  cases  in  which 
through  the  accusations  of  others,  or  a  pro- 
pensity in  ourselves  to  view  the  dark  side 
of  things  rather  than  the  bright  one,  or  the 
afflicting  hand  of  God,  our  souls  may  bedi 
quieted  within  us  and  in  which  self-exami- 
nation may  yield  us  peace?  Did  the  re- 
view which  Job  took  of  his  past  life  (chap 
xxxi.)  yield  no  peace  to  him  ?  And  though 
he  was  not  clear  when  examined  by  the  im- 
partial eye  of  God,  yet  were  all  his  solemn 
appeals  respecting  his  integrity  the  work- 
ings of  self-righteous  pride  ?  Was  David 
puffed  up  when  he  said,  "  Lord,  I  have  hop- 
ed in  thy  salvation,  and  have  done  thy  com- 
mandments ?"  Did  John  encourage  a  conii- 
dence  in  the  flesh,  when  lie  said,  "If  our 
hearts  condemn  us  not,  then  have  we  con- 
fidence towards  God  ?"  or  Peter,  when  he 
appealed  to  Christ,  "  Lord,  thou  knowcst 
all  things,  thou  knowcst  that  I  love  thee  ?" 


•  See  his  Repfy.pp.  46,  47,  153. 


Had  it  been  only  affirmed  that  no  peacC 
of  mind  can  arise  from  the  recollection  of 
what  we  have  felt  or  done  in  times  past, 
while  at  present  we  are'  unconscious  of  any 
thing  of  ihe  kind,  this  had  been  true.  Past 
experiences  can  no  otherwise  be  an  evidence 
of  grace  to  us  than  as  the  remembrance  of 
them  rekindles  the  same  sentiments  and 
feelings  anew.  But  to  object  to  all  peace  of 
mind  arising  from  a  consciousness  of  having 
done  the  will  of  God,  and  to  denominate  it 
"confidence  in  the  flesh,"  is  repugnant  to 
the  whole  tenor  of  scripture. 

A  system  may  contain  much  important 
truth,  and  yet  be  blended  with  so  much  er- 
ror as  to  destroy  its  salutary  efficacy.  Mr. 
Sandeman  has  expunged  a  great  deal  of 
false  religion ;  but  whether  he  has  exhibit- 
ed that  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  is  anoth- 
er question.  It  is  much  easier  to  point  out 
the  defects  and  errors  of  other  systems  than 
to  substitute  one  that  is  even  less  exception- 
able ;  and  to  talk  of  "  simple  truth,"  and 
"  simple  belief,"  than  to  exhibit  the  religion 
of  Jesus  in  its  genuine  simplicity. 

In  discussing  the  points  at  issue,  we  shall 
meet  with  some  things  which  may  be 
thought  of  too  metaphysical  a  cast  to  be  of 
any  great  importance :  and,  had  not  the  ef- 
fects produced  convinced  me  of  the  contra- 
ry, I  might  have  thought  so  too.  But 
though  the  principles  on  which  the  system 
rests  are  many  of  them  so  minute  as  almost 
to  elude  detection,  yet  they  are  not  the  less 
efficacious.  The  seed  is  small,  but  the 
branch  is  not  so. 

It  has  been  regretted  that  any  person  who 
drinks  thoroughly  into  these  views  is  at  once 
separated  from  ail  his  former  religious  con- 
nections, whatever  they  might  be ;  and, 
where  the  heart  has  been  united  it  must 
needs  be  a  matter  of  regret :  yet,  upon  the 
whole,  it  may  be  best.  Whatever  fruits  are 
produced  by  this  species  of  religion,  wheth- 
er good  or  bad,  they  are  hereby  much  more 
easily  ascertained.  Its  societies  bear  some 
resemblance  to  so  many  farms,  taken  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  kingdom,  for  the  purpose 
of  scientific  experiment;  and  it  must  needs 
be  apparent,  in  the  course  of  fifty  or  sixty 
years  experience,  whether  upon  the  whole, 
they  have  turned  to  a  better  account  than 
those  of  their  neighbors. 

I  will  only  add,  in  this  place,  that  though 
I  do  not  conceive  of  every  one  as  embracing 
this  doctrine  who  in  some  particulars  may 
agree  with  Mr.  Sandeman.  (for  in  that  case 
I  should  be  reckoned  to  embrace  it  myself,) 
yet  many  more  must  be  considered  as  friend- 
ly to  it  in  the  main  than  those  who  choose 
fo  be  called  either  Sandemanians  or  Glass- 
ites.  It  has  been  held  by  people  of  vari- 
ous denominations ;  by  Presbyterians,  In- 
dependents, and  Baptists;  and  has  been 
observed  to  give  a  distinctive  character  to 


PULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


283 


the  whole  of  their  religion.  In  this  view 
of  the  subject  I  wish  to  examine  it;  paying 
attention  not  so  much  to  persons  or  names 
as  to  things,  let  them  be  embraced  by  whom 
they  may. 


LETTER    IL 

A  general  view  of  the  system,  with  its  lead- 
ing points  of  difference  from  the  systems 
which  it  opposes. 

Although  the  writings  of  such  men  as 
Flavel,  Boston,  Guthrie,  the  Erskines,  &c., 
are  represented  by  Mr.  Sandeman  as  fur- 
nishing "  a  devout  path  to  hell,"  and  the 
writers  themselves  as  pharisees,  "  than 
whom  no  sinners  were  more  hardened,  and 
none  greater  destroyers  of  mankind,"  yet 
he  allows  them  to  have  set  before  us  "  ma- 
ny articles  of  the  apostolic  doctrine  ;"  yea, 
and  to  have  "  asserted  almost  all  the  arti- 
cles belonging  to  the  sacred  truth."  Con- 
sidering this,  and  that  so  far  as  these  wri- 
ters held  with  "  good  duties,  good  endeav- 
ors, and  good  motions"  in  unbelievers,  pre- 
paring them  for  faith,  we  give  them  up,  it 
may  seem  as  if  there  could  be  no  great  dif- 
ference between  Mr.  Sandeman  and  us. 
Yet  a  difference  there  is,  and  of  such  im- 
portance, too,  as  deeply  to  affect  the  doc- 
trine, the  worship,  the  spirit,  and  the  prac- 
tice of  Christianity. 

The  foundation  of  whatever  is  distin- 
guishing in  the  system  seems  to  relate  lo 
the  nature  of  justilying  faith.  This  Mr.  S. 
constanlly  represents  as  the  bare  belief  of 
the  bare  truth ;  by  which  definition  he  in- 
tends, as  it  would  seem,  to  exclude  from  it 
every  thing  pertaining  to  the  will  and  the 
affections,  except  as  effects  produced  by  it. 

When  Mr.  Pike  became  his  disciple,  and 
wished  to  think  that  by  a  "  bare  belief"  he 
meant  a  hearty  persuasion,  and  not  a  mere 
notional  belief,  Mr,  S.  rejected  his  construc- 
tion, and  insisted  that  the  latter  was  his  true 
meaning.  "  Every  one,"  says  he,  "  who 
obtains  a  just  notion  of  the  person  and  word 
of  Christ,  or  whose  notion  corresponds  to 
what  is  testified  of  him,  is  justified,  and 
finds  peace  with  God  simply  by  that  7io- 
tionP* 

This  notion  he  considers  as  the  effect  of 
truth  being  impressed  upon  the  mind,  and 
denies  that  the  mind  is  active  in  it.  The  in- 
activity of  the  mind  in  believing  is  of  so 
much  importance,  in  his  account,  that  the 
doctrine  of  justification  by  grace  depends 
upon  it.  "He  who  maintains,"  says  he. 
"  that  we  are  justified  only  by  faith,  and  at 
the  same  time  affirms,  with  Aspasio,  that 


EjMstoliO'  Cr>rn38pondencc,  Leiter  II. 


faith  is  a  work  exerted  by  the  human  mind, 
undoubtedly  maintains,  if  he  have  any 
meaning  to  his  words,  that  we  are  justified 
by  a  work  exerted  by  the  human  mind."* 

Mr.  Sandeman  not  only  opposes  all  ac- 
tive endeavors  previously  to  faith,  and  as 
tending  to  procure  it,  (in  which  I  have  no 
controversy  with  him,)  but  sets  himself 
against  all  exhortations,  calls,  warnings, 
and  expostulations,  with  the  sinner  to  be- 
lieve in  Christ.  "  If,"  says  he,  "  it  be  in- 
quired what  I  would  say  for  the  relief  of 
one  distressed  with  a  sense  of  guilt,  I  would 
tell  him,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  what  the 
gospel  says  about  Christ.  If  he  still  doubt- 
ed, I  would  set  before  him  all  the  evidence 
furnished  me  by  the  same  gospel.  Thus, 
and  thus  only,  would  I  press,  call,  invite, 
exhort,  or  urge  him  to  believe.  I  would 
urge  him  with  evidence  for  the  truth."! 
And  when  asked  how  he  would  exhort  ad- 
vise, or  address  stupid,  unconcerned  souls, 
He  answers,  "  I  am  of  the  mind  that  a 
preacher  of  the  gospel,  as  such,  ought  to 
have  no  influence  on  men  but  by  means  of 
the  gospel  which  he  preaches.  When 
Paul  discoursed  concerning  the  faith  in 
Christ,  and  as  he  reasoned  of  righteous- 
ness, temperance,  and  judgment  to  come, 
Felix  trembled.  It  is  the  diily  of  every 
man,  in  every  condition,  to  obey  every  di- 
vine command.  The  gospel  always  sup- 
poses this  while  addressing  all  men  as  sin- 
ners ;  it  demonstrates  their  danger,  and  dis- 
covers the  remedy.  Yet  it  is  absurd  to 
suppose  that  any  man  can  love  the  gospel, 
or  obey  it,  till  he  believe  it.  Therefore,  to 
urge  unbelievers  to  any  shadow  of  that 
obedience  as  preparative  to  justification  by 
faith,  can  have  no  other  effect  than  to  lead 
them  to  establish  their  own  righteousness, 
and  to  stand  in  awe  of  the  preacher." — p.  29. 

If  there  be  any  meaning  in  this  answer, 
it  would  seem  to  be  that  faith  itself  is  not 
a  duty,  and  that  unbelievers  ought  not  to 
be  exhorted  to  it,  lest  it  should  lead  them 
to  self-righteousness ;  but  barely  to  have 
the  evidence  of  truth  stated  to  them. 

Mr.  S.  represents  the  sinner  as  justified, 
and  as  having  obtained  peace  to  his  soul 
while  utterly  destitute  of  the  love  of  God. 
"  I  can  never  begin  to  love  God,"  says  he, 
"till  I  first  see  him  just  in  justifjing  me  un- 
godly as  I  stand."  p.  12.  But,  being  jus- 
tified Jn  this  his  ungodly  state  of  mind,  he 
loves  God  on  account  of  it;  and  here  be- 
gins his  godliness:  "It  all  consists  in  love 
to  that  which  first  relieved  him." — p.  8. 

If  he  had  represented  the  doctrine  of 
Christ  as  giving  relief  to  the  guilty  creature, 
irrespective  of  any  consciousness  of  a 
change  in  himself,  or  as  furnishing  him  with 


*  LettPTS  on  Theron  and  ABpasio,  Vo!.  I.  p-  4S3. 
t  Epistolary  CorreBi>ood3nc«,  p.  8. 


2S4 


FULLER    ON    S  A  NDEM  ANIANISM. 


a  ground  to  conclude  that  God  can  be  just 
and  the  justifier  of  him  if  he  believes  in  Je- 
sus^ this  had  accorded  with  Paul's  gospel, 
(Rom.  iv.  24;)  but  tor  a  sinner  to  perceive 
himself  justified  implies  a  consciousness  that 
he  is  a  believer,  and  such  a  consciousness 
can  never  be  separate  from  a  conscious  love 
to  the  divine  character.  If,  indeed,  the  gos- 
pel were  an  expedient  merely  to  give  relief 
to  sinners,  and  no  regard  was  had  in  it  to 
the  glory  of  God,  a  sinner  full  of  enmity  to 
God,  might  receive  it,  and  derive  peace 
from  it ;  but,  if  it  be  an  essential  property 
of  it  to  secure  the  glory  of  the  divine  char- 
acter, the  belief  of  it  mu«t  include  a  sense 
of  that  glory,  which  cannot  consist  with  en- 
mity against  it. 

Let  it  also  be  seriously  considered  wheth- 
er it  be  true  that  a  sinner  is  justified  "  un- 
godly as  he  stands  ?"  If  it  be,  he  must  have 
been  so  either  antecedently  to  his  "  seeing" 
it  to  be  so,  and  then  it  must  be  equally  true 
of  all  ungodly  sinners ;  or  it  becomes  so 
when  he  sees  it,  and  hy  his  seeing  it,  which 
is  the  very  absurdity,  which  JMr.  S.  fastens 
on  the  popular  preachers. 

Mr.  S.  and  many  ethers  have  caught  at 
the  phrase  of  the  apostle  Paul,  of  "  God's 
justifying  the  ungodly;"  but  unless  they 
can  prove  that  by  ungodly  the  apostle  meant 
one  who  was  at  the  lime  an  enemy  of  God, 
it  makes  nothing  in  their  favor.  The 
amount  is,  Mr.  S.'s  relifif  arises  from  his 
"  seeing"  what  is  not  to  be  seen  ;  viz.  God 
to  be  just  in  justifying  him  ungodly  as  he 
stands ;  and,  his  relief  being  founded  in 
falsehood,  all  his  godliness  which  confess- 
edly arises  from  it,  must  be  delusive.  The 
root  is  rottenness,  and  the  blossoms  will  go 
up  as  the  dust. 

From  the  leading  principles  of  doctrine 
above  stated  it  is  easy  to  account  for  almost 
all  the  other  peculiarities  of  the  system. 
Where  the  root  and  substance  of  religion 
is  placed  in  knowledge,  exclusive  of  appro- 
■  bation,  it  may  be  expected  that  the  utmost 
Btress  will  be  laid  on  the  former,  and  that 
almost  every  thing  pertaining  to  the  latter 
will  be  decried  under  the  name  of  pharisa- 
ism,  or  some  other  odious  appellation. 
Thus  it  is  that  those  who  have  drunk  into 
this  system  generally  value  themselves  on 
their  clear  views  ;  thus  they  scarcely  ever 
use  any  other  phrase  by  which  to  designate 
the  state  of  a  converted  man  than  his  know- 
ing the  truth  ;  and  thus  all  those  scripture 
passages  which  speak  of  knowing  the  truth 
are  constantly  quoted  as  being  in  their  fii- 
vor,  though  they  seldom,  if  ever,  mean 
knowledge  as  distinguished  from  approba- 
tion, but  as  including  it. 

Farther :  I  do  not  perceive  how  a  system 
whose  first  principle  is  "  notion,"  and  whose 
love  is  confined  to  "  that  which  first  relieves 
Bs^"  can  have  the  love  of  God  in  it.    It  can- 


not justify  God  as  a  Lawgiver,  by  taking 
blame  and  shame  to  ourselves ;  for  it  ne- 
cessarily supposes,  and  even  professes,  an 
abhorrence  to  both  law  and  justice  in  every 
other  view  than  as  satisfied  by  the  cross  of 
Christ.  The  reconciliation  to  them  in  thia 
view,  therefore,  must  be  merely  on  the 
ground  of  their  becoming  friendly  to  our  in- 
terests. But,  if  God  be  not  justified  as  a 
Lawgiver,  Christ  can  never  be  received  as 
a  iSaviour.  There  is  no  more  grace  in  jus- 
tification than  there  is  justice  in  condemna- 
tion :  nor  is  it  possible  we  should  see  more 
of  the  one  than  the  other ;  for  we  cannot 
see  things  otherwise  than  as  they  are  to  be 
seen.  But  surely  a  system  which  neither 
justifies  the  Lawgiver  nor  receives  the  Sa- 
viour as  honoring  him  cannot  be  of  God. 
The  love  of  God  a^  God  i^  not  in  it.  Con- 
version, on  this  principle,  is  not  turning  tO' 
the  Lord.  It  professes,  indeed,  to  love  God : 
but  it  is  only  for  our  own  sake.  The  whole 
process  requires  no  renovation  of  the  spirit 
of  the  mind ;  for  the  most  depraved  crea- 
ture is  capable  of  loving  himself  and  that 
which  relieves  him. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  a  religion  founded 
on  such  a  principle  slrould  be  litigious,  con- 
ceited, and  censorious  towards  all  who  do 
not  embrace  it  ?  It  is  of  the  nature  of  a 
selfish  spirit  to  be  so.  If  God  himself  be 
loved  only  for  the  relief  he  affords  us,  it  can- 
not be  surprising  that  men  should ;  nor 
that,  under  the  cover  of  loving  them  only 
for  the  truth's  sake,  all  manner  of  bitterness 
and  contempt  should  be  cherished  against 
every  one  who  dares  to  dispute  our  dog- 
mas. 

Farther :  The  love  of  God  being  in  a 
manner  excluded  from  the  system,  it  may 
be  expected  that  the  defect  will  be  supplied 
by  a  punctilious  attention  to  certain  forms ; 
of  which  some  will  be  found  to  arise  from  a 
a  misunderstanding  of  the  scriptures,  and 
others  which  may  not.  yet,  being  regarded 
to  the  neglect  of  weightier  matters,  resem- 
ble the  tithing  of  mijit^  anise,  and  cummin. 

Such,  from  the  repeated  views  that  I  have 
been  able  to  take  of  the  system,  appear  to 
me  to  be  its  grand  oudines ;  and  I  am  not 
surprised  to  find  that,  in  the  course  of  half 
a  century,  it  has  landed  so  large  a  part  of 
its  votaries  on  the  shores  of  Infidelity,  or 
sunk  them  in  the  abyss  of  worldly  confor- 
mity. Those  who  live  near  them  say  there 
is  scarcely  any  appearance  of  serious  relig- 
ion in  their  families,  unless  we  might  call 
by  that  name  the  scrupulosity  tliat  would 
refuse  to  pray  with  an  unbeliever,  but  would 
have  no  objection  to  accompany  him  to  the 
theatre.  Mr.  S.  and  his  admirers  have  re- 
proached many  for  their  devotion  ;  but  I 
cannot  learn  that  they  were  ever  reproach- 
ed with  this  evil  in  return. 

The  grand  argunicnt  of  Mr.  S.  againet 


FULLER    ON    S  AND  EM  ANI ANI  S  M. 


285 


faith  being  an  act  of  the  mind,  and  against 
admitting  of  any  active  advance  of  the  soul 
towards  Christ  as  necessary  to  justification, 
is  that  it  is  rendering  faith  a  work;  and 
that  to  be  justified  by  faith  would,  after  all, 
be  to  be  justified  by  a  work  of  our  own. 
This  is  the  principal  idea  pertaining  to  what 
he  calls  "  the  very  rankest  poison  of  the 
popular  doctrine."*  If  this  argument  can 
be  overturned,  the  greater  part  of  his  sys- 
tem falls  with  it.  That  it  may  appear  in 
all  its  force  I  will  quote  his  strongest  repre- 
sentations of  it. 

"  Perhaps  it  will  be  thought  needful  that 
I  should  define  with  greater  precision  than 
I  have  hitherto  done  what  I  mean  by  the 
popular  doctrine,  especially  as  I  have  con- 
sidered many  as  preachers  thereof  who 
differ  remarkably  from  each  other;    and 

Karticularly  as  I  have  ranked  among  them 
Ir.  Wesley,  who  may  justly  be  reckoned 
one  of  the  most  virulent  reproachers  of  that 
God  whose  character  is  drawn  by  the  apos- 
tles that  this  island  has  produced.  To  re- 
move all  doubt  concerning  my  meaning,  I 
shall  thus  explain  myself  Throughout 
these  letters  I  consider  all  those  as  teachers 
of  the  popular  doctrine  who  seek  to  have 
credit  and  influence  among  the  people  by 
resting  our  acceptance  with  God,  not  sim- 
ply on  what  Christ  has  done,  but  more  or 
less  on  the  use  we  make  of  him,  the  ad- 
vance we  make  towards  him,  or  some  se- 
cret desire,  wish,  or  sigh  to  do  so ;  or  on 
something  we  feel  or  do  concerning  him, 
by  the  assistance  of  some  kind  of  grace  or 
spirit:  or,  lastly,  on  something  we  employ 
him  to  do,  and  suppose  he  is  yet  to  do  for 
us.  In  sum,  all  who  would  have  ua  to  be 
conscious  of  something  else  than  the  bare 
truth  of  the  gospel ;  all  who  would  have  us 


are  justified  by  a  work  exerted  by  the  hvr 
man  mind.'''' 

"  I  have  all  along  studied  to  make  use  of 
every  form  of  expression  I  could  think  of, 
for  evincing  in  the  most  clear,  palpable,  and 
striking  manner,  a  difference  of  the  last  im- 
portance, which  thousands  of  preachers 
have  labored  to  cover  with  a  mist.  If  I 
have  made  that  difference  manifest  to  those 
who  have  any  attention  for  the  subject,  my 
great  end  in  writing  is  gained,  on  v/hatev- 
er  side  of  it  men  shall  choose  to  rank  them- 
selves. It  has  frequently  appeared  to  me 
a  thing  no  less  amazing  than  provoking, 
when  the  great  difference  between  the  an- 
cient gospel  here  contended  for  and  the 
popular  doctrine  has  been  pointed  out  as 
clear  as  words  could  make  it,  to  find  many, 
after  all,  so  obstinately  stupid  as  to  declare 
they  saw  no  real  difference.  This  I  cannot 
account  for  by  assigning  any  other  cause 
than  the  special  agency  of  the  prince  of 
darkness."* 

After  this,  it  may  be  thought  an  act  of 
temerity  to  complain  of  not  understanding 
Mr.  Sandeman:  and  indeed  I  shall  make 
no  such  complaint,  lor  I  think  I  do  clearly 
understand  his  meaning;  but  whether  be 
has  fairly  represented  that  of  his  opponents 
I  shall  take  the  liberty  to  enquire. 

The  popular  preachers  "  rest  our  accep- 
tance with  God,"  it  seems,  "not  simply  on 
what  Christ  hath  done,  but  on  the  active 
advance  of  the  soul  towards  him."  Do  they 
then  consider  faith,  whether  we  be  active 
or  passive  in  it,  as,  forming  a  part  of  our 
justifying  righteousness?  In  other  words, 
do  they  consider  it  as  any  part  of  that  for 
the  sake  of  which  a  sinner  is  accepted  ? 
They  every  where  declare  the  contrary. 
I  question  if  there  be  one  of  those  whom 


to  be  conscious  of  some  beginning  of  a  I  Mr.  S.  ordinarily  denominates  popular 
change  to  the  better,  or  some  desire,  how-  preachers  who  would  not  cordially  subscribe 
ever  faint,  towards  such  change,  in  order  to  to  the  passage  in  Aspasio  which  hesohigh- 
our  acceptance  with  God;  rhese  I  call  the |ly  applauds,  and  considers  as  inconsistent 
popular  preachers,  however  much  they  may  with  the  popular  doctrine;  viz.  "Both 
differ  from  each  other  about  faith,  grace,  grace  and  faith  stand  in  direct  opposition  to 
special  or  common,  or  about  any  thing  else,  vvorks;  aZ^  works  whatever,  whether  they 
My  resentment  is  all  along  chiefly  pointed  be  works  of  the  law  or  the  gospel,  exercises 


against  the  capital  branch  of  the  popular 
doctrine,  which  while  it  asserts  almost  all 
the  articles  belonging  to  the  sacred  truth, 
at  the  same  time  deceitfully  clogs  them 
with  the  opposite  lalsehoods." 

Again :  "  That  the  saving  truth  is  effect- 
ually undermined  by  this  confusion  may 
readily  be  seen  in  the  following  easy  view" 
—(this  is  what  I  call  his  grand  argument,) 
"  He  who  maintains  that  xoe  are  jusiijied 
only  by  faith,  and  at  the  same  time  affirms, 
with  Aspasio,  that  faith  is  a  xcork  exerted 
by  the  human  mind,  undoubtedly  maintains, 
if  he  has  any  meaning  in  his  words,  that  we 


'  Lsuera  on  Theron  and  Aflpaeio,  p.  443. 


of  the  heart  or  actions  of  the  life,  done  while 
we  remain  unregenerate  or  wlien  we  be- 
come regenerate,  they  are  all  and  every  of 
them  equally  set  aside  in  this  great  affair."! 
If  the  popular  preachers  maintain  an  ac- 
tive advance  of  the  soul  to  be  necessary  to 
our  acceptance  with  God,  it  is  in  no  other 
sense  than  that  in  which  he  himself  main- 
tains '=  the  bare  belief  of  the  truth"  to  be  so  ; 
that  is,  not  as  a  procuring  cause,  but  as  that 
without  which,  according  to  the  established 
order  of  things,  there  is  no  acceptance.  To 
accuse  them  therefore  of  corrupting  the 


'  Letters  on  Theron  and  Aspasio.  Vol.  IF.  pp^80,  483L 
1  Letters  on  Theron  and  Aspasio,  Vol.  I.  p.  275. 


286 


FULLER    ON    S  A  N  DEM  AN  lANISM. 


doctrine  of  justification,  on  this  account, 
must  be  owing  either  to  gross  ignorance  or 
disingenuousncss. 

Yet  in  this  strain  the  eulogists  of  Mr. 
Sandeman  go  on  to  declaim  to  this  day. 
"His  main  doctrine,"  says  one,  "appears 
to  be  this :  the  bare  work  of  Jesus  Christ, 
which  he  finished  on  the  cross,  is  sufficient, 
without  a  deed  or  a  thought  on  the  part  of 
man,  to  present  the  chief  of  sinners  spot- 
less before  God."*  If  by  sufficient  be 
meant  that  it  is  that  only  on  account  of 
which,  or  for  the  sake  of  which,  a  sinner  is 
justified,  it  is  very  true ;  and  Mr.  Sande- 
man's  opponents  believed  it  no  less  than  he 
himself:  out  if  it  be  meant  to  deny  that  any 
deed  or  thought  on  the  part  of  man  is  ne- 
cessary in  the  established  order  of  things, 
or  that  sinners  are  presented  spotless  be- 
fore God  without  a  deed  or  a  thought  on 
the  subject,  it  is  very  false,  and  goes  to  de- 
ny the  necessity  of  faith  1o  salvation;  for 
surely  no  man  can  be  said  to  believe  in 
Christ  without  thinking  of  him. 

Mr.  Pike,  who  had  embraced  Mr.  Sande- 
man's  view  of  faith,  yet  says  to  him,  "  I 
cannot  but  conceive  that  you  are  sometimes 
mistaken  in  your  representations  of  what 
yon  call  the  popular  doctrine ;  for  instance, 
Upon  the  popular  plan,  say  you,  we  can 
never  have  peace  in  our  consciences  until 
we  besen^blc  of  some  heg-inning  of  a  good 
disposition  in  tcs  towards  Christ.  Now, 
setting  aside  some  few  unguarded  ex- 
pressions and  addresses,  you  will  find  that 
the  general  drift  and  purport  of  their  doc- 
trine is  just  the  contrary  to  this ;  and  they 
labor  this  point,  both  Marshall  and  Hervey, 
to  convince  persons  that  nothing  of  this  na- 
ture does  or  can  recommend  them  to  God  or 
be  any  part  of  their  justifying  righteous- 
ness ;  and  their  principal  view  is  to  beget 
or  to  draw  forth  such  thoughts  in  the  mind 
as  lead  the  soul  entirely  out  of  itself  to  Christ 
alone  for  rigtheousness."t  It  is  observable, 
too,  that  though  Mr.  S.  answered  this  letter 
of  Mr.  Pike,  yet  he  takes  no  notice  of  this 
passage. 

I  am  not  vindicating  either  Marshall  or 
Hervey  in  all  their  views  ;  but  justice  re- 
quires that  this  misrepresentation  should  be 
corrected,  especially  as  it  runs  through  the 
whole  of  Mr.  Sandeman's  writings,  and 
forms  the  basis  of  an  enormous  mass  of  in- 
vective. 

By  works  opposed  to  grace  and  faith  the 
New  Testament  means  works  done  with  a 
view  of  ohtainivg  life,  or  of  procuring  ac- 
ceptance with  God  as  the  reward  of  them. 
If  acceptance,  faith,  or  sincere  obedience, 
be  recommended  as  being  such  a  condition 
of  salvation  as  that  God  may  be  expected 
to  bestow  it  in  reward  of  them,  this  is  turn- 


'  Cooppr's  LflitcrB,  p.  33. 

t  EphrtoUry  Ooireefondenc*,  p.  24. 


ing  the  gospel  into  a  covenant  of  works,  and 
is  as  much  opposed  to  grace,  and  to  the 
true  idea  of  justification  by  faith,  as  any 
works  of  the  law  can  be.  But  to  deny  the 
activity  of  the  soul  in  believing,  lest  faith  it- 
self should  become  a  work  of  the  law,  and 
so  after  all  we  should  be  justified  by  a  work, 
is  both  antiscriptural  and  nugatory:  anti- 
scriptural,  because  the  whole  tenor  of  the 
Bible  exhorts  sinners  to  forsake  their  ways 
and  return  to  the  Lord,  "  that  he  may  have 
mercy  upon  them  ;"  to  believe  in  the  light, 
"  that  they  may  be  children  of  light ;"  and 
to  come  to  him  "  that  they  may  have  life :" 
nugatory,  because  we  need  not  go  far  for 
proof  that  men  know  how  to  value  them- 
selves and  despise  others  on  account  of  their 
notions  as  well  as  of  their  actions ;  and  so 
are  capable  of  making  a  righteousness  of 
the  one  as  well  as  of  the  other. 

Farther :  If  there  be  any  weight  in  Mr. 
Sandeman's  argument  it  falls  equally  on 
his  own  hypothesis  as  on  that  of  his  oppo- 
nents. Thus  we  might  argue,  He  who 
maintains  that  we  are  justified  only  by  faith, 
and  at  the  same  time  affirms,  with  Mr. 
Sandeman,  that  faith  is  a  notion  formed  by 
the  human  mind,  undoubtedly  maintains,  if 
he  has  any  meaning  to  his  words,  that  we 
are  justified  by  a  notion  Ibrmed  by  the  hu- 
man mind. 

Mr.  S.,  as  if  aware  of  his  exposedness  to 
this  retort,  labors  in  the  foregoing  quota- 
tion, to  make  nothing  of  the  belief  of  the 
truth,  or  to  keep  every  idea  but  that  of  the 
truth  believed  out  of  sight.  So  fearful  is  he 
of  making  faith  to  be  any  thing  which  has 
a  real  subsistence  in  the  mind  that  he  plung- 
es into  gross  absurdity  to  avoid  it.  Speak- 
ing of  that  of  which  the  believer  is  "  con- 
scious," he  makes  it  to  be  truth  instead  of 
the  belief  oT  it;  as  if  any  thing  could  be  an 
object  of  consciousness  but  what  passes  or 
exists  in  the  mind  ! 

It  may  be  thought  that  the  phrase,  "  All 
who  would  have  us  to  be  conscious  oi  Bome- 
thing  else  than  the  bare  tr-uth  of  the  gos- 
pel" is  a  mere  slip  of  the  pen — but  it  is  not ; 
for  had  Mr.  S.  spoken  of  belief,  instead  of 
the  truth  believed,  asan  objectof  conscious-, 
ness,  his  statement  would  have  been  mani- 
festly liable  (o  the  consequence  which  he 
charges  on  his  opponents.  It  might  then 
have  been  said  to  him,  He  who  maintains 
that  we  are  justified  only  by  faith,  and  at 
the  same  time  afllrms  that  faith  is  something 
inherent  in  the  human  mind,  undoubtedly 
maintains,  if  he  has  any  meaning  to  his 
words,  that  Ave  are  justified  by  something 
inherent  in  the  human  mind. 

You  must  by  this  time  perceive  that  Mr. 
Sandeman's  grand  argument,  or,  as  he  de- 
nominates it,  his  '•  easy  view,"  turns  out  ta 
be  a  mere  sophism.  To  detect  it  you  have 
only  to  consider  the  same  thing  in  different 


FULLER    ON    S ANDEM ANI ANISM, 


287 


views ;  which  is  what  Mr.  Sandeman  him- 
self does  on  some  occasions,  as  do  all  other 
men.  "  I  agree  with  you,"  says  he  to  Mr. 
Pike,  "  in  maintaining  that  faith  is  the  prin- 
ciple and  spring  of  every  good  disposition, 
or  of  every  good  work ;  but  at  the  same 
time,  I  maintain  that  faith  does  not  justify 
the  ungodly  as  a  principle  of  good  disposi- 
tions." p.  10.  Why  then  may  we  not 
maintain  that  we  are  justified  only  by  faith, 
and  at  the  same  time  affirm  that  faith  is  a 
grace  inherent,  an  act  of  the  human  mind, 
a  duty  commanded  of  God ;  and  all  this 
without  affirming  that  we  are  justified  by 
any  thing  inherent,  any  act  of  ours,  or  any 
duty  that  we  perform  ?  And  why  must  we 
be  supposed  to  use  words  without  meaning, 
or  to  contradict  ourselves,  when  we  only, 
maintain  that  we  are  justified  by  that  which 
is  inherent,  is  an  act  of  the  human  mind, 
and  is  a  duty ;  while  yet  it  is  not  as  suck, 
but  as  uniting  us  to  Christ  and  deriving 
righteousness  from  him,  that  it  justifies  ?* 

Assuredly,  there  is  no  necessity  for  reduc- 
ing faith  to  a  nullity,  in  order  to  maintain 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  the  imputed 
righteousness  of  Christ.  While  we  hold 
that  faith  justifies,  not  in  respect  of  the  act 
oi  the  believing,  but  of  the  righteousness  on 
which  it  terminates,  or  that  God's  pardon- 
ing and  receiving  us  to  favor  is  in  reward, 
not  of  our  believing,  but  of  his  Son's  obe- 
dience unto  death,  every  purpose  is  answer 
ed  and  ail  inherent  righteousness  is  exclud- 
ed. 

I  have  been  the  more  particular  on  this 
"easy  view"  of  Mr.  Sandeman,  because  it 
is  manifestly  the  grand  pillar  of  his  doc 
trine.  If  this  be  overturned  there  is  noth- 
ing left  standing  but  what  will  fall  with  a 
f&vf  slight  touches :  and  whether  it  be  so  I 
now  leave  you  and  the  reader  to  judge. 

To  establish  the  doctrine  of  free  justifica- 
tion Mr.  S.  conceives  itneccssary  to  reduce 
justifying  faith  to  a  bare  "  belief,"  exclusive 
of  every  "advance"  of  the  mind  towards 
Christ,  or  ofcomiris-  to  him,  trusting  in  him, 
ifcc,  and  to  maintain  that  these  terms  de- 
note the  effects  of  faith  in  tliose  who  are  al- 
ready in  a  justified  state.— p.  34. 

In  opposing  Mr.  S.  many  have  denied 
that  the  belief  of  the  gospel  is  justifying 
faith.  Observing,  on  the  one  hand,  that 
numbers  appear  to  believe  the  truth,  on 
whom,  nevertheless,  it  ha.s  no  salutary  in- 
fluence ;  and,  on  the  other,  that  believing 
in  Christ  in  the  New  Testament,  is  synony- 
mous with  "receiving  him,"  "trusting  in 
him,"  and  "coming  to  him,"  they  have  con- 
cluded that  the  belief  of  the  ffospel  is  rather 
to  be  considered  as  something  presupposed 
in  faith  than  faith  itself.  But  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  belief  of  the  jrospel  hap. 

*  ,^,<^«l''eiitlf  in  Edward's  i5c:m..iis  uu  Ju^^tit.cation. 
pp-  14,  26. 


in  a  great  number  of  instances,  the  promise 
of  salvation ;  and  as  to  those  nominal  Chris- 
tians on  whom  it  has  no  salutary  influence, 
they  beheve  Christ  no  more  than  the  .Tews 
believed  Moses,  which  our  Lord  would  not 
allow  that  they  did.  "  If  ye  believed  Mo- 
ses," says  he,  "  ye  would  beheve  me  for  he 
wrote  of  me." 

But  though  the  belief  of  the  gospel  is  al- 
lowed to  have  the  promise  of  salvation,  and 
so  to  be  justifying,  yet  it  does  not  follow 
that  it  is  so  exclusive  of  receiving  Christ, 
trusting  in  him,  or  coming  to  him.  It  were 
easy  to  prove  that  repentance  has  the  prom- 
ise of  forgiveness,  and  that  by  as  great  a 
variety  of  passages  as  are  brought  fo  prove 
that  the  belief  of  the  gospel  is  saving  faith  : 
but  were  this  attempted  we  should  be  told, 
and  justly  too,  that  we  are  not  to  consider 
repentance  in  these  passages  as  excluding 
but  including  faith  in  the  Saviour.  Such, 
then  is  the  answer  to  the  argument  drawn 
from  the  promises  of  salvation  made  to  the 
belief  of  the  gospel :  belief,  in  these  con- 
nections, is  not  to  be  understood  exclusive 
of  receiving  the  Saviour,  coming  to  him,  or 
trusting  in  him,  but  as  supposing  and  inclu- 
ding them. 

It  is  not  denied  that  the  ideas  conveyed 
by  these  terms  are  not  metaphysically  dis- 
tinct from  that  of  believing  the  gospel,  nor 
that  they  are  its  immediate  effects  ;  but  it  is 
not  in  this  metaphysical  sense  that  faith  is 
used  in  reference  to  justification.  That  be- 
lief of  the  gospel  which  justifies,  includes 
receiving  Christ,  coming  to  him  and  trust- 
ing in  him.  Whatever  shades  of  difference 
there  be  between  belief  and  these  "advan- 
ces of  the  mind  towards  Christ."  the  Scrip- 
tures represent  them,  with  respect  to  an  in- 
terest in  justification  and  other  collateral 
blessings,  as  one  and  the  same  thing.  This 
is  manifest  from  the  following  passages : 
"  As  many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave 
he  power  (or  privilege)  to  become  the  sons 
of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his 
name."  "  I  know  whom  I  have  believed, 
and  am  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep 
that  which  I  have  committed  to  him  against 
that  day."  "That  we  should  be  to  the 
praise  and  glory  of  his  grace  who^rs^  trust- 
ed in  Christ.  In  whom  ye  also  trusted  af- 
ter ye  heard  the  word  of  truth,  the  gospel 
of  your  salvation ;  in  whom  also  after  ye 
believed  ye  were  sealed,"  &c.  "He  that 
cow.eth  to  me  shall  never  hunger,  and  he 
that  bclievcth  in  me  shall  never  thirst." 
"Ye  will  not  come  with  me  that  ye  may  have 
life."  "  Co)ne  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 

In  these  and  many  other  passages  it  is 
manifest  that  believincr.  coming,  trusting, 
&c.,  fire  used  as  convertible  terms,  and  that 
the  thing  signified  by  them  is  necessary  to 
justification.    If  "receiving"  Christ  were 


288 


FULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


an  effect  of  faith  in  persons  already  justi- 
fied, why  is  it  used  as  synonymons  with  it, 
and  held  up  as  necessary  to  our  being  the 
sons  of  God  7  If  "  coming"  to  Christ  were 
an  exercise  of  mind  in  one  who  was  alrea- 
dy in  a  state  of  justification,  why  is  he  said 
to  come  to  him  "  that  he  may  have  life  ?" 
And  why,  if  salvation  be  promised  to  a 
mere  "  notion"  of  the  truth  without  any  love 
to  it,  is  it  said  of  apostates,  that  "  they  re- 
ceived not  the  love  of  the  truth  that  they 
might  be  saved?''''  Let  those  who  have 
their  senses  exercised  to  discern  between 
good  and  evil  judge,  from  these  things, 
whether  a  mere  notion  of  the  truth,  exclu- 
sive, or,  if  you  please,  antecedent  to  the 
consideration  of  receiving  Christ,  coming  to 
him,  and  trusting  in  him,  be  the  faith  that 
justifies  ;  and  whether,  if  the  former  were 
separate  from  the  latter,  it  would  not  leave 
the  sinner  under  condemnation. 

It  has  been  said,  "Indefining  saving  faith, 
some  have  included  in  its  essence  almost 
every  holy  temper;  and,  by  insisting  so 
much  on  this  faith,  and  giving  such  labored 
descriptions  of  it,  have  almost  inevitably 
led  their  followers  to  look  more  to  their  faith 
than  to  the  great  object  of  faith ;  to  be  more 
occupied  in  attending  to  ihe  working  of 
their  own  minds  than  with  that  truth  which 
reconciles  the  sinner  to  God.  It  is  in  con- 
sequence to  be  feared  that  not  a  few  who 
are  reckoned  orthodox  are  in  fact  trusting 
to  their  faith,  and  not  to  Christ,  making  him 
merely  a  minister  of  their  own  self-right- 
eousness :  for  we  may  go  about  to  establish 
our  own  righteousness  under  the  name  of 
faith,  as  well  as  under  any  other  name." 

I  doubt  not  but  preachers  may  abound  in 
describing  one  part  of  divine  truth,  to  the 
neglect  of  another,  and  may  go  even  be- 
yond the  truth ;  people  may  also  make  a 
righteousness  of  their  faith,  as  well  as  of 
other  things.  If  no  more  were  meant  than 
that  a  sinner  whose  inquiry  is,  What  must 
I  do  to  be  saved  ?  ought  to  be  directed  im- 
mediately to  Christ,  and  not  to  an  examina- 
tion into  the  nature  of  faith,  I  should  most 
cordially  acquiesce  in  it ;  but  it  does  not 
follow  that  nothing  should  on  any  occasion 
be  said  of  the  true  nature  of  faith.  There 
may  be  a  time  when  the  same  person  shall 
come  with  another  and  very  different  ques- 
tion ;  namely,  Ami  a  true  believer?  Such 
questions  there  must  have  been  in  the  apos- 
tle's time,  or  there  would  not  have  been 
nnswers  to  them.  See  1  John  ii.  3;  iii.  14, 
IS — 21.  Now  in  answer  to  such  an  inquiry, 
the  true  nature  and  geimine  effects  of  fafth 
require  to  be  stated  and  distinguished  from 
that  which  leaves  thousands  short  of  salva- 
tion. And.  as  to  men  making  a  righteous- 
ness of  their  faith,  men  may  make  a  right- 
■eousness  of  simple  belief  as  well  as  of  trust, 
©r  any  other  idea  supposed  to  be  included, 


in  justifying  faith ;  and  whether  there  be 
not  actually  as  much  labored  description, 
self  admiration,  and  contempt  of  others 
(things  nearly  akin  to  self-righteousness,) 
among  the  advocates  of  this  system,  as 
among  their  opponents,  let  the  candid  ob- 
server judge.  If  we  are  to  say  nothing 
about  the  holy  nature  of  faith,  lest  men 
should  make  a  righteousness  of  it,  we  must 
say  nothing  of  any  thing  else  that  is  holy, 
for  the  same  reason,  and  so  cease  to  dis- 
tinguish all  true  religion  in  the  mind  from 
that  which  is  counterfeit ;  but  so  did  not  the 
sacred  writers. 

To  the  same  purpose  Mr.  M'Lean  writes 
in  his  treatise  on  the  Commission :  "  Now 
when  men  include  in  the  very  nature  of 
justifying  faith  such  good  dispositions,  holy 
affections,  and  pious  exercises  of  heart  as 
the  moral  law  requires,  and  so  make  them 
necessary  (no  matter  under  what  considera- 
tion) to  acceptation  with  God,  it  perverts 
the  apostle's  doctrine  upon  this  important 
subject,  and  makes  justification  to  be  at 
least  as  it  tcere  by  the  works  of  the  law." 

I  know  not  of  any  writer  who  has  given 
such  a  definition  of  faith  as  these  statements 
would  represent.  No  more  holy  affection 
is  pleaded  for  in  faith  than  unholy  disaffec- 
tion is  allowed  to  be  in  imbelief.  But  the 
design  is  manifestly  to  exclude  all  holy  af- 
fection from  faith,  as  being  favorable  to  self- 
righteousness. 

If,  therefore,  repentance  be  considered  as 
necessary  to  forgiveness,  seeing  this  must 
be  allowed  to  include  holy  affection,  it  will 
be  considered  as  favorable  to  self-righteous- 
ness. And  as  to  distinguishing  between 
what  is  necessary  Mi  the  established  order 
of  things,  from  what  is  necessary  as  a  pro- 
airing  cause,  this  will  not  be  admitted  ;  for 
it  is  "  no  matter  under  what  consideration :" 
if  any  thing  required  bj"-  the  moral  law  be 
rendered  necessary,  "it  makes  justification 
to  be  at  least  as  it  were  by  the  works  of  the 
law."  Yet  Mr.  M.  allows  faith,  whatever 
it  is,  to  be  a  duty.  Is  it  then  a  requirement 
of  a  new  and  remedial  law  ?  Would  not 
the  love  of  God  which  is  required  by  the 
old  law,  lead  any  sinner  to  believe  in  Christ? 
If  not,  why  is  unbelief  alleged  against  the 
Jews  as  a  proof  that  they  had  not  the  love  of 
God  in  them  ?  See  John  v.  42,  43.  As 
Mr.  M.,  however,  in  his  piece  on  the  Calls 
and  Invitations  of  the  Gospel,  has  gone  far 
towards  answering  himself,  I  shall  tran- 
scribe a  passage  from  that  performance : 
"  It  is  an  unscriptural  refinement  upon  di- 
vine grace,"  he  there  says,  "  and  contrary 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles,  to  class  faith 
and  repentance  with  the  works  of  the  law, 
and  to  state  them  as  equally  opposite  to 
free  justification.  Indeed  neither  faith  nor 
repentance  is  the  meritorious  or  procuring 
cause  of  a  sinners  justification,  any  more 


PULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


289 


than  the  works  of  the  law  are,  (and  who 
that  really  believes  and  repents  will  imag- 
ine that  they  are?)  But  still,  the  one  is 
opposed  to  free  justification,  the  other  not. 
To  him  that  worketh  is  the  reward  not 
reckoned  of  grace  but  of  debt ;  and  faith 
and  repentance  corresponding  exactly  with 
the  manifestation  of  divine  grace,  as  freely 
justifying  tlie  guilty  through  the  atonement, 
ere  in  their  very  nature  opposite  to  all  self- 
dependence,  and  lead  men  to  glory  in  the 
Lord."— p.  26. 

We  see  here  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
nature  of  repentance  that  clashes  vnih  a 
free  justification,  which  yet  must  be  allowed 
to  include  a  portion  of  holy  affection.  Why 
then  object  to  the  same  thing  in  faith  !  Is  it 
because  holy  affection  is  "  required  by  the 
moral  law"?"  Be  it  so:  it  is  the  same  in  re- 
pentance as  in  faith  :  and,  if  the  one  may  in 
its  very  nature  agree  with  a  free  justifica- 
tion, so  may  the  other.  The  truth  is,  the 
moral  law,  materially  considered,  is  not  op- 
posed to  free  justification.  The  love  of  God 
and  man  in  its  own  nature  is  as  opposite  to 
self  righteous  pride  as  faith  and  repentance 
are.  It  is  not  the  law  that  is  against  the 
promises,  but  those  works  of  the  law  done 
by  a  sinful  creature  with  a  view  of  obtain- 
ing life,  or  of  procuring  acceptance  with 
God  as  the  reward  of  them.  If  holy  affec- 
tion were  urged  with  such  a  view,  then 
were  it  opposed  to  the  free  grace  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  but  while  this  is  not  the  case,  all  such 
reasonings  are  unscriptural  refinements. 

If  men  make  a  righteousness  of  their  faith, 
it  is  not  owing  to  these  representations  of 
it,  but  to  their  own  corruptions ;  for,  let 
faith  include  what  good  disposition  it  may, 
it  is  no  part  of  the  meritorious  cause  of  justi- 
fication ;  and  let  it  be  simpUfied  as  it  may, 
even  till  it  shall  contain  no  more  of  the  holy 
nature  of  God  than  a  glance  of  the  eye,  yet 
is  it  not  on  this  account  more  friendly  to  the 
doctrine  of  grace,  nor  less  liable  to  become 
the  food  of  a  self-righteous  spirit.  The  way 
in  which  this  spirit  is  cut  up  in  the  New 
Testament  is,  not  by  reducing  faith  to  an 
unfeeling  speculation,  but  by  denouncing 
the  curse  against  every  one  who  cometh 
short  of  perfect  obedience.     Gal.  iii.  10. 

It  has  been  further  said,  "  Faith  purifies 
the  heart,  work-eth  by  love,  and  discovereth 
itself  sincere  by  the  performance  of  good 
works.  Faith  therefore,  isnotholiness,  love. 
or  new  obedience,  unless  the  effect  is  the 
same  with  the  cause,  or  the  evidence  with 
the  thing  proved."  Faith  certainly  is  not 
the  same  thing  as  holiness,  or  love  or  new 
obedience.  Neither  is  unbelief  the  same 
thing  as  unholiness,  enmity,  or  disobedi- 
ence :  but  it  is  not  so  distinct  from  either 
las  not  to  partake  of  thesameg-e/ieraZ  nature. 
It  is  not  only  the  root  of  all  other  sin,  but  is 
itself  a  sin.     fn  like  manner,  faith  is  not  on- 

VoL.  3. — Kk. 


ly  the  root  of  all  other  obedience,  but  is  it- 
self an  exercise  of  obedience.  It  is  called 
"obeying  the  truth,"  and  "obeying  the 
gospel."  To  say  that  faith  includes  no  ho- 
liness, (which  this  objection  certainly  does,) 
and  yet  produces  it,  as  the  seed  produces  a 
plant,  is  to  contradict  the  established  laws 
of  nature,  according  to  which  every  seed 
produces  its  own  body.  God  can  produce 
something  out  of  nothing,  but  in  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  traduction  every  seed  produ- 
ces after  its  kind.  If  holiness,  therefore, 
were  not  included  in  faith,  it  would  not  grow 
out  of  it. 

Mr.  M'Lean  does  not  agree  with  Mr. 
Sandeman  in  considering  faith  as  o. passive 
admission  of  the  truth,  but  allows  it  to  be 
an  act  or  e.vercise  of  the  mind. — Reply,  pp. 
74,  75.  A  large  part  of  his  work,  however, 
is  taken  up  in  attempting  to  prove  that  it  is 
a  mere  exercise  of  the  understanding,  ex- 
clusive of  every  thing  pertaining  to  the 
will  and  affections.  It  is  no  part  of  the 
question  between  him  and  me  whether, 
properly  speaking,  it  has  its  seat  in  the  un- 
derstanding ;  for  this  it  may  have,  and  yet 
be  infiuenced  by  the  disposition.  Unbelief 
has  its  seat  in  the  understanding,  as  much  as 
belief,  yet  it  is  not  denied  that  this  is  influ- 
enced by  the  disposition.  "  It  arises,"  says 
Mr.  M'Lean,  "not  merely  from  ign-orance, 
but  also  from  the  aversion  of  the  will,  where- 
by the  judgment  is  blinded,  and  most  un- 
reasonably prejudiced  against  the  truth." — 
p.  76.  Nor  had  Mr.  M'Lean  any  just 
ground  for  construing  what  I  had  said  in 
proof  of  iaith  in  Christ  being  such  a  belief 
as  arises  from  a  renewal  of  the  spirit  of  the 
mind,  as  an  attempt  to  "  prove  that  faith  is 
more  than  belief'' — p.  SO.  He  allows  unbe- 
lief to  arise,  in  part,  from  disposition  ;  yet  I 
suppose  he  would  not  be  thought  by  this 
concession,  to  make  it  something-more  than 
unbelief  If  unbelief  may  consist  in  such  a 
discredit  of  the  gospel  as  arises  from  aver- 
sion to  it,  and  yet  be  nothing  more  than  un- 
belief; faith  may  consist  in  such  a  credit 
of  the  gospel  as  arises  from  a  renewal  of 
the  spirit  of  the  mind,  and  yet  be  nothing 
more  than  belief. 

To  this  may  be  added,  if  faith  in  Christ 
be  a  duty  commanded  of  God,  an  act  of  the 
human  mind,  an  exercise  of  obedience  to 
God,  (all  which  Mr.  M.  acknowledges,)  it 
must  be  the  effect  of  regeneration,  or  it  will 
follow  that  they  that  are  in  the  flesh  may 
please  God. 

Mr.  M'Lean  speaks  much  of  simple  be- 
lief, as  Mr.  Sandeman  did  of  bare  belief. 
Mr.  S.  manifestly  intended  hereby  to  ex- 
clude every  "  advance"  of  the  sinner  to 
Christ,  as  signified  by  such  terms  as  coming 
to  Christ,  trusting  in  him,  &c.,  from  justify- 
ing faith.  Such  may  be  the  intention  of  Mr. 
M'Lean :  if  it  be  not,  I  do  not  understand 


290 


FULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


the  use  of  the  epithet.  He  cannot,  how-' 
ever,  consistently  reject  every  "  advance" 
of  the  mind  to  Christ  as  belonging  to  justi- 
fying faitli,  since  he  acknowledges  the  soul 
to  be  active  in  beheving.  But  while  dwell- 
ing so  much  on  simple  belief,  why  does  he  not 
dwell  also  on  simple  unbelief?  If  belief  be 
eimple,  so  must  unbelief,  for  they  are  oppo- 
sites.  And  I  really  acknowledge  there  are 
such  thingsassimplebeliefandsimple  unbe- 
lief;  but  neither  of  them  applies  to  the  credit 
or  discred  it  of  the  gospel.  If  a  stranger,  who 
has  no  claim  on  my  confidence,  relate  a 
etoryofsomething  that  he  has  seen  in  a  distant 
country,  but  which  in  no  way  concerns  me, 
I  may  believe  him,  or  disbelieve  him:  my 
faith  in  the  one  case,  or  my  unbelief  in  the 
other,  would  be  perfectly  simple.  But  if  it 
be  a  story  of  deep  interest,  if  the  undoubted 
veracity  of  the  party  has  a  claim  on  my  con- 
fidence, and  if  my  future  course  of  life  turns 
upon  the  credit  or  discredit  that  I  give  him 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other  will  be  simple, 
but  compounded  of  a  number  of  moral  prin- 
ciples which  influence  my  decision :  if  to 
discredit  his  testimony,  they  are  prejudices 
which  blind  me  to  the  force  of  evidence  ;  if 
to  credit  it,  candor,  or  openness  to  convic- 
tion. It  is  thus  in  believing  the  gospel, 
which  is  a  subject  of  the  deepest  interest, 
testified  by  a  Being  whose  veracity  it  is  a 
crime  to  question,  and  of  such  consequence 
10  a  sinner  even  in  this  life,  that,  if  he  ad- 
mit it,  he  must  relinquish  all  his  former 
courses  and  live  a  new  life.  Intrenched  in 
prejudice,  self-righteousness,  and  the  love 
of  sin,  he  continues  an  unbeliever  till  these 
strong  holds  are  beaten  down  nor  will  he 
believe  so  long  as  a  wreck  of  them  remains 
sufficient  to  shelter  him  against  the  arrows 
of  conviction  ;  nor,  in  short,  till  by  the  reno- 
vating influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  they  fall 
to  the  ground.  It  is  then,  and  not  till  then, 
that  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  mere  grace, 
through  a  mediator,  is  cordially  believed. 

Mr.  M'Lean,  in  his  arguing  for  what  he 
calls  simple  belief,  seems  to  be  aware  that 
it  is  not  the  proper  opposite  of  unbelief  as 
described  in  the  scriptures.  Hence  he 
somewhere  alleges  that  we  cannot  reason 
from  the  nature  of  unbelief  to  that  of  belief 
any  more  than  from  that  of  demerit  to  merit. 
But  the  disparity  between  demerit  and 
merit,  to  which  he  refers,  does  ijot  respect 
their  nature,  but  the  condition  of  the  party 
who  is  the  subject  of  them.  Merit  is  the 
desert  of  good,  and  demerit  is  the  desert  of 
evil:  they  are,  therefore,  properly  opposites, 
whatever  may  be  the  condition  of  the  pa'rty 
as  to  being  equally  capable  of  exercising 
them ;  and  it  is  fair  in  ascertaining  their 
nature  to  argue  from  the  one  to  the  other. 

Upon  the  whole,  1  see  no  reason  to  re- 
tract what  I  have  in  substance  said  belbre, 
tliat  if   faith  and   r]t;b  !'"f   be    opposites 


(which  to  deny  were  disowning  lliat  which 
is  self-evident,)  the  one  can  be  no  more 
simple,  or  exclusive  of  the  influence  of  tlie 
will,  than  the  other. 


LETTER    III. 

A  more  Particular  Inquiry  into  the  Conse- 
quences  of  Mr.  Sandeman^s  Notion  of 
Justifying  Faith. 

You  will  not  conclude  from  any  thing  I 
have  said,  or  may  yet  say,  that  I  accuse 
every  one  who  favors  this  doctrine  of  hold- 
ing all  the  consequences  which  may  be 
proved  to  arise  from  it:  it  is,  however,  a 
(air  method  of  trying  a  principle,  to  point 
out  other  principles  to  which  it  leads,  which, 
if  contrary  to  the  scriptures,  furnish  reasons 
for  rejecting  it. 

If  the  faith  by  which  we  are  justified  be 
a  mere  passive  reception  of  light,  or  con- 
tain no  exercise  of  affection,  it  tbllows: 

First,  IViat  repentance  is  not  necessary 
to  forgiveness.  It  is  allowed  on  all  hands, 
that  justification  includes  the  forgiveness 
of  sin.  Whatever  differences  there  be  be- 
tween them,  they  are  not  so  different  but 
tliat  he  who  is  justified  is  forgiven.  If 
therefore  we  be  justified  by  a  mere  notion 
of  the  truth  antecedently  to  all  exercise  of 
afl'ection,  we  are  forgiven  in  the  same  way ; 
that  is,  our  sins  are  forgiven  before  we  re- 
pent of  them. 

Mr.  Sandeman,  1  conceive,  would  hav^e 
avowed  this  consequence.  Indeed  he  does 
avow  it,  in  effect,  in  declaring  that  "he 
can  never  begin  to  love  God  till  he  first 
see  him  just  in  justifying  him,  ungodly  as 
he  stands."  If  he  cannot  begin  to  love 
God,  he  cannot  begin  to  be  sorry  for  hav- 
ing sinned  against  him,  unless  it  be  lor  the 
consequences  which  it  has  brouglit  upon 
himself  By  being  justified  "ungodly  ius 
he  stands,"  he  means  to  say,  therefore  that 
he  is  justified  and  forgiven  while  his  mind 
is  in  a  state  of  impenitence,  and  that  it  is 
the  consideration  of  this  that  renders  him 
penitent. 

Whether  this  notion  be  not  in  direct  o\)- 
position  to  the  whole  current  of  both  the 
Old  and  New  Testament,  let  the  following 
passages,  out  of  many  more  which  might 
be  selected,  determine.  "  I  said  I  will  con- 
fess my  transgressions  unto  the  Lord  ;  and 
thou  forgnrest  the  iniquity  of  my  sin."  "If 
thy  people  Israel  sin  against  thee,  and  re- 
pent, and  make  supplication  unto  thee  to- 
wards this  house,  then  hear  thou  from 
heaven  thy  dwelling  place  and  forgive  thy 
people."  "  He  that  coveretli  his  sins  shall 
not  prosper;  but  whoso  confesseth  and  for- 
sakclh  them  shall  find  mercy."     "  Let  the 


PULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


291 


wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  unrighte- 
ous man  his  thoughts,  and  let  him  return 
unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  up- 
on him,  and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abun- 
dantly pardon."  '•  Thus  it  behoved  Christ 
to  sutFer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the 
third  day,  and  that  repentance  and  remis- 
sion of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his 
name  among  all  nations,  beginning  at  Je- 
rusalem." Repent,  theretbre,  and  be  bap- 
tized, every  one  of  you,  for  the  remission 
of  sins."  "  Repent  ye,  theretbre,  and  be 
converted,  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted 
out."  "  Him  hath  God  exalted  a  Prince 
and  a  Saviour,  to  give  repentance  to  Isra- 
el, and  the  forgiveness  of  sins."  "  If  we 
confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful  and  just  to 
forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from 
all  unrighteousness." 

I  shall  not  stop  here  to  inquire  into  the 
order  in  which  the  scriptures  represent  re- 
pentance toward  God,  and  faith  toward  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This  I  shall  attend  to 
in  a  letter  by  itself.  It  is  sufficient  at  pres- 
ent to  observe  that,  whatever  be  the  order 
of  repentance  in  respect  of  faith,  it  is  uni- 
formly represented  in  the  scriptures  as 
necessary  to  forgiveness.  Every  notion, 
therefore,  of  standing  forgiven  in  a  state 
of  impenitence,  and  of  this  being  the  only 
motive  that  can  lead  a  sinner  to  repentance, 
is  false  and  delusive. 

Secondly :  On  this  principle,  faith  in 
Christ  is  not  a  duty,  and  unbelief  is  not  a 
sin.  I  am  not  sure  whether  Mr.  Sandeman 
would  have  avowed  both  or  either  of  these 
consequences.  He,  however,  utterly  disa- 
vows urging  unbelievers  to  the  least  shad 
ow  of  obedience  to  the  gospel  in  order  to 
iustification,  as  leading  them  to  establish 
their  own  righteousness.*  The  faith,  there- 
fore, which  he  allows  to  be  necessary  to 
justification  includes  no  obedience,  which 
is  the  same  thing  as  its  being  no  duty. 
And,  if  it  be  not  a  duty,  unbelief  is  not  a 
sin ;  for,  where  there  is  no  obligation,  there 
can  be  no  transgression. 

But  a  system  which  goes  to  nullify  the 
command  of  God  to  believe  in  his  Son  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  to  excuse  the  sin  which  is 
threatened  with  eternal  damnation,  must 
be  fundamentally  erroneous,  and,  as  far  as 
it  operates,  subversive  of  true  religion. 

Mr.  M'Lean  is  very  far  from  admitting 
this  consequence,  though  he  retains  in  part 
the  principle  from  which  it  proceeds.  He 
allows,  as  we  have  seen  already,  that  faith 
is  a  duty,  an  act  of  obedience  to  God,  and 
a  holy  exercise  of  mind  :  yet  he  pleads  for 
its  containing  nothing  pertaining  to  the 
will.  Is  it  possible  then  for  any  thing  to 
be  either  an  act,  or  a  duty,  or  to  contain 
obedience,  which  is  purely  intellectual  ?     In 

'  Epistolary  correspondence,  p.  20. 


whatever  belongs  to  the  understanding  on- 
ly, exclusive  of  the  will  and  afliections,  the 
soul,  I  conceive,  is  passive.  There  are 
acts,  no  doubt,  which  pertain  to  the  intel- 
lectual, as  well  as  to  the  visive  faculty ;  but 
they  are  only  such  as  fall  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  will.  It  is  an  act  to  look,  but 
not  to  see ;  and  to  collect  information,  but 
not  to  be  informed.  It;  therefore,  believing 
be  an  act  of  the  mind,  it  must  fall  under 
the  influence  of  the  will. 

Mr.  Sandeman  is  consistent  with  him- 
self, however  inconsistent  he  may  be  witli 
the  scriptures.  In  confining  faith  to  the 
understanding,  he  was  aware  that  he  dis- 
owned its  being  an  act,  and  therefore,  in 
his  usual  strain  of  banter,  selected  some  of 
the  grossest  representations  of  his  oppo- 
nents, and  endeavored  to  hold  up  acts  of 
faith  to  ridicule.  But  Mr.  M'Lean  allows 
of  faith  being  an  act,  and  an  act  of  obedi- 
ence, and  yet  will  have  it  that  it  contains 
nothing  pertaining  to  the  will,  except  in  its 
efiects.  I  can  no  otherwise  account  for 
such  reasoning,  in  a  writer  of  his  talents, 
than  by  ascribing  it  to  the  influence  of 
early  prejudices,  contracted  by  having 
drank  too  deeply  into  the  system  of  Mr.  S., 
and  retained  by  a  partiality  for  what  he 
has  once  imbibed,  though  utterly  inconsis- 
tent with  other  sentiments  which  he  has 
since  learned  from  the  scriptures.  That 
nothing  can  contain  obedience  but  that 
which  includes  the  state  or  exercises  of 
the  will,  or  has  some  dependence  upon  it, 
is  manifest  from  universal  experience. 
Tell  a  man  that  God  has  commanded  him 
to  be  or  to  do  that  in  which  he  is  absolute- 
ly involuntary,  and  that  the  contrary  is  a 
sin,  and  see  whether  you  can  fasten  con- 
viction on  his  conscience.  Nay,  make  the 
experiment  on  yourself  Did  you  ever  per- 
ceive yourself  obliged  to  any  thing  in  which 
your  will  had  no  concern,  or  for  a  moment 
repent  of  living  in  the  neglect  of  it? 
Knowledge  may  be  a  duty,  and  ignorance 
a  sin,  so  far  as  each  is  independent  on  the 
will,  and  comprehensive  of  approbation, 
but  no  further.  Lore  is  the  fulfilling  of 
the  law,  or  that  which  comprehends  the 
whole  of  duty.  So  much,  therefore,  as 
there  is  of  love,  in  any  exercise  of  mind, 
so  much  there  is  of  duty  or  obedience,  and 
no  more.  Duty  supposes  knowledge,  in- 
deed, as  Christianity  supposes  humanity; 
but  the  essence  of  it  consists  in  disposition. 
It  may  be  our  duty  to  examine,  and  that 
with  care,  diligence,  and  impartiality ;  but, 
if  disposition  have  no  place  in  faith,  it  can- 
not be  our  duty  to  believe. 

If  faith  be  merely  light  in  the  under- 
standing, unbelief  must  be  merely  the  ab- 
sence of  it;  and,  if  the  former  include  noth- 
ing pertaining  to  the  will,  neither  (iocs  the 
latter.     To  say  that  though  unbelief  eon- 


292 


FULLER    ON    S  ANDEM  ANI ANISIVT. 


lain  a  voluntary  rejection  of  the  truth,  yet 
faith  contains  no  voluntary  reception  of  it, 
is  saying  that  belief  and  unbelief  are  not 
opposites,  which  is  equal  to  denying  a  self- 
evident  proposition.  If  the  one  be  purely 
intellectual,  so  is  the  other ;  and,  if  there  be 
no  obedience  in  the  former,  there  is  no  dis- 
obedience in  the  latter. 

Mr.  M'Lean  has  said  every  thing  on  this 
subject  that  I  could  desire,  except  drawing 
the  conclusion.  Thus  he  reasons,  when 
proving  faith  to  be  a  duty:  "Unbelief, 
which  is  the  opposite  of  faith,  is  always 
represented  as  a  very  great  and  heinous 
sin  against  God.  The  unbelieving  heart 
is  termed  an  evil  heart  (Heb.  iii.  12 ;)  and 
there  are  many  evils  in  the  heart  of  man 
which  both  occasion  and  attend  unbelief 
It  is  frequently  ascribed  to  ignorance,  (Mat. 
xiii.  19;  Rom.  x.  3;  xi.  7,  25;)  yet  not  to 
simple  ignorance,  from  want  of  information 
or  natural  capacity,  in  which  case  it  would 
be  excusable,  (John  ix.  41 ;  xv.  22,  24 ;) 
but  such  as  arises  from  the  agency  of  the 
god  of  this  world,  blinding  the  minds  of 
them  that  believe  not.  2  Cor.  iv.  4.  It  is 
wilful  ignorance,  occasioned  by  their  loving 
darkness  and  hating  the  light,  (John  iii.  19, 
20 ;)  and  so  they  are  represented  as  having 
closed  their  eyes  lest  they  should  see. 
Matt.  xiii.  15.  From  this  it  appears  that 
unbelief  is  founded,  not  merely  on  simple 
ignorance,  but  aversion  from  the  things  of 
God. 

"  Now,  if  unbelief  be  a  sin,  and  seated 
in  the  depravity  of  the  heart,  as  has  been 
shown,  it  necessarily  follows  that  faith,  its 
opposite,  must  be  a  duty,"  [and  have  its 
seat  also  in  the  heart.]  Sermons,  pp.  40, 
41.  The  words  added  in  crotchets  merely 
go  to  draw  the  conclusion ;  and  whether  it 
be  fairly  drawn  let  the  reader  judge. 

Mr.  M.  cannot  consistently  object  that, 
by  allowing  unbelief  to  be  seated  in  the 
heart,  he  did  not  mean  to  grant  that  it  was 
seated  in  the  Avill,  since  his  whole  argu- 
ment asserts  the  contrary ;  and  he  else- 
where says,  "  The  scriptures  always  rep- 
resent the  regenerating  and  sanctifying 
influences  of  the  Spirit  as  exerted  upon 
the  heart ;  which  includes  not  only  the  un- 
derstanding, but  the  will  and  affections,  or 
the  prevalent  inclinations  and  dispositions 
of  the  soul." — Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  91. 

I  had  said,  (in  my  Appendix,)  "I  can 
scarcely  conceive  of  a  truth  more  self-evi- 
dent than  this,  that  God's  commands  extend 
only  to  that  which  comes  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  will,"  Mr.  M.  allows  this  to  be 
"  a  principle  on  which  my  main  arguments 
seem  to  be  gronnded."  It  became  him. 
therefore,  if  he  were  able,  to  give  it  a  solid 
answer.  And  Avhat  is  his  answer?  It  is 
BO  far,  he  says,  from  being  self-evident,  that 
to  him  it  does  not  appear  evident  at  all. 


He  should  instance,  then,  in  something 
which  is  allowed  not  to  come  under  the 
influence  of  the  will,  but  which,  neverthe- 
less, is  a  duty.  Instead  of  this,  he  says 
the  commands  of  God  "  extend  not  only  to 
what  comes  under  the  influence  of  the  will, 
but  also  to  the  belief  of  the  revealed  truths 
and  motives  by  which  the  will  itself  is  iu'- 
fluenced."  Reply,  p.  70.  But  who  does 
not  perceive  that  this  is  proving  a  thing  by 
itself;  or  alleging  as  evidence  that  which 
is  the  very  point  in  dispute? 

The  argument  was  this  :  All  duty  comes 
under  the  influence  of  the  will — But  faith 
is  a  duty — Therefore  faith  comes  under  the 
influence  of  the  will.  To  have  overturned 
the  first  of  these  propositions,  which  is  tliat 
which  he  calls  in  question,  he  should  have 
shown  by  something  else  than  belief,  some- 
thing that  is  allowed  not  to  come  under 
the  influence  of  the  will,  that  it  may,  nev- 
ertheless, be  commanded  of  God.  But 
this  he  has  not  shown,  nor  attempted  to 
show. 

All  that  Mr.  M'Lean  has  done  towards 
answering  this  argument  is  by  laboring  to 
fasten  certain  absurdities  upon  it.  "  If  be- 
lieving God  with  the  understanding,"  he 
says,  "  be  not  a  duty,  it  must  be  either  be- 
cause he  has  not  given  a  clear  revelation 
of  the  truth,  and  supported  it  Avith  sufficient 
evidence,  or  if  he  has,  that  there  is  no  mor- 
al turpitude  in  mental  error." — p.  76. 

By  this  way  of  writing,  it  would  seem 
as  if  I  pleaded  for  men's  believing  without 
their  understanding,  of  which  I  certainly 
have  no  idea,  any  more  than  of  their  dis- 
believing without  it.  I  hold  no  more  in  re- 
spect of  faith  than  Mr.  M.  does  in  respect 
of  unbelief;  namely,  that  it  does  not  per- 
tain to  the  understanding  only.  The  great- 
est evidence  or  authority  cannot  oblige  us 
to  that  in  Avhich  we  are  absolutely  involun- 
tary. God  commands  us  to  love  him  with 
all  our  powers,  hut  not  beyond  our  powers. 
To  love  him  with  all  our  hearts  includes 
every  thing  that  depends  upon  disposition, 
even  the  bowing  of  our  understandings  to 
revealed  truth,  inst(!ad  of  proudly  rejecting 
it ;  but  that  is  all.  So  far  as  knowledge  or 
belief  is  absolutely  involuntary,  we  might 
as  welt  ascribe  duty  to  the  comailsive  mo- 
tions of  the  body  as  to  them.  And  as  to 
"  mental  error."  if  it  could  be  proved  to  be 
merely  mental,  that  is,  not  to  arise  from  in- 
dolence, prejudice,  aversion,  or  any  other 
evil  disposition,  it  would  be  innocent.  Christ 
did  not  criminate  the  Jews  for  simply  mis- 
understanding him,  but  refers  to  the  cause 
of  that  misunderstanding  as  the  ground  of 
censure.  '•  Why  do  ye  not  understand  my 
speech  ?  becanse  ye  cannot  hear  my  word  .•" 
that  is  because  ihey  were  utterly  averse 
from  it.  Mr.  M'Lean  acknowledges  as 
much  as  thisj  when  he  speaks  of  the  neglect 


rULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


293 


of  the  great  salvation  being  the  effect  of 
perverseness  and  aversion,  and  therefore 
inexcusable."  What  is  this  but  admitting 
that  if  it  arose  from  simple  ignorance  it 
would  be  excusable  ? 

Another  consequence  which  Mr.  M.  en- 
deavors to  fasten  upon  this  principle  is, 
"  If  faith  be  not  a  duty  unless  it  be  influen- 
ced by  the  moral  state  of  the  heart,  then  it 
can  be  no  man's  duty  to  believe  the  testi- 
mony of  God  concerning  his  Son  till  he  is 
previously  possessed  of  that  moral  state."-y 
p.  73.  But  if  this  consequence  were  just,  it 
would  follow  from  his  own  principles  as 
well  as  mine.  He  considers  the  illumina- 
tion of  the  Holy  spirit  as  necessary  to  be- 
lieving, but  does  he  infer  that  till  such  il- 
lumination take  place  it  is  not  a  sinner's 
duty  to  believe  7  He  also  considers  repent- 
ance as  the  fruit  of  faith ;  but  does  he  in- 
fer that  till  a  sinner  is  in  possession  of  faith 
it  is  not  his  duty  to  repent?  The  truth  is 
that  God,  in  requiring  any  one  duty  (be  it 
repentance  or  faith,  or  what  it  may,)  re- 
quires that  as  to  the  state  of  the  mind, 
which  is  necessary  to  it.  It  was  not  the  duty 
of  Absalom  to  ask  pardon  of  David  without 
feeling  sorry  for  his  offence  :  but  it  does  not 
follow  that  while  his  heart  was  hardened 
he  was  under  no  obligation  to  ask  pardon. 
He  was  under  obligation  to  both ;  and  so  are 
men  with  regard  lo  beheving  the  gospel. 
They  are  obliged  to  be  of  an  open,  upright, 
unprejudiced  mind,  and  so  to  believe  the 
truth. 

If  faith  be  a  duty,  believing  is  a  holy  ex- 
ercise of  the  mind  ;  for  what  else  is  holiness 
but  a  conformity  of  mind  to  the  revealed 
will  of  God?  Mr.  M.  allows  of  a  belief 
which  is  "  merely  natural,"  and  that  it  has 
"  no  holiness  in  it."  He  also  allows  that 
that  which  has  the  promise  of  salvation  is 
holy.  So  far  then  we  seem  to  be  agreed. 
Yet,  when  he  comes  to  state  wherein  its 
holiness  consists,  he  seems  to  resolve  every 
thing  into  the  cause,  and  the  nature  of  the 
truth  believed — p.  57.  Each  of  these,  in- 
deed, afibrdsproofofthe  holy  nature  of  faith; 
but  to  say  that  it  consists  in  either  is  to 
place  the  nature  of  a  thing  in  its  cause,  and 
in  the  object  on  which  it  terminates.  The 
objects  of  belief  are  exactly  the  same  as 
those  of  unbelief;  but  itwill  not  be  alleged,  I 
presume,  that  unbelief  is  a  holy  exercise  ! 

The  sum  is,  Mr.  M.  thinks  he  ascribes 
duty  and  holiness  to  faith ;  but  his  hypo- 
thesis is  inconsistent  with  both.  And  this 
is  all  that  I  ever  meant  to  charge  him  with. 
It  never  was  in  my  heart  to  "impeach  his 
honesty,"  (p.  64,)  though  he  has  more  than 
onfc  impeached  mine. 

Thirdly :  On  this  principle,  calls,  invi- 
tations, and  exhortations  to  believe  have 
no  place  in  the  Christian  ministry.  To  call, 
invite,  or  exhort  a  man  to  that  in  which  his 


will  has  no  concern  is  self-evident  absurdity. 
Every  man  must  feel  it,  if  he  only  make 
the  experiment.  Mr.  Sandeman  is  aware 
of  this,  and  therefore  utterly  gives  up  the 
practice,  declaring  that  the  whole  of  what 
he  has  to  offer  is  evidence.  He  says,  "  I 
would  set  before  him  (the  sinner)  all  the 
evidence  furnished  me  by  the  gospel.  Thus 
and  thus  only,  would  I  press,  call,  invite, 
exhort,  or  urge  him  to  believe."*  That  is, 
he  would  not  press,  call,  invite,  exhort,  or 
urge  him  to  believe  at  all.  So  far  he  is 
consistent  with  himself,  though  at  the  ut- 
most variance  with  the  scriptures. 

God,  however,  by  the  prophets  and  apos- 
tles, did  not  barely  ofler  evidence,  but  ad- 
dressed every  power  and  passion  of  the  hu- 
man mind.  Mr.  Sandeman  may  call  this 
"  human  clamor,  pressing  men  on  to  the 
blind  business  of  performing  some  task  call- 
ed believing ;"  but  this  will  prove  nothing 
but  his  dexterity,  when  pressed  with  an  ar- 
gument which  he  cannot  answer,  at  turning 
it  off  by  raillery.  The  clamor  of  the  proph- 
ets and  apostles  was  such  as  follows :  "  Kiss 
the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry,  and  ye  perish 
from  the  way."  "  Ho,  every  one  that  thirst- 
eth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he  that 
hath  no  money  ;  come  ye,  buy  and  eat ; 
yea  come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  mo- 
ney, and  without  price.  Wherefore  do  ye 
spend  money  for  that  which  is  not  bread, 
and  your  labor  for  that  which  satisfieth  not  ? 
Hearken  diligently  unto  me,  and  eat  ye  that 
which  is  good,  and  let  your  soul  delight  it- 
self in  fatness.  Incline  your  ear  and  come 
unto  me  ;  hear  and  your  soul  shall  live ; 
and  I  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant 
with  you  even  the  sure  mercies  of  David." 

If  this  figurative  language  should  be 
thought  to  leave  the  subject  in  doubt,  the 
following  verses  express  the  same  senti- 
ments without  a  figure  :  "  Seek  ye  the  Lord 
while  he  may  be  found  ;  call  ye  upon  him 
v/hile  he  is  near  ;  let  the  wicked  forsake 
his  way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his 
thoughts ;  and  let  him  return  unto  the 
Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him  ; 
and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  par- 
don." "  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved, 
all  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  for  I  am  God, 
and  there  is  none  else."  "  Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  Stand  ye  in  the  ways  and  see,  and 
ask  for  the  old  paths,  where  is  the  good 
way,  and  walk  therein,  and  ye  shall  find 
rest  for  your  souls."  "  Come  unto  me  all 
ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon 
you,  and  learn  of  me ;  for  I  am  meek  and 
lowly  in  heart :  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto 
your  souls."  "  Repent  ye,  and  believe  the 
gospel."  "  Ho  every  one  that  thirsfeth,  let 
iiim  come  unto  me  and  drink  !"     "  While 


■  Epistolary  CorrcEpondence  p.  8. 


294 


FULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


ye  have  the  light,  beheve  in  the  light,  that 
ye  miiy  be  the  children  of  light."  '■  I-.abor 
not  for  the  meat  that  perisheth,  but  for  that 
which  endureth  to  everlasting  life."  "  Com- 
pel them  to  come  in,  that  my  house  may  be 
lilled."  "  Repent  and  be  converted,  that 
your  sins  may  be  blotted  out."  "  Draw 
nigh  to  God,  and  he  will  draw  nigh  to  you. 
Cleanse  your  hand.s  ye  sinners ;  and  purify 
your  hearts,  ye  double-minded.  Be  afflict- 
ed, and  mourn,  and  weep."  "  Humble 
yourselves  in  the  sigiit  of  the  Lord,  and  he 
shall  lift  you  up."  "  All  things  are  of  God, 
who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Jesus 
Christ,  and  hath  given  to  us  the  ministry 
of  reconciliation."  "  Now  then  we  are  am- 
bassadors for  Christ,  as  though  God  did 
beseech  (men)  by  us,  we  pray  (them)  in 
Christ's  stead  (sayins)  be  ye  reconciled  to 
God." 

Mr.  Sandeman  may  tell  us  that  the  char- 
acter of  ambassadors  does  not  belong  to  or- 
dinary ministers,  and  may  attribute  the  in- 
vitations used  in  the  present  day  to  "  priest- 
ly pride,  and  strutting  self  importance  :" 
but  this  will  only  prove  that  he  has  reason- 
ed himself  into  a  situation  from  which  he 
has  no  other  way  of  extricating  himself  than 
by  having  recourse  to  abuse  instead  of  ar- 
gument. What  does  it  avail  him,  whether 
ordinary  ministers  be  ambassadors  for 
Christ,  or  not?  If  faith  be  a  mere  pa.ssive 
reception  of  the  truth,  it  were  as  improper 
for  the  apostles  to  beseech  sinners  to  be  re- 
conciled to  God,  as  for  ordinary  ministers 
to  do  so.  Extracydinary  powers  could  not 
render  that  consistent  which  is  in  itself  ab- 
surd. 

But  I  need  say  the  less  on  this  head  as 
Mr.  M-Lean  in  the  First  Part  of  his 
llwii<Tlits  on  the  Calls  ami  Invitations  of 
the.  Gospel,  has  not  only  alleged  the  forego- 
ing passages,  with  others,  but  shown  their 
connection  and  pertinency  to  the  point  at 
issue.  Suffice  it  for  me  to  say  that  a  sys- 
tem which  requires  the  disuse  of  the  most 
distinguished  means  pertaining  to  the  min- 
istry of  the  word  must  be  fundamentally 
erroneous,  and  of  a  tendency  to  render  the 
good  news  of  salvation  of  none  effect* 


*  It  heeoiiies  trie  here  to  acknowledge  tliaf.  in  the  Ap- 
pnmlix  to  iJie  last  edition  of  The  Go.ipel  Worthy  of  alt 
Acccpttiliun,  I  was  guilty  of  an  oversight,  in  atlribiitin^ 
many  of  the  forenoing  sfintinients  to  Mr.  M'Lean,  wliicli 
did  not  belona  to  him.  This  mis-slafeinent  was  owinj;  to 
jjiy  havine,  at  the  time,  entirely  forgot  his  piece  on  thn 
Calls  of  the  Ciuspnl,  and  my  ronsiilorin!;  an  anonymnns 
performance,  entitled  Simple  Truth,  written  by  a  Mr. 
Bernard,  as  his.  It  is  true  I  liad  the  means  of  knowing' 
better,  and  should  have  been  more  attentive  to  thcin  :  hi 
this,  however  lay  the  whole  of  my  fault.  It  never  was 
my  desi'jn,  for  a  moment,  to  iin'srepresent  .Mr.  M.  or  any 
other  man;  nor  did  lever  foel  the  least  reluctance  to 
make  the  most  e.rplicit  acknowledgment. 

I  may  add,  though  1  am  sorry  that  I  mistook  him,  yet 
lam  ulad  1  was  mistaken.  'J'he  dilference  between  us 
is  so  much  the  l<'ss,  wlucli,  to  any  one  who  wishes  to 
unite  with  all  who  love  the  f.ord  .lesus  Chri.^t  in  sinceri- 
ty, as  Car  ris  njssi'jl'',  must  afTorJ  a  doyree  of  salisljctioa. 


"  To  urge  unbelievers,"  saye  Mr.  Sande- 
man, "  to  any  shadow  ot'  obedience  to  the 
gospel,  as  preparative  to  justification  by 
faith,  can  have  no  other  effect  than  to  lead 
them  to  establish  their  own  righteousness, 
and  to  stand  in  awe  of  the  preacher."*  Obe- 
dience to  the  gospel,  in  Mr.  Sandemun's 
view,  is  the  ^"ec^  of  faith ;  the  scriptures, 
however,  as  we  have  seen,  make  faiih  itself 
to  be  obedience,  and  unbelief  to  be  disobe- 
dience. If,  by  "preparative,"  he  means  any 
thing  which  contributes  to  the  ground  or 
reason  oi'  ju-stification,  what  he  says  of  it3 
sell-righteous  tendency  is  true ;  and  the 
same  would  be  true  of  his  '•  notion,"  or 
"  bare  belief ;"  but  to  represent  obedience 
to  the  gospel  as  necessary  in  the  establish- 
ed order  of  things  to  justification  is  to  repre- 
sent it  according  to  the  whole  current  of 
scripture,  as  is  manifest  irom  the  foregoing 
passages  ;  and  this  can  have  no  self-right- 
eous tendency. 

He  that  believeth  worketh  not  in  respect 
of  justification.  He  does  not  deserve  what 
he  obtains,  but  receives  it  as  a  free  gift ; 
and  it  is  of  the  nature  of  faith  so  to  receive 
it.  We  can  distinguish  between  a  man 
who  lives  by  his  labors  and  one  that  lives  by 
alms ;  and,  without  denying  that  the  latter 
is  active  in  receiving  them,  can  clearly  dis- 
cern that  his  mode  of  living  is  directly  op- 
posed to  that  of  the  other.  He  that  should 
contend  that  living  by  alms  actively  receiv- 
ed was  the  same  thing  as  living  by  works 
would  not  be  reckoned  a  reasoner  but  a 
driveller. 

To  set  ourselves  against  the  practice  of 
the  prophets  and  apostles  in  order  to  sup- 
port the  freeness  of  justification,  is  support- 
ing the  ark  with  unhallowed  hands ;  or,  as 
Mr.  M'Lean  expresses  it,  replying  against 
God.  "  Cannot  the  wicked,"  continues  he, 
"  be  exhorted  to  believe,  repent,  and  seek 
the  Lord;  and  be  encouraged  to  this  by  a 
promise  of  success,  (Isa.  Iv.  6,  7,)  without, 
making  the  success  to  depend  on  human 
merit  ?  Are  such  exhortations  and  promis- 
es always  to  be  suspected  of  having  a  dan- 
gerous and  self-righteous  tendency?  In- 
stead of  taking  them  in  their  plain  and 
simple  sense,  must  our  main  care  always 
be  to  guard  against  some  supposed  self- 
righteous  use  of  them,  till  we  have  explain- 
ed away  their  whole  force  and  spirit,  and 
so  distinguished  and  refined  upon  them  as 
to  make  men  more  afraid  to  comply  with 
them  than  to  reject  them,  lest  they  should 
be  guilty  of  some  exertion  of  mind  or  body, 
some  good  disposition  or  motion  towards 
Christ  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  highest 
wickedness  and  a  despising  of  the  work  of 
Christ  ?"t 


'  Fnistolary  (correspondence,  p.  i.i. 
t^Tlioiighls  on  Calls,  &c.,  p.  o'j. 


FULLER    ON    S  ANDEM  ANI  ANI  SM. 


295 


I  can  assure  you  that,  while  I  feel  sorry 
to  have  mistaken  Mr.  M'Lean  on  this  sub- 
ject, I  am  not  a  Utile  happy  in  being  able 
to  make  such  important  extracts  as  the 
above  from  his  writings.  Yet,  when  I 
think  of  some  of  the  principles  which  he 
still  avows,  I  feel  concerned  at  what  appears 
to  me  his  inconsij^tency  ;  and  not  merely 
his,  but  that  of  many  others  whom  I  sincere- 
ly esteem. 

If,  after  what  has  jmssed,  I  could  hope 
for  a  candid  attention,  I  would  entreat  Mr. 
M.  and  others  like-minded  with  him,  to 
consider  whether  that  practical  neglect  of 
calls  and  invitations  to  the  unconverted 
which  is  said  to  prevail  wherever  these  sen- 
timents are  imbibed,  and  which  he  almost 
acknowledges  to  have  attended  his  own 
ministry,  has  not  arisen  from  his  cause.* 
So  long  as  he  considers  faith  as  something 
in  which  the  will  is  concerned,  instead  of 
my  being  surprised  at  his  feeling  a  difficul- 
ty in  carrying  the  principles  pleaded  for  in 
his  Thoughts  on  ihe  Calls  of  the  Gospel  in- 
to execution,  I  should  be  much  more  sur- 
prised at  the  contrary.  If  he  be  able  to  ex- 
hort sinners  to  repent  and  believe  the  gospel, 
it  is  more  than  I  should  be  with  his  profess- 
ed principles.  So  far  as  I  know  myself  I 
could  not  possibly  call  or  invite  any  man  to 
that  in  which  his  will  had  no  concern,  with- 
out feeling  at  the  same  time  that  I  insulted 
him. 

It  may  seem  a  little  remarkable  that  this 
system,  and  that  of  the  high  or  Hyper-Cal- 
vinists  in  England,  which  in  almost  all  oth- 
er things  are  opposite,  should  on  this  point 
be  agreed.  The  one  confines  believing  to 
the  understanding,  the  other  represents  sin- 
ners, awakened  sinners  at  least,  as  being 
willing  to  believe,  but  unable  to  do  so,  any 
more  than  to  take  wings  and  fly  to  heaven. 
Hence  neither  of  them  holds  it  consistent  to 
call  on  sinners  to  believe  in  Christ,  nor  is  it 
consistent  with  their  principles  ;  but  how  it 
is  that  they  do  not  perceive,  by  the  uniform 
practice  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  that 
these  principles  are  antiscriptural,  I  cannot 
otherwise  account  for  than  by  ascribing  it 
to  the  perverting  influence  of  hypothesis. 


LETTER    IV. 

On  the  faith  of  devils  and  nominal  Chris- 
tians. 

You  are  aware  that  the  apostle  James 
speaks  of  some  whose  faith  was  dead,  being 

His  wonts  arc,  "  Tlowevei-  negliimif  I  ni.iv  be  in  nr;;- 
iii2  sinners  to  ropentaurc,  it  l,as  always  been  luv  Hnii 
bfliel  that  nol only  llic  uiicnnverlcil,  bnt  even  lli'e  (  nn 
v.-rtcfl  themselves,  ncort  often  to  be  called  lo  lepent.incc 
and  that  in  order  to  lorfe'lvenosB."    Keply,  p.  oG. 


alone ;  and  that,  in  answer  to  their  boast- 
ings, he  reminded  them  that  the  devils  also 
believed  and  trembled.  Hence,  it  has  been 
generally  thought,  there  must  be  an  essen- 
Fial  difference  between  the  nature  of  the 
faith  of  nominal  Christians  and  devils  on 
the  one  hand  and  that  of  true  Christians 
on  the  other.  But  this  would  overturn  a 
leading  principle  of  the  Sandemanian  sys- 
tem. Its  advocates,  therefore,  have  gener- 
ally conteitded  that,  "whosoever  among 
men  believes  what  devils  do,  about  the  Son 
of  God,  is  born  of  God  and  shall  be  sav- 
ed ;"*  and  that  the  design  of  the  apostle  was 
not  to  compare  but  rather  to  contrast  it  with 
that  of  the  nominal  Christian  ;  the  latter  as 
having  no  effect  on  the  mind,  the  former  as 
causing  its  subjects  to  tremble.  It  has  also 
been  commonly  maintained,  on  that  side  of 
the  question,  that  the  faith  of  whicli  the 
apostle  James  speaks,  instead  of  being  of  a 
ditfcrent  nature  from  that  of  true  Christians, 
was  in  reality  nothing  but  profession,  or 
"  saying  I  have  faith."  "  The  design  of  the 
apostle,"  it  has  been  said,  "  is  to  represent 
that  faith,  whether  it  be  on  earth  or  in  hell, 
if  it  really  existed  and  was  not  merely  pre- 
tended or  professed,  was  always  productive 
of  corresponding  works." 

As  the  whole  argument  seems  to  rest  up- 
on the  question  whether  the  faith  of  nonu- 
nal  Christians  be  here  compared  to  that  of 
devils  or  contrasted  with  it,  and  as  the  solu- 
tion of  this  question  involves  a  fundamental 
principle  of  the  system,  it  is  worthy  of  a  par- 
ticular examination. 

The  words  of  the  apostle  are  as  follows : 
"  What  doth  it  profit,  my  brethren,  though 
a  man  say  he  hath  faith  and  have  not 
works  ?  Can  taith  save  him  ?  If  a  broth- 
er or  sister  be  naked  and  destitute  of  daily 
food,  and  one  of  you  say  unto  them,  Depart 
in  peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled  ;  notwith- 
standing ye  give  them  not  those  things 
which  are  needful  to  the  body  ;  wliat  doth 
it  profit?  Even  so  faith,  if  it  hath  not 
works,  is  dead,  being  alone."  ''  Yea,  a  man 
may  say,  Thou  hast  faith  and  I  have 
works  ;  show  me  thy  I'aith  without  thj-  works, 
and  I  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my  works. 
Thou  believest  that  there  is  one  God  ;  thou 
doest  well :  the  devils  also  believe  and  trem- 
ble. But  wilt  thou  know,  O  vain  man,  that 
faith  without  works  is  dead." 

If  the  ilesign  be  to  contrast  the  faith  of 
devils  with  that  of  nominal  Christians,  the 
apostle  must  undoubtedly  mean  to  render 
the  latter  a  nonentity,  or  a  mere  pretence, 
and  to  hold  up  the  Ibrmer  as  a  reality  ;  and, 
what  is  more,  to  represent  the  "  trembling" 
of  the  iallen  sjnrits  as  a  s])ecies  of  good 
fruit,  good  at  least  in  its  nature,  and  want- 
ing nothing  to  render  it  saving  but  the  cir- 

•   i;ckiji£;-.-,K>^:;ayb,p.  117. 


296 


FULLER    ON    S  AN  DEM  ANI  AN  ISM. 


cumsiantial  interference  of  a  more  favora- 
ble situation. 

To  tliis  view  of  the  passage  I  have  sev 
eral  objections. 

First:  The  apostle  does  not  treat  the 
faith  of  nominal  Christians  as  a  nonentity, 
but  as  something  which  existed,  though 
void  of  Hie,  as  "  a  dead  body  without  the 
8pirit."  On  the  principle  here  opposed 
there  is  no  such  a  thing  as  a  dead  taith ; 
that  which  is  so  called  being  mere  pretence. 
The  party  is,  indeed,  represented  as  say- 
ing he  has  faith,  but  the  same  may  be  al- 
leged of  the  true  Christian  with  respect  to 
works,  James,  ii.  18.  If  hence,  the  faith  of 
the  one  be  considered  as  a  nonentity,  the 
works  of  the  other  must  be  the  same. 

Secondly  :  The  place  in  which  the  faith 
of  devils  is  introduced  proves  that  it  is  for 
the  purpose  of  comparison  and  not  of  con- 
trast. If  it  had  been  for  the  latter  it  should 
have  been  introduced  in  verse  IS,  and  class- 
ed with  the  operative  belief  of  true  Chris 
tians,  rather  than  in  verse  19,  where  it  is 
classed  with  that  of  nominal  Christians. 
The  argument  then  would  have  been  this  : 
"  Show  me  thy  faith  without  thy  works,  and 
I  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my  works  :  the 
devils  believe  and  tremble ;  but  thou  believ- 
est  and  tremblest  not :  therefore  thy  faith  is 
a  mere  pretence. 

Thirdly :  The  copulative  particle  "  also," 
instead  of  the  disjunctive,  determines  it  to 
be  a  comparison  and  not  a  contrast.  If  it 
were  the  latter,  the  argument  requires  it  to 
have  been  thus  expressed  :  "  Thou  believ- 
est  there  is  one  God ;  thou  doest  well :  but 
the  devils  believe  and  tremble."  If  xal  be 
rendered  and  or  even,  instead  of  also,  as  it 
often  is,  yet  the  meaning  is  the  same 
"  Thou  believest  there  is  one  God  :  thou 
doest  well ;  and  the  devils  believe  and  trem 
ble ;  or  even  the  devils  believe  and  trem- 
ble." None  of  these  forms  of  expression 
conveys  the  idea  of  contrast  but  of  likeness. 

Judge,  my  friend,  and  iet  the  reader  judge, 
whether  the  meaning  of  the  apostle  be  not 
expressed  in  the  following  paraphrase: 
Show  me,  if  thou  canst,  a  faith  which  is  of 
any  value  without  works,  and  I  will  show 
thee  a  faith  which  is  of  value  by  its  fruits. 
Thou  believest  that  there  is  one  God ;  a 
great  matter  truly !  and  may  not  the  same 
be  said  of  the  worst  of  beings !  yea,  and 
more :  for  they,  having  felt  the  power  of 
God's  anger,  not  only  believe  but  tremble  ; 
whereas  thy  faith  suffers  thee  to  live  at 
ease.  But  as  theirs,  with  all  their  tremb- 
ling, is  of  no  account,  neither  is  thine  ;  for 
faith  without  holy  fruits  is  dead. 

If  the  language  of  the  apostle  may  be  un- 
derstood as  a  contra.'it,  it  may  be  used  to 
express  that  whicli  subsists  between  other 
things  that  differ  as  well  as  these.  For  ex- 
ample :  Between  the  faith  of  Christians  and 


that  of  Jews.  But  the  absurdity  of  this 
would  strike  any  reader  of  common  discern- 
ment. "  Thou  believest  that  there  is  one 
God;  thou  doest  well :"  Christians  a/so  be- 
lieve and  obey  !  To  make  sense  of  it.  it 
should  be.  But  Christians  believe  and  obey. 
On  the  other  hand,  make  an  experiment  in 
an  instance  of  likeness,  and  the  language  is 
plain  and  easy.  One  boasts  that  he  is  not 
a  heathen,  nor  a  Jew,  nor  a  deist,  but  a 
Christian  ;  while  yet  he  is  under  the  domin- 
ion of  avarice.  A  man  might  say  to  him, 
"  Thou  believest  there  is  one  God,  thou 
doest  well :"  Felix  the  heathen  was  so  far 
convinced  of  this,  and,  what  is  more,  tremb- 
led: yet  Felix's  convictions  were  of  no  val- 
ue, and  brought  forth  no  good  fruit ;  neither 
are  thine,  for  faith  without  works  is  dead. 

There  is  no  reason  to  conclude  that  the 
faith  and  trembling  of  devils  differ  in  any 
thing,  except  in  degree,  from  the  conviction 
and  trembling  of  Felix :  If,  therefore  the 
former  would  in  our  circumstances  have  ter- 
minated in  salvation,  why  did  not  the  latter, 
whose  situation  was  sufficiently  favorable, 
so  terminate  ?  The  convictions  of  James' 
nominal  Christians  might  not  be  so  strong 
as  those  of  Felix ;  and  his  might  not  be  so 
strong  as  those  of  the  fallen  angels  :  but  in 
their  nature  they  were  one  and  the  same. 
The  first  was  convinced  that  there  was  one 
God  ;  but  it  was  mere  light  without  love. 
If,  like  what  is  said  of  the  stony-ground 
hearers,  a  portion  of  joy  at  first  attended  it, 
yet,  the  gospel  having  no  root  in  his  mind, 
and  being  in  circumstances  wherein  he  saw 
no  remarkable  displays  of  the  divine  maj- 
esty, it  made  no  durable  impression  upon 
him.  The  second  might  also  be  convinced 
that  there  was  a  God,  and  neither  were  his 
convictions  accompanied  by  love,  but "  right- 
eousness, temperance,  and  a  judgment  to 
come,"  being  set  before  him,  he  "  tremb- 
led." The  last  are  convinced  of  the  same 
truth  and  neither  are  their  convictions  ac- 
companied by  love ;  but.  being  placed  in 
circumstances  wherein  the  awful  majesty 
of  God  is  continually  before  their  eyes,  they 
already  know  in  part,  by  sad  experience, 
the  truth  of  his  threatenings,  and  tremble  in 
expectation  of  greater  torments. 

There  is  just  as  much  holiness  in  each  of 
these  cases  as  in  ihe  trembling  of  an  im- 
penitent malefactor  under  the  g-allows.  To 
reckon  it  in  any  of  them,  therefore,  among 
"  the  corresponding  fruits  which  always  at- 
tend faith  if  it  really  exists,"  is  to  reckon  as 
fruit  that  which  the  scriptures  reject  as  un- 
worthy of  the  name.  Of  the  four  sorts  of 
hearers,  only  one  brought  forth  fruit. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Mr.  M'Lean,  af- 
ter what  he  has  written,  when  discoursing 
on  the  parable  of  the  sower,  particularly  on 
those  who  are  said  to  have  "believed  lx)r  a 
while,"  should  introduce  the  following  sen- 


FULLER    ON    S  ANDEM  ANI  ANI  SM, 


297 


timent  in  the  form  of  an  objection : — "  Such 
as  fall  away  have  never  been  enlightened 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  nor  really  be- 
lieved the  gospel ;  but  had  only  professed 
to  believe."  His  answer  to  this  objection 
18  still  more  remarkable.  "  The  scripture," 
he  says,  "Supposes  them  to  have  been 
•once  enlightened ;  to  have  received  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  of  the  way  of 
righteousness;  to  have  believed  ibr  a  while ; 
and  to  have  escaped  the  pollutions  of  the 
world  through  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  See  Heb.  vi. 
4;  X.  26.  Luke  viii.  13.  2  Peter  ii.  20 
And  their  falling  away  after  such  attain- 
ments is  that  which  constitutes  the  very  sin 
of  apostacy  and  by  whicti  the  guilt  of  it  is 
aggravated.  For  it  had  been  better  for 
them  not  to  have  known  the  way  of  right- 
eousness, than  after  they  have  known  it  to 
'turn  from  the  holy  commandment  delivered 
■unto  them." — Sermons,  p.  66. 

All  this  I  account  very  good,  though  I 
should  not  have  expected  it  from  Mr.  M. 
But  his  refusing  after  this  to  admit  an  es- 
sential difference  between  the  faith  of  the 
apostates  and  that  of  true  believers  is  most 
remarkable  of  all.  If  the  ditference  lie  not 
in  the  nature  of  their  faith,  nor  in  the  nature 
■of  the  things  believed,  against  which  he  also 
reasons,  where  does  it  lie  ?  They  must  one 
would  think,  have  been  true  believers  so  far 
■as  they  went,  and  so  long  as  they  continue 
to  believe  ;  and  their  falling  away  must  af- 
ford an  exa'mple  of  the  aposta<^y  of  true  be- 
lievers. Bvit,  if  a  person  may  be  a  true  be- 
■liever  at  one  time  and  an  apostate  at  another, 
he  can  have  no  scriptural  ground  at  any 
period  of  his  life,  from  any  consciousness  of 
believing  the  gospel,  to  conclude  on  his  own 
particular  salvation.  Yet  this  is  what  Mr. 
M.  has  pleaded  for  in  his  treatise  on  the 
Commission.  Moreover,  if  there  be  not  an 
essential  difference  between  the  nature  of 
the  faith  of  apostates,  and  that  of  true  be- 
lievers, why  does  he  himself  when  describ- 
ing them,  write  as  follows  ?  "  Whatever 
appearances  of  faith  there  may  be  in  false 
professors,  they  have  not  the  same  percep- 
tion of  the  truth,  nor  that  persuasion  of  it 
lupon  its  proper  evi<ience,  which  real  believ- 
ers have." —  Works,  Vol.  II.  p.  96.  I  do  not 
say  of  Mr.  M.,  as  he  does  of  me,  that  "  he 
«an  take  either  side  of  the  question  as  he 
finds  occasion :"  b-ut  this  I  say,  he  appears 
to  me  to  feel  the  force  of  some  truths  which 
do  not  well  comport  with  some  of  his  for- 
mer reasonings;  and  not  being  able,  it 
should  seem,  to  reconcile  them,  he  leaves 
them  unreconciled. 

Surely  it  were  more  agreeable  lo  the 
truth,  and  to  the  passages  on  which  he  dis- 
courses, to  admit  of  an  essential  differ- 
ence between  the  faith  of  nominal  and  real 
Christians.     In  discoursing  on  the  "  2ood 

Vol.  S.—Ll. 


ground"  in  the  parable,  he  very  properly 
represents  true  believers,  and  them  only,  as 
being  "taught  by  the  special  illuminating 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;"  but  surely 
that  which  is  the  fruit  of  this  special  influ- 
ence possesses  a  special  nature.  Why  else 
do  we  read  that  "  that  which  is  born  of  the 
Spirit  is  spirit?"  and  why  does  it  denomin- 
ate a  man  spiritual?  1  Cor.  ii.  15.  We 
may  not,  as  he  says,  be  "  able  to  distin- 
guish, in  the  first  impressions  of  the  gospel, 
the  faith  of  a  stony-ground  hearer  from  that 
of  a  true  believer  ;"  but  it  does  not  follow 
that  there  is  not  an  essential  difierence  not- 
withstanding. 

The  unrenewed  character,  with  all  his 
knowledge,  knoweth  nothing  as  he  ought  to 
know.  He  perceives  not  the  intrinsic  evil 
of  sin,  and,  consequently,  discerns  not  the 
intrinsic  excellence  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ.  That  in  the  gospel  which  pleases 
him  is  its  giving  relief  to  his  troubled  con- 
science. Hence  "  all  his  godliness,"  as  Mr. 
Sandeman  says,  "  consists  in  love  to  that 
which  first  relieved  him." 

We  have  been  told  more  than  once  that 
"  there  need  be  no  question  about  how  we 
believe,  but  what  we  believe."  Mr.  M'Lean 
will  answer  this,  that  "  the  matter  or  object 
of  belief,  even  in  apostates,  is  said  to  be  the 
word  of  the  kingdom  ;  the  truth  ;  the  way 
of  righteousness ;  the  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  what  other  object  of  faith 
have  true  believers  ?" — Sermons,  pp.  66,  67. 

I  have  no  objection  to  allowing,  however, 
that,  if  we  believe  the  very  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,  there  can  be  nothing  wanting  in  the 
manner  of  believing  it.  B'jt  though  this  be 
true,  and  though  an  inquirer  after  the  waj'- 
of  salvation  ought  to  be  directed  to  the  sav- 
ing doctrine  of  the  cross,  rather  than  to  the 
workings  of  his  own  mind  concerning  it,  yet 
there  is  in  the  workings  of  a  believer's  mind 
towards  it  something  essentially  different 
from  those  of  the  merely  nominal  Christian ; 
and  which,  when  the  inquiry  comes  to  be, 
"  Am  I  a  believer  ?"  ought  to  be  pointed 
out.  He  not  only  believes  truths  which  the 
other  does  not,  but  believes  the  same  truths 
in  a  different  manner.  In  other  words,  he 
believes  them  on  different  grounds,  and  with 
different  affections.  That  which  he  know- 
eth is,  in  measure,  "  as  he  ought  to  know 
it."  He  discerns  spiritual  things  in  a  spir- 
itual manner  ;  which  is  the  only  manner  in 
which  they  can  be  discerned  as  they  are. 

It  might  be  said  there  need  be  no  ques- 
tion about  hoxD  we  repent,  or  hope,  or  love, 
or  pray ;  but  what  we  repent  of,  what  we 
hope  for,  w  hat  we  love,  and  what  we  pray 
for.  And  true  it  is,  that  if  we  repent  of  sia 
as  sin,  hope  for  the  things  which  the  gospel 
promises,  love  the  true  character  of  God 
and  all  that  bears  his  image,  and  pray  lor 
those  things  which  are  according  to  his  will. 


298 


FULLER    ON    S  AND  E  M  AN  I ANI  SM. 


there  will  be  nothing  wanting  as  to  the 
manner :  but  it  does  not  follow  that  there  is 
no  difference  as  to  the  manner  ol"  these  ex- 
ercises in  true  Christians  and  in  merely 
nominal  ones.  Our  being  right  as  to  the 
objects  may  be  a  pToof  o( our  being  right  as 
to  the  manner,  as  the  needle's  pointing  to 
the  magnet  proves  the  correspondence  of 
the  nature  of  the  one  with  that  of  the  other : 
but,  as  in  this  case  we  should  not  say  it  is 
of  no  account  whether  the  needle  be  made 
of  steel  or  of  some  other  substance,  so  that 
it  points  to  the  magnet,  neither  in  the  other 
should  we  consider  the  nature  of  spiritual 
exercises  as  a  matter  of  no  account,  but 
merely  the  objects  on  which  they  termin- 
ate. 

When  we  read  concerning  the  duty  of 
prayer  that  "  the  Lord  is  nigh  unto  all  that 
call  upon  himin  truth,^^  and  that  "  we  know 
not  what  to  pray  for  (is  ice  otight"  we  infer 
that  there  is  something  in  the  nature  of  a 
good  man's  prayers  which  distinguishes 
them  from  other.  But  there  is  just  the  same 
reason  for  inferring  that  there  is  something 
in  the  nature  of  a  good  man's  knowledge 
which  distinguishes  it  from  that  of  otiiers ; 
for,  as  he  only  that  is  assisted  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  prays  as  he  ought,  so  he  only  that  is 
taughtof  God  knoweth  any  thing  as  he  ought 
to  know. 

The  holy  nature  of  living  faith  may  be 
difficult,  and  even  impossible,  to  be  ascer- 
tained but  by  its  effects ;  as  it  is  difficult,  if 
not  impossible,  to  distinguish  some  seeds 
from  others  till  they  have  brought  forth 
their  respective  fruits ;  but  a  difference 
there  is,  notwithstanding.  If  there  need  be 
no  inquiry  as  to  the  nature  of  lUith,  but 
merely  concerning  its  objects,  how  was  it 
that  the  Corinthians,  who  by  their  unwor- 
thy spirit  and  conduct,  had  rendered  their 
being  Christ's  disciples  indeed  a  matter  of 
doubt,  should  be  told  to  exavune  themselves 
whether  they  were  in  the  faith,  and  should 
be  furnished  with  this  criterion,  that  if  they 
were  true  believers,  and  not  reprobates,  or 
such  as  would  be  disapproved  as  dross,  Je- 
sus Christ  was  in  them  ?  On  ihe  principle 
here  opposed  they  should  have  examined. 
not  themselves,  but  merely  their  creed,  or 
what  they  believed,  in  order  to  know  wheth- 
er they  were  in  the  faith. 

If  the  faith  of  devils  would  have  issued 
in  their  salvation,  provided,  like  us,  they 
had  been  placed  in  circumstances  of  hope, 
it  will  follow  that  (aiih  is  not  produced  by 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  merely  by 
Divine  Providence.  No  one,  I  presume, 
will  ascribe  tiie  belief  of  devils  to  the  Holy 
Spirit:  whatever  they  believe  must  be  ow- 
ing to  the  situation  in  which  they  are  placed, 
and  the  circumstances  attending  them. 
But,  if  faith  may  be  tlie  mere  effect  of  situa- 
tion and  circumstances  in  oiie  case,  why 


not  in  another  ?  Sandemanians  have  often 
been  charged  with  setting  aside  the  work 
of  the  Spirit,  and  have  often  denied  the 
charge  :  but,  whatever  may  be  said  of  their 
other  principles,  their  notion  of  the  faith  of 
devils  must  sap  the  foundation  of  that  im- 
portant doctrine.  If  this  notion  be  true,  all 
that  is  necessary  is  that  the  party  be  placed 
under  the  influence  of  truth  clearly  staled 
and  sufficiently  impressive,  and  within  the 
limits  of  the  promise  of  salvation.  AH  the 
change,  therefore,  which  is  necessary  to 
eternal  life  may  be  wrought  by  only  a  prop- 
er adjustment  of  moral  causes.  Only  place 
mankind  in  circumstances  in  which  their 
minds  shall  be  impressed  with  terror  equal 
to  that  of  the  fallen  angels,  and  let  the 
promise  of  salvation  to  believers  be  contin- 
ued as  it  is,  and  all  would  be  saved.  And, 
with  respect  to  the  fallen  angels  themselves, 
only  extend  to  them  the  promise  to  believ- 
ers, and  they  are  at  once  in  a  state  of  sal- 
vation. Such  on  this  hypothesis,  would 
have  been  the  happy  condition  of  both  men 
and  devils  :  but  the  hope  of  mercy  and  the 
sense  of  wrath  are  both  rendered  abortive 
for  want  of  being  united.  Providence  pla- 
ces sinners  on  earth  under  the  hope  of  sal- 
vation ;  but  then  they  are  not  in  circum- 
stances sufficiently  impressive,  and  so  it 
comes  to  nothing.  In  hell  the  circumstan- 
ces are  sufficiently  impressive,  and  they 
actually  believe  ;  but  then  there  is  no  hope, 
and  so  again  it  comes  to  nothing  ! 

Surely  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and 
Lazarus  might  suffice  to  teach  us  the  insuf- 
ficiency of  all  means  to  bring  sinners  to  God, 
when  we  are  assured  that  if  they  believed 
not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  would 
they  be  persuaded  though  one  should 
rise  from  the  dead.  I  am  far  from  accusing 
all  who  have  pleaded  for  the  faith  of  devils 
being  such  as  would  be  saving  in  our 
circumstances  as  designing  to  undermine 
the  work  of  the  Spirit ;  but  that  such  is  its 
tendency  is,  I  presume,  sufficiently  manifest. 

Nor  is  this  all :  not  only  is  the  influence 
of  the  Spirit  set  aside,  in  favor  of  the  mere 
influence  of  moral  suasion,  but  the  fruits  of 
the  Spirit  are  made  to  consist  of  that  which 
is  the  ordinary  effect  of  such  influence. 
"  When  any  person  on  earth,"  it  has  been 
said,  "  believes  .fesus  (who  is  now  invisible) 
with  equal  assurance  as  the  devils,  he  re- 
joices in  hope,  is  animated  by  love  to  him, 
and  feels  disposed  to  obey  his  will,  and  to 
resist  his  own  evil  inclinations." 

There  are,  I  grant,  sensations  in  the  hu- 
man mind  which  arise  merely  from  the  in- 
fluences of  hope  and  fear,  and  which  bear 
a  near  resemblance  to  the  fruits  of  the  Spir- 
it; but  they  are  not  the  same.  The  judg- 
ments of  God  inflicted  upon  the  carnal  Is- 
raelites in  the  wilderness  caused  the  survi- 
vors to  tremble,  and  wrought  in  them  a 


FULLER    ON    3  AND  E  M  ANI A  N  I  SM. 


299 


great  care  to  be  more  religious,  and  to  re- 
sist tlieir  evil  inclinations.  "  When  he  slew 
them,  then  they  sought  him;  and  they  re- 
turned early  afier  God  ;  they  remembered 
that  God  was  their  Rock,  and  the  high 
God  their  Redeemer."  Such  was  the 
effect  of  moral  influence,  or  of  the  word 
and  works  of  God ;  but  what  follows  ? 
"  Nevertheless  they  did  flatter  him  with 
their  mouth,  and  they  lied  unto  him  with 
their  tongues  ;  for  their  heart  was  not  right 
with  him,  neither  were  they  steadfast  in  his 
covenant."  Thus  on  the  approach  of  death, 
we  still  see  men  greatly  affected.  Light  as 
they  may  have  made  of  religion  before, 
they  now  believe  enough  to  make  them 
tremble.  At  such  times  it  is  common  for 
them  to  think  how  good  they  would  be,  and 
what  a  different  lite  they  would  lead,  if  it 
would  please  God  to  restore  them.  And, 
should  a  favorable  turn  be  given  to  their 
affliction,  they  are  affected  in  another  way ; 
they  weep,  and  thank  God  for  their  hopes 
of  recovery,  not  doubting  but  they  shall  be- 
come other  men.  But  I  need  not  tell  you. 
or  the  reader,  that  all  this  may  consist  with 
a  heart  at  enmity  with  the  true  character 
of  God,  and  that  it  frequently  proves  so, 
by  their  returning  as  soon  as  the  impression, 
subsides,  to  their  old  courses.  The  whole 
of  this  process  may  be  no  more  than  an 
operation  of  self-love,  or,  as  Mr.  Sandeman 
calls  it,  "  a  love  to  that  which  relieves  them 
which  is  something  at  a  great  remove  from 
the  love  of  God,  and  therefore  is  not  "  god 
liness."  Godliness  has  respect  to  God,  and 
not  merely  to  our  own  relief.  The  distress 
of  an  ungodly  mind,  consisting  only  in  a 
fearful  apprehension  of  consequences  may 
be  relieved  by  any  thing  that  furnishes  him 
with  a  persuasion  of  the  removal  of  those 
consequences.  It  may  be  from  an  idea  that 
he  has  performed  the  conditions  of  salva- 
tion ;  or  from  an  impulse  that  his  sins  are 
forgiven ;  or  from  his  imagining  that  he 
"sees  God  just  in  justifying  him,  ungodly 
as  he  stands."  Any  of  these  considera- 
tions will  give  relief;  and  no  man  will  be 
so  wanting  to  himself  as  not  to  ='love  that 
which  relieves  him."  There  may  be  some 
difference  in  these  causes  of  relief:  the  for- 
mer may  be  derived  from  something  in  our- 
selves ;  and  the  latter  may  seem  to  arise 
from  what  Christ  has  done  and  suffered : 
but,  if  the  undertaking  of  Christ  be  merely 
viewed  as  a  relief  to  a  sinner,  we  overlook 
its  chief  glory ;  and  the  religion  that  arises 
from  such  views  is  as  false  as  the  views 
themselves  are  partial. 

The  first  idea  in  the  doctrine  of  the  cross 
is,  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest?''  Its  pro- 
claiming '■'pence  on  earth,  and  good  will  to 
7nen,'"  is  consequent  on  this.  But  that  wliich 
occupies  the  first  place  in  the  doctrine  itself 
must  occupy  the  first  place  in  the  belief  of  it. 


The  faith  of  the  gospel  corresponds  with  the 
gospel :  "  So  we  preached,  and  so  ye  believ- 
ed." God  will  assert  his  own  glory,  and  we 
must  subscribeto  it,  before  we  areallowedto 
ask  or  hope  for  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins  ; 
as  is  clearly  taught  us  in  what  is  called  the 
Lord's  prayer.  He,  therefore,  that  views 
the  cross  of  Christ  merely  as  an  expedient 
to  relieve  the  guilty,  or  only  subscribes  to 
the  justice  of  God  in  his  condemnation, 
when  conceiving  himself  delivered  from  it, 
has  yet  to  learn  the  first  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity. His  rejoicing  in  the  justice  of  God, 
as  satisjied  by  the  death  of  Christ,  while  he 
hates  it  in  itself  considered,  is  no  more  than 
rejoicing  in  a  dreaded  tyrant  being  appeas- 
ed, or  somehow  diverted  from  coming  to 
hurt  him.  And  shall  we  call  this  the  love 
of  God?  To  make  our  deliverance  from 
divine  condemnation  the  condition  of  our 
subscribing  to  the  justice  of  it  proves,  be- 
yond all  contradiction,  that  we  care  only 
for  ourselves,  and  that  the  love  of  God  ia 
not  in  us.  And  herein,  if  I  may  adopt  Mr. 
Sandeman's  term  consists  the  very  "  poison" 
of  his  system,  it  is  one  of  the  many  devi- 
ces for  obtaining  relief  to  the  mind,  without 
justifying  God,  and  falling  at  the  feet  of  the 
Saviour  ;  or  which  is  the  same  thing,  with- 
out "  repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  to- 
ward our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

The  doctrine  of  the  cross  presupposes  the 
equity  and  goodness  of  the  divine  law,  the 
exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin,  the  exposedness 
of  the  sinner  to  God's  righteous  curse,  and 
his  utter  insufliciency  to  deliver  his  soul. 
To  believe  this  doctrine,  therefore,  must 
needs  be  to  subscribe  with  our  very  heart  to 
these  principles,  as  they  respect  ourselves; 
and  so  to  receive  salvation  as  being  what 
it  is,  a  message  of  pure  grace,  through  a 
mediator.  Such  a  conviction  as  this  never 
possessed  the  mind  of  a  fallen  angel,  nor  of 
a  fallen  man  untaught  by  the  special  grace 
of  God. 


LETTER   V. 

071  the  connection  between  repentance  to- 
ward God  and  faith  toward  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

The  advocates  of  this  system  do  not  con- 
sider the  order  in  which  these  graces  are 
ordinarily  introduced  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment as  being  the  true  order  of  nature,  and 
therefore  generally  reverse  it,  putting  iaith 
before  repentance,  and  invariably  placing 
repentance  among  the  effects  of  faith.  A 
sinner,  therefore,  has  no  spiritual  sense 
of  the  evil  of  sin,  till  he  has  believed  in  the 
Saviour,  and  stands  in  a  justified  state. 
Tiien,  being  forgiven  all  trewpas-^es,  and  re- 
conciled to  God  tlirough  llie  death  of  his 
Son,  he  is  melteJ  into  repentance. 


BOO 


FULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


The  question  is  not  whether  the  gospel, 
when  received  by  faith,  operates  in  this 
way ;  for  of  this  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
Nothing  produces  godly  sorrow  for  sin  lilie 
a  believing  view  of  the  suflering  Saviour. 
Nor  is  it  denied  that  to  be  grieved  for  hav- 
ing dishonored  God  we  must  first  believe 
that  he  is  ;  and,  before  we  can  come  to  him 
in  acceptable  worship,  that  through  a  me- 
diator he  is  '■  the  revvarder  of  them  that 
diligently  seek  him."  Without  a  mediator, 
repentance,  even  if  it  could  have  existed, 
must  have  been  hopeless.  I  have  not  such 
an  idea  of  the  sinner  being  brought  to  re- 
pentance, antecedently  to  his  believing  in 
Christ  for  salvation,  as  Mr.  Sandeman  had 
of  his  believing  antecedently  to  repentance. 
According  to  him,  he  believes  and  is  justi- 
fied, not  merely  considered  as  ungodly,  or 
wilhoiitanyconsideration  of  eodli7iess  inhim, 
but  actually  "  ungodly  as  he  stands,"  and 
then,  and  not  till  then,  begins  to  love  God, 
and  to  be  sorry  for  his  sin.  This  is  mani- 
festly holding  up  the  idea  of  an  impenitent 
believer^  though  not  of  one  that  continues 
such.  But  the  antecedency  which  I  ascribe 
to  repentance  does  not  amount  to  this.  I 
have  no  conception  of  a  sinner  being  so 
brought  to  repentance  as  to  sustain  the 
character  of  a  penitent,  and  still  less  to  ob- 
tain the  forgiveness  of  sin,  previously  to  his 
falling  in  with  the  way  of  salvation.  I  be- 
lieve it  is  not  possible  for  a  sinner  to  repent, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  reject  the  Saviour. 
The  very  instant  that  he  perceives  the  evil 
of  sin  so  as  to  repent  of  it,  he  cannot  think 
of  the  Saviour  without  believing  in  him.  I 
have,  therefore,  no  notion  of  a  penitent  im- 
believer.  All  that  I  contend  for  is,  that,  in 
the  order  of  cause  and  effect,  whatever  may 
be  said  as  to  the  order  of  time,  repentance 
precedes  as  well  as  follows  the  faith  of 
Christ ;  and  that  faith  in  Christ  cannot  ex- 
ist without  repentance  for  sin.  A  sense  of 
sin  appears  to  me  essential  to  believing  in 
the  Saviour;  so  much  so  that,  without  it, 
the  latter  would  not  only  be  a  mere  "  no- 
tion," but  an  essentially  defective  one. 

It  is  admitted,  on  both  sides,  that  there  is 
a  priority  of  one  or  other  of  these  graces  in 
the  order  of  nature,  so  as  that  one  is  influ- 
enced by  the  other  ;  and.  if  no  other  priority 
were  pleaded,  neither  the  idea  of  a  penitent 
tinbeliever  on  the  one  hand,  nor  an  impeni- 
tent believer  on  the  other,  would  follow  ;  for 
it  might  still  be  true,  as  Mr.  M'Lean  ac- 
knowledges, that  "  none  believe  who  do  not 
repent,"  and,  as  I  also  acknowledge,  the^t 
none  repent  who,  according  to  the  light 
they  have,  do  not  believe.  But  if  we  main- 
tain, not  only  that  faith  is  prior  in  the  order 
of  nature,  but  tliat,  antecedently  to  any  true 
Borrow  for  sin  we  must  '-see  God  to  be  just 
in  justifying  us  ungodly  as  wc  stand,"  this 


is  clearly  maintaining  the  notion  of  an  ini' 
penitent  believer. 

From  these  introductory  remarks,  it  will 
appear  that  I  have  no  objection  to  faith  be- 
ing considered  as  contemporary  with  re- 
pentance in  the  order  of  time,  provided  the 
latter  were  made  to  consist  in  an  acqui- 
escence with  the  gospel-way  of  salvation,  so 
far  as  it  is  understood  ;  but,  if  it  be  made  to 
include  such  a  clear  view  of  the  gospel  as 
necessarily  brings  peace  and  rest  to  the 
soul,  I  believe  that  repentance  for  ein  often 
precedes  it,  even  in  the  order  of  time. 

Such  is  the  connection  between  repent- 
ance and  faith  in  the  scriptures  that  the 
one  commonly  supposes  the  other.  Re- 
pentance, when  followed  by  the  remission 
of  sins,  supposes  faith  in  the  Saviour  (Luke 
xxiv.  47 ;)  and  faith  when  followed  with 
justification,  equally  supposes  repentance 
for  sin. 

Attempts  have  been  made,  by  criticising 
on  the  word  /jcravoia  to  explain  away,  as  it 
should  seem,  the  proper  object  of  repent- 
ance, as  if  it  were  a  change  of  mind  with 
regard  to  the  gospel.  "  Repentance,"  says 
Mr.  S.,  "  is  the  change  of  a  man's  mind  to- 
love  the  truth,  which  always  carries  in  it  a 
sense  of  shame  and  regret  at  his  former  op- 
position to  it."*  But  this  is  confoundifig 
repentance  and  faith  objectively  considered. 
The  objects  of  both  are  so  marked  in  the 
apostolic  ministry,  that  one  would  think 
they  could  not  be  honestly  mistaken.  Re- 
pentance is  toward  God,  and  faith  is  toward 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  the  one  has  imme- 
diate respect  to  the  Law-giver,  the  ather  to 
the  Saviour. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  order  in 
which  the  New  Testament  commonly  pla- 
ces repentance  and  faith  is  in  direct  op- 
position to  what  our  opponents  plead  for ; 
and,  what  is  more  than  the  former  is  repre- 
sented as  influencing  the  latter.  This  is 
manifest  in  the  following  passages :  Repent 
ye,  and  believe  the  gospel."  "  Testifying 
repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  toward 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  "  They  repented 
not,  that  they  might  believe  him."  "  If  God 
peradventure  might  give  them  repentance 
to  the  acknowledging  of  the  truth."  Mr. 
Sandeman,  Mr.  M'L.  and  all  the  writers  on 
that  side  of  the  question,  very  rarely  make 
use  of  this  language ;  and,  when  they  have 
occasion  to  write  upon  the  subject,  ordina- 
rily reverse  it.  To  accord  with  their  ideas 
it  should  have  been  said.  Believe  the  gos- 
pel and  repent.  Testifying  faith  toward 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  repentance  to- 
ward God.  They  believed  not,  that  they 
might  repent.  If  God  peradventure  may 
give  them  faith  to  repent. 

,  *  Letters  on  Tiieion  and  Aspaaio,  p.408L. 


FULLER    ON    S  ANDEM  ANI ANI  SM, 


301 


To  this  I  add,  it  is  impossible,  in  the  na- 
ture of  things,  to  believe  the  gospel  but  as 
being  made  sensible  of  that  which  renders 
it  necessary.  The  guilty  and  lost  state  of  sin- 
ners goes  before  the  revelation  of  the  grace 
of  the  gospel :  the  latter,  therefore,  cannot 
be  understood  or  believed,  but  as  we  are 
convinced  of  the  former.  There  is  no 
grace  in  the  gospel,  but  upon  the  supposi- 
tion of  the  holiness,  justice,  and  goodness 
of  the  law.  If  God  be  not  in  the  right,  and 
we  in  the  wrong;  if  we  have  not  trans- 
gressed without  cause,  and  be  not  fairly  con- 
demned, grace  is  no  more  grace,  but  a  just 
exemption  from  undeserved  punishment. 
And,  as  faith  must  needs  correspond  witli 
truth,  it  is  impossible  that  we  should  believe 
the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  grace  in  an  im- 
penitent state  of  mind,  or  without  feeling 
that  we  have  forfeited  all  claim  to  the  di- 
vine favor.  We  cannot  see  things  but  as 
they  are  to  be  seen :  to  suppose  that  we  first 
believe  in  the  doctrine  of  free  grace,  and 
tlien,  as  the  effect  of  it,  perceive  the  evil  of 
sin,  and  our  just  expoeedness  to  divine 
wrath,  is  like  supposing  a  man  first  to  ap- 
preciate the  value  of  a  physician,  and  by 
this  means  to  learn  that  he  is  sick.  .It  is 
true  the  physician  may  visit  the  neighbor- 
hood, or  the  apartments,  of  one  who  is  in 
imminent  danger  of  death,  while  he  thinks 
himself  mending  every  day ;  and  this  cir- 
cumstance may  be  held  up  by  his  friends 
as  a  motive  to  him  to  consider  of  his  condi- 
tion, and  to  put  himself  under  his  care.  It 
is  thus  that  the  coming  of  Christ,  and  the 
setting  up  of  his  spiritual  kingdom  in  the 
world,  were  alleged  as  motives  to  repent- 
ance, both  to  Jews  and  Gentiles.  "  Repent, 
for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." 
"  Repent  ye  therefore."  "  The  times  past 
of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at ;  but  now 
commandeth  all  men  every  where  to  re 
pent"  But  as  it  would  not  follow  in  the 
one  case  that  the  sick  man  could  appreci- 
ate the  value  of  the  physician  till  he  felt  his 
sickness,  neither  does  it  follow  in  the  other 
that  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
precedes  such  a  sense  of  the  evil  of  sin  as 
involves  the  first  workings  of  repentance 
toward  God. 

To  argue  as  some  have  done,  from  the 
motives  of  repentance  being  fetched  from 
the  gospel,  that  it  supposes  their  believing 
the  gospel  ere  they  could  repent,  proves 
too  much  ;  for  it  is  not  to  repentance  only, 
but  to  faith,  that  the  coming  of  Christ's 
kingdom  is  held  up  as  a  motive:  but,  to 
say  that  this  supposes  their  belief  of  the 
gospel,  is  saying  they  must  believe  in  order 
to  believing. 

That  a  conviction  of  sin  (whether  it  in- 
clude the  first  workings  of  repentance  or 
not)  is  necessary  to  faith  in  Christ  is  a 
matter  eo  evident  that  those  who  have  de- 


claimed most  against  it  have  not  been  able 
to  avoid  such  a  representation  of  things. 
It  is  remarkable  that,  when  Mr.  Sandeman 
comes  to  describe  his  "  ungodly  man,"  he 
always  contrives  to  make  him  not  only  full 
of  distress,  but  divested  of  allself-righteoua 
pride :  he  represents  him  as  conceiving  that 
there  are  "  none  more  ripe  for  hell  than  he, 
and  as  having  no  hope  but  in  the  great  pro- 
pitiation."* Thus  also  Mr.  Ecking,  when 
describing  a  "mere  sinner,"  represents  him 
as  one  who  "feels  himself  in  a  perishing 
condition,  and  is  conscious  that  he  deserves 
no  favor."t 

We  must  not  say  that  repentance,  or  any 
degree  of  a  right  spirit,  so  precedes  faith  in 
Christ  as  to  enter  into  the  nature  of  it;  but, 
if  we  will  bat  call  the  sinner  by  a  few  hard 
names,  we  may  describe  him  in  coming  to 
the  Saviour  as  sensible  of  his  utter  unworthi- 
ness,  as  divested  of  self-righteousness,  and 
as  ripe  for  hell  in  his  own  eyes  !  In  short, 
we  may  depict  him  as  the  publican  who 
sought  mercy  under  a  humiliating  sense  of 
his  utter  unworthiness  to  receive  it,  so  that 
we  still  call  him  ungodly.  And  to  this  we 
have  no  objection,  so  that  it  be  understood 
of  the  character  under  which  he  is  justified 
in  the  eye  of  the  Lawgiver ;  but,  if  it  be 
made  to  mean  that  at  the  time  of  his  justi- 
fication he  is  in  heart  an  enemy  of  God,  we 
do  not  believe  it  If  he  be,  however,  why 
do  not  these  writers  describe  him  as  an  ene- 
my ought  to  be  described  ?  They  teach 
us  elsewhere  that  "  an  attachment  to  self- 
righteousness  is  natural  to  man  as  deprav- 
ed;" how  then  came  these  ungodly  men  to 
be  so  divested  of  it  ?  Why  are  they  not 
represented  as  thinking  themselves  in  a  fair 
way  for  heaven,  and  that  if  God  does  not 
pardon  them  he  will  do  them  wrong?  Such 
is  the  ordinary  state  of  mind  of  ungodly 
men  or  mere  sinners,  which  is  just  as  oppo- 
site to  that  which  they  are  constrained  to 
represent  as  the  spirit  of  the  pharisee  was 
to  that  of  the  publican. 

Mr.  M'Lean  will  tell  us  that  "this  is  that 
part  of  the  scheme  whereby  persons,  previ- 
ously to  their  believing  in  Christ,  are  taught 
to  extract  comfort  from  their  convictions." — 
Reply,  p.  148.  But,  whatever  Mr.  M.,  may 
think  or  say,  I  hope  others  will  give  me 
credit  when  I  declare  that  we  have  no  idea 
of  any  well  grounded  comfort  being  taken 
antecedently  to  believing  in  Christ.  The 
publican  is  described  as  humbling  himself 
before  God  exalted  him:  but  he  did  not  de- 
rive comfort  from  this.  If  instead  of  look- 
ing to  the  mercy  of  God,  he  had  done  this, 
it  would  have  been  a  species  of  pharisaical 
self-exaltation.  But  it  does  not  follow 
hence  that  there  was  nothing  spiritually 
good  in  his  self-abasement. 


'  Letters  on  Theroii  anJ  Aspasic,  pp.  40, 48. 
t  Essay F,  p.  41. 


302 


PULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


But  Mr.  M.  "  believes  a  person  may  be 
BO  convicted  in  his  conscience  as  to  view 
himself  merely  as  a  guilty  sinner  ;  that  is, 
as  having  no  righteousness  to  recommend 
him  to  the  favor  of  God ;  and  that  under 
such  conviction  his  sense  of  the  evil  of  sin 
will  not  be  confined  to  its  punishment ;  but 
his  conscience  or  moral  sense  will  tell  him 
that  he  deserves  punishment  at  the  hands 
of  a  righteous  God." — p.  149. 

Mr.  M'Lean  admits,  then,  the  necessity 
of  conviction  of  sin  previously,  in  the  order 
of  things,  to  faith  in  Christ ;  only  there  is 
no  holiness  and  consequently  no  true  re- 
pentance in  it.  I  have  allowed  in  Letter  I. 
that  many  convictions  are  to  be  resolved 
into  the  mere  operations  of  an  enlightened 
conscience  and  do  not  issue  in  true  conver- 
sion. I  may  add,  I  consider  all  conviction 
of  sin  which  does  not  in  its  own  nature  lead 
to  the  Saviour  as  of  this  description.  It 
matters  not  how  deep  the  distress  of  a  sin- 
ner may  be,  so  long  as  it  is  accompanied  by 
an  unwillingness  to  be  saved  by  mere  grace 
through  a  mediator,  there  is  no  holiness  in 
it,  nor  any  thing  that  deserves  the  name  of 
repentance.  An  enlightened  conscience,  I 
allow,  will  force  us  to  justify  God  and  con- 
demn ourselves  on  many  occasions.  It  was 
thus  in  Pharaoh  when  he  said,  "  The  Lord 
is  righteous,  and  I  and  my  people  are  wick- 
ed." And  this  his  sense  of  the  evil  of  sin 
might  not  be  "  confined  to  its  'punishment ;" 
his  "  conscience  or  moral  sense  might  tell 
him  that  he  deserved  punishment  at  the 
hand  of  a  righteous  God."  So  far  then  we 
are  agreed.  But  if  Pharaoh  had  had  ^just 
sense  of  the  evil  of  sin  it  would  not  have 
left  him  where  it  did.  There  was  an  essen- 
tial difference  between  what  he  saw  by  the 
terrors  of  God's  judgment  and  what  Paul 
saw  when  "  sin  by  the  commandment  be 
came  exceeding  sinful."  Nor  can  I  believe 
that  any  sinner  was  ever  so  divested  of  self- 
righteous  hope  as  to  consider  himself  a 
mere  sinner,  who  yet  continued  to  reject  the 
Saviour ;  for  this  were  the  same  thing  as 
for  him  to  have  no  ground  to  stand  upon, 
either  false  or  true ;  but  he  who  submits  not 
to  the  righteousness  of  God  is,  in  some  form 
or  other,  going  about  to  establish  his  own 
righteousness. 

There  is,  I  apprehend,  an  important  dif- 
ference between  the  case  of  a  person  who, 
whatever  be  his  convictions,  is  still  averse 
from  giving  up  every  claim  and  falling  at 
the  feet  of  the  Saviour,  and  that  of  one 
whose  convictions  lead  him  to  take  refuge 
in  the  gospel,  as  far  as  he  understands  it, 
even  though  at  present  he  may  have  but  a 
very  imperfect  view  of  it.  I  can  clearly 
conceive  of  the  convictions  of  the  former  as 
having  no  repentance  or  holiness  in  them, 
but  not  so  of  the  latter.  I  believe  repent- 
ance has  begun  to  operate  in  many  persons 


of  this  description,  who  as  yet  have  not 
found  that  peace  or  rest  for  their  souls 
which  the  gospel  is  adapted  to  aflford.  In 
short,  the  question  is  whether  there  be  not 
such  a  thing  as  spiritual  conviction,  or  con- 
viction which  proceeds  from  the  special  in- 
fluence of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  which  in 
its  oAvn  nature  invariably  leads  the  soul  to 
Christ.  It  is  not  necessary  that  it  should  be 
known  by  the  party,  or  by  others,  to  be  so 
at  the  time,  nor  can  it  be  known  but  by  its 
effects,  or  till  it  has  led  the  sinner  to  believe 
in  Christ  alone  for  salvation.  But  this  does 
not  prove  but  that  it  may  exist.  And  when 
I  read  of  sin  by  the  commandment  becom- 
ing exceedingly  sinful ;  of  our  being  through 
the  law  dead  to  the  law,  "  that  we  might 
live  unto  God  ;"  of  the  law  being  appointed 
as  a  school-master  to  bring  us  to  Christ, 
"  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith,"  I  am 
persuaded  that  it  does  exist,  and  that  to  say 
all  spiritual  conviction  of  sin  is  by  means 
of  the  gospel,  is  antiscriptural  and  absurd. 

In  places  where  the  gospel  is  preached, 
and  where  persons  have  long  heard  it,  it  is 
not  supposed  that  they  are  necessarily  first 
led  to  think  of  the  law,  and  of  themselves  as 
transgressors  of  it ;  and  then,  being  con- 
vinced of  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin  by 
it,  are  for  the  first  time  led  to  think  of  Christ. 
No,  it  is  not  the  order  of  time,  but  that  of 
cause  and  effect,  for  which  I  plead.  It  may 
be  by  thinking  of  the  death  of  Christ  itself 
that  we  are  first  led  to  see  the  evil  of  sin ; 
but,  if  it  be  so,  this  does  not  disprove  the 
apostolic  doctrine,  that  "  by  the  law  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin."  If  the  death  of  Christ 
furnish  us  with  this  knowledge,  it  is  as  hon- 
oring the  precept  and  penalty  of  the  law. 
It  is  still,  therefore,  by  tne  law,  as  exempli- 
fied in  him,  that  we  are  convinced. 

"  A  spirit  of  grace  and  supplication"  was 
to  be  poured  "  upon  the  house  of  David  and 
the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,"  in  conse- 
quence of  which  they  were  to  "  look  upon 
him  whom  they  had  pierced,  and  mourn  as 
for  an  only  son,  and  to  be  in  bitterness  as 
one  that  is  in  bitterness  for  his  first-born." 
Is  this  mourning  described  as  follov/ing  or 
as  preceding  their  forgiveness  ?  As  prece- 
ding it.  It  is  true  they  are  said  first  to 
"  look  upon  him  whom  they  had  pierced  ;" 
but  this  view  of  the  death  of  the  Saviour  is 
represented  as  working  only  in  a  way  of 
conviction  and  lamentation  :  the  view  which 
gave  peace  and  rest  to  their  souls  follows 
upon  their  mourning,  and  is  thus  expressed : 
"  In  that  day  there  shall  be  a  fountain  open- 
ed to  the  house  of  David,  and  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  Jerusalem,  for  sin  and  for  unclean- 
ness." 

Judge,  my  friend,  and  let  the  reader  jndCTe, 
whether  this  account  accords  with  our  first 
viewing  God  as  just,  and  justifying  us  un- 
godly as  we  stand,  and  then  beginning  to 


FULLER    ON    SANDEMAxNIANISM. 


303 


love  him,  and  to  repent  of  our  having  sinned 
against  him.  Judge  whether  it  does  not 
rather  represent  things  in  this  order : 
first,  "a  spirit  of  grace  and  supplication" 
is  poured  upon  the  sinner ;  next  he  is  led 
to  think  of  what  he  has  done  against  the 
Lord  and  his  Christ,  and  mourns  over  it  in 
the  bitterness  of  his  soul,  and  then  gets  relief 
by  washing,  as  it  were,  in  the  fountain  of 
his  blood.  Such  was  doubtless  the  process 
under  Peter's  sermon.     Acts  ii.  37,  38. 

On  the  connection  of  repentance  and  faith 
I  am  at  a  loss  to  ascertain  Mr.  M's  senti- 
ments. He  says,  indeed  that  I  know  them  ; 
and  suggests  that  I  must  have  intentionally 
misrepresented  them. — Reply,  p.  36.  But, 
if  they  be  so  plain,  I  can  only  say,  my  un- 
derstanding is  more  dull  than  he  suppo- 
ses ;  for  I  do  not  yet  comprehend  how  he 
can  make  repentance,  in  all  cases,  a  fruit 
of  faith  in  Christ,  and  yet  consider  it  as  ne 
cessary  to  forgiveness.  He  acknowledges 
that  "  none  believe  who  do  not  repent,"  (p. 
39,)  and  that  repentance  is  "  necessary  to 
forgiveness,"  (p.  36.)  "But  forgiveness, 
though  not  the  same  as  justification,  is  yet 
an  essential  part  of  it ;  if,  therefore,  he  allow 
repentance  to  be  antecedent  to  forgiveness 
that  is  the  same  thing  in  effect  as  allowing 
it  to  be  antecedent  to  justification,  or  that 
the  faith  by  which  we  are  justified  includes 
repentance.  Yet  he  makes  faith  to  be  such 
a  belief  as  excludes  all  exercise  of  the  will 
or  affections,  and  consequently  repentance 
for  sin.  He  also  considers  repentance  as 
an  immediate  effect  of  faith  (p.  38,)  and 
opposes  the  idea  of  any  effect  of  faith  being 
included  in  it  as  necessary,  not  merely  as  a 
procuring  cause,  but  in  the  established  or- 
der of  things,  to  justification.  But  this,  so 
far  as  I  am  able  to  understand  things,  is 
making  repentance  to  follow  upon  forgive- 
ness rather  than  necessary  to  it 

Mr.  M'Lean  adds,  "  Though  repentance 
ought  to  be  urged  upon  all  who  hear  the 
gospel,  and  though  none  believe  it  who  do 
not  repent,  yet  I  strongly  suspect  that  it 
would  ue  leading  us  astray  to  press  repent- 
ance upon  them  before  and  in  order  to  their 
believing  the  gospel." — p.  39.  And  why 
does  he  not  suspect  the  same  thing  of  press- 
ing the  belief  of  the  gospel  before  and  in 
order  to  their  repentance  ?  If  indeed  the 
gospel  were  withheld  from  sinners  till  they 
actually  repent ;  or  if  it  were  suggested  that 
they  should  first  become  penitents,  and  then 
think  of  being  believers,  this  would  be  lead- 
ing them  astray :  and  the  same  might  be 
said  on  the  other  side.  If  exhortations  to 
repentance  were  withheld  till  the  sinner  had 
actually  believed,  or  it  were  suggested  that 
he  should  first  become  a  believer  and  then 
think  of  repenting,  this  would  be  as  anti- 
scriptural  as  the  other.  But  why  should 
we  not  content  oureelyes  with  following  the 


examples  of  the  New  Testament?"  "  Re- 
pent and  believe  the  gospel?"  As  Mr. 
M'Lean'a  placing  faith  before  repentance 
does  not  require  him  to  avoid  telling  sin- 
ners of  the  evil  nature  of  sin  till  they  have 
believed,  nor  to  consider  them  as  believers 
while  they  are  impenitent,  why  does  he  im- 
pute such  consequences  to  me,  for  placing 
repentance  before  faith  ? 

Mr.  M'Lean  refers  to  a  passage  in  the 
preface  to  the  first  editon  of  The  Gos^pcl 
Worthy  of  all  Acceptation,  as  favoring  ex- 
travagant constructions.  I  had  said,  "  No 
sort  of  encouragement  or  hope  is  held  out 
in  all  the  book  of  God  to  any  sinner  as  siich 
considered."  That  which  I  meant,  at  the 
time,  was  merely  to  disown  that  any  sinner 
was  encouraged  to  hope  for  eternal  life  with- 
out returning  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ.  Thus 
I  explained  it  in  my  answer  to  Philanthro- 
pos ;  but,  as  I  perceived  the  idea  was  not 
clearly  expressed  in  the  preface,  and  that 
the  words  were  capable  of  an  ill  construc- 
tion, I  altered  them  in  the  second  edition, 
and  expressed  my  meaning  as  follows : 
"  There  is  no  dispute  concerning  who  ought 
to  be  encouraged  to  consider  themselves  as 
entitled  to  the  blessings  of  the  gospel. 
Though  sinners  be  freely  invited  to  the  par- 
ticipation of  spiritual  blessings,  yet  they 
have  no  interest  in  them,  according  to  God's 
revealed  will,  while  they  continue  in  unbe- 
lief." I  cannot  consider  Mr.  M'Lean's  other 
references  to  the  first  edition,  after  a  second 
was  in  his  hand,  as  fair  or  candid ;  and  this 
appears  to  me  unfair  and  uncandid  in  the 
extreme. 

It  has  been  common  to  distinguish  repent- 
ance into  legal  and  evangelical ;  and  I  al- 
low there  is  a  foundation  in  the  nature  of 
things  for  this  distinction.  The  former  ari- 
ses from  the  consideration  of  our  sin  being 
atransgressionofthe holy,  just,  and  good  law 
of  our  Creator  ;  the  latter  from  the  belief  of 
the  mercy  of  God  as  revealed  in  the  gospel, 
and  the  consideration  of  our  sin  being  com- 
mitted notwithstanding,  and  even  against  it. 
But  it  appears  to  me  to  have  been  too  light- 
ly taken  for  granted  that  all  true  repentance 
is  confined  to  the  latter.  The  law  and  the 
gospel  are  not  in  opposition  to  each  other : 
why  then  should  repentance  arising  from 
the  consideration  of  them  be  so  opposite  as 
that  the  one  should  be  false  and  the  other 
true? 

If  we  wish  to  distinguish  the  false  from 
the  true,  or  that  which  needs  to  be  repented 
of  from  that  which  does  not,  we  may  per- 
haps, with  more  propriety,  denominate  them 
natural  and  spiritual ;  by  the  former  under- 
standing that  which  the  mere  principles  of 
unrenewed  nature  are  capable  of  producing, 
and  by  the  latter  that  which  proceeds  from 
the  supernatural  and  renovating  influence 
of  the  Spirit  of  God. 


304 


FULLER    ON    S  ANDEM  ANI  AN  ISM. 


Natural  repentance,  thus  defined,  is  sor- 
row for  sin  chiefly  with  respect  to  its  conse- 
quences, accompanied,  however,  with  the 
reproaches  of  conscience  on  account  of  the 
thing  itself.  It  is  composed  of  remorse,  fear, 
and  regret,  and  is  often  followed  by  a 
change  of  conduct.  It  may  arise  from  a 
view  of  the  law  and  its  threatenings,  in 
which  case  it  hath  no  hope,  but  worketh 
death,  on  account  of  there  being  nothing 
but  death  held  out  by  the  law  for  transgres- 
sors. Or  it  may  arise  from  a  partial  and 
false  view  of  the  gospel,  by  which  the  heart 
is  often  melted  under  an  idea  of  sin  being 
forgiven  when  it  is  not  so ;  in  this  case  it 
hath  hope,  but,  this  being  unfounded,  it  not- 
withstanding worketh  death  in  a  way  of 
self-deception. 

Spiritual  repentance  is  sorrow  for  sin  as 
sin,  and  as  sin  committed  against  God. 
It  may  arise  from  a  view  of  the  death  of 
Christ,  through  which  we  perceive  how 
evil  and  bitter  a  thing  it  is,  and,  looking  on 
him  whom  we  have  pierced,  mourn  as  one 
mourneth  for  an  only  son.  But  it  may  also 
arise  from  the  consideration  of  our  sin  be- 
ing a  transgression  of  the  holy,  just,  and 
good  law  of  God,  and  of  our  having  dis- 
honored him  without  cause.  Such  a  sense 
of  the  evil  nature  of  sin  as  renders  it  ex- 
ceedingly sinful  includes  the  essence  of  true 
repentance :  yet  this,  in  the  apostle,  did  not 
arise  from  the  consideration  of  the  gospel, 
but  of  the  commandment.  It  was  there- 
fore legal  repentance :  yet  as  its  tendency 
was  to  render  him  "  dead  to  the  law"  as  a 
medium  of  justification,  and  to  bring  him 
to  Christ  for  life,  it  was  spiritual.  It  was 
repentance  unto  life. 

The  chief  ground  on  which  repentance 
toward  God  has  been  denied  to  precede 
faith  in  Christ,  in  the  order  of  nature,  is 
that  no  man  can  repent  of  sin  till  he  enter- 
tain the  hope  of  forgiveness.  Nay,  it  has 
been  said,  "  No  man  can  repent  unless  he 
Icnows  himself  to  be  of  God ;  and,  as  this 
cannot  be  known  till  he  hath  received  Christ, 
faith  must  precede  repentance."  If  the 
principle  that  supports  this  argument  be 
true,  we  neither  have,  nor  ought  to  have, 
any  regard  to  God  or  man,  but  for  our  own 
sake.  But,  if  so,  the  command  ought  not 
to  have  been,  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  and  soul  and 
mind  and  strength,  and  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself:"  but  thou  shalt  love  thyself  with 
all  thy  heart  and  soul  and  mind  and  strength, 
and  thy  God  and  thy  neighbor  so  far  as 
they  are  subservient  to  thee.  Moreover,  if 
so,  the  world,  instead  of  being  greatly  de- 
praved, is  very  nearly  what  it  ought  to  be ; 
for  it  is  certainly  not  wanting  in  sclf-lovo, 
though  ii  misses  the  mark  in  accomplishing 
its  object. 

Some  have  allowed  "  that  it  is  our  duty 


to  love  God  supremely,  whether  he  save 
us  or  not ;  but  that,  nevertheless,  the  thing 
is  impossible."  If  it  be  physically  impossi- 
ble it  cannot  be  duty;  for  God  requires 
nothing  in  respect  of  obedience  but  that  we 
love  him  with  all  our  strength.  If  it  be  on- 
ly morally  impossible,  that  is  the  same  as 
its  being  so  owing  to  the  corrupt  state  of 
our  minds.  But  we  are  not  to  suppose  that 
God,  in  saving  sinners,  any  more  than  in 
judging  them,  consults  their  depraved  spi- 
rit, and  adapts  the  gospel  to  it.  On  tne 
contrary,  it  is  the  design  of  all  that  God 
does  for  us  to  restore  us  to  a  right  spirit 
His  truth  must  not  bend  to  our  corruptions; 
but  our  hearts  must  be  "  inchned  to  his  tes- 
timonies." So  far,  therefore,  as  any  man 
is  renewed  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  so  far  is 
he  brought  to  be  of  God's  mind,  and  does 
what  he  ought  to  do.  God's  law  is  written 
in  his  heart. 

Farther:  If  the  principle  that  supports 
this  argument  be  true,  it  will  hold  good  in 
reference  to  men,  as  well  as  to  God.  And 
is  it  true  that  a  man  who  is  under  just  con- 
demnation for  breaking  the  laws,  and  who 
has  no  hope  of  obtaining  a  pardon,  ought 
not  to  be  expected  to  repent  for  his  crime, 
and,  before  he  die,  to  pray  God  to  bless  his 
king  and  country?  On  this  principle,  all 
confessions  of  this  kind  are  of  necessity 
mere  hypocrisy.  Even  those  of  the  dying 
thief  in  the  gospel,  so  far  as  they  respect 
the  justice  of  his  doom  from  his  country- 
men, must  have  been  insincere ;  for  he  had 
no  hope  of  his  sentence  being  remitted. 
What  would  an  offended  father  say,  if  the 
offender  should  require,  as  the  condition  of 
his  repentance,  a  previous  declaration  of 
forgiveness,  or  even  of  a  willingness  to 
forgive  ?  A  willingness  to  forgive  might 
be  declared,  and  it  would  heighten  the  crim- 
inality of  the  offender  if  after  this  he  con- 
tinued hardened  ;  but  for  him  to  require  it, 
and  to  avow  that  he  could  not  repent  of  his 
sin  upon  any  other  condition,  would  be  the 
height  of  insolence.  Yet  all  this  is  pleaded 
for  in  respect  of  God.  "  If  I  be  a  father, 
where  is  mine  honor?" 

Besides,  how  is  a  sinner,  to  "  know  that 
he  is  of  God,"  otherwise  than  as  being  con- 
scious of  repentance  toward  God  and  faith 
toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  Till  he  is 
sorry  at  heart  for  having  dishonored  God, 
he  is  not  of  God,  and  therefore  cannot 
know  that  he  is  so. 

If  some  have  gone  into  extremes  in  wri- 
ting of  "  disinterested  love,"  as  Mr.  M'Lean 
suggests,  it  does  not  follow  that  true  relig- 
ion has  its  origin  in  self-love.  Most  men, 
who  make  any  pretence  to  serious  Christi- 
anity, will  allow  that,  if  sin  be  not  hated  as 
sin,  it  is  not  hated  at  all:  and  why  we 
should  scruple  to  allow  that,  if  God  be  not 
loved  as  God,  he  is  not  loved  at  all,  I  can- 


PULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM, 


:?05 


not  conceive.  I  am  not  surprised,  howev- 
er, that  those  who  have  been  so  long  and 
so  deeply  imbued  in  a  system,  a  leading 
principle  of  which  is  "  that  godliness  con 
sists  in  love  to  that  which  first  relieves  us," 
•should  write  in  the  manner  they  do. 

On  some  occasions,  however,  Mr.  M. 
himself  can  say  as  miich  in  favor  of  "  disin 
lerested  love"  as  his  opponent,  and  can 
represent  that  which  arises  from  "  a  mere 
principle  of  self-love"  as  being  of  no  value 
"  There  may  be  some  resemblances  of  re- 
pentance," he  says,  "in  fear,  remorse,  and 
sorrow  of  mind,  occasioned  by  sin ;  as  in 
Cain,  Judas,  Fehx,  &c.  But  a  mere  prin 
ciple  of  self-love  will  make  a  n^n  dread 
the  consequences  of  sin,  while  he  lias  prev 
alent  inclinations  to  sin  itself.  There  is  a 
difference  between  mere  fear  and  sorrow 
on  account  of  sin,  and  a  prevalent  hatred 
of  it ;  between  ha^ed  of  sin  itself,  and 
mere  hatred  of  its  consequences ;  between 
that  sorrow  for  sin  which  flows  from  the 
love  of  God  and  of  holiness,  and  that  which 
flows  from  an  inferior  principle.  Men  may 
have  even  an  aversion  to  some  kinds  of  sin. 
because  they  interfere  with  others,  or  be- 
cause they  do  not  suit  tlieir  natural  consti- 
tutions, propensities,  tempers,  habits,  age, 
worldly  interests,  &c.,  while  they  do  not 
hate  all  sin  universally,  and  consequently 
hate  no  sin,  as  such,  or  from  a  proper  prin- 
ciple.—  Works,  Vol.  ii.  p.  95. 


LETTER    VI. 

On  the  connection  between  knowledge  and 
disposition. 

You  need  not  be  told  that  this  is  a  sub- 
ject of  prime  importance  in  the  Sandema- 
nian  system.  It  every  where  considers 
knowledge  as  the  one  thing  needful,  and 
disposition  as  its  natural  and  proper  effect. 

Mr.  M'Lean  represents  me  as  maintain- 
ing that  the  understanding  or  perceptive 
faculty  in  man  is  directed  and  governed  by 
his  will  and  inclinations ;  and  this  he  sup- 
poses to  be  the  principle  on  which  my  ar- 
guments are  principally  founded  :  a  princi- 
ple which  can  be  true,  he  thinks,  only  in 
cases  where  the  original  order  of  things  is 
perverted  by  sin. — Reply  pp.  8,  9.  Wheth- 
er these  sentiments  be  just,  or  contain  a 
fair  statement  of  my  views,  we  shall  in- 
quire as  we  proceed :  at  present  I  only  ob- 
serve that  the  state  of  the  will  or  disposi- 
tion is,  in  Mr.  M 'Lean's  account,  governed 
invariably  by  the  understanding ;  or,  if  in 
any  instance  it  be  otherwise,  it  is  owing  to 
the  disorder  introduced  by  sin.  I  should 
not  have  supposed,  however,  that  sin  could 
have  perverted  the  established  laws  of  na-, 

Vol.  3.— Ma- 


ture. It  certainly  perverts  the  moral  order 
of  things,  that  is  (as  Dr.  Owen  represents 
it,  to  whom  Mr.  M.  refers,)  instead  of  the 
will  being  governed  by  judgment  and  con- 
science, judgment  and  conscience  are  often 
governed  by  prejudice.  But  there  is  noth- 
ing in  all  this  subversive  of  the  established 
laws  of  nature ;  for  it  is  a  law  recognized 
both  by  nature  and  scripture  that  the  dis- 
position of  the  soul  should  influence  its 
decisions.  A  humble  and  candid  spirit  is 
favorable,  and  a  proud  and  uncandid  spirit 
is  unfavorable,  to  a  riglit  judgment. 

"  It  is  a  maxim,"  says  Mr.  Ecking,  "that 
has  not  yet  been  refuted,  that  the  determin- 
ation of  the  will  must  evermore  follow  the 
illumination,  conviction,  and  notice  of  the 
understanding."*  By  the  illumination,  con 
viction,  and  notice  of  the  understanding 
must  be  meant,  either  what  the  mind  judg- 
es to  be  right,  or  what  it  accounts  agreea- 
ble. If  the  will  were  always  determined 
by  the  former,  there  could  be  no  such  thing 
as  knowing  the  will  of  God  and  not  doing 
it.  But  I  suppose  this  will  not  be  pretend- 
ed. It  must  therefore  be  of  the  latter  tliat 
Mr.  Ecking  writes.  His  meaning  must  he, 
that  the  will  evermore  follows  the  mind's 
view  of  the  object  os  agreeable.  But  is  it 
certain  that  the  viewing  of  an  object  agree- 
able is  properly  and  perfectly  distinct  from 
choosing  it  ?  President  Edwards  conceiv- 
ed it  was  not,  and  therefore  did  not  affirm 
that  the  will  was  determined  by  tlie  great- 
est apparent  good,  but  merely  that  "  the 
will  always  is  as  the  greatest  apparent 
good,  or  as  what  appears  most  agreeable 
is."t  This  is  not  saying  that  the  will  is 
determined  by  the  understanding;  for,  as 
the  same  author  goes  on  to  prove,  the 
cause  of  an  object  appearing  agreeable  to 
the  mind  may  be  "the  state,  frame,  or 
temper  of  the  mind  itself"  But  so  far  as 
this  is  the  case,  the  judgment  is  determined 
by  tlie  state  of  the  mind  rather  than  the 
state  of  the  mind  by  the  judgment. 

A  great  deal  of  confusion  on  this  subject 
has  arisen  from  confounding  simple  knowl- 
edge, pertaining  merely  to  the  intellectual 
faculty,  with  that  which  is  compound 
or  comprehensive  of  approbation.  The 
former  is  with  propriety  distinguished  from 
whatever  pertains  to  the  state  of  the  will ; 
but  the  latter  is  not,  seeing  it  includes  it. 

Mr.  M'Lean,  speaking  of  certain  charac- 
ters who  had  heard  the  gospel,  says,  "It 
is  supposed  that  such  men  have  now  re- 
ceived some  information  which  they  had 
not  before,  both  with  respect  to  their  dan- 
ger and  the  remedy  of  it,  and" — what? 
that  their  wills  or  dispositions  are  in  tliat 
proportion  changed  ?     No :  but  "  that  they 


•  Essays,  p.  54. 

t  Or.  the  Will,  Part  L  Section  U.  p.  11. 


506 


FULLER    ON     SANDEMANIANISM. 


are  hereby  rendered  quite  inexcusable  if 
they  should  neglect  so  great    salvation 
which  neglect  must  now  be  the  cHcct  of 
pervcrseness  and  aversion,  and  not  of  sim- 

fle  ignorance.  John  iii.  19;  xv.  2,  25."* 
do  not  say  of  Mr.  M.,  as  he  did  of  me 
when  I  was  only  reasoning  upon  the  prin- 
ciples of  my  opponent,  that  "  he  can  take 
either  side  of  the  question  as  he  finds  occa- 
sion:" but  this  I  say,  that,  when  writing  in 
favor  of  the  calls  of  the  gospel  he  felt  him- 
self impelled  to  admit  principles  of  which, 
in  his  controversy  on  the  other  side,  he  has 
quite  lost  sight.  The  above  statement  ap- 
pears to  me  to  be  very  just,  and  as  he  here 
so  properly  distinguishes  simple  ignorance 
from  ignorance  which  arises  from  aversion 
or  neglect — the  one  as  tending  to  excuse, 
the  other  to  criminate — he  cannot  consist 
ently  object  to  my  distinguishing  between 
simple  knowledge,  which  barely  renders 
men  inexcusable,  and  knowledge  inclusive 
of  approbation,  which  has  the  promise  of 
eternal  life. 

Simple  knowledge,  or  knowledge  as  dis- 
tinguished from  approbation,  is  merely  a 
natural  accomplishment,  necessary  to  the 
performance  of  both  good  and  evil,  but  in 
itself  neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  In 
stead  of  producing  love,  it  often  occasions 
an  increasing  enmity,  and  in  all  cases  ren 
ders  sinners  the  less  excusable.  In  this 
sense  the  term  knowledge,  and  others  rela- 
ted to  it.  are  used  in  the  following  passa- 
ges :  "  The  servant  who  knew  his  lord's 
will,  and  did  it  not,  shall  be  beaten  with 
many  stripes," — '■  When  they  knew  God 
they  glorified  him  not  as  God."  "  If  ye 
know  these  things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do 
them."  "  If  I  had  not  come  and  spoken 
unto  them,  they  had  not  had  sin,  but  now 
they  have  no  cloak  for  their  sin."  "  If  I 
had  not  done  among  them  the  works  which 
none  other  man  did,  they  had  not  had  sin ; 
but  now  they  have  both  seen  and  hated 
both  me  and  my  Father." 

But  knowledge  is  much  more  frequently 
used  in  the  scriptures  as  including  appro- 
bation. The  Lord  is  said  to  know  tjie 
righteous,  and  never  to  have  known  the 
workers  of  iniquity.  To  understand  this 
of  simple  knowledge  would  deprive  God  of 
his  omniscience.  As  ascribed  to  men,  it  is 
what  is  denominated  a  spiritual  understand- 
ing. It  is  not  necessary  to  an  obligation  to 
spiritual  duties,  but  it  is  necessary  in  the 
nature  of  things  to  the  actual  discliarge  of 
them.  It  may  be  said  of  the  want  of  this, 
"  The  Lord  hath  not  given  you  eyes  to  see, 
and  ears  to  hear,  to  this  day ;"  and  tliat 
without  furnishing  any  cxcu.se  for  the  blind- 
ness of  the  parties.  It  is  tlic  wi.sdoai  from 
above  imparted  by  the  illuniinaling  influ- 
ence of  the  Holv  spirit. 

i'lUMyau  On  t'aU.s,  otc,  \>.  17. 


That  knowledge,  in  this  sense  of  the 
term,  produces  holy  affections  is  not  denied, 
It  is  in  itself  holy,  and  contains  the  princi- 
ple of  universal  holiness.  It  is  that  by 
which  we  discern  the  glory  of  God  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  glory  being 
beheld  assimilates  us  into  the  same  image 
from  glory  to  glory,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord.  But  the  question  at  issue  respects 
knowledge  in  its  simple  and  literal  sense, 
or  that  which  is  purely  intellectual,  exclu- 
sive of  all  disposition ;  otherwise  it  would 
amount  to  no  more  than  this,  whether  tiiat 
which  includes  the  seminal  principles  of 
holy  affection  (namely,  a  sense  of  heart) 
tends  to  produce  it:  which  never  was  dis- 
puted. 

The  ground  on  which  I  am  supposed  to 
have  proceeded  is  "  that  the  understanding 
or  perceptive  faculty  in  man  is  directed  and 
governed  by  his  will  ■f^  but  this  is  a  mis- 
take :  I  ground  no  doctrine  upon  any  theo- 
ry of  the  human  mind  which  I  may  have 
entertained :  but  on  what  I  consider  as  the 
scriptural  account  of  things;  in  whicii  I 
find  spiritual  perception  impeded  by  evil 
disposition,  and  promoted  by  the  contrary. 
1  Cor.  ii.  14.  Neither  is  the  above  a  fair 
statement  of  my  views.  If  what  I  have 
written  implies  any  theory  of  the  human 
mind,  it  is  not  that  the  tmderstanding  is  in 
all  cases  governed  by  the  will ;  but  rather 
that  they  have  a  mutual  influence  on  each 
other.  I  have  allowed,  in  my  Appendix, 
that  volitions  are  influenced  by  motives  or 
considerations  which  exist  in  the  view  of 
the  mind ;  and  I  should  think  it  is  equally 
evident,  on  the  other  hand,  that  our  judg- 
ments are,  in  a  great  number  of  instances, 
determined  by  a  previous  state  or  disposi- 
tion of  the  soul.  In  objects  which  do  not 
interest  the  affections  the  judgment  maybe 
purely  intellectual,  and  the  choice  may  nat- 
urally follow  according  to  its  dictates ;  but 
it  is  not  so  in  cases,  as  universal  experience 
evinces. 

"But  must  it  not  be  owned,"  says  Mr. 
M.  in  his  Reply,  "  that,  so  far  as  this  is  the 
case  in  man,  it  is  an  irreg^dar  exercise  of 
his  faculties,  arising  from  the  moral  disor- 
der of  his  lapsed  nature,  whereby  judg- 
ment, reason,  and  conscience  are  weakened, 
perverted,  and  blinded,  so  as  to  be  subject- 
ed to  his  will  and  corrupt  inclinations  ?" — 
p.  8.  It  must  undoubtedly  be  owned  that 
the  influence  of  an  evil  disposition  in  pro- 
ducing an  erroneous  and  false  judgment  is 
owing  (o  this  cause  ;  and  if  that  for  whicli 
I  plead  were  what  Mr.  M.  elsewhere  rep- 
resents it,  viz.  a  prejudice  in  favor  of  a  re- 
port, which  renders  the  mind  regardless  of 
evidence,  (p.  67,)  the  same  might  be  said  of 
all  sucli  judgment.  But  hoAv  if  the  state 
)!'  tlic  will  contended  for  sliotild  be,  that  of 
a  deliverance  from  prejudice,  by  which  ev- 


FULLER     ON     S  AND  E  M  ANI  AN  I  S  M. 


307 


idence  comes  to  be  properly  regarded?  It- 
is  not  to  the  disorder  introduced  by  sin  that 
we  are  to  ascribe  the  general  principle  of 
the  moral  state  or  disposition  of  the  soul 
having  an  influence  on  the  judgment;  for 
it  is  no  less  true  tliat  a  humble,  candid,  and 
impartial  spirit  influences  the  belief  of  mor- 
al truth,  or  truth  that  involves  in  its  conse- 
quences the  devoting  of  the  whole  Ufe  to 
God,  than  that  a  selfish  and  corrupt  spirit 
influences  the  rejection  of  it.  Surely  it  is 
not  owing  to  the  human  faculties  being 
thrown  into  disorder  that  a  holy  frame  of 
mind  in  believers  enables  them  to  under- 
stand the  scriptures  better  than  the  best 
expositor !  The  experience  of  every  Chris- 
tian bears  witness  that  the  more  spiritually 
minded  he  is  the  better  he  is  prepared  for 
the  discernment  of  spiritual  things. 

Mr.  M'Lean  thinks  I  have  mistaken  the 
meaning  of  the  term  heart,  in  applying  it 
to  the  dispositions  and  affections   of  the 
soul,  as  distinguished  from  the  understand- 
ing.    When  such  phrases  as  a  heart  of 
stone,  a  heart  of  flesh,  a  hard  and  impeni- 
tent heart,  a  tender  heart,  a  heart  to  know 
the  Lord,  &c.,  occur,  though  they  suppose 
the  intellectual  faculty,  yet  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  I  should   think,  of  their  expressing 
the  state  of  the  will  and  affections,  rather 
than  of  the  understanding.     I  have  no  ob- 
jection, however,  to  the  account  given  of 
the  term  by  Dr.  Owen,  that  "it  generally 
denotes  the  whole  soul  of  man,  and  all  the 
faculties  of  it,  not  absolutely,  but  as  they 
are  all  one  principle  of  moral  operations, 
as  they  all  concur  in  our  doing  good  or 
evil."     The  term  may  sometimes  apply  to 
what  is  simply  natural ;  but  it  generally,  as 
he  says,  denotes  the  principle  of  moral  ac- 
tion, which,  being  comprehended  in  love, 
must  in  all  cases,  whether  it  relate  to  good 
or  evil,  include  affection.     And  thus  in  his 
Treatise  on  Justice,  Dr.   Owen  observes 
that  "  assent  is  an  act  of  the  understanding 
only ;  but  believing  is  an  act  of  the  heart, 
which  in  scripture  comprises  all  the  facul- 
ties of  the  soul  as  one  entire  principle  of 
moral  and  spiritual  duties.    '  With  the  heart 
man  believeth  unto  righteousness,'  Rom.  x. 
10 ;  and  it  is  frequently  described  by  an  act 
of  the  will,  though  it  be  not  so  alone.     But 
without  an  act  of  the  will  no  man  can  be- 
lieve as  he  ought.     See  John  v.  40 ;  i.  12 ; 
vi.  35.    We  come  to  Jesus  Christ  as  an 
act  of  the  will;  'and  let  whosoever  will, 
come :'  and  to  be  willing  is  taken  for  believ- 
ing.    Ps.  ex.  3.     And  unbelief  is  disobe- 
dience.    Heb.  iii.  18,  19."— CTiap.  1.  p-  108. 
Nay,  Mr.  M'Lean  himself  acknowledges 
nearly  as  much  as  this.     He  says,  "  The 
scriptures  always  represent  the  regenera 
ting  and  sanctiiying  influences  of  the  spirit 
as  exerted  upon  the  henrt,  which  include 
not  only  the  understanding,  but  the  wil 


and  affections,  or  the  prevalent  inclinationg 
and  dispositions  of  the  soul." — Works,  Vol. 
ii.  p.  91. 

That  disposition,  in  rational  beings,  pre- 
supposes perception,  I  never  doubted ;  but 
that  it  is  produced  by  it  is  much  easier  as- 
serted than  proved.  Knowledge  is  a  con- 
comitant in  m.any  cases  where  it  is  not  a 
cause.  If  all  holy  dispositions  be  produced 
by  just  perceptions,  all  evil  disposition  is 
produced  by  just  or  erroneous  ones.  In- 
deed, this  is  no  more  than  Mr.  M'Lean,  on 
some  occasions  at  least,  is  prepared  to  ad- 
mit. He  tells  us  that  "  the  word  represents 
the  darkness,  blindness,  and  ignorance  of 
the  mind,  with  regard  to  spiritual  things,  as 
the  source  of  men's  alienation  from  the  life 
of  God,  and  ol' their  rebelling  against  him." 
— p.  77.  Does  he  really  think,  then,  that 
the  passages  of  scripture  to  which  he  refers 
means  simple  ignorance?*  If  not,  they 
make  nothing  for  his  argument.  Does  he 
seriously  consider  the  blindness  or  hardness 
of  heart,  in  Ephes.  iv.  18,  as  referring  to 
ignorance,  in  distinction  from  aversion,  or 
as  including  it?t  Can  he  imagine  that  the 
darkness  in  which  Satan  holds  mankind  is 
any  other  than  a  chosen  and  beloved  dark- 
ness, described  in  the  following  passages  ? 
"  They  loved  darkness  rather  than  light, 
because  their  deeds  were  evil."  "  The 
heart  of  this  people  is  waxed  gross,  and 
their  ears  are  dull  of  hearing  and  their 
eyes  have  they  closed." 

That  voluntary  blindness  renders  sinners 
estranged  from  God  I  can  easily  under- 
stand, nor  am  I  at  any  loss  to  conceive  of 
its  being  "that  by  which  Satan  reigns, 
and  maintains  his  power  over  the  minds  of 
men ;"  but  I  do  not  perceive,  in  any  of 
these  facts,  the  proof  of  disposition  having 
its  origin  in  ignorance.  Two  friends,  whom 
I  will  call  Matthew  and  Mark,  were  one 
evening  conversing  on  this  subject,  when 
the  following  sentiments  were  exchanged. 
All  sin  (said  Matthew)  arises  from  ignor- 
ance. Do  you  think  then,  (said  Mark)  that 
God  will  condemn  men  for  what  is  owing 
to  a  want  of  natural  capacity?  O  no, 
(said  Matthew ;)  it  is  a  voluntary  ignorance 
to  which  I  refer :  a  not  liking  to  retain  God 
in  their  knowledge.  Then  (said  Mark) 
you  reason  in  a  circle;  your  argument 
amounts  to  this :  All  sin  arises  from  igno- 
rance, and  this  ignorance  arises  from  sin ; 
or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  from  aversion 
to  the  light ! 

Ii'  MrT  M'Lean,  or  others,  will  maintain 


•  Ephps. 
Col.  i.  i: 


IS,  19.     Acts  xxvi.   18.    Eplies.  vi. 


t  IlMfXJo-if  Parkhtirst  observes,  is  from  irwpow  and 
si"nifies  hnnlnef.-!,  ^tillnusi^psn.  or  blindness.  "  It  is  not 
merp  ignorance,"  savs  Dr.  Owen,  "  but  a  stubborn  rrsist- 
;iiire  of  li^bt  anil  i-nnviction;  an  oh.iiiraf*'  liardness, 
whence  It  rejef-ls  tlie  itnpres.sions  of  divine  truth." — 
Discourses  of  I  lie  Ilo'y  Sjiirit,  Book  iii.  Cliap.  iiL 


308 


FULLER    ON    S  AN  D  EM  A  N  I  AN  I  SM. 


fhat  sin  is  the  effect  of  simple  ignorance 
(and  this  they  must  maintain,  or  what  they 
hold  is  nothinof  dilTercnt  from  that  which 


wheel  of  a  machine  is  to  those  that  follow ; 
but  that  which  light  and  plain  direction  are 
to  a  traveller,  leaving  him  inexcusable  if 


they  oppose,)  let  them  seriously  consider  a  he  walk  not  in  the  right  way 


few  of  its  consequences,  as  drawn  by  some 
of  our  modern  Infidels.  It  is  on  this  prin- 
ciple that  Mr.  Godwin,  in  his  treatise  on 
Political  Justice,  denies  the  original  de- 
pravity of  human  nature;  explains  away 
all  ideas  of  guilt,  crime,  desert,  and  ac- 
countableness ;  and  represents  the  devil 
himself  as  a  being  of  considerable  virtue. 
Thus  he  reasons : 

"  The  moral  characters  of  men  originate 
in  their  perceptions.  As  there  are  no  in- 
nate perceptions  or  ideas,  there  are  no  in- 
nate principles.  The  moral  qualities  of 
men  are  the  produce  of  the  impressions 
made  upon  them,  and  there  is  no  such 
Ihing  as  an  original  propensity  to  evil?'' — 
Book  i.  Chap.  iii. 

Again :  "  Vice  is  nothing  more  than  error 
and  mistake  reduced  to  practice.  Acting 
from  an  ill  motiv^e  is  acting  from  a  mista 
ken  motive.  Under  tlie  system  of  necessity 
(that  is,  as  held  by  him,)  the  ideas  o^ guilt., 
crime,  desert,  and  accountableness,  have  no 
placeJ^ — Book  iv.  Chap.  iv. — vi.  pp.  254, 
314. 

Again :  "  Virtue  is  the  offspring  of  the 
tmderstanding.  It  is  only  another  name  for 
a  clear  and  distinct  perception  of  tlie  value 
of  the  objectr  Virtue,  therefore,  is  ordina- 
rily connected  with  great  talents.  Cassar 
and  Alexander  had  their  virtues.  They 
imagined  their  conduct  conducive  to  the 
general  good.  The  devil,  as  described  by 
Milton,  also  was  a  being  of  considerable 
virtue !  Why  did  he  rebel  against  his 
Maker  ?  Because  he  saw  no  sufficient  rea- 
.?on  for  that  extreme  inequality  of  rank  and 
power  which  the  Creator  assumed.  After 
his  fall,  why  did  he  still  cherish  the  spirit 
of  opposition  ?  From  a  persuasion  that  he 
.was  hardly  and  injuriously  treated.  He 
was  not  discouraged  by  the  inequality  of 
the  contest !" — Book  iv.  Chap.  iv.  .4pp.  No. 
I.  p.  2G1. 

Allowing  this  writer  his  premises,  I  con- 
fess myself  unable  to  refute  his  consequen- 
ces. If  all  sin  be  the  effect  of  ignorance, 
so  far  from  its  being  exceedingly  sinful,  I 
am  unable  to  perceive  any  sinfulness  in  it. 
It  is  one  of  the  clearest  dictates  in  nature, 
and  that  which  is  suggested  by  every 
man's  conscience,  that  whatever  he  does 
wrong,  if  he  know  no  better,  and  his  igno- 
rance be  purely  intellectual,  or,  as  Mr. 
M'Lean  calls  it,  simple — that  is,  if  it  be  not 
owing  to  any  neglect  of  means,  but  to  the 
want  of  means,  or  of  powers  to  use  them, 
it  is  not  his  tault. 

The  intellectual  powers  of  the  soul,  such 
as  perception,  judement,  and  conscience 
are  not  that  to  moral  action  which  the  first 


But  I  shall  be  told  that  it  is  not  natural 
but  spiritual  knowledge  for  which  Mr. 
M'Lean  pleads,  as  the  cause  of  holy  dispo- 
sition. True:  but  he  pleads  for  it  upon 
the  general  principle  of  its  being  the  estab- 
ished  order  of  the  human  mind  that  dispo^ 
sition  should  be  produced  by  knowledge. 
Moreover,  if  spiritual  knowledge  should  be 
found  to  include  approbation,  it  cannot, 
with  propriety,  be  so  distinguished  from  it 
as  to  be  a  cause  of  which  the  other  is  the 
effect ;  for  to  say  that  all  disposition  arises 
from  knowledge,  and  that  that  knowledge 
includes  approbation,  is  to  reason  in  a  cir- 
cle, exactly  as,  in  the  case  just  supposed,. 
Matthew  reasoned  on  all  sin  arising  from 
which  ignorance  included  aver- 


ignorance, 
sion. 

That  spiritual  knowledge  includes  appro- 
bation in  its  very  nature,  and  not  merely  in 
its  effect,  appears  evident  to  me  from  twee 
considerations.  First:  It  m  the  opposite 
of  spiritual  bhndness.  2  Cor.  iv.  4 — 6; 
Ephes.  V.  8.  But  spiritual  blindness  in- 
cludes in  its  very  nature,  and  not  merely  irt 
its  effect,  an  aversion  to  the  truth.  Mr, 
Ecking  (whose  Essays  on  Grace,  Faith, 
and  Experience,  have  been  reprinted  by 
the  friends  of  this  system,  as  containing- 
what  they  account,  no  doubt,  an  able  de- 
fence of  then*  principles)  allows  the  ina- 
bility of  the  sinner  to  consist  in  his  loving 
darkness  rather  than  light,  and  his  disincli- 
nation to  depend  on  a  holy  sovereign  God, 
and  not  in  the  want  of  rational  faculties. 
Describing  this  inability  in  other  words,  he 
considers  it  as  cornposed  of  "  error,  igno- 
rance, and  unbelief/'  in  which  he  places 
the  "  disease"  of  the  sinner,  "  the  very  es- 
sence of  the  natural  man's  darkness  ;"  and 
the  opposites  of  them  he  makes  to  be  "  truth, 
knowledge,  and  faith,  which  being  implant- 
ed," he  says,  '•'■  the  soul  must  be  renewed."' 
—pp.  66,  67.*  If  Mr.  E.  understood  what 
he  wrote,  he  must  mean  to  represent  spirit- 
ual fight  as  the  proper  opposite  of  spiritual 
darkness ;  and  as  he  allows  the  latter,  "  in 
the  very  essence  of  it,  to  include  aversion,'^ 
he  must  allow  the  former  in  the  very  es-- 
sence  of  it  to  include  approbation.  Sec- 
ondly: The  objects  perceived  are  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  be  known  only  by  a  sense  of 
their  divine  excellency,  which  contains  in  it 
more  than  a  simple  knowledge,  even  an 
approbation  of  the  heart.  Those  who  have 
written  upon  the  powers  of  the  soul  have 
represented  "that  whereby  we  receive  ideas 
of  beauty  and  harmony  as  having  all  the 


'  1  havR  only  tho  first  edition  of  Mr.  E.'s  Essays,  and 
therefore  am  obliged  to  quote  from  it. 


FULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


309 


characters  of  a  sense,  an  internal  sense."* 
And  Mr.  Ecking,  after  all  that  he  says 
against  a  principle  of  grace  in  the  heart 
antecedently  to  believing,  allows  that  ■'  we 
must  have  a  spiritual  principle  before  we 
can  discern  divine  beauties."!  But  the  very 
essence  of  scriptural  knowledge  consists  in 
the  discernment  of  divine  beauties,  or  the 
Glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ. 
To  speak  of  faith  in  Christ  antecedent  to 
this  is  only  to  speak  at  random.  The  rea- 
son given  why  the  gospel  report  was  not 
believed  is  that,  in  the  esteem  of  men,  the 
Messiah  had  yioform  nor  comeliness  in  him, 
nor  beauty,  that  they  should  desire  him. 
To  say  we  must  have  a  spiritual  principle 
before  we  can  discern  divine  beauties  is, 
therefore,  the  same  thing  in  effect  as  to  say 
we  must  have  a  spiritual  principle  before  we 
can  believe  the  gospel. 

I  will  close  this  letter  by  an  extract  from 
President  Edwards's  Treatise  on  the  Af- 
fections, not  merely  as  showing  his  judg- 
ment, but  as  containing  what  I  consider  a 
clear,  scriptural,  and  satisfactory  statement 
of  the  nature  of  spiritual  knowledge. 

"  If  the  scriptures  are  of  any  use  to  teach 
us  any  thing,  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a 
spiritual  supernatural  understanding  of  di- 
vine things  that  is  peculiar  to  the  saints, 
and  which  those  who  are  not  saints  have 
nothing  of.     It  is  certainly  a  kind  of  under 
standing,   apprehending,   or  discerning  of 
divine  things,  that  natural  men  have  nothing 
of  which  the  apostle  speaks  of  in  1  Cor.  ii. 
14,  '  But  the  natural  man  receivetli  not  the 
things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are 
foolishness  unto  him ;  neither  can  he  know 
them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discern 
ed.'     It  is  certainly  a  kind  of  seeing  or  dis 
cerning  spiritual    things    peculiar    to  the 
saints  which  is  spoken  of  in  1  John  iii.  6, 
'  Whosoever  sinneth  hath  not  seen  him,  nei- 
ther known  him  ;'  3  John  ii.,  '  He  that  doeth 
evil  hath  not  seen  God ;'  and  John  vi.  40, 
'  This  is  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  that 
every  one  that  seeth  the  Son,  and  believeth 
on  him,  may  have  everlasting  life.'     Chap. 
xiv.  19,  '  The  world  seeth  me  no  more,  but 
ye  see  me.'     Chap.  xvii.  3,  '  This  is  eternal 
life  that  they  might  know  thee  the  only  true 
God  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent.' 
Matt.  xi.  27.  '  No  man  knoweth  the  Son  but 
the  Father,  neither  knoweth  any  man  the 
Father  but  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoevcj 
the   Son  will  reveal  him.'    John  xii.  45, 
'  He  that  seeth  me  seeth  him  that  sent  me.' 
Psa.  ix.  10,  '  They  that  know  thy  name  will 
put  their  tnist  in  thee.'     Phil.  iii.  S,  '  I  count 
all  things  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord.'    Verse 
10,  '  That  I  may  know  him.'     And  innu- 


*  Chamber's  Dictionary,  Art. 
t  Essays,  p.  67. 


Sense. 


merable  other  places  there  are,  all  over  the 
Bible,  which  show  the  same.  And  that 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  an  understanding 
of  divine  things,  which  in  its  nature,  and  kind 
is  wholly  different  from  all  knowledge  that 
natural  men  have,  is  evident  from  this,  that 
there  is  an  understanding  of  divine  things 
which  the  scripture  calls  spiritual  under- 
standing :  Col.  i.  9,  '  We  do  not  cease  to 
pray  tor  you,  and  to  desire  that  you  maybe 
filled  wiih  the  knowledge  of  his  will  in  all 
wisdom  and  spiritual  understanding.'  It 
has  already  been  shown  that  that  which  is 
spiritual,  in  the  ordinary  use  of  the  word  in 
the  New  Testament,  is  entirely  different,  in 
nature  and  kind,  from  all  which  natural 
men  are  or  can  be  the  subjects  of 

Hence  it  may  be  surely  inferred  wherein 
spiritual  understanding  consists.  For  if 
there  be  in  the  saints  a  kind  of  apprehension 
or  perception  which  is,  in  its  nature,  per- 
fectly diverse  from  all  that  natural  men 
have,  or  that  it  is  possible  they  should  have, 
till  they  have  a  new  nature ;  it  must  consist 
in  their  having  a  certain  kind  of  ideas  or 
sensations  of  mind  which  are  simply  diverse 
from  all  that  is  or  can  be  in  the  minds  of 
natural  men.  And  that  is  the  same  thing 
as  to  say  that  it  consists  in  the  sensations  of 
a  new  spiritual  sense,  which  the  souls  of 
natural  men  have  not,  as  is  evident  by  what 
has  been  before  once  and  again  observed. 
But  I  have  already  shown  what  that  new 
spiritual  sense  is  which  the  saints  have 
given  them  in  regeneration,  and  what  is  the 
object  of  it.  I  have  showm  that  the  immedi- 
ate object  of  it  is  the  supreme  beauty  and 
excellency  of  the  nature  of  divine  things  as 
they  are  in  themselves.  And  this  is  agree- 
able to  the  scripture :  the  apostle  very 
plainly  teaches  that  the  great  thing  discov- 
ered by  spiritual  light  and  understood  by 
spiritual  knowledge  is  the  glory  of  divine 
things.  2  Cor.  iv.  3,  4,  '  But  if  our  gospel 
be  hid,  it  is  hid  to  them  that  <are  lost ;  ia 
whom  the  god  of  this  world  hath  blinded 
the  minds  of  them  which  believe  not,  lest 
the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ, 
who  is  the  image  of  God,  should  shine  unto 
them ;'  together  with  verse  6,  '  for  God  who 
commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of  dark- 
ness hath  shined  in  our  hearts,  to  give  the 
light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God 
in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ :'  and  Chap.  iii. 
18,  but  we  all,  with  open  face  beholding  as 
in  a  glass,  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  chang- 
ed into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory, 
even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.'  And  it 
must  needs  be  so,  for,  as  has  been  before  ob- 
served, the  scripture  often  teaches  that  all 
true  religion  summarily  consists  in  the  love 
of  divine  things.  And  therefore  that  kind 
of  understanding  or  knowledge  which  is  the 
proper  tbundation  of  true  reHgion  must  be 
the  knowledge  of  the  loveliness  of  divine 


[10 


FULLER    ON     S  A  N  DEM  A  N  I ANI  SM. 


thi7igs.  For,  doubtless,  that  knowledge 
which  is  the  proper  foundation  of  lave,  is 
the  knowledge  of  looelinesis.  What  that 
beauty  or  loveliness  of  divine  things  is, 
which  is  the  proper  and  immediate  object 
of  a  spiritual  sense  of  mind,  was  shown  un- 
der the  last  head  insisted  on,  viz  :  that  it  is 
the  beauty  of  their  moral  periection.  There- 
fore it  is  in  the  view  or  sense  of  this  that 
spiritual  understanding  does  more  immedi- 
ately and  primarily  consist.  And  indeed  it 
is  plain  it  can  be  nothing  else ;  for  (as  has 
been  shown)  there  is  nothing  pertaining  to 
divine  things  besides  the  beauty  of  their 
moral  excellency  and  those  properties  and 
qualities  of  divine  things  which  this  beauty 
is  the  foundation  of,  but  what  natural  men 
and  devils  can  see  and  know,  and  will  know 
fully  and  clearly  to  all  eternity. 

"  From  what  has  been  said,  therefore,  we 
come  necessarily  to  this  conclusion,  concern- 
ing that  wherein  spiritual  understanding 
consists  ;  viz  :  That  it  consists  in  a  sense  of 
the  heart  of  the  supreme  beauty  and  siceet- 
ness  of  the  holiness  or  moral  perfection  of 
divine  things  together  with  all  that  discern- 
ing and  knowledge  of  things  of  religion  that 
depends  upon  and  flows  from  such  a  sense. 

"  Spiritual  understanding  consists  prima- 
rily in  a  sense  of  heart  of  that  spiritual 
beauty.  I  say  a  sense  of  heart ;  for  it  is  not 
speculation  merely  that  is  concerned  in  this 
kind  of  understanding ;  nor  can  there  be  a 
clear  distinction  made  between  the  two  fa- 
culties of  understanding  and  will,  as  acting 
distinctly  and  separately  in  this  matter. 
When  the  mind  is  sensible  of  the  sweet 
beauty  and  amiableness  of  a  thing,  that  im- 
j^lies  a  sensibleness  of  sweetness  and  delight 
in  the  presence  of  the  idea  of  it ;  and  this 
sensibleness  of  the  amiableness  or  delight- 
fulness  of  beauty  carries,  in  the  very  nature 
of  it,  the  sense  of  the  heart ;  or  an  effect  and 
impression  the  soul  is  the  subject  of,  as  a 
substance  possessed  of  taste,  inclination,  and 
will. 

"There  is  a  distinction  to  be  made  be- 
tween a  mere  notional  understanding,  where- 
in the  mind  only  beholds  things  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  a  speculative  faculty;  and  the 
sense  of  the  heart,  wherein  the  mind  does  not 
only  speculate  and  behold,  but  relishes  and 
feels.  That  sort  of  knowledge  by  which  a 
man  has  a  sensible  perception  of  amiable- 
ness and  loathsomeness,  or  of  sweetness  and 
nauseousness,  is  not  just  the  same  sort  of 
knowledge  with  that  by  which  he  knows 
what  a  triangle  is,  and  what  a  square  is.- 
The  one  is  mere  speculative  knowledge;  the 
other  sensible  knowledge;  in  which  more 
than  the  more  intellect  is  concerned ;  the 
heart  is  the  proper  subject  of  it,  or  the  soul 
as  a  being  that  not  only  beliolds,  but  has 
inclination,  and  is  plcaf^rd  or  displeased. 
And  yet  there  is  the  nature  of  instruction  in 


it ;  as  he  tJaat  has  perceived  the  sweet  taste 
of  honey  knows  much  more  about  it  than 
he  who  has  only  looked  upon  and  felt  of  it. 

"  The  apostle  seems  to  make  a  distinction 
between  mere  speculative  knowledge  of  the 
things  of  religion,  and  spiritual  knowledge, 
in  calling  that  'the  form  of  knowledge,  and 
of  the  truth  :'  Rom.  ii.  20,  '  Which  hast  the 
form  of  knowledge,  and  of  the  truth  in  the 
law.'  The  latter  is  ol'tcn  represented  by 
relishing,  smelling,  or  tasting ;  2  Cor.  ii.  14. 
'  Now  thanks  be  to  God,  who  always  causeth 
us  to  triumph  in  Christ,  and  maketh  manifest 
the  savor  of  his  knowledge  in  every  place.' 
Matt.  xvi.  23,  '  Thou  savorest  not  the 
things  that  be  of  God,  but  those  that  be  of 
men.  1  Pet.  ii.  2,  3,  '  As  new-born  babes 
desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that 
ye  may  grow  thereby,  if  so  be  ye  have 
tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious.'  Cant.  i. 
3,  '  Because  of  the  savor  of  thy  good  oint- 
ments, thy  name  is  as  ointment  poured 
forth  ;  therefore  do  the  virgins  love  thee ;' 
compared  with  1  John  ii.  20,  '  But  ye  have 
an  unction  from  the  holy  one,  and  ye  know 
all  things.' 

"  Spiritual  understanding  primarily  con- 
sists in  this  sense,  or  taste  of  the  moral  beau- 
ty of  divine  things  ;  so  that  no  knowledge 
can  be  called  spiritual  any  further  tlian  it 
arises  from  this,  and  has  this  in  it.  But, 
secondarily,  it  includes  all  that  discerning 
and  knowledge  of  things  of  religion  which 
depends  upon  and  flows  from  such  a  sense. 
When  the  true  beauty  and  amiableness  of 
the  holiness,  or  true  moral  good,  that  is  in 
divine  things,  is  discovered  to  the  soul,  it  as 
it  were  opens  a  new  world  to  its  view. 
This  shows  the  glory  of  all  the  perfections 
of  God,  and  of  every  thing  appertaining  to 
the  Divine  Being  ;  for,  as  was  observed  be- 
fore, the  beauty  of  all  arises  from  God's 
moral  perfections.  This  shows  the  glory 
of  all  God's  works  botli  of  creation  and  provi- 
dence ;  for  it  is  the  special  glory  of  them 
that  God's  holiness,  righteousness,  faithful- 
ness, and  goodness,  are  so  manifested  in 
them ;  and  without  these  moral  perfections 
there  would  be  no  glory  in  tliat  power  and 
skill  with  which  they  are  Avrought.  The 
glorifying  of  God's  moral  perfections  is  the 
special  end  of  all  the  works  of  God's  hands. 
By  this  sense  of  the  moral  beauty  of  divine 
things  is  understood  the  sufficiency  of  Christ 
as  a  mediator ;  for  it  is  only  by  the  discove- 
ry of  the  beauty  of  the  moral  perfections  of 
Chrisi  that  the  believer  is  let  into  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  excellence  of  his  person,  so  as 
to  know  any  thing  more  of  it  than  the  devils 
do :  and  it  is  only  by  the  Icnowledge  of  the 
excellence  of  Christ's  pci'son  that  any  know 
his  sufficiency  as  a  mediator;  for  the  latter 
de7)erids  upon  and  arises  from  the  former. 
It  is  by  seeing  tlie  excellence  of  Christ's 
person  that  the  saints  are  made  sensible  of 


FULLER    ON    S  ANDEM  ANI ANISM. 


311 


the  preciousness  of  his  blood,  and  its  sufR 
ciency  to  atone  for  sin ;  for  therein  consists 
the  preciousness  of  Christ's  blood,  that  it  is 
the  blood  of  so  excellent  and  amiable  a  per- 
son. And  on  this  depends  the  meritorious- 
ness  of  his  obedience,  and  sufficiency  and 
prevalence  of  his  intercession.  By  this 
sight  of  the  moral  beauty  of  divine  things  is 
seen  the  beauty  of  tlie  way  of  salvation  by 
Christ;  for  that  consists  in  the  beauty  of 
the  moral  perfections  of  God,  which  won- 
derfully shines  forth  in  every  step  of  this 
method  of  salvation  from  beginning  to  end. 
By  this  is  seen  the  fitness  and  suitableness 
of  this  way  ;  lor  this  wholly  consists  in  its 
tendency  to  deliver  us  from  sin  and  hell, 
and  to  bring  us  to  the  happiness  which  con- 
sists in  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of 
moral  good,  in  a  way  sweetly  agreeing  with 
God's  moral  perfections.  And,  in  the  way's 
being  contrived  so  as  to  attain  these  ends, 
consists  the  excellent  wisdom  of  that  way. 
By  this  is  seen  the  excellency  of  the  word 
of  God:  take  away  all  the  moral  beauty 
and  sweetness  in  the  word,  and  the  Bible  is 
left  wholly  a  dead  letter,  a  dry  lifeless,  taste- 
less thing.  By  this  is  seen  the  true  founda- 
tion of  our  duty ;  the  worthiness  of  God  to 
be  so  esteemed,  honored,  loved  submitted  to 
and  served,  as  he  requires  of  us,  and  the 
amiableness,  of  the  duties  themselves  that 
are  required  of  us.  And  by  this  is  seen  the 
true  evil  of  sin  ;  for  he  who  sees  the  beauty 
of  holiness  must  necessarily  see  the  hateful- 
ness  of  sin,  its  contrary.  By  this  men  under- 
stand the  true  glory  of  heaven,  which  consists 
in  the  beauty  and  happiness  that  is  in  holiness. 
By  this  is  seen  the  amiableness  and  happi- 
ness of  both  saints  and  angels.  He  that 
sees  the  beauty  of  holiness,  or  true  moral 
good,  sees  the  greatest  and  most  important 
thing  in  the  world,  which  is  the  fulness  of 
all  things,  without  which  all  the  world  is 
empty,  no  better  than  nothing,  yea  worse 
than  nothing.  Unless  this  is  seen,  nothing 
is  seen  that  is  worth  the  seeing ;  for  there  is 
no  other  true  excellency  or  beauty.  Unless 
this  be  understood,  notliing  is  understood 
that  is  worthy  of  the  exercise  of  the  noble 
faculty  of  understandins".  This  is  tlie  beau- 
ty of  the  godhead,  and  the  divinity  of  divinity 
(if  I  may  so  speak,)  the  good  of  the  infinite 
fountain  of  good  ;  without  which  God  him- 
self (if  that  were  possible  to  be)  would  be 
an  infinite  evil,  without  which  we  ourselves 
had  better  never  have  been,  and  without 
which  there  had  better  have  been  no  being. 
He  therefore,  in  effect,  knows  nothing,  that 
knows  not  this.  His  knowledge  is  but  the 
shadow  of  knowledge,  or,  as  the  apostle  calls 
it,  the  form  of  knowledge.  Well,  therefore, 
may  the  scripture  represent  those  who  are 
destitute  of  that  spiritual  sense,  by  which  is 
perceived  the  beauty  of  holiness,  as  totally 
blind,  deaf  and  senseless  ;  yea,  dead.     And 


well  may  regeneration,  in  which  this  divine 
sense  is  given  to  the  soul  by  its  Creator,  be 
represented  as  opening  the  blind  eyes,  and 
raising  the  dead,  and  bringing  a  person  into 
a  new  world.  For,  if  what  has  been  said 
be  considered,  it  will  be  manifest  that,  when 
a  person  has  this  sense  and  knowledge  given 
him,  he  will  view  nothing  as  he  did  before  : 
though  before  he  knew  all  things  after  the 
flesh,  yet  henceforth  he  will  'know  them  so 
no  more  ;'  and  he  is  become,  '  a  nev/  crea- 
ture ;  old  tilings  are  passed  away,  behold 
all  things  are  become  new ;'  agreeably  to 
2  Cor.  V.  16,  17. 

"  And,  besides  the  things  that  have  been 
already  mentioned,  there  arises  from  this 
sense  of  spiritual  beauty  all  true  experiment- 
al knowledge  of  religion;  which  is  of  itself, 
as  it  were,  a  new  world  of  knowledge.  He 
that  does  not  see  the  beauty  of  holiness, 
knows  not  what  one  of  the  graces  of  God's 
Spirit  is ;  he  is  destitute  of  any  idea  or  con- 
ception of  all  gracious  exercises  of  soul,  and 
all  holy  comforts  and  dehghts,  and  all  ef- 
fects of  the  saving  influences  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  on  the  heart ;  and  so  is  ignorant  of 
the  greatest  works  of  God,  the  most  import- 
ant and  glorious  effects  of  his  power  upon 
the  creature ;  and  also  is  wholly  ignorant 
of  the  saints  as  saints  ;  he  knows  not  what 
they  are :  and  in  effect  is  ignorant  of  the 
whole  spiritual  world. 

"  Things  being  thus,  it  plainly  appears 
that  God's  implanting  that  spiritual  super- 
natural sense  which  has  been  spoken  of 
makes  a  great  change  in  a  man.  And 
were  it  not  for  the  very  imperfect  degree  in 
which  this  sense  is  commonly  given  at  first, 
or  the  small  degree  of  this  glorious  light 
that  first  dawns  upon  the  soul ;  the  change 
made  by  this  spiritual  opening  of  the  eyes 
in  conversion,  would  be  much  greater,  and 
more  remarkable,  every  way,  than  if  a  man 
who  had  been  born  blind,  and  with  only  the 
other  four  senses,  should  continue  so  a  long 
time,  and  then  at  once  should  have  the 
sense  of  seeing  imparted  to  him,  in  the 
midst  of  the  clear  light  of  the  sun,  discover- 
ing a  v/orld  of  visible  objects.  For,  though 
sight  be  more  noble  than  any  of  the  other 
external  senses,  yet  this  spiritual  sense 
which  has  been  spoken  of  is  infinitely  more 
noble  than  that,  or  any  other  principle  of 
discerning  that  a  man  naturally  has,  and 
the  object  of  this  sense  infinitely  great  and 
more  important. 

"  This  sort  of  understanding,  or  knowl- 
edge, is  that  knowledge  of  divine  things 
whence  all  truly  gracious  affections  do  pro- 
ceed :  by  which,  therefore,  all  affections  are 
to  be  tried.  Those  affections  that  arise 
wholly  from  any  other  kind  of  knowledge, 
or  do' result  from  any  other  kind  of  appre- 
hensions of  mind,  are  vain !"— pp.  225 — 
232. 


312 


FULLER  ON  SANDEMANIANISM. 


LETTER  VIL 

A7i  inquiry  whether,  if  believing  be  a  spirit- 
ual act  of  the  mind,  it  does  not  presuppose 
the  subject  of  it  to  be  spiritual. 

Mft»  Sandeman,  and  many  of  his  admi- 
rers, if  I  understand  them,  consider  the  mind 
as  passive  in  behaving,  and  charge  those 
who  consider  faith  as  an  act  of  the  mind 
with  making  it  a  work  and  so  of  introducing 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  a  work  of  our 
own. 

Mr.  Ecking  sometimes  writes  as  if  he 
adopted  this  principle  ;  for  he  speaks  of  a 
person  being  "  passive  in  receiving  the 
truth." — p.  73.  In  another  place,  however, 
he  is  very  explicit  to  the  contrary.  "  Their 
notion  is  absurd,"  he  says,  "  who,  in  order 
to  appear  more  than  ordinarily  accurate, 
censure  and  solemnly  condemn  the  idea  ot 
believing  being  an  act  of  the  mind.  It  is 
acknowledged,  indeed,  that  very  unscriptu 
ral  sentiments  have  prevailed  about  acts  of 
faith,  when  they  are  supposed  to  arise  from 
some  previous  principle  well  disposing  the 
minds  of  unbelievers  toward  the  gospel 
Yet,  if  it  be  admitted  possible  for  the  soul  of 
man  to  act  (and  who  will  deny  that  it  does  ?) 
there  is  nothing  more  properly  an  act  of  the 
mind  than  believing  the  truth ;  in  which 
first  the  mind  perceives  it,  then  considers 
the  evidence  offered  to  support  it,  and,  final- 
ly, gives  assent  to  it.  And  can  this  com- 
port with  inactivity  ?  We  must  either  say, 
then,  that  the  soul  acts  in  believing  the  gos- 
pel, or  that  the  soul  is  an  inactive  spirit, 
which  is  absurd." — p.  98.  As  Mr.  E.,  in 
this  passage,  not  only  states  his  opinion,  but 
gives  his  reasons  for  it,  we  must  consider 
this  as  his  fixed  principle  ;  and  that  which 
he  says  of  the  truth  being  "  passively  re- 
ceived" as  expressive,  not  of  faith,  but  of 
spiritual  illumination  previously  to  it.  But, 
if  so,  what,  does  he  mean  by  opposing  a 
previous  principle  as  necessary  to  believing? 
His  acts  of  faith  arise  from  spiritual  illumi- 
nation, which  he  also  must  consider  as 
"  well  disposing  the  minds  of  unbelievers 
toward  the  gospel." 

If  there  be  any  difference  between  him 
and  those  whom  he  opposes,  it  would  seem 
to  consist,  not  in  the  necessity,  but  in  the 
nature  of  a  previous  change  of  mind ;  as 
whether  it  be  proper  to  call  it  a  principle, 
and  to  suppose  it  to  include  life  as  well  as 
light.  He  no  more  considers  the  mind  as 
discerning  and  believing  the  gospel  without 
a  previous  cliangc  wrought  in  it  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  than  his  opponents.  Nay,  as 
we  have  seen,  he  expressly,  and,  as  he  says, 
"readily  acknowledges  that  we  must  have 
3-  spiritu;d  jn-iuciple  b(!fore  we  can  dis- 
cern  divine   beauties." — p.  07.     Butj  if  a 


spiritual  principle  be  necessary  to  discern 
divine  beauties,  it  is  necessary  to  discern 
and  believe  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  for  they  are  one  and  the  same 
thing. 

But  the  previous  change  which  Mr.  E. 
acknowledges,  it  will  be  said,  is  by  means 
of  the  word.  Be  it  so  ;  yet  it  cannot  be  by 
the  word  as  spiritually  discerned  and  be- 
lieved, for  spiritual  discernment  and  belief 
are  supposed  to  be  the  effect  of  it. 

M.  E.  says,  indeed,  that "  the  hinge  upon 
which  the  inquiry  turns  is,  what  is  that 
principle,  and  how  is  it  implanted  ?"  But 
this  is  mere  evasion ;  for  let  the  principle  be 
what  it  may,  and  let  it  be  implanted  how 
it  may,  since  it  is  allowed  to  be  necessary 
"  before  we  can  discern  divine  beauties," 
and  of  course  before  we  can  actively  believe 
in  Christ,  the  argument  is  given  up. 

The  principle  itself  he  makes  to  be  "  the 
word  passively  received  ;  but  as  this  is  sup- 
posed to  be  previously  to  "  the  discernment 
of  divine  beauties,"  and  to  the  soul's  active- 
ly believing  in  Christ,  it  cannot  of  course 
have  been  produced  by  either :  and  to  speak 
of  the  word  becoming  a  spiritual  principle 
in  us  before  it  iseither  understood  or  believ- 
ed, is  going  a  step  beyond  his  opponents. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  word  of  God,  when 
it  is  once  understood  and  believed,  becomes 
a  living  principle  of  evangelical  obedience. 
This  I  conceive  to  be  the  meaning  of  our 
Lord,  when  he  told  the  Avoman  of  Samaria 
that,  "whosoever  should  drink  of  the.  water 
that  he  should  give  him  (that  is,  of  the  gos- 
pel.) it  should  be  in  him  a  well  of  water 
springing  up  to  everlasting  life."  But,  for 
the  word  to  become  a  principle  before  it  is 
actively  received,  or,  to  use  the  language 
of  Peter,  before  we  have  "  purified  our  souls 
by  obeying  it,"  is  that  of  which  I  can  form 
no  idea,  and  I  suppose  neither  did  Mr.  Eck- 
ing. 

As  to  the  second  part  of  what  he  calls 
the  hinge  of  the  inquiry,  viz :  how  this  prin- 
ciple is  implanted  1  he  endeavors  to  illus- 
trate it  by  a  number  of  examples  taken  from 
the  miracles  of  Christ,  in  which  the  word  of 
Christ  certainly  did  not  operate  on  the  mind 
in  a  way  of  motive  presented  to  its  consid- 
eration, but  in  a  way  similar  to  that  of  the 
Creator,  when  he  said,  "  Let  there  be  light, 
and  there  was  light"  Such  is  manifestly 
tlie  idea  conveyed  by  the  words  in  John  v. 
25;  "  The  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the 
Son  of  God,  and  they  that  hear  shall  live." 
To  such  an  application  of  the  word  T  have 
no  objection.  That  for  which  I  contend  is 
that  there  is  a  change  effected  in  the  soul 
of  a  sinner,  called  in  scripture  "giving  him 
eyes  to  see,  ears  to  hear,  and  a  heart  to  un- 
derstand"— "a  new  heart,  and  a  right  spir- 
it"— '•  a  new  creation,"  &c.  &c.  ;  that  this 
change  is  antecedent  to  Ids  actively  believ- 


FULLER  ON  S  AND  EM  ANl  ANISM. 


313 


ing  in  Christ  for  salvation;  and  that  it  is  I  in  the  «afnre  of  that  which  is  communica- 


ftot  effected  by  motives  addressed  to  the 
mind  in  a  way  of  moral  suasion,  but  by  the 
mighty  power  of  God.  Mr.  M'Lean  allows 
faith  to  be  a  duly^  or  an  act  of  obedience. 
But,  if  so,  this  obedience  must  be  yielded 
either  in  a  spiritual  or  in  a  carnal  state.  If 
the  former,  it  is  all  that  on  this  subject  is 
pleaded  lor.  If  the  latter,  that  is  the  same 
thing  as  supposing  that  the  carnal  mind, 
while  such,  is  enabled  to  act  spiritually,  and 
that  it  thereby  becomes  spiritual. 

To  this  purpose  I  wrote  in  my  Appendix, 
pp.  481,  4S2-,  and  what  has  Mr.  M'Lean 
said  in  hisreply  ?  Let  him  answer  for  him- 
self. "  This  is  a  very  unfair  state  of  the 
question  «o  far  as  it  relates  to  the  opinion 
of  his  opponents  ;  for  he  rejiresents  them  as 
maintaining  that  tbe  Holy  Spiritcauses  the 
mind  u-hile  carnal,  or  before  it  is  spiritually 
illuminated,  to  discern  and  believe  spiritual 
things;  and  then  he  sels  himself  to  argue 
against  this  contradiction  of  his  own  fra- 
ming, as  a  thing  impossible  in  its  own  na- 
ture, and  as  declared  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
be  so.  L  Cor.  ii.  14.  Were  I  to  state  Mr. 
F.'s  sentiment  thus,  The  Holy  Spirit  im- 
parts to  the  mind  while  carnal  a  holy 
Busceptibility  and  relish  for  the  truth, 
would  he  not  justly  complain  tliat  I  had 
misrepresented  his  view,  and  that  he  did 
not  mean  that  the  mind  could  possess 
any  holy  susceptibility  while  it  was  in  a 
carnal  state  ;  but  only  that  the  Holy  Spirit, 
by  the  very  act  of  imparting  this  holy  sus- 
sceptibility  and  relish  for  the  truth,  removed 
the  carnality  of  the  mind  ?  But  then  ihis 
explanation  appUes  equally  to  the  other  side 
of  the  question ;  and  surely  it  appears  at 
least  as  consistent  with  the  nature  of  things, 
and  as  easy  to  conceive  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
should  in  the  Jirst  instance  communicate  the 
light  of  truth  to  a  dark  carnal  mind,  and 
thereby  render  it  spiritual,  as  that  he  should 
prior  to  that  impart  to  it  a  holy  susceptibili- 
ty and  relish  lor  the  truth." — Reply,  p.  7. 

New,  my  friend,  I  entreat  your  close  at- 
tention, and  that  of  the  reader,  to  this  part 
oi"  the  subject;  for  here  is  the  hinge  of  the 
present  question. 

I  am  accused  of  framing  a  contradiction 
which  my  opponents  do  not  hold.  They 
do  not  hold,  then,  it  seems,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  causes  the  mind  xchije  carnal  to  dis- 
cern and  believe  spiritual  things.  Spiritual 
illumination  precedes  believing  ;  such  an  il- 
lumination, too,  as  removes  carnality  from 
the  mind,  renders  the  soul  spiritual,  and  so 
enables  it  to  discern  and  believe  spiritual 
things.  Where  then  is  the  difference  be- 
tween us  ?  Surely  it  does  not  consist  in 
my  holding  with  aprevious  principle  as  ne- 
cessary to  believing;  for  they  })rofess  to 
hold  what  amounts  to  the  same  thing.  If 
there  be  any  difTcrence,  however,  it  must  lie 
Vol.  3.— Nn. 


ted,  or  in  the  order  in  which  it  operates. 
And,  as  to  the  first,  seeing  it  is  allowed  to 
remove  carnahty,  and  lo  render  the  soul 
spiritual,  there  can  be  no  material  difference 
on  this  head.  With  respect  to  the  second, 
namely,  ihe  order  of  its  operations,  Mr.  M. 
thinks  that  the  communication  of  the  light 
of  truth  to  a  dark,  carnal  mind,  whereby  it 
is  rendered  spiritual,  furnishes  an  easy  and 
consistent  view  of  things.  To  which  I  an- 
swer, If  the  carnality  of  th-e  mind  were 
owing  to  its  darkness,  it  would  be  so.  But 
Mr.  M.  has  himself  told  us  a  different  tale, 
and  that  from  unquestionable  authority. 
'■  Our  Lord,"  he  says,  "  asks  the  Jews, 
'Why  do  ye  not  understand  my  speech'?' 
and  gives  this  reason  for  it,  '  even  because 
ye  cannot  hear  my  word  ;'  that  is,  cannot 
endure  my  doctrine." — Works,  Vol.  II.,  p. 
110. 

Now,  if  this  be  just  (and  who  can  contro- 
vert it  ?)  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive  how  light 
introduced  into  the  mind  should  be  capable 
of  removing  carnality.  It  is  easy  to  con- 
eive  of  the  removal  of  an  effect  by  the  re- 
moval of  the  cause,  but  not  of  the  removal 
of  a  cause  by  the  removal  of  the  effect. 

But  whatever  difference  may  remain  as 
to  the  order  of  operation,  the  idea  of  a  pre- 
vious principle  is  held  by  Mr.  M.  as  much 
as  by  his  opponent.  Only  call  it  "  divine 
illumination,  by  which  the  dtirk  and  carnal 
mind  is  rendered  spiritual."  and  he  believes 
it. 

In  endeavoring  to  show  the  unfairness  of 
the  contradiction  which  I  alleged  against 
him,  Mr.  M.  loses  himself  and  his  reader, 
by  representing  it  as  made  to  the  act  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  imparling  spiritual  light  to 
to  the  soul  while  carnal ;  whereas  that 
which  I  alleged  against  him  respected  the 
act  of  the  creature  in  discerning  and  believ- 
ing spiritual  things,  while  sucJi.  If  God's 
communicating  either  light  or  holiness  to  a 
dark  and  carnal  mind  be  a  contradiction,  it 
is  of  Mr.  M.'s  framing  and  not  mine  ;  but  I 
see  no  contradiction,  in  it,  so  that  it  be  in 
the  natural  order  of  things,  any  more  than 
in  his  "  quickening  us  when  we  were  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins,"  which  phraseology 
certainly  does  not  denote  that  we  are  dead 
and  alive  at  the  same  time  !  The  contra- 
diction alleged  consisted  in  the  carnal  mind's 
being  supposed  to  act  spiritually,  and  not  to 
its  being  acted  upon  by  divine  influence,  let 
that  influence  be  what  it  miffht.  It  would 
be  no  contradiction  lo  say  of  Tabitha.  that 
life  was  imparted  to  her  while  dead:  but  it 
would  be  contradiction  to  aflirm^that  while 
she  was  dead  God  caused  her  to  open  her 
eyes,  and  to  look  upon  Peter  ! 

Mr.  M'Lean  has,  I  allow,  cleared  himself 
of  this  contradiction,  by  admitting  the  sin- 
ner to  be  made  spiritual  through  divine  il- 


314 


FULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


lamination,  previously  to  his  bclievins:  in 
Christ ;  bat  then  it  is  at  the  expense  of  the 
grand  article  in  dispute,  which  he  has  there- 
by given  up;  maintaining,  as  much  as  his 
opponent,  the  idea  of  a  previous  principle, 
or  of  the  soul's  being  rendered  spiritual  an- 
tecedently to  its  believing  in  Christ. 

The  principal  ground  on  which  Mr. 
M'Lean,  Mr.  Ecking,  and  all  the  writers  on 
that  side  the  question,  rest  their  cause,  is 
the  use  of  such  language  as  the  followinir : 
"  Being  born  again,  not  of  corrupti'ole 
seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of 
God,  which  liveth  and  abideth  forever." 
"  Of  his  own  will  begat  he  us,  with  the 
word  of  truth."  "  I  have  begotten  you 
tlirough  the  gospel." 

On  this  phraseology  I  shall  submit  to  you 
and  the  reader  two  or  three  observations  : 

First :  A  being  begotten,  or  born  again, 
by  the  word,  does  not  necessarily  signiiy  a 
being  regenerated  by  faith  in  the  word. 
Faith  itself  is  ascribed  to  the  word  as  well 
as  regeneration ;  for  "  faiih  cometh  by  hear- 
ing, and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God :"  but, 
if  we  say  faith  cometh  by  the  word  believed. 
that  is  the  same  as  saying  that  it  cometli  by 
itself.  Mr.  M.  has  no  idea  of  the  word  hav- 
ing any  influence  but  as  it  is  believed  (Re- 
ply, pp.  17—34:)  yet  he  tells  us  (p.  113) 
that  iaith  is  "  the  effect  of  the  regenerating 
influence  of  the  Spirit  and  word  of  God." 
But  if  faith  be  the  effect  of  the  word  believ- 
ed, it  must  be  the  effect  of  itself  The  truth 
is,  the  word  may  operate  as  an  inducement 
to  believe,  as  well  as  a  stimulus  to  a  new 
life  when  it  is  believed. 

Secondly :  The  terms  regeneration,  be- 
gotten, born  again,  t^r.,  are  not  always  used 
in  the  same  extent  of  meaning.  They  some- 
times denote  the  whole  of  that  change  which 
denominates  us  Christians,  and  which  of 
course  includes  repentance  toward  God,  and 
feith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  and  in 
this  sense  the  foregoing  passages  are  easily 
understood.  But  the  question  is  whether  re- 
generation, or  those  terms  by  which  it  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  scriptures,  such  as  being  be- 
gotten, born  again,  quickened,  &c.,  be  not 
sometimes  used  in  a  stricter  sense.  Mr.  M., 
confining  what  I  had  said  on  the  subject  of 
regeneration,asexpressedbybeingbegotten, 
born  again,  &c.,  to  the  term  itself,  is  "  confi- 
dent it  bears  no  such  meaning  in  the  sacred 
writings." — p.  17.  But  if  abeingborn  again, 
which  is  expressive  of  regeneration,  be 
sometimes  used  to  accoimt  for  faith,  as  a 
cause  accounts  for  its  effect,  that  is  all  which 
the  argument  requires  to  be  established. 
If  it  be  necessary  to  be  born  again  in  order 
to  believing,  we  cannot  in  this  sense,  imless 
the  effect  could  be  the  means  of  producing 
the  cause,  be  born  again  by  believing. 
Whether  this  be  the  case,  let  the  following 
passages  determine. 


John  i.  11 — 13.  "  He  came  unto  his  own, 
and  his  own  received  him  not,  but  as  many 
as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to 
become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  ihem  that 
believe  on  his  name :  which  were  born  not  of 
blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the 
will  of  man,  but  of  God."  I  can  conceive 
of  no  reason  why  the  new  birth  is  here  in- 
troduced, but  to  account  for  some  receiving 
Christ,  or  believing  on  his  name  while 
others  received  him  not.  Calvin  appears 
to  have  ordinarily  considered  regeneration 
in  the  large  sense  as  stated  above,  and 
therefore  speaks  of  it  as  an  effect  of  ft^ith. 
Yet,  when  commenting  on  this  passage, 
perceiving  that  it  is  here  introduced  lo  ac- 
count for  faith,  he  writes  thus :  "  Hereupon 
it  followeth,  first,  that  faith  proceedeth  not 
from  us,  but  that  it  is  a  fruit  of  spiritual  re- 
generation, for  the  evangelist  saith  (in  ef- 
fect) that  no  man  can  believe  unless  he  be 
begotten  of  God ;  therefore  faith  is  an  heav- 
enly gift.  Secondly :  That  faith  is  not  a 
cold  and  bare  knowledge  :  seeing  none  can 
believe  but  he  that  is  Hishioned  again  by 
the  Sph-it  of  God.  Notwithstanding  it 
seemeth  that  the  evangelist  dealeth  disor- 
derly in  putting  regeneration  before  faith, 
seeing  that  it  is  rather  an  effect  of  faith,  and 
thereibre  to  be  set  after  it."  To  this  oljjec- 
tion  he  answers  that  "both  may  very  well 
agree,"  and  goes  on  to  expound  the  subject 
of  regeneration  as  sometimes  denoting  the 
producing  of  faith  itself,  and  sometimes  of 
a  new  life  by  faith. 

John  iii.  3.  "Except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 
On  this  passage  Doctor  Campbell,  in  his 
notes,  is  very  particular,  proving  that  by  the 
kingdom  or  reign  of  God  is  meant  that  of 
Messiah  in  this  world  ;  and  that  ov  Swarat 
(cannot)  denotes  the  incapacity  of  the  un- 
regenerate  to  discern  or  believe  the  gospel. 
The  import  of  this  passage  is,  in  his  appre- 
hension, this :  "  The  man  who  is  not  regen- 
erated, or  born  again  of  water  and  Spirit  is 
not  in  a  capacity  of  perceiving  the  reign  of 
God,  though  it  were  commenced.  Though 
the  kingdom  of  the  saints  on  the  earth  were 
already  established,  theunregenerate  would 
not  discern  it,  because  it  is  a  spiritual,  not  a 
worldly  kingdom,  and  capable  of  being  no 
otherwise  than  spiritually  discerned.  And, 
as  the  kingdom,  itself  would  remain  un- 
known to  him,  he  could  not  share  in  the 
blessings  enjoyed  by  the  subjects  of  it.  The 
same  sentiment  occurs  in  1  Cor.  ii.  14." 

1  Cor.  ii.  14.  "  The  natural  man  receiv- 
eth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God :  for 
they  are  foolishness  unto  him  ;  neither  can 
he  know  them,  because  they  are  sinritually 
discerned."  Mr.  M..  in  his  discourses  on 
the  parable  of  the  sower,  says,  "  It  is  a  doc- 
trine clearly  taught  in  the  scriptures  that 
none  have  a  true  understanding  of  the  gos- 


PULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM, 


315 


pel  but  such  as  are  taught  of  God  by  the 
special  illuminating  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  We  are  expressly  told  that,  '  The 
natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the 
Spirit  of  God :  for  they  are  foolishness  unto 
him ;  neither  can  he  know  them,  because 
they  are  spiritually  discerned.' "  And  in 
answering  an  objector,  who  asks,  "  What 
particular  truth  or  sentiment  is  communica- 
ted to  the  mind  by  the  enlightening  influ- 
ence of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  which  unenlight- 
ened men  can  have  no  idea  of?" — Mr.  M 
says,  "  It  is  not  pleaded  that  any  truth  or 
sentiment  is  communicated  to  the  mind  by 
the  Spirit  besides  what  is  already  clearly 
revealed  in  the  word  ;  and  the  illumination 
of  the  Spirit  is  to  make  men  perceive  and 
understand  thai  revelation  which  is  already 
given  in  its  true  light.'''' — Sermons,  pp.  78, 
80,  81. 

Mr.  M.'s  object,  through  this  whole  para- 
graph, seems  to  be  to  prove  that  the  illumi- 
nating influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  neces- 
sary in  order  to  our  understanding  the 
scriptures ;  but,  if  so,  it  cannot  be  by  the 
scriptures  as  understood  that  we  are  thus 
illuminated,  for  this  were  a  contradiction. 
It  cannot  be  by  any  particular  truth  or  sen- 
timent revealed,  any  more  than  unrevealed, 
that  we  possess,  "  e3-es  to  see,  ears  to  hear, 
or  a  heart  to  understand"  it.  If  the  illumi- 
nating influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  consist- 
ed in  imparting  any  particular  truth  or  senti- 
ment to  the  mind,  even  that  which  is  reveal- 
ed in  the  scriptures,  where  would  be  the 
mystery  of  the  operation  ?  Instead  of  be- 
ing compared  to  the  operations  oi"  the  wind, 
of  which  we  know  nothing  but  by  its  effects,* 
it  might  have  been  ranked  among  the  opera- 
tions of  motives  as  suggested  by  man  to 
man,  or,  at  least,  as  put  into  the  mind  by 
the  providence  of  God  so  ordering  it  that 
such  thoughts  should  strike  and  influence 
the  mind  at  the  time. — Ezra  vii.  27.  But 
this  would  not  answer  to  the  scriptural  ac- 
counts of  our  being  quickened,  who  were 
dead  in  sins,  by  the  power  of  God  ;  even  by 
the  "  exceeding  greatness  of  his  power,  ac- 
cording to  that  which  he  wrought  in  Christ 
when  he  raised  him  from  the  dead." 

Mr.  M.  has  taken  great  pains  to  show  the 
absurdity  of  my  reasoning  on  this  subject ; 
yet  the  sum  of  it  is  this,  That  which  is  ne- 
cessary in  order  to  understanding  and  be- 
lieving the  word  cannot  be  by  means  of  un- 
derstanding and  believing  it. 

All  true  knowledge  of  divine  things  is  no 
doubt  to  be  ascribed  to  the  word  as  the  ob 
jective  cause,  in  the  same  way  as  corporeal 
perception  is  ascribed  to  light.  We  cannot 
see  without  light;  neither  can  we  under- 
stand or  believe  spiritual  things  but  by  the 


*  Siir.li  13  the   ippaniiiK  of  .John  iii.   8.  accorrlin;  to 
Campbell,  and  all  oihex  t-ApoB^tors  that  I  l^ve  seen.' 


word  of  God.  But  the  question  does  not  re- 
late to  what  is  objective  but  subjective  ;  or, 
if  I  might  speak  in  reference  to  what  is  cor- 
poreal, not  to  hght,  but  discernment.  Mr. 
Ecking  speaks  of  light  shining  into  a  dark 
room,  and  of  the  absurdity  of  supposing 
there  must  be  some  principles  of  light  in 
this  room  which  disposed  it  to  receive  that 
which  shone  into  it. — p.  68.  But,  if  by  the 
light  he  mean  the  gospel,  he  should  rather 
have  compared  it  to  light  shining  upon  a 
blind  man,  and  have  shown  the  absurdity,  if 
he  could,  of  supposing  it  necessary  for  his 
eyes  to  be  opened  ere  he  could  discern  or  en- 
joy it.  There  is  nothing  in  a  dark  room  to 
resist  the  hght,  but  that  is  not  the  case  with 
the  dark  soul  of  a  sinner.  "  The  light 
shineth  in  darkness,  but  the  darkness  cora- 
prehendeth  (or,  as  Campbell  renders  it  ad- 
mitteth)  it  not." 

Though  I  cannot  think,  with  Mr.  E.,  that 
the  word  of  God  becomes  a  spiritual  prin- 
ciple in  us  till  it  is  actively  received,  yet  I 
allow  that  it  is  productive  of  great  effects. 
The  understanding  and  conscience  being 
enlightened  by  it  many  open  sins  are  forsa- 
ken, and  many  things  done  in  a  way  of 
what  is  called  religious  duty.  And  though 
I  have  no  notion  of  directing  sinners  to  a 
course  of  previous  humiliation,  nor  opinion 
of  the  efforts  of  man  toward  preparing  him- 
self for  the  reception  of  divine  grace;  yet  I 
believe  God  ordinarily  so  deals  with  men  as 
gradually  to  beat  down  their  I'alse  confi- 
dences, and  reduce  them  to  extremity,  ere 
they  are  brought  to  embrace  the  gospel. 
Such  things  are  not  necessarily  connected 
with  faith  or  salvation.  In  many  instances 
they  have  their  issue  in  mere  self-righteous 
hope  ;  and,  where  it  is  otherwise,  they  are 
to  laith  and  salvation,  as  I  have  said  before, 
but  as  the  noise  and  the  shaking  of  the  dry 
bones  to  the  breath  of  life. 

Moreover,  the  word  of  God  produces  still 
greater  and  better  effects  when  it  is  believ- 
ed. In  them  that  believe  "  it  worketh  effect- 
ually." When  the  commandment  comes  to 
a  soul  in  its  spirituality,  it  gives  him  to  per- 
ceive the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin  ;  and 
when  the  gospel  comes,  not  in  word  only, 
hut  in  power,  it  produces  mighty  effects. 
It  is  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvatian  to 
every  one  that  believeth."  It  operated  be- 
fore to  the  "  pulling  down  of  strong  holds," 
and  the  casting  down  of  many  a  vain 
"'  imagination  ;"  but  now  it  "  bringeth  every 
thought  into  subjection  to  the  obedience  of 
Christ."  It  is  thus  that  we  "  know  the  truth, 
and  the  truth  (as  known)  makes  us  free." 
If  once  we  are  enabled  to  behold  the  glory 
of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  chan- 
ges us  into  the  same  image,  be.frets  and  ex- 
cites holy  affections,  and  produces  every 
kind  of  gracious  exercise. 

The  go-'^pel  ie  the  mould  into   which  the 


816 


FULLER    ON    S  A  ND  EM  ANI ANISM. 


mind  of  the  believer  is  cast,  and  by  which 
it  is  formed.  The  statement  of  Dr.Owen,as 
quoted  by  Mr.  Ecldng,  is  very  just  and 
scriptural.  '•  As  the  word  is  in  the  gospel, 
so  is  grace  in  the  heart ;  yea,  they  are  the 
same  things  variously  expressed.  Rom.  vi. 
17.  As  our  translation  doth  not,  so  I  know 
not  how  in  so  few  words  to  express  that 
which  is  so  emphatic^ally  here  insinuated  by 
the  Holy  Spirit.  The  meaning  is,  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  gospel  begets  the  jform,  Ji;^- 
ure^  image,  or  ///if/Jfss  of  itself  in  the  hearts 
of  them  that  believe  ;  so  they  are  cast  into 
the  mould  of  it.  As  is  tbe  one,  so  is  the 
other.  The  principle  of  grace  in  the  heart, 
and  that  in  the  word,  are  as  children  of  the 
same  parent,  completely  resembling  and 
representing  one  another.  Grace  is  a  liv- 
ing word,  and  the  word  is  figured,  limned 
grace.  As  we  have  heard,  so  have  we  seen 
and  found  it ;  such  a  soul  can  produce  the 
duplicate  of  the  word,  and  so  adjust  all 
things  thereby,"  &c.* 

All  this  describes  the  effect  of  the  word 
on  those  who  believe  it ;  but  the  question  is. 
how  wo  come  to  believe  it  ?  Dr.  Owen  has 
elsewhere  attempted  to  solve  this  difficulty 
by  proving  that  a  principle  of  spiritual  life 
is  communicated  to  the  sinner  in  regenera- 
tion antecedently  to  believing.f  He  doubt- 
less considered  these  things  as  consistent  with 
each  other;  and,  though  Mr.  Ecking  in  ma- 
king the  quotation  appears  to  consider  them 
as  contradictory,  yet,  while  he  admits  that 
"  we  must  have  a  spiritual  principle  before 
we  can  discern  divine  beauties,"  the  same 
contradiction,  if  such  ii  be,  attaches  to  him- 
self. 

I  allow,  with  Dr.  Owen,  that  the  Spirit 
of  .God  makes  use  of"  the  reasons,  motives, 
and  persuasive  arguments  which  the  word 
affords,  to  affect  the  mind  ;  and  that  conver- 
ted persons  are  able  to  give  some  account 
of  the  considerations  whereby  they  were 
prevailed  itpon."  But  I  also  think,  with  him 
that  "  the  whole  work  of  the  Spirit  in  our 
conversion  does  not  consist  herein  ;  but  that 
there  is  a  real  physical  work  whereby  he  im- 
parts spiritual  life  to  the  souls  of  all  who 
are  truly  regenerated."^ 

Mr.  M-Lean  rejects  the  idea  of  physical 
influence,  and  seems  to  confound  it  with 
something  corporeal  or  mechanical.  H'orki?, 
p.  84.  If  I  understand  the  term  •physical. 
with  respect  to  influence,  it  is  opposed 
to  moral.  That  influence  is  denominated 
mora!  that  works  upon  the  mind  by  motives 
or  considerations  which  induce  it  to  this  or 
that,  and  all  beyond  this  is  physical  and  su- 
pernatural. When  God  created  the  soul 
of  man    originally    in   righteousness    and 


•  On  Psalm  130,  pp.  169—170;  in  Ecking'sKssnys,  pp. 
77,79. 
'  Discourse.s  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  Book  III.  C,  I. 
X  Discourses  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  Book  IIL  C.5.  Sec.  18 


true  holiness,  I  suppose  it  must  be  allowed 
to  have  been  a  physical  work.  Man  cer- 
tainly Avas  not  induced  by  motives  to  be 
righteous  any  more  than  to  be  rational ;  yet 
there  was  nothing  corporeal  or  mechanical 
in  it.  It  is  thus  that  I  understand  Dr.  Owen 
in  the  passage  just  quoted,  in  which,  while 
he  admits  of  the  use  of  moral  suasion,  he 
denies  that  the  whole  work  of  conversion 
consists  in  it ;  and  I  should  think  Mr.  M. 
could  not  even  upon  his  own  principles 
maintain  the  contrary.  For,  whatever  mo- 
tives or  considerations  the  word  of  God  may 
furnish  in  a  way  of  moral  suasion,  yet  he 
holds  with  the  necessity  of  a  divine  super- 
natural influence  being  superadded  to  it,  by 
which  the  mind  is  illuminated  and  rendered 
spiritual.  But,  if  divine  influence  consist 
in  any  thing  distinct  from  the  influence  of 
the  word,  it  must  be  supernatural  and 
physical.  Tbe  party  is  also  equally  uncon- 
scious of  it  on  his  principles  as  on  mine  :  he 
is  conscious  of  nothing  but  its  effects.  He 
finds  himself  the  subject  of  new  views  and 
sensations ;  but,  as  to  knowing  whence  they 
came,  it  is  likely  he  thinks  nothing  of  it  at 
the  time,  and  is  ready  to  imagine  that  any 
person,  if  he  would  but  look  into  the  Bible, 
must  see  what  he  sees  so  plainly  taught  in 
it.  He  may  be  conscious  of  ideas  suggest- 
ed to  him  by  the  word,  and  of  their  effect 
upon  his  mind  ;  but,  as  to  any  divine  influ- 
ence accompanying  them,  he  knows  nothing 
of  it. 

Mr.  Ecking  represents  "  the  inability  or 
spiritual  death  of  sinners  as  consisting  in 
cfisinclination,  or  loving  darkness  rather 
than  light."  And  this  disinclination  he  as- 
cribes to  ignorance  and  unbelief;  whence 
he  argues,  "  If  the  removal  of  the  effect  is 
by  removing  the  cause,  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  this  is  the  way  in  which  God 
works  upon  the  human  mind," — p.  66. 
That  the  removal  of  the  effect  is  by  the  re- 
moval of  the  cause  I  allow ;  but  vi^hat  au- 
thority had  Mr.  E.  for  making  ignorance 
and  unbelief  the  cause  of  spiritual  death? 
Spiritual  death  consists  in  ignorance  and 
unbelief^  no  less  than  in  disinclination.  It 
consist  in  sin  (Ephes.  ii.  T ;  )  and,  if  igno- 
rance and  unbelief  are  sin.s.  they  are  of  the 
essence  of  spiritual  death.  It  is  true  they 
are  productive  of  other  sins,  and  may  be 
considered  as  growing  near  to  the  root  of 
moral  evil :  but  unless  a  thing  can  be  the 
cause  of  itself,  they  are  not  the  cause  of 
all  evil.  Before  we  ascribe  spiritual  death 
to  ignorance,  it  is  necessary  to  enquire 
whether  this  ignorance  be  voluntary  or 
involuntary?  If  involuntary,  it  is  in  it- 
self sinless  ;  and  to  represent  this  as  the 
cause  of  depravity  is  to  join  with  Godwin 
in  explaining  away  the  innate  principles 
of  evil  and  indeed  all  moral  evil  and 
accountableness,  from  among  men.    If  vot- 


FULLER    OxN    S  AND  EM  ANIANIS  M. 


317 


untary,  the  solution  does  not  reach  the 
bottom  of  the  subject ;  for  the  question  still 
returns,  what  is  the  cause  of  the  voluntari- 
ness of  ignorance,  or  of  the  sinner's  loving 
darkness  rather  than  light?  Is  this  also  to 
be  ascribed  to  ignorance  ?  If  so,  the  same 
consequence  follows  as  before,  that  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  moral  evil  or  accountable- 
ness  among  men. 

Mr.  M'Lean  has  stated  this  subject  much 
clearer  than  Mr.  Ecking.  He  may  else  where 
have  written  in  a  different  strain,  but,  in  the 
last  edition  of  his  Dissertation  on  the  Influ- 
ences of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  attributes  igno- 
rance and  unbelief  to  hatred,  and  not  ha- 
tred to  ignorance  and  unbelief.  "  Our 
Lord,"  he  says,  "  asks  the  Jews,  Why  do  ye 
not  understand  my  speech  ?  And  gives  this 
reason  for  it,  eve7i  because  ye  cannot  hear 
my  word — that  is,  cannot  endure  my  doc- 
trine. Their  love  of  worldly  honor  and  the 
applause  of  men  is  given  as  a  reason  why 
they  could  not  believe  in  him.  John  v.  44. 
He  traces  their  unbelief  into  their  hatred 
both  of  him  and  his  Father.  John  xv.  22, 
24."— Hor/f^,  Vol.  II.  p.  110. 

Nothing  is  more  evident  than  that  the 
cause  of  spiritual  blindness  is,  in  the  scrip- 
tures, ascribed  to  disposition.  "  Light  is 
come  into  the  world ;  but  men  love  darkness 
rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  are 
evil."  "  They  say  unto  God.  Depart  from 
us,  for  we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy 
ways."  "  Being  alienated  from  the  life  of 
God  through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them, 
because  of  the  blindness  (hardness,  or  cal- 
lousness) of  the  heartP  "Why  do  ye  not  un- 
derstand my  speech  ?  even  because  ye  can- 
not hear  my  word."  But  if,  as  the  scrip- 
tures teach,  the  cause  of  both  ignorance 
and  unbelief  is  to  be  traced  to  hatred  (as 
Mr.  M'Lean  acknowledges;)  and  if,  as 
Mr.  Ecking  says,  "  effects  are  removed 
by  the  removal  of  the  cause,"  I  scarcely 
need  to  draw  the  consequence  that  though 
in  a  general  sense  it  be  true  that  we 
are  regenerated  by  believing  the  gospel, 
yet  in  a  more  particular  sense  it  is  equally 
true  that  Ave  are  regenerated  in  order  to  it. 
It  is  somewhat  extraordinary  that  Mr. 
M'Lean,  after  allowing  pride  and  aver- 
sion to  be  the  great  obstructions  to  faith, 
should  yet  deny  the  removal  of  them  to  be 
necessary  to  it.  He  will  allow  some  sort  of 
conviction  of  sin  to  be  necessary  to  believ- 
ing in  Christ ;  but  nothing  that  includes  the 
removal  of  enmity  or  pride,  for  this  were 
equal  to  allowing  repentance  to  be  neces- 
sary to  it;  but,  if  enmity  and  pride  be  not 
removed,  how  can  the  sinner,  according  to 
our  Lord's  reasoning  in  John  viii.  43,  v.  44, 
iindcrstand  or  believe  the  gospel  ?  If  there 
be  any  meaning  in  words,  it  is  supposed  by 
tills  language  that,  in  order  to  imderstand 
and  believe  the  gospel,  it  is  necessary  to 


"  endure"  the  doctrine,  and  to  feel  a  regard 
to  "  the  honor  that  cometh  from  God."  To 
account  for  the  removal  of  pride  and  enmi- 
ty as  bars  to  believing,  by  means  of  believ- 
ing, is,  I  say,  very  extraordinary,  and  as 
consistent  with  Mr.  M.'s  own  consessions  as 
it  is  with  scripture  and  reason  ;  for,  when 
writing  on  spiritual  illumination,  he  allows 
the  dark  and  carnal  mind  to  be  thereby 
rendered  spiritual,  and  so  enabled  to  dis- 
cern and  beheve  spiritual  things. — Reply,  p. 
7. 


LETTER     VIII. 

An  Inquiry  whether  the  Principles  here  de- 
fended affect  the  Doctrine  of  Free  Justi- 
fication by  faith  in  the  Righteousness 
of  Christ. 

You  are  aware  that  this  subject  has  fre- 
quently occurred  in  the  foregoing  letters  : 
but,  being  of  the  first  importance,  I  wish 
to  appropriate  one  letter  wholly  to  it.  If 
any  thing  I  have  advanced  be  inconsistent 
with  justification  by  faith  alone,  in  opposi- 
tion to  justification  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
I  am  not  aware  of  it ;  and,  on  conviction 
that  it  is  so,  should  ieel  it  my  duty  to  retract 
it.  I  know  Mr.  M'Lean  has  labored  hard  to 
substantiate  this  charge  against  me  ;  but  I 
know  also  that  it  belongs  to  the  adherents 
of  the  system  to  claim  the  exclusive  posses- 
sion of  this  doctrine,  and  to  charge  others 
with  error  concerning  it  on  very  insufficient 
grounds.*  You  may  remember,  perhaps, 
that  Dr.  Gill  was  accused  of  self-righteous- 
ness by  Mr.  Sandeman,  on  the  ground  of 
his  being  an  anti-Pffidobaptist ! 

A  large  part  of  that  which  Mr.  M'Lean 
has  written  on  this  subject  is  what  I  never 
meant  to  oppose  ;  much  of  what  he  imputes 
to  me  is  without  foundation ;  and  even 
where  my  sentiments  are  introduced  they 
are  generally  in  caricature. 

I  have  no  doubt  of  the  character  which 
a  sinner  sustains  antecedently  to  his  justi- 
fication, both  in  the  account  of  the  Law- 
giver of  the  world  and  in  his  own  account, 
being  that  of  ungodly.  I  have  no  objec- 
tion to  Mr.  M.'s  own  statement,  that  God 
may  as  properly  be  said  to  justify  the  un- 
godly as  to  pardon  the  guilty.     If  the  sin- 


'  I  do  not  mean  to  sujrgest  that  Mr.  M'Lean's  system  is 
precisely  lliat  of  Mr.  Sandeman.  Tije  former,  in  liis 
Tlwughts  on  the  Calls  of  the  Gospel,  has  certainly  depar- 
ted from  it  in  many  thinss,  panic al.irly  in  respect  of  the 
sinner's  being  jnslified  antecedently  to  any  "act,  exer- 
cise or  advance,"  of  his  mind  towards  Christ;  and  on 
which  account  Mr.  S.  would  have  set  him  down  among 
\he  popular  preachers.'  But  he  has  so  mucti  of  the  sys- 
tem of  Mr.  S.  still  in  hi.<!  mind  as  often  to  reason  upon 
the  L'round  of  it,  and  to  involve  himself  iii  numerous  in- 
consistencies. 

•  See  Letters  ou  Theron  and  Aspasio,  Vol  11.  p.  481, 

Note. 


318 


FULLER    ON     SANDEMANIANISM. 


ner  at  the  instant  of  justification  be  allowed 
not  to  be  at  enmity  with  God,  that  is  all  I 
contend  for,  and  that  is  in  efiect  allowed  by 
Mr.  M.  He  acknowledges  that  the  apostle 
"  does  not  use  the  word  ungodly  to  describe 
the  existing  character  ot"  an  actual  believ- 
er."— p.  123.  But  if  so,  as  no  man  is  justi- 
fied till  he  is  an  actual  believer,  no  man  is 
justified  in  enmity  to  God.  He  also  con- 
siders faith,  justification,  and  sanctification, 
as  CO  veal,  and  allows  that  no  believer  is  in 
a  state  of  enmity  to  God. — p.  43.  It  fol- 
lows that,  as  no  man  is  justified  till  he  be- 
lieves in  Jesus,  no  man  is  justified  till  he 
ceases  to  be  God's  enemy.  If  this  be  grant- 
ed, all  is  granted  for  which  I  contend. 

If  there  be  any  meaning  in  words,  Mr. 
Sandeman  considered  the  term  ungodly  as 
denoting  the  existing  state  of  the  mind  in  a 
believer  at  the  time  of  his  justification ;  for 
he  professes  to  have  been  at  enmity  with 
God,  or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  not  to 
have  "  begun  to  love  him,"  till  he  was  jus- 
tified, and  even  perceived  that  he  was  so.* 
It  was  this  notion  that  I  wished  to  oppose, 
and  not  any  thing  relative  to  the  character 
under  which  the  sinner  is  justified.  Mr. 
M.'s  third  question,  namely,  "  whether  jus- 
tifying faith  respects  God  as  the  jusiifier  of 
the  ungodly,"  was  never  any  question  with 
me.  Yet  he  will  have  it  that  I  "  make  the 
apostle  by  the  term  ungodly  to  mean  godly." 
He  might  as  well  say  that  when  I  allow 
pardon  to  respect  men  as  guilty,  and  yet 
plead  for  repentance  as  necessary  to  it,  I 
make  repentance  and  guilt  to  be  the  same 
thing. 

I  am  not  aware  of  any  difference  with 
Mr.  M.  as  to  what  constitutes  a  godly 
character.  Though  faith  is  necessary  to 
justification,  and  therefore  in  the  order  of 
nature  previous  to  it,  yet  I  have  no  objec 
tion  to  what  he  says,  that  it  does  not  con 
stitute  a  godly  character,  or  state,  previ- 
ously to  justification. — p.  145.  And  what- 
ever I  have  written  of  repentance  as  pre- 
ceding faith  in  Christ,  or  of  a  holy  faith  as 
necessary  to  justification,  I  do  not  consider 
any  person  as  a  penitent  or  holy  character 
till  he  believes  in  Christ  and  is  justified. 
The  holiness  for  which  I  plead  antecedent 
to  this  is  merely  incipient ;  the  rising  beam 
of  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  no 
more  than  the  spirituality  which  Mr.  M. 
considers  as  produced  by  divine  illumina- 
tion previously  or  in  order  to  believing  (p 
7;)  and  all  the  consequences  that  he  has 
charged  on  the  one  might  with  equal  justice 
be  charged  on  the  other. 

Nor  am  I  aware  of  any  difference  in  our 
views  respecting  the  duties  nf  unbelievers  ; 
if  there  be  any,  however,  it  is  not  on  the 
side  that  Mr.  M.  imagines,  but  the  contra- 


Epiatolary  Correepf)iKience,  p.  12. 


ry.  Having  described  the  awakened  sin- 
ner as  "convinced  of  guilt,  distressed  in 
his  mind  on  account  of  it,  really  concerned 
about  the  salvation  of  his  soul,  and  not 
only  earnestly  desiring  relief,  but  diligently 
laboring  to  obtain  it,  according  to  the  di- 
rections given  him  by  the  exercise  of  holy 
affections  and  dispositions,"  he  adds,  "all 
this  I  admit  may  be  previous  to  faith  in 
Christ  and  forgiveness  through  him.  And 
will  Mr.  Fuller  deny  this  is  the  repentance 
he  pleads  for  in  order  to  forgiveness?" — 
p.  148.  Most  certainly  he  will.  Had  this 
Ijeen  what  he  pleaded  for,  he  had  been 
justly  chargeable  with  the  consequences 
which  Mr.  M'Lean  has  attempted  to  load 
him  with.  But  it  is  not.  I  cannot  but  con- 
sider this  question  as  a  proof  that  Mr.  M. 
utterly  mistook  my  sentiments  on  this  part 
of  the  subject,  as  much  as  I  did  his  in 
another,  in  consequence  of  having  consid- 
ered him  as  the  author  of  a  piece  called 
Simple  Truth.  I  have  no  more  idea  of 
there  being  any  holiness  in  the  exercises 
which  he  has  described  than  he  himself 
has.  I  might  add,  nor  quite  so  much  ;  for, 
notwithstanding  what  he  has  here  advan- 
ced in  his  Thoughts  on  the  Calls  of  the 
Gospel,  he  does  not  keep  clear  of  unregen- 
erate  works  being  somewhat  good,  or  at 
least  that  they  are  not  all  and  altogether 
sinful.*  If  this  be  compared  with  what  I 
have  written  on  total  depravity  in  my  Dia- 
logues and  Letters,  it  will  be  seen  who 
holds  and  who  holds  not  witli  the  holiness 
of  the  doings  of  the  unregenerate. 

But,  whether  or  not  I  deny  this  to  be  the 
repentance  for  which  I  plead  as  necessary 
to  iorgiveness,  Mr.  M.  plainly  intimates  that 
it  is  all  the  repentance  ichich  he  allows  to 
be  so.  In  all  that  he  has  written  therefore, 
acloiowledging  repentance  to  be  necessary 
to  forgiveness,  he  only  means  to  allow  that 
a  few  graceless  convictions  are  so ;  and,  in 
contradiction  to  the  whole  current  of  scrip- 
ture, even  to  those  scriptures  which  he  has 
produced  and  reasoned  from  in  his  Tlioughts 
on  the  Calls  of  the  Gospe/,  still  believes  that 
sinners  are  forgiven  prior  to  any  repentance 
but  that  which  needs  to  be  repented  of. — 
Revly,  pp.  36—42. 

The  difference  between  us,  as  to  the  sub- 
ject of  this  letter,  seems  chiefly  to  respect 
the  nature  of  faith,  whether  it  include  any 
exercise  of  the  will ;  and,  if  it  do,  whether 
it  affect  the  doctrine  of  free  justification. 

Mr.  M.  acknowledges  faith,  as  a  princi- 
ple of  sanctification,  io  be  holy :  it  is  only 
as  justifying  that  he  is  for  excluding  all 
holy  affection  from  it. — p.  97.  But,  if  it  be 
holy  in  relation  to  sanctification,  it  must  be 
holy  in  itself;  and  that  which  is  holy  in  it- 
self must  be  so  in  every  relation  which  it 


•  Sec  Vol.  II,  of  Ws  works,  pp.  63,  M. 


PULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM, 


319 


sustains.  It  is  not  one  kind  of  faith  that 
sanctifies,  and  another  that  justifies ;  but 
the  same  thing  in  different  respects.  To 
represent  faith  sanctifying  as  being  holy, 
and  faith  justifying  as  having  no  holiness 
in  if,  is  not  viewing  the  same,  but  a  differ- 
ent tiling  in  difi'erent  respects. 

For  a  specimen  of  Mr.  M.'s  manner  of 
writing  on  this  subject,  you  will  excuse  my 
copying  as  follows:  "An  awakened  sinner 
asks,  '  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?'  An 
apostle  answers,  '  Believe  in  the  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.'  But 
a  preacher  of  the  doctrine  I  am  opposing 
would  have  taught  him  another  lesson.  He 
might,  indeed,  in  compliance  with  scripture 
language,  use  the  word  believe ;  but  he 
would  tell  him  that,  in  this  case,  it  did  not 
bear  its  usual  sense,  that  it  was  not  the  as- 
sent of  his  understanding,  in  giving  credit 
to  the  testimony  of  the  gospel,  but  a  ^race 
arising  from  a  previous  spiritual  principle, 
and  including  in  it  a  number  of  hohj  affec- 
tions and  disposilions  of  heart,  all  which 
he  must  exercise  and  set  a  working,  in  order 
to  his  being  justified  ;  and  many  directions 
will  be  given  him  how  he  is  to  perform  this. 
But  this  is  to  destroy  the  freedom  of  the 
gospel,  and  to  make  the  hope  of  a  sinner 
turn  upon  his  finding  some  virtuous  exerci- 
ses and  dispositions  in  his  own  heart,  in- 
stead of  placing  it  directly  in  the  work  fin- 
ished by  the  Son  of  God  upon  the  cross. 
In  opposition  to  this,  I  maintain  that  what- 
ever virtue  or  holiness  may  be  supposed  in 
the  nature  of  faith  itself,  as  it  is  not  the 
ground  of  a  sinner's  justification  in  the 
sight  of  God,  so  neither  does  it  enter  into 
the  consideration  of  the  person  who  is  re- 
ally believing  unto  righteousness.  He  views 
himself,  not  as  exercising  virtue,  but  only 
as  a  mere  sinner,  while  he  believes  on  him 
that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  through  the 
atonement." — pp.  98,  99. 

You  will  not  expect  me  to  answer  this. 
It  is  a  proof  how  far  a  writer  may  misun- 
derstand and  so  misrepresent  his  opponent; 
and,  even  in  those  things  wherein  he  under- 
stands him,  descrihe  him  in  caricature.  I 
will  only  apply  a  few  of  the  leading  traits 
in  this  picture  to  Mr.  M.'s  own  principles. 
"A  preacher  of  this  doctrine,  instead  of 
directing  a  sinner  to  believe  in  Christ,  and 
there  leaving  it,  would  tell  him  that  faith 
was  an  assent  of  his  understanding^  a  grace 
arising  from  a  previous  divine  illundnaiion. 
by  which  he  becomes  spiritual,  and  which 
he  must  therefore  first  be  possessed  of.  and 
thus  set  him  a  working  in  order  to  get  it, 
that  he  may  be  justified.  But  this  is  to  de- 
ny the  freeness  of  the  gospel,  and  to  make 
the  hope  of  a  sinner  turn  upon  his  finding 
some  light  within  him,  instead  of  placing 
it  upon  the  finished  work  of  the  Son  of 
Grod  upon  the  cross.     In  opposition  to  this, 


I  maintain  that  whatever  illumination  may 
be  supposed  necessary  to  believing,  and 
whatever  spiritual  perception  is  contained 
in  the  nature  of  it,  as  it  is  not  the  ground 
of  a  sinner's  justification  in  the  sight  of  God, 
so  neither  does  it  enter  into  the  considera- 
tion of  the  person  who  is  really  believing 
unto  righteousness.  He  views  himself  not 
as  divinely  illuminated,  but  merely  as  a 
sinner,  believing  in  him  who  justifieth  the 
ungodly  through  the  righteousness  of  his 
Son." 

Mr.  M.,  when  writing  in  this  strain,  knew 
that  I  had  said  nearly  the  same  things ; 
and  therefore  that,  if  lie  were  opposing  me, 
I  had  first  opposed  myself  He  even  quotes 
almost  a  page  of  my  acknowledgments  on 
the  subject. — p.  100.  But  these  are  things, 
it  seems,  which  I  only  "sometimes  seem  to 
hold."  Well,  if  Mr.  M.  can  prove  that  I 
have  any  where,  either  in  the  piece  he  was 
answering,  or  in  any  other,  directed  the  sin- 
ner's attention  to  the  workings  of  his  own 
mind,  instead  of  Christ,  or  have  set  him  a 
working  (unless  he  please  to  give  that  name 
to  an  exhortation  to  forsake  his  way,  and 
return  to  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,)  or 
have  given  him  any  directions  how  to  work 
himself  into  a  believing  frame ;  then  let  all 
that  he  has  said  etand  against  me.  But,  if 
not,  let  me  be  beUeved  when  I  declare  my 
utter  disapprobation  of  every  thing  of  the 
kind. 

But  Mr.  M.  has  another  charge,  or  rath- 
er suspicion,  against  me.  "Mr.  Fuller  ad- 
mits," he  says,  "  that  faith  does  not  justify, 
either  as  an  internal  or  external  work,  or 
holy  exercise,  or  as  being  any  part  of  that 
which  is  imputed  unto  us  for  righteousness ; 
and,  did  not  other  parts  of  his  writings  ap- 
pear to  clash  with  this,  I  should  rest  satis- 
fied. But  I  own  that  I  am  not  without  a  sus- 
picion that  Mr.  F.  here  only  means  that 
faith  does  not  justify  as  the  procuring  cause 
or  meritorious  ground  of  a  sinner's  justifi- 
cation ;  and  that,  while  we  hold  this  point, 
we  may  include  as  much  virtue  and  holy 
exercise  of  the  will  and  affections  as  we 
please,  without  affecting  the  point  of  justi- 
fication, as  that  stands  entirely  upon  anoth- 
er ground,  viz.  the  righteousness  of  Christ 
But  it  must  be  carefully  observed  that  the 
difference  between  us  does  not  respect  the 
meritorious  procuring  cause  of  justification, 
but  the  way  in  which  we  receive  it. — p.  100. 

Be  it  according  to  this  statement  (and  I 
have  no  objection  to  say  that  such  is  the 
whole  of  mj''  meaning.)  yet  what  is  there 
in  this  that  clashes  with  the  above  acknowl- 
edgments, or  with  free  justification  ?  There 
may  be  a  "  difference  between  us"  which 
yet  may  not  afTect  this  doctrine.  But  let 
us  hear  him  through. 

"  The  scriptures  abundantly  trstify  that 
we  are  justified  by  faith,  ^vhich  shows  that 


320 


FULLER    ON    S  AN  DEM  ANI  AN  ISM. 


faith  haa  some  concern  in  this  matter." 
True.  "And  Mr.  Fuller  admits  that  justi- 
fication is  ascribed  to  Ikith,  merely  as  that 
which  unites  to  Christ,  for  die  sake  of  whose 
righteousness  alone  we  are  accepted." 
Very  good.  "  Therefore,  the  only  question 
between  us  is  this :  Does  faith  unite  us  to 
Christ,  and  so  receive  justification  through 
his  righteousness,  merely  in  crediting  the 
divine  testimony  respecting  the  sufficiency 
of  that  righteousness  alone  to  justil'y  us ; 
or  does  it  unite  us  to  Christ,  and  obtain 
justification  through  his  righleousness,  by 
virtue  of  its  being  a  moral  excellency,  and 
as  including  the  holy  exercises  of  the  will 
and  afiections  ?  The  former  is  my  view  of 
this  matter :  the  latter,  if  I  am  not  greatly 
mistaken,  is  Mr.  Fuller's."— p.  101. 

It  is  some  satisfaction  to  find  our  differ- 
ences on  the  important  doctrine  of  justifica- 
tion reduced  to  a  single  point.  Allowing 
my  sentiments  to  be  fairly  stated  (and, 
though  I  should  not  express  them  just  in 
these  words,  yet  I  certainly  do  consider  a 
holy  faith  as  necessary  to  unite  us  to  a  holy 
Saviour,)  the  question  is,  whether  this  sen- 
timent clashes  with  the  foregoing  acknowl- 
edgments, or  with  the  doctrine  of  free  jus- 
tification ?  It  lies  on  Mr.  M.  to  prove  that 
it  does  so.  Let  us  hear  him.  "  1  hold  that 
sinners  are  justified  through  Christ's  right- 
eousness, by  faith  alone,  or  purely  in  be- 
lieving that  the  righteousness  ol  Christ 
which  he  finished  on  the  cross,  and  which 
was  declared  to  be  accepted  by  his  resur- 
rection from  the  dead,  is  alone  sufficient  for 
their  pardon  and  acceptance  with  God,  how- 
ever guilty  and  unworthy  they  are.  But, 
in  opposition  to  this,  the  whole  strain  of  Mr. 
Fuller's  reasoning  tends  to  show  that  sin- 
ners are  not  justified  by  faith  alone,  but  by 
faith  working  by  love,  or  including  in  it  the 
holy  exercise  of  the  will  and  affections ; 
and  this  addition  to  faith  he  makes  to  be 
that  qualification  in  it  on  which  the  fitness 
or  congruity  of  an  interest  in  Christ's  right- 
eousness depends. — App.  pp.  105,  106. 
Without  this  addition  he  considers  faith  it- 
self, whatever  be  its  grounds  or  objects,  to 
be  an  empty,  unholy  speculation,  which  re- 
quires no  influence  of  the  Spirit  lo  produce 
it — p.  128.  So  that,  if  what  is  properly 
termed  faith  has  in  his  opinion  any  place 
at  all  in  justification,  it  must  be  merely  on 
account  of  the  holy  exercises  and  affections 
which  attend  it."— pp.  101.  102. 

Such  is  Mr.  M.'s  proof  of  my  inconsis- 
tency with  my  own  acknowledgments,  and 
with  the  freeness  of  justification. 

Let  it  be  remembered,  in  the  first  place, 
that  the  difference  between  us,  by  Mr.  M.'s 
own  acknowledgment,  does  not  respect  the 
meritorious  or  procuring  cause  of  justifica- 
tion. All  he  says,  therefore,  of  "  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ  as  finished,  and  declar- 


ed to  be  accepted  by  his  resurrection  from 
the  dead,  being  alone  sufficient  for  our  par- 
don and  acceptance  with  God,  however 
guilty  and  unworthy  we  are,"  belongs  equal- 
ly to  my  views  as  to  his  own :  yet,  imme- 
diately after  these  words,  he  says,  "  but  in 
opposition  to  this  Mr.  F.,"  &c.,  as  if  these 
sentiments  were  exclusively  his  own.  The 
difference  between  us  belongs  to  the  nature 
of  justifying  faith.  He  considers  the  sinner 
as  united  to  Christ,  and  so  as  justified,  by 
the  mere  assent  of  his  understanding  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  cross  exclusive  of  all  ap- 
probation of  it :  whereas  I  consider  every 
thing  pertaining  to  tlie  understanding,  when 
the  term  is  used  exclusive  of  approbation, 
to  be  either  merely  natural,  or  a  "  seeing 
and  hating  of  Christ  and  the  Father."  Nor 
is  approbation  a  mere  effect  of  faith,  but 
enters  into  its  essence.  It  is  believing,  but 
it  is  believing  with  the  heart;  which  all  the 
labors  of  Mr.  Sandeman  and  his  disciples 
have  not  been  able  to  prove  means  only  the 
understanding.  We  may  believe  many 
things  without  approving  them:  but  the 
nature  of  the  objects  believed  in  this  case 
renders  cordiality  essential  to  it.  It  is  im- 
possible, in  the  nature  of  things,  to  believe 
the  gospel  without  a  sense  of  the  exceed- 
'ing  sinfulness  of  sin,  and  of  the  suitable- 
ness and  glory  of  the  Saviour,  which  does 
not  merely  produce,  but  includes  approba- 
tion of  him.  To  "  see  no  form  nor  comeli- 
ness in  him"  is  the  same  thing  as  to  be  an 
unbeliever ;  and  the  contrary  is  to  be  a  be- 
liever. 

But  I  shall  notice  these  remarks  of  Mr. 
M.,  a  little  more  particularly. 

First:  by  the  manner  in  which  he  has 
introduced  them,  it,  must  appear  to  the  read- 
er that  I  had  not  fully  declared  my  mind  on 
this  subject,  and  that  Mr.  M.,  in  detecting 
my  errors,  was  obliged  to  proceed  on  the 
uncertain  ground  of  "suspicion:"  yet  he 
could  not  have  read  the  very  pages  on  which 
he  was  animadverting,  without  having  re- 
peatedly met  with  the  most  express  avow- 
als of  the  sentiment,  such  as  the  following: 
"Whatever  is  pleaded  in  behalf  of  the  holy 
nature  of  faith,  it  is  not  supposed  to  justify 
us  as  a  work,  or  holy  exercise,  or  as  being 
any  paxt  of  that  which  is  accounted  unto  us 
for  righteousness  ;  but  merely  as  that  which 
unites  to  Christ,  for  the  sake  of  whose  right- 
eousness alone  we  are  accepted :"  Again : 
"  Living  faith,  or  faith  that  worketh  by  love, 
is  necessary  to  justification,  not  as  being  the 
ground  of  our  acceptance  with  God,  not  as 
a  virtue  of  which  justification  is  the  reward, 
but  as  that  without  which  we  could  not  be 
united  to  a  living  Redeemer."  Yet,  with 
these  passages  before  his  eyes,  Mr.  M.  af- 
fects to  be  at  a  loss  to  know  my  sentiments; 
he  "  suspects"  I  maintain  holy  aflection  ia 
faith  as  necessary  to  union  witli  Christ! 


J^DLLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


321 


Secondly :  If  the  difference  between  us 
has  no  respect  to  the  meritorious  or  procur- 
ing cause  of  justification,  as  Mr.  M.  allows 
it  has  not,  then  why  does  he  elsewhere  tell 
his  reader  that  "  he  thinks  Mr.  F.  means  to 
plead  for  such  a  moral  fitness  for  justifica- 
tion as  that  wherein  the  virtue  of  the  party 
commends  him  to  it ;  or  in  which  he  is  put 
into  a  good  state  as  a  fit  or  suitable  testi- 
mony ot"  regard  to  the  moral  excellency  of 
his  qualifications  or  acts." — 'p.  104.  I  know 
not  what  Mr.  M.  may  think,  but  I  should 
consider  tins  as  making  faith  the  procuring 
'Cause,  or  meritorious  ground,  of  justifica- 
tion :  for  what  is  the  meritorious  ground  of 
a  blessing  but  that  in  consideration  of  which 
it  is  bestowed? 

Thirdly :  If  it  is  not  sufficient  that  we 
ascribe  the  meritorious  or  procuring  cause 
■of  justification  to  the  work  of  Christ,  unless 
we  also  exclude  all  holy  affection  from  the 
nature  of  faith  as  uniting  us  to  him,  how  is 
it  that  Mr.  M.  has  written  as  he  has  on  the 
■Calls  of  the  Gospel?  He  seems  to  have 
thought  it  quite  enough  for  him  to  disavow 
■repentance  or  faith  as  making  any  part  of 
■our  justifying  righteousness,  though  the 
same  disavowal  on  my  part  gives  him  no 
satisfaction.  "  Did  Peter,"  he  asks,  "  over- 
turn the  doctrine  of  free  justification  by  faith 
when  he  exhorted  the  unbelieving  Jews  to 
repent  and  be  converted  that  Iheir  sins 
might  be  blotted  out?  Does  he  there  di- 
rect them  to  any  part  of  that  work  which 
Christ  had  finished  for  the  justification  of 
the  ungodly,  or  lead  them  to  think  that 
their  faith,  repentance,  and  conversion,  were 
to  make  an  atonement  for  their  sins?" 
Again :  "  Cannot  the  wicked  be  exhorted 
to  believe,  repent,  and  seek  the  Lord,  and 
be  encouraged  to  this  by  a  promise  of  suc- 
cess, without  making  the  success  to  depend 
on  human  merit?  Are  such  exhortations 
and  promises  always  to  be  suspected  of 
having  a  dangerous  and  self-righteous  ten- 
dency? Instead  of  taking  them  in  their 
plain  and  simple  ocnse,  must  our  main  care 
always  be  to  guard  against  some  supposed 
self-righteous  use  of  them,  till  we  have  ex- 
plained away  their  whole  force  and  spirit, 
and  so  distinguished  and  refined  upon  them 
-as  to  make  men  more  afraid  to  comply  with 
than  to  reject  then),  lest  they  should  be 
guilty  of  some  exertion  of  nn'nd  or  body, 
■some  good  disposition  or  motion  toward 
Christ,  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  highest 
wickedness,  and  a  despising  of  the  work  of 
Christ?"* 

If  tliere  be  any  meamng  m  words,  Mr. 
M.  here  most  decidedly  contends  for  re- 
pentance, faith,  and  conversion  (which  must 
be  allowed  to  include  holy  affection.)  being 
necessary,  in  the  established  order  of  things 


•  •«ei'  \Vorks,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  33,  5o,  56. 

Vol.  3.— Oo. 


to  mercy,  pardon,  «&c.,  -which  must  also  be 
cUluwed  to  include  justification. 

Fourthly:  With  respect  to  fitness,  I  think, 
with  Mr.  M.,  that  there  is  a  "  peculiar  suit- 
ableness in  faith  to  receive  jrtstification,  and 
every  other  spiritual  blessing,  purely  of 
grace."— p.  106.  It  is  "of  faith  that  it 
might  be  of  grace."  And  this  peculiar 
suitableness  consists  in  its  being  of  the  na- 
ture of  faith  to  receive  the  blessings  of  gi  ace 
as  God's  free  gifts  through  the  atonement, 
instead  of  pertbrming  any  thing  in  the  way 
of  being  rewarded  for  it.  Thus  it  is  prop- 
erly opposed  to  the  works  of  the  law.  But 
it  does  not  follow  that  in  order  to  tliis  there 
must  be  no  "  good  disposition  &c  motion 
toward  Christ"  in  our  believing  in  him. 
On  the  contrary,  if  faith  were  mere  knowl- 
edge, exclusive  of  approbation,  it  would 
not  be  adapted  to  receive  the  doctrine  of 
the  gospel ;  it  would  be  either  unholy,  or 
at  best  merely  natural.  If  the  former,  in- 
stead of  receiving,  it  would  be  certain  to 
reject  the  heavenly  doctrine ;  and,  if  the  lat- 
ter, there  would  be  no  more  suitableness  to 
receive  it  than  there  is  in  the  wisdom  of  this 
world  to  receive  the  true  knowledge  ol'  God. 
A  holy  faith  is  necessary  to  receive  a  holy 
doctrine,  and  so  to  unite  us  to  a  holy  Saviour. 

The  fitness  for  which  I  plead,  in  God's 
justifying  those  who  cordially  acquiesce  in 
the  gospel-way  of  salvation,  rather  than 
others,  and  which  Mr.  M.  consnders  as  in- 
consistent with  free  justification  (Reply,  p. 
103,)  is  no  other  than  that  fitness  of  wis- 
dom, which,  while  it  preserves  the  honors 
of  grace,  is  not  inattentive  to  those  of  right- 
eousness. Had  it  been  said.  Though  "the 
wicked  forsake  not  his  way,  nor  the  unright- 
eous man  his  thoughts,  and  though  he  re- 
turn not  to  the  Lord,  yet  will  he  have  mer- 
cy upon  him,  nor  to  our  God,  yet  will  he 
abundantly  pardon,  we  should  feel  a  want 
of  fitness,  and  instantly  perceive  that  grace 
was  here  exalted  at  the  expense  of  right- 
eousness. He  that  can  discern  no  fitness 
in  such  connections  but  that  of  works  and 
rewards  must  have  yet  to  learn  some  of 
the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God. 

Fifthly:  With  respect  to  justification  by 
faith  alone,  Mr.  M.  appears  to  have  affixed 
a  new  sense  to  the  phrase.  I  have  always 
understood  it  to  mean  justification  by  a 
righteousness  received,  in  opposition  to  jus- 
tification by  a  righteousness  performed,  ac- 
cording to  Gal.  iii.  11,  12,—  "  Tiiat  no  man  is 
justified  by  the  law  in  the  sight  of  God  is  evi- 
dent: for  the  just  shall  live  by  faith.  And  the 
law  is  not  of  faith  :  but  the  man  ihat  doeth 
them  shall  live  in  them."  In  this  sense,  jus- 
tification by  faith  alone  applies  to  my  view.s 
of  the  subject  as  well  as  to  his  :  but  the  sense 
in  which  he  uses  the  phrase  is  very  nearly 
akin  to  that  in  which  James  uses  it  wlien 
speaking  of  faith   as  dead,   heui^  -alone. 


322 


FULLER    ON     S  AN  DEM  ANI  AN  ISM, 


We  are,  indeed  justified  hy  faith  alone ;  but! 
not  by  a  faitli  ichich  is  alone. 

Mr.  M.  is  in  tbe  habit  of  speaking  of  that 
holiness  which  I  conceive  essential  to  the 
nature  of  taith  as  sometiiing"  added"'  to  it 
or  as  being  something  "  more"  than  faith : 
but  he  might  as  well  say  that  a  cordial  rejec- 
tion of  the  gospel  is  something  "  more"  tiian 
unbelief.  In  like  manner  he  seems  to  con- 
sider the  phrase,  "  laith  which  worketii  by 
love"  as  expressive  of  what  faith  products 
'posterior  to  Us  uniting  us  to  Christ ;  whereas 
it  is  of  the  nature  of  faith  in  its  very  Jirst 
existence  in  the  mind  to  work,  and  tiiat  in 
a  way  ol"  love  to  the  object.  It  is  also  re- 
markable tliat  Paul  speaks  of  faith  which 
"  worketh  by  love  "  as  availing  to  justifica- 
tion ;  while  circumcision  or  uncircumcision 
availeth  nothing.  Galations  v.  6.  Faith, 
hope,  and  charity,  have,  no  doubt  their  dis- 
tinctive characters ;  but  not  one  of  them, 
nor  any  other  grace,  consists  in  its  being 
devoid  of  holy  ailection.  This  is  a  common 
property  belonging  to  all  the  graces,  is  co- 
eval with  them,  and  essential  to  them. 
Whatever  we  may  possess,  call  it  knowl- 
edge or  faith,  or  what  we  may  if  it  be  de- 
void of  this,  it  is  not  the  effect  of  special  di- 
vine influence,  and  therefore  not  a  fruit 
of  the  Spirit.  "  That  which  is  born  of  the 
Spirit  is  .spirit." 

Lastly :  If  union  with  Christ  were  ante- 
cedent to  all  holy  affection,  it  Avould  not  be 
what  the  scriptures  represent  it ;  viz :  a 
union  of  spirit :  "  He  that  is  joined  to  the 
Lord  is  one  spirit."  Union  of  spirit  must 
include  congeniality  of  disposition.  Our 
heart  must  be  as  Christ's  heart,  or  we  are 
not  one  with  him.  Believing  in  him  with  all 
the  heart,  we  hence,  according  to  the  wise 
and  gracious  constitution  of  the  gospel,  and 
not  in  reward  of  any  holiness  in  as,  possess  a 
revealed  interest  in  him,  and  in  all  the 
benefits  arising  from  his  obedience  unto 
death.  "  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life." 
Such  appears  to  be  the  order  of  things  as 
taught  us  in  tlie  scriptures,  and  such  the 
connection  between  faith  and  justification. 
If  union  with  Christ  Avere  acquired  by  faith 
and  an  interest  in  him  were  bestowed  in  re- 
ward of  it.  it  would  indeed  be  inconsistent 
with  free  justification  ;  but  if  the  necessity 
of  a  holy  faith  arise  merely  from  the  nature 
of  things,  that  is,  its  fitness  to  unite  us  to  a 
holy  Saviour,  and  il"  faith  itself  be  the  gift 
of  God,  no  •fiuch  consequence  follows :  lor 
the  union,  though  we  be  active  in  it,  is  in 
reality  formed  by  him  who  actuates  u.s,  and 
to  him  belongs  the  praise.  "  Of  him  are 
ye  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  of  God  is  made  un- 
to us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanc- 
tification,  and  redemption:  that,  according 
as  it  is  written,  He  that  glorieth,  let  him 
irlory  in  tlie  Lord."  . 

Mr.  M.  has  written  much  about  God'B 


justifying  the  ungodly  ;  but  while  he  allows 
that  the  term  is  not  descriptive  ol'  the  exist- 
ing character  of  a  believer,  I  have  no  dis- 
pute witii  him.  He  admits  that,  when 
Christ  is  said  to  die  for  the  ungodly,  the 
term  includes  many  who  at  the  time  were 
saint.«,  only  he  died  not  for  them  as  saints 
(p.  115;)  and  this  I  readily  allow.  The 
examples  of  Abraham  and  David  were  not 
introduced  by  me  to  prove  them  to  have 
been  godly  characters  for  many  years  prior 
to  their  justification;  but  to  show,  from  the 
examples  of  their  iiiith  not  being  taken  I'rom 
theirfirstbelieving  while  yet  it  respected  God 
as  the  justifier  of  the  ungodly,  that  the  doc- 
trine of  free  justification  could  not  require 
that  the  party  should  at  the  time  be  at  en- 
mity with  God.* 

IVlr.  M.  has  also  written  much  about  the 
state  of  an  awakened  sinner.  As  he  had 
disowned  his  being  the  .subject  of  any  holy 
affection,  I  concluded  he  must  be  '•  a  hard- 
hearted enemy  of  God."  This  was  stated, 
not  from  a  want  of  feeling  toward  any  poor 
sinner,  but  to  show  whither  the  principle  led. 
Mr.  M.  answers  ;  "  I  have  not  the  least  idea 
that  a  hard-hearted  enemy  of  God.  while 
such,  can  either  receive  or  enjoy  forgive- 
ness ;  but  I  distinguish  between  such  a 
state  of  mind  and  that  of  an  awakened  self- 
condemned  sinner,  and  also  between  the 
latter  and  a  real  convert,  who  believes  the 
gospel,  has  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious, 
and  is  possessed  of  holy  affections." — p.  15  L 
Is  there  a  medium,  then,  between  holy  af- 
fection and  hard-hearted  enmity?  If  so.  it 
must  be  something  like  neutrality.  But 
Christ  has  left  no  room  for  this,  having  de- 
clared, "  He  that  is  not  with  me  is  against 
me."  Let  a  sinner  be  alanned  as  much  as 
he  may,  if  he  have  no  holy  affection  toward 
God,hemustbe  a  hard-hearted  enemy  to  him. 
Such  I  believe  are  many  awakened  sinners 
notwithstanding  all  their  terrors,  and  such 
they  will  view  themselves  to  have  been,  if 
ever  they  come  to  see  things  as  they  are. 
There  are  others,  however,  who,  are  not  so, 
but  whose  convictions  are  spiritual,  like 
those  of  Paul,  who  saw  sin,  "  through  the 
commandment,  to  be  exceeding  sinful,"  and 
who  "  through  the  law,  became  dead  to  the 
law,  that  he  might  live  unto  God."  Con- 
victions of  this  kind  lead  the  sinner  to  Christ. 
They  may  not  be  distinguishable  at  the 
time,  either  by  himself  or  others,  and  noth- 
ing but  the  efliects  may  prove  the  difference  ; 
yet  an  essential  difference  there  is. 

Mr.  M.  refers  to  the  case  of  the  jailor.  I 
know  not  what  was  his  conviction  of  the 
evil  of  sin.  nor  when  he  became  the  subject 
of  holy  affection.  But,  be  it  when  it  might, 
he  was  til!  then  a  hard  hearted  enemy  of 
God.     The  case  to  which  writers  on  Mr. 


•  On  ihiF  8']t'i''Cf  l*tiHe  \i-AVQ  10  refer  to  Discourse 
XXII.  of  my  workci)  G&nc»i». 


FULLER    ON     S  ANDEMANI ANISM, 


323 


M.'s  side  the  question  more  I'requently  refer 
is  that  of  the  self-condemned  publican  ;  but, 
antecedently  to  his  going  down  to  his  Irouse 
justified,  he  "  humbled  himself,"  and  that  in 
a  way  of  holy  though  not  of  joyful  affection. 

According  to  Mr.  M.  there  is  a  state  of 
mind  which  is  not  the  effect  of  renewing 
grace,  and  therefore  contains  nothing  truly 
good,  but  which  is,  nevertheless,  necessary 
and  sufficient  to  prepare  the  sinner  for  re- 
ceiving the  forgiveness  of  his  sin.  "  A  hard 
hearted  er>emy  of  God  cannot  receive  or 
enjoy  gospel  forgiveness ;  but  a  sinner  un- 
der terrors  of  conscience,  though  equally 
destitute  of  all  regard  for  God  as  the  other, 
can." 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  impeach  Mr.  M.'s 
integrity,  I  doubt  not  but  he  thinks  that  in 
writing  his  Reply  he  was  engaged  in  refu- 
ting error.  Yet,  if  his  own  words  are  to  be 
believed,  he  does  not  know  after  all  but  that 
he  has  been  opposing  the  truth.  In  page 
151  'he  says,  "  Whether  such  convictions  as 
issue  in  conversion  differ  in  kind  from  others 
I  will  not  take  upon  me  to  determine.''''  That 
is,  he  does  not  know  but  that  it  may  be  so. 
and  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  spiritual 
conviction  of  the  evil  of  sin,  antecedently  to 
believing  in  the  Saviour  and  subservient  to 
iL  But  this  is  the  same,  in  effect,  as  saying 
he  does  not  know  whether  that  which  he 
has  been  opposing  throughout  his  perform- 
ance may  not,  after  all,  be  true  !  "  But  I 
am  certain  of  this,"  he  adds,  "  that  it  would 
be  very  unsafe  to  build  up  any  in  an  opinion 
of  their  possessing  holiness  merely  upon  the 
ground  of  their  convictions,  while  they  come 
short  of  a  real  change  and  do  not  believe  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  That  conviction  of 
sin  and  its  desert  which  is  subservient  to 
faith  in  Christ  will  never  lead  a  person  to 
think  that  it  is  any  part  of  his  holiness ;  for 
such  a  thought  would  be  as  opposite  to  the 
nature  of  his  conviction  as  his  feeling  a  dis- 
ease would  be  to  his  thinking  himself  whole." 
Very  good :  but  against  what  is  it  directed  ? 
not  any  thing  advanced  by  his  opponent. 
It  is,  however,  manifestly  against  the  scope 
of  his  own  performance.  The  tendency. 
though  not  the  design,  of  thcfse  remarks  is 
to  show  that  there  is  a  "  difference  in  kind" 
between  some  convictions  and  others,  and  a 
marked  one  too.  "  That  conviction  of  sin 
and  its  desert  which  is  subservient  to  faith 
in  Christ  will  never  lead  a  person  to  think 
that  it  is  any  part  of  his  holiness ;"  but  (he 
might  have  added)  that  conviction  of  sin 
which  is  not  subservient  to  faith  in  Christ 
will.  Graceless  convictions  generally,  if 
not  always,  become  objects  of  self-admira- 
tion. Here,  then,  Mr.' M.  not  only  deter- 
mines that  there  is  a  difference  "between 
some  convictions  and  otliers,  but  specifics 
wherein  that  difference  consists.  It  never 
occurred  to   the  self-condemned   publican 


that  there  was  any  thing  good  or  holy  in 
his  humbling  him.self"  before  God.  Our 
Lord,  however,  held  it  up  as  being  so,  and 
recommended  it  as  an  example  to  others. 

I  shall  conclude  this  letter  with  a  few  re- 
marks on  qualifications.  This  is  a  term  on 
which  Mr.  Sandeman  and  his  followers 
have  plentifully  declaimed.  It  conveys 
to  me  the  idea  of  something  which  entitles 
the  party  to  a  good,  or  fits  him  to  enjoy  it. 
With  respect  to  entitling  us,  I  suppose,  there 
is  no  dispute.  The  gospel  and  its  invita- 
tions are  our  title  to  come  to  Christ  for  sal- 
vation. And,  with  respect  to  fitting  us, 
there  is  nothing  of  this  kind  that  ispleadable, 
or  which  furnishes  any  ground  of  encourage- 
ment to  the  sinner  that  he  shall  be  accept- 
ed. It  is  not  any  thing  prior  to  the  coming 
to  Christ,  but  coming  itself,  that  has  the 
promise  of  acceptance.  All  that  is  pleaded 
for  is  the  necessity  of  a  state  of  mind  suited 
in  the  nature  of  things  to  believing,  and 
without  which  no  sinner  ever  did  or  can  be- 
lieve, and  which  state  of  mind  is  not  self- 
wrought,  but  the  effect  of  regenerating 
grace. 

Mr.  Sandeman  represents  sinners  as  say- 
ing to  preachers,  "  If  you  would  preach  the 
gospel  to  us,  you  must  tell  us  something  fit 
to  give  us  joy  as  we  presently  stand,  uncon- 
scious of  any  distinguishing  qnalijication.^' 
That  the  mind,  at  the  time  when  it  first  re- 
ceives gospel  comfort,  may  be  unconscious, 
not  only  of  every  distinguishing  qualification 
but  of  being  the  subject  of  any  tiling  truly 
good,  I  allow ;  for  I  believe  that  is  the  first 
true  comfort  which  arises  from  the  consid- 
eration of  what  CJirist  is  rather  than  of  what 
we  are  toward  him.  But  to  be  •'  uncon- 
scious" of  any  thing  truly  good  and  actually 
destitute  of  it  are  two  things :  and  so  are 
its  being  necessary  in  the  nature  of  things 
to  our  enjoying  the  consolations  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  its  being  so  as  a  qitalificution  enti- 
tling, or  in  some  way  recommending,  us  to 
the  divine  favor.  To  conceive  of  a  sinner 
who  is  actually  hardened  in  his  sins,  bloated 
with  self-righteous  pride,  and  full  of  oppo- 
sition to  tlie  gospel,  receiving  joy  "presently 
as  he  stands,"  is  not  only  conceiving  of  rest 
for  the  soul  without  coming  to  the  Saviour 
lor  it,  but  is  in  itself  a  contradiction.  Mr. 
M'Lean  acknowledges  as  much  as  this.  "  I 
have  not  the  least  idea,"  he  says,  "  that  a 
hard-hearted  enemy  of  God,  while  such,  can 
either  receive  or  enjoy  forgiveness."  Con- 
viction of  sin  then,  whether  it  have  any 
thing  holy  in  it  or  not,  is  necessanj,  not,  I 
presume,  as  a  qualification  recommending 
the  sinner  to  tlie  divine  favor,  but  as  that 
without  which  believing  in  .Tcsus  wore  in  its 
own  nature  impossible.  Such  are  my  views 
as  to  the  necessity  of  a  new  heart  ere  the 
sinner  can  come  to  Christ.  The  joy  that 
an  unregenerate  sinner  can  receive  "  pres- 


324 


FULLER    ON    S  ANDEMANIAN  ISM. 


cnlly  as  he  stands"  is  any  thing  but  thati     A  punctilious  adherence  to  tlie  letter  of 
which  is  afforded  by  the  good  news  of  sal-  scripture  is  in  some  cases   commendable 


vation  to  the  chief  of  sinners. 


LETTER    IX. 

On  certain  New  Testament  practices. 

That  there  are  serious  Christians  who 
have  leaned  to  the  Saridemanian  system  I 
have  no  doubt,  and  in  people  of  this  de- 
scription I  have  seen  things  worthy  of  imi- 
tation. It  has  appeared  to  me  that  there  is 
a  greater  diligence  in  endeavoring  to  un- 
derstand the  scriptures,  and  a  stricter  regard 
to  what  they  are  supposed  to  contain,  than 
among  many  other  professors  of  Christiani- 
ty. They  do  not  seem  to  trifle  with  either 
principle  or  practice  in  the  manner  that 
many  do.  Even  in  those  things  wherein 
they  appear  to  me  to  misunderstand  the 
scriptures,  there  is  a  regard  toward  them 
which  is  worthy  of  imitation.  There  is 
something,  even  in  their  rigidness,  which  I 
prefer  before  that  trifling  with  truth  which, 
among  other  professing  Christians,  often 
passes  under  the  name  of  liberality. 

These  concessions,  however,  do  not  re- 
spect those  who  have  gone  entirely  into  the 
system,  so  as  to  have  thoroughly  imbibed 
its  spirit,  but  persons  who  have  manifested 
a  considerable  partiality  in  favor  of  the  doc- 
trine. '  Take  the  denomination  as  a  whole, 
and  it  is  not  among  them  you  can  expect  to 
see  the  Christian  practice  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament exemplified.  You  will  find  them 
very  punctilious  in  some  things,  but  very 
defective  in  others.  Religion,  as  exhibited 
by  them,  resembles  a  rickety  child,  whose 
growth  is  confined  to  certain  parts :  it  wants 
that  lovely  uniformity  or  proportion  which 
constitutes  the  beauty  of  holiness. 

Some  of  the  followers  of  Mr.  Sandeman 
who  in  his  lif(3-time  formed  a  society  in  St. 
Martin's-le-grand,  London,  and  published 
an  account  of  what  they  call  their  Christian 
'practices,  acknowledge  tliat  the  command 
of  washing  one  another's  feet  is  binding 
"  only  when  it  can  be  an  act  of  kindness  to 
do  so,"  and  that  thougii  there  be  neither 
precept  nor  precedent  for  fainily-praijer, 
yet  "it  seems  necessary  for  maintaining  the 
fear  of  God  in  a  family."  They  proceed, 
however,  to  judge  those  who  insist  on  fci.mi- 
ly-prayer  and  the  first-day  Sabbath,  while 
they  disregard  the  feasts  of  charity,  the  hrjy 
kiss,  ^c.  as  persons  "  influenced  to  their  re- 
ligions practices  not  by  the  fear  of  God,  the 
authority  of  Christ,  or  the  spirit  of  truth." 
It  is  easy  to  see  hence  what  kind  of  Chris- 
tian practice  that  is  by  which  these  people 
are  distinguished,* 


even  though  it  may  extend  to  the,  tithing  of 
mint  and  cummin  ;  but  in  others  it  would 
lead  you  aside  from  the  mind  of  Christ ; 
and  to  pursue  any  thing  to  the  neglect  of 
judgment,  mercy,  and  the  love  of  God,  is 
dangerous  in  the  extreme. 

It  has  long  appeared  to  me  that  a  great 
many  errors  have  arisen  from  applying  to 
moral  obligations  the  principle  which  is 
proper  in  obedience  tO'  positive  institutions. 
By  confounding  theae,  and  giving  to  both 
the  name  of  ordinances,  the  New  Testament 
becomes  little  more  than  ritual,  and  rehgion 
is  nearly  reduced  to  a  round  of  mechanical 
perforiTiances, 

The  distinction  of  obedien-ee  into  moral 
and  positive  has  been  made  by  the  ablest 
writers  of  almost  every  denomination,  and 
must  be  made  if  we  would  understand 
the  scriptures.  Without  it  we  should  con- 
found the  eternal  standard  of  right  and 
wrong  given  to  Israel  at  Sinai  (the  sum  of 
which  is  the  love  of  God  and  our  neighbor) 
with  the  body  of  "  carnal  ordinances  impos- 
ed on  them  until  the  time  of  reformation." 
We  should  also  confound  those  precepts  of 
the  New  Testament  which  arise  from  the 
relaUons  we  sustain  to  God  and  one  another 
with  those  that  arise  merely  from  the  sover- 
eign will  of  the  legislator,  and  could  never 
have  been  known  but  for  his  having  express- 
ly enjoined  them.  Concerning  the  former, 
an  inspired  writer  does  not  scruple  to  refer 
the  primitive  Christians  to  that  sense  of 
riffht  and  wrong  which  is  implanted  in  the 
minds  of  m.en  in  general ;  saying,  ■'  What- 
soever things  are  true,  whatsoever  things 
are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just, 
whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatsoever 
things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are 
of  ffood  report ;  if  there  be  any  virtue,  and 
if  there  be  any  praise,  think  on  these 
things."  But,  concerning  the  latter,  he  di- 
rects'their  whole  attention  to  the  revealed 
will  of  Christ.  "  Now  I  praise  you  brethren 
that  you  remember  me  in  all  things,  and 
keep  the  ordinances  as  I  delivered  them 
unto  you."  "  I  received  of  the  Lord  that 
which  also  I  delivered  unto  you,"  &c.  The 
one  is  commanded  because  it  is  right;  the 
other  is  right  because  it  is  commanded. 
The  great  "principles  of  the  former  are  of 
perpetual  obligation,  and  know  no  other 
change  than  that  which  arises  from  the  va- 
rvin<r  of  relations  and  conditions  ;  but  those 
of  the  latter  may  be  binding  at  one  period 
of  time,  and  utterly  abolished  at  another. 

We  can  clearly  perceive  that  it  were  in- 
consistent with  the  perfections  of  God  not 
to  have  required  us  to  love  him  and  one 
another,  or  to  have  allowed  of  the  contrary. 


*  I  have  not  seen  this  pamphlet,  but  have  taken  a  few 


quotations  from  it,  contained  in  Backus's  Discourse  on 
I'aith  onil  its  Influence. 


FULLER    OxN    SANDEMANIANISM, 


325 


Children  also  must  needs  be  required  to 
obey  their  parents  ;  for  this  is  Tight.  But 
it  is  not  thus  in  positive  institutions.  What- 
ever wisdom  there  may  be  in  them,  and 
whatever  discernment  in  ns,  we  could  not 
have  known  them  had  they  not  been  ex- 
pressly revealed  ;  nor  are  they  ever  enforc- 
ed as  being  in  themselves  right.,  but  mere- 
ly from  the  authority  of  the  lawgiver.  Of 
them  we  may  say,  Had  it  pleased  God,  he 
might  in  various  instances  have  enjoined 
the  opposit.es.  But  of  the  other  we  are  not 
allowed  to  suppose  it  possible,  or  consistent 
with  righteousness,  for  God  to  have  requi- 
red any  thing  different  from  that  which  he 
has  required.  The  obligation  of  man  to 
love  and  obey  his  Creator  must  have  been 
coeval  with  his  existence ;  but  it  was  not 
till  he  had  planted  a  garden  in  Eden,  and 
there  put  the  man  whom  he  had  formed, 
and  expressly  prohibited  the  fruit  of  one  of 
the  trees  on  pain  of  death,  that  he  came 
under  a  positive  law. 

The  use  to  be  made  of  this  distinction,  in 


precedent  for  family-prayer,  yet  it  seemed 
necessary  for  maintaining  the  fear  nf  God 
in  a  family.''''  But  this  concession,  being  at 
variance  with  more  favorite  principles,  seems 
to  have  meant  nothing.  It  is  said  that  I'ami- 
ly-prayer  has  long  been  disregarded  by 
many  who  drink  the  deepest  into  the  doc- 
trine. With  them,  theretbre  the  maintain- 
ing of  "  the  fear  of  God  in  a  family"  seems 
to  be  given  up.  The  fact  has  operated 
much  against  the  denomination  in  the  es- 
teem of  serious  Christians,  by  whom  they 
are  considered  as  little  other  than  a  body 
of  worldly  men.  Of  late,  the  system  has 
been  improved.  Instead  ot"  owning,  as  for- 
merly, that  "  the  fear  of  God  seemed  to  re- 
quire this  duty,"  it  is  now  held  to  be  7mlaw- 
ful,  provided  any  part  of  the  family  be  un- 
believers, seeing  it  is  holding  communion 
with  them.  On  the  same  principle,  unbe- 
lievers, it  is  said  are  not  allowed  to  join  in 
public  prayer  and  praise,  unless  it  be  in  an 
adjoining  room,  or  with  some  kind  of  par- 
tition between  them  and  the  believers.     In 


the  present  controversy,  is  to  judge  in  what  short,  it  is  maintained  by  Mr.  Braidwood 
cases  xoe  are  to  look  for  eayress  precept  or|  that  we  ought  only  to  join  in  prayer  and 
example,  and  in  what  cases  we  are  not  ^  praise  with  those  with  whom  we  partake  of 
lookforthem.  Mr.  Braidwood  very  proper- the  Lord's  supper." — Letters,  pp.  31 — 46. 
ly  observes,  "  That  which  is  morally  good  Such  are  the  consequences  of  confounding 
in  its  own  nature  is  a  bounden  duty,  al-j  things  moral  with  things  positive  or  cere- 
though  it  should  not  be  pailicularly  com-  moniaJ. 

manded  nor  exemplified  in  all  the  word  ofj  We  have  noaecotmt  of  any  particular  in- 
God." — Letters,  (J'-c,  p.  42.     In  obedience! junctions  given  to  Abraham  respecting  the 


of  this  description  there  is  not  that  need  of 
minute  niles  and  examples  as  in  the  other; 
bat  merely  of  general  principles  which  na- 
turally lead  to  all  the  particulars  compre- 
hended under  them. 

To  require  express  precept  or  example, 
or  to  adhere  in  all  cases  to  the  literal  sense 
of  those  precepts  which  are  given  us,  in 
things  of  a  moral  nature,  would  greatly  mis- 
lead us.  We  may,  by  a  disregard  of  that 
for  which  there  is  no  express  precept  or 
precedent,  omit  what  is  manifestly  right, 
and  by  an  adherence  to  the  letter  of  scrip- 
tural precepts  overlook  the  spirit  of  them, 
and  do  that  which  is  manifestly  wrong. 

If  we  will  do  nothing  without  express  pre- 
cept or  precedent,  we  must  build  no  places 
for  Christian  worship,  form  no  societies  for 
visiting  and  relieving  the  afflicted  poor,  es- 
tablish no  schools,  endow  no  hospitals,  nor 
contribute  any  thing  toward  them,  nor  any 
tiling  toward  printing  or  circulating  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  Whether  any  person 
vvho  fears  God  would  on  this  ground  con- 
sider himself  excused  from  these  duties,  I 
cannot  tell :  it  is  on  no  better  ground,  how- 
ever, that  duties  of  equal  importance  have 
been  disregarded  ;  especially  those  oi' fami- 
ly-prnyer  and  the  sanctijication  of  the 
Lord's  day. 

In  Mr.  Sandeman's  time  it  was  allowed 
that  "  though  there  was  ncitlier  precept  nor 


ordering  of  his  family.  God  had  said  to 
him  in  general,  "W^alk  before  me  and  be 
thou  perfect ;"  and  which,  as  to  things  of 
this  nature,  was  sufficient.  "  I  know  Abra- 
ham," saith  the  Lord,  "  that  he  will  com- 
mand his  children,  and  his  household  after 
him,  that  they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  and  do  justice  and  judgment."  Can 
a  child  be  brought  up  in  the  nurture  and 
admonition  of  the  Lord  when  it  never  hears 
its  parents  pray  for  it  ?  Paul  would  not 
have  eaten  the  Lord's  supper  with  the  ship's 
company  ;  but  he  made  no  scruple  of  "giv- 
ing thanks  to  God  in  presence  of  them  all" 
at  a  common  meal  ;  and  this,  I  presume, 
without  any  partition  between  his  company 
and  theirs,  or  so  much  as  a  mental  reserva- 
tion in  respect  of  the  latter.  To  join  with 
unbejievers  in  Avhat  is  not  their  ihily  is  to 
become  partakers  of  other  men's  sins  :  but 
to  allow  them  to  join  with  us  in  what  ?.s  their 
duty  is  not  so.  The  believer  is  not  at  liberty 
to  join  in  the  prayer  of  unbelief:  but  the 
imbeliever  is  at  liberty,  if  he  can  to  join  in 
the  prayer  of  faith.  To  deny  him  this  were 
to  deny  him  the  right  of  becoming  a  believ- 
er, and  of  doing  what  every  one  ought  to 
do.  W<;  ouglit  to  pray  for  such  tilings  as 
both  believers  and  unbelievers  stand  in  need 
of:  if  the  latter  unite  v;ith  us  in  desire,  it  \» 
well  for  them  ;  if  not  the  guilt  remains  with 
themselves  and  not  witli  as. 


326 


FULLER    ON    S  A  N  DEM  AN  I  ANISM. 


The  sanctijication  of  the  Lord's-day  is 
said  to  be  very  generally  disregarded 
among  the  admirers  of  this  system.  Hav- 
ing met  and  kept  the  ordinances,  they  seem 
to  have  done  with  rcHgion  for  that  day,  and 
teel  at  liberty  to  follow  any  amusement  or 
worldly  occupation  during  the  remainder  of 
it.  This  is  Christian  liberty ;  and  the  op- 
posite is  pbarisaism  ! 

So  far  as  relates  to  its  being  the  day  ap- 
pointed for  Christian  worship,  rather  than 
the  seventh  ;  that  is  to  say,  so  far  as  it  is 
positive,  tlie  keeping  of  it  is  amply  support- 
ed by  scripture  precedent :  but  as  to  keep- 
ing the  day  holy  to  the  Lord,  this,  being 
moral,  is  left  to  be  inferred  from  general 
principles.  This  is  the  case  as  to  the  man- 
ner of  attending  to  all  positive  institutions. 
No  injunctions  were  laid  on  the  churches 
with  respect  to  their  keeping  the  Lord's  sup- 
per in  a  holy  manner  ;  yet  in  the  neglect  of 
this  lay  the  sin  of  the  church  at  Corinth. 
And  the  reasoning  which  the  apostle  used 
to  convince  them  of  their  sin  applies  to  the 
case  in  hand.  He  argues  irom  the  ordi 
nance  of  breaking  bread  being  the  Lord's 
supper  that  turning  it  into  their  own  supper 
was  rendering  it  null  and  void:*  and  by 
parity  of  reasoning  it  follows,  from  the  first 
day  of  the  week  being  the  LonPs-day,  that 
to  do  oil}'  own  work,  find  our  own  pleasure, 
or  speak  07ir  own  words  on  that  day,  is  to 
make  it  void.  Of  the  former  he  declared 
"  This  is  not  to  eat  the  Lord's  supper ;"  and 
of  the  latter  he  would,  on  the  same  principle, 
have  declared,  This  is  not  to  keep  the 
Lord's-day. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  do  every  thing 
that  is  commanded  in  the  New  Testament 
according  to  the  letter  of  the  precept,  we 
shall  in  many  cases  overlook  the  true  in- 
tent of  it,  and  do  that  which  is  manifestly 
wrong. 

The  design  of  our  Lord's  precepts  on 
prayer  and  alms-giving,  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  is  to  censure  a  spirit  of  ostenta- 
tion in  these  duties  ;  but  a  strict  conformi- 
ty to  the  letter  of  them  would  excuse  us 
from  all  social  prayer  and  public  contribu 
tions. 

The  design  of  the  precept,  •'  Resist  not 
evil,"  but  "if  a  man  smite  thee  on  the  one 
cheek,  turji  to  him  the  other  also,"  is  to  pro- 
hibit all  private  or  selfish  resentment,  and 
to  teach  us  that  we  ought  rather  to  suffer 
wrong  than  go  about  to  revenge  an  injury. 
Who  docs  not  admire  the  conduct  of  the 
noble  Athenian  who,  in  a  council  of  war 
held  for  the  common  safety  of  the  country, 
when  the  Spartan  chief  menaced  him  with 


'  I  nm  aware  that  fhoir  otni  supprr  hap  beon  under- 
stood  as  reffrrin?  to  tlin  Inm  finxtn  ;  tmt  tho  reasoning 
of  the  apostli'  snems  to  ine  to  admit  of  no  such  mtaniiis:. 
How  could  he  accine  them  of  making  void  thn  X.ord'i; 
»appe.',  if  it  wan  not  tlic  Lord's  eujipyr  they  were  eating  J 


his  cane,  cried,  '^Strike;  but  hear  me?" 
Such,  in  effect,  has  been  the  language  of 
the  martyrs  of  Jesus  in  all  ages  ;  and  such 
is  the  spirit  of  the  precept.  But  to  contend 
for  a  literal  compliance  with  it  were  lo  re- 
flect on  the  conduct  of  Christ  himself,  who, 
when  smitten  before  the  high  priest,  did  not 
so  exemplify  it,  but  remonstrated  against 
the  injury. 

If  the  design  of  our  Lord,  in  forbidding 
us  to  lay  up  treasures  on  earth,  were  abso- 
lutely and  in  all  cases  to  prohibit  the  in- 
crease of  property,  it  was  his  design  to  over- 
throw what  the  scriptures  acknowledge  as 
a  dictate  of  nature,  namely,  the  duty  of  pa- 
rents to  provide  for  their  children.  2  Cor. 
xii.  1-1.  True  it  is  that  men  may  hoard 
wealth  in  order  to  enrich  and  aggrandize 
their  families  to  the  neglect  of  present  duty 
toward  the  poor  and  toward  the  cause  of 
God  :  but  this  is  the  abuse  of  the  principle, 
and  ought  to  be  corrected,  and  not  the  prin- 
ciple itself  destroyed.  Only  let  our  own  in- 
terest and  that  of  our  children,  be  pursued 
in  subordination  to  God,  and  in  consistency 
with  other  ditties,  and  all  will  be  right. 
The  contrary  practice  Avould  load  the  indus- 
trious poor,  and  prevent  their  ever  rising 
above  their  present  condition,  while  it 
screened  the  indolent  rich,  who  might  ex- 
pend the  whole  of  their  income  in  self-grati- 
fication, provided  they  did  not  increase  their 
capital. 

Nor  can  any  good  reason  be  given,  that 
I  know  of,  why  we  should  understand  this 
precept  as  prohibiting  in  all  cases  the  in- 
crease of  property,  any  more  than  that  of 
"  selling  what  we  have,  and  giving  alms," 
as  absolutely  forbidding  us  to  retain  it.  To 
be  consistent  the  advocates  of  this  inter- 
pretation should  dispose  of  all  their  property 
and  distribute  it  among  the  poor.  In  other 
words,  they  should  abolish  all  distinctions 
of  rich  and  poor  so  far  as  concerns  them- 
selves ;  not  only  the  very  rich  and  very  poor, 
but  all  distinction  whatever,  and  be  perfect- 
ly on  an  equality.  When  they  shall  do 
this,  they  will  at  least  prove  themselves  to 
be  sincere,  and  impart  a  weight  to  their 
censures  against  others  which  at  present 
they  do  not  possess. 

It  was  not  our  Lord's  design  in  this  par- 
tial manner  to  lop  off  the  branches  of  a 
worldly  spirit ;  but  to  strike  at  the  root  of 
it.  To  lay  up  treasures  on  earth  denotes  the 
desire  of  am.-issing  wealth  that  we  may  be 
great,  and  shine,  or  in  some  way  consume 
it  upon  our  lusts ;  ami  herein  consists  the 
evil.  There  is  as  great  a  difference  be- 
tween a  character  who  acts  on  this  principle 
and  one  whom  God  prospers  in  the  path  of 
duty,  and  in  the  full  exercise  of  henevolence 
toward  all  about  him,  as  between  one  who 
engages  in  the  chase  of  worldly  applause, 
and  another  who,  peeking  the  good  of  those 


FULLER     ON     S  A  N  D  P:  M  A  N  I  A  N  I  S  M, 


327 


around  him,  must  needs  be  respected  and 
loved. 

The  evil  which  arises  from  such  inter- 
pretations, whatever  may  be  their  tendency, 
does  not  consist  in  throwing  civil  society  in- 
to a  state  of  disorder ;  for  though  men  may 
admit  them  in  theory,  yet  they  will  contrive 
some  method  of  practically  evading  them, 
and  reconcile  their  consciences  to  it.  The 
mischief  lies  in  the  hypocrisy,  self-deception, 
and  unchristian  censures  upon  others,  to 
which  they  give  occasion. 

Much  has  been  spoken  and  written  on 
"observing  all  things  which  Christ  hath 
commanded  us,"  and  on  the  authority  of 
aposlolic  example.  Both  are  literally  bind- 
ing on  Christians  in  matters  of  positive  in- 
stitution ;  and  in  things  moral  the  spirit  or 
design  of  them  is  indispensable  :  but  to  en- 
force a  literal  conformity  in  many  cases 
would  be  to  defeat  the  end,  and  reduce 
obedience  to  unmeaning  ceremony. 

In  eastern  countries  the  u-ashing  of  the 
feet,  after  the  toils  of  a  journey,  was  a  com- 
mon and  necessary  refreshment ;  and  our 
Lord,  to  teach  his  disciples  in  love  to  serve 
one  another,  took  upon  himself  the  humble 
office  of  a  servant  and  washed  their  feet ; 
enjoining  upon  them  to  do  that  to  one  an- 
other which  he  had  done  to  them.  But  to 
conform  to  this  custom  where  it  is  not  prac- 
tised, nor  considered  as  necessary  to  be 
done  by  any  one,  is  to  defeat  the  end  of  the 
precept  by  substituting  a  form  in  the  place 
of  a  humble  and  affectionate  service.  We 
may  wash  the  saints'  feet,  and  neglect  to  dry 
iheirclothesjor  to  administer  necessary  com- 
fort to  them  when  cold  and  weary.  If,  in  com- 
mands of  this  nature,  no  regard  is  to  be  had 
to  times,  places,  and  circumstances,  why  do 
Sandemanians  allow  it  to  be  binding  "  only 
when  it  can  be  an  act  of  kindness  to  do  so  ?" 

It  was  customary  in  the  east,  and  is  still 
80  in  many  countries,  for  men  to  express 
affection  to  each  other  by  a  kiss;  and  the 
apostles  directed  that  this  common  mode  of 
salutation  should  be  used  religiously.  But 
in  a  country  where  the  practice  is  principal- 
ly confined  to  the  expression  of  love  be- 
tween the  sexes,  or  at  most  among  relations, 
it  is  much  more  liable  to  misconstruction  and 
abuse  ;  and  being  originally  a  human  cus- 
tom, where  that  custom  ceases  though  the 
spirit  of  the  precept  is  binding,  yet  the  form 
of  it,  I  conceive,  is  not  so. 

For  a  man  to  have  his  head  uncovered 
was  once  the  commonly  received  sign  of 
his  authority,  and  as  such  was  enjoined :  but 
with  us  it  is  a  sign  of  subjection.  If,  there- 
fore we  are  obliged  to  wear  any  sign  of  the 
one  or  of  the  other  in  our  religious  assem- 
blies, it  requires  to  be  reversed. 

The  apostle  taught  that  it  was  a  shame 
for  a  man  to  %vear  long  hair  like  a  woman  ; 
not  that  he  would  have  concerned  himself 


about  the  length  of  the  hair,  but,  this  being 
a  distinctive  mark  of  the  sexes,  he  appealed 
to  nature  itself  against  their  being  confound- 
ed ;  that  is,  against  a  man's  appearing  in 
the  garb  of  a  woman. 

In  theprimitive  times,  Christians  had  their 
love  feasts :  they  do  not  appear,  however, 
to  have  been  a  divine  appointment,  but  the 
mere  spontaneous  expressions  of  nmtual  af- 
fection; as  when  "breaking  bread  from 
house  to  house  they  did  eat  their  meat 
with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart." 
While  these  feasts  were  conducted  with 
propriety  all  was  well ;  but  in  time  they 
were  abused,  and  then  they  were  mention- 
ed in  language  not  very  respectful,  "  These 
are  spots  in  i/onr  feasts  of  charity."  Had 
they  been  of'  divine  institution,  it  wos  not 
iheir  being  abused  tliat  would  have  drawn 
forth  such  language.  The  Lord's  supper 
was  abused  as  well  as  they  ;  but  the  abuse 
in  that  case  was  corrected,  and  the  ordi- 
nance itself  re-inculcated. 

These  brief  remarks  are  intended  to  prove 
that,  in  the  above  particulars,  Mr.  vSande- 
man  and  his  followers  have  mistaken  the 
true  intent  of  Christ  and  his  apostles.  But, 
whether  it  be  so  or  not,  the  proportion  of 
zeal  which  is  expended  upon  them  is  far 
beyond  what  their  importance  requires.  If, 
as  a  friend  to  believers'  baptism,  I  cherish 
an  overweening  conceit  of  myself,  and  of  my 
denomination,  confining  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  to  it,  and  shutting  my  eyes  against 
the  e.xcellences  of  others,  am  I  not  carnal  ? 
The  .lews,  in  the  time  of  Jeremiah,  tliought 
themselves  very  secure  on  account  of  their 
fcrms  and  privileges.  Pointing  to  the  sacred 
edifice,  and  its  divinely  instituted  worship, 
they  exclaimed,  "  The  temple  of  the  Lord, 
the  temple  of  the  Lord,  the  temple  of  the 
Lord  are  these :"  but  were  they  not  carnal  7 
In  how  many  ways,  alas,  are  poor  blind 
mortals  addicted  to  err  ! 

When  the  reflecting  Christian  considers 
what  contentions  have  been  maintained 
about  things  of  this  nature,  what  divisions 
have  been  produced,  and  what  accusations 
have  been  preferred  against  those  who 
stand  a  loof  from  such  strifes,  as  though 
they  did  not  so  much  as  profess  to  observe 
all  things  ichich  Christ  has  commanded,  he 
will  drop  a  tear  of  pity  over  human  weak- 
ness. But,  when  he  sees  men  so  scrupulous 
in  such  matters  that  the}^  cannot  conscien- 
tiously be  present  at  any  Avorship  but  their 
own,  yet  making  no  scruple  of  joining  in 
theatrical  and  other  vain  .amusements,  he 
will  be  shocked,  and  must  needs  suspect 
something  worse  than  weakness;  some- 
thing, which  strains  at  a  gnat,  but  can  swal- 
low a  camel ;  something,  in  t^hort,  which, 
however  good  men  may  hnve  been  carried 
away  by  it,  can  hardly  be  conceived  to 
have  had  its  origin  in  n  good  man's  mind. 


;28 


FULLER  ON  S  A  N  DEM  ANI ANI  SM. 


LETTER  X. 

An  inquiry  into  the  principles  on  which  the 
apostles  proceeded  informing  and  organi- 
zing Christian  churches. 

You  need  not  be  told  of  the  fierce  dis- 
putes which  were  first  agitated  by  the  lead- 
ers of  this  denomination,  and  which  have 
since  extended  to  others  besides  those  who 
choose  to  be  called  after  their  names,  con- 
cerninfT  the  order,  government,  and  disci- 
pline of  gospel  churches.  To  write  upon 
every  minute  practice  found  in  the  New 
Testament  would  be  to  bewilder  ourselves 
and  perplex  the  subject.  If  we  can  ascer- 
tain the  principles  on  which  the  apostles 
proceeded  in  all  they  did,  it  will  answer  a 
much  better  purpose. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  contend  for  an  Eras- 
tian  latitude  in  matters  of  Church  govern- 
ment and  discipUne,  or  to  imagine  that  no 
divine  directions  are  left  us  on  the  subject, 
but  that  the  church  must  be  modelled  and 
governed  according  to  circumstance.  This 
were  to  open  a  door  to  every  corruption 
that  human  ingenuity  and  depravity  might 
devise.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  no  less 
wide  of  the  truth  to  consider  the  whole 
which  is  left  us  as  a  system  of  ordinances, 
or  positive  institutions,  requiring  in  all  ca- 
ses the  most  literal  and  punctilious  obser- 
vance. Such  a  view  of  the  subject,  among 
other  evil  consequences,  must  introduce 
perpetual  discord ;  seeing  it  aims  to  estab- 
lish things  from  the  New  Testament  which 
are  not  in  it. 

It  may  be  thought  that  in  reasoning  thus 
I  adopt  the  principles  of  the  Episcopalians 
against  the  Puritans,  who  denied  the  neces- 
sity of  express  precept  or  precedent  Irom 
the  scriptures,  which  the  others  pleaded  for. 
Had  Episcopalians  only  denied  this  in  re- 
epect  of  moral  duties,  I  should  have  thought 
them  in  the  right.  It  certainly  is  not  neces- 
sary that  we  should  have  exf)ress  precept 
or  precedent  for  every  duty  we  owe  to  our 
neighbors,  but  merely  that  we  keep  within 
the  general  principle  of  doing  unto  others 
as  we  would  that  they  should  do  unto  us. 
And  the  same  may  be  said  of  various  du- 
ties toward  God.  If  in  our  thoughts,  affec- 
tions, prayers,  or  praises,  we  be  influenced 
by  love  to  his  name,  though  his  precepts 
will  be  our  guide  as  to  the  general  modes 
in  which  love  shall  be  expressed,  yet  we 
(shall  not  need  them  for  every  thing  pertain- 
ing to  particular  duties.  When  Josiah,  on 
hearing  the  book  of  the  law  read  to  him, 
"  rent  his  clothes  and  wept,"  it  was  not  in 
conformity  with  any  particular  precept  or 
precedent,  but  the  spontaneous  effusion  of 
love.  The  question  between  the  Episco- 
palians and  the  Puritans  did  not  relate  to 


moral  obligations,  but  to  "rites  and  cere- 
monies" in  divine  worship,  which  the  church 
claimed  a  "power  to  decree."  Hence  it 
was  common  for  them  to  urge  it  upon  the 
Puritans,  that  if  their  principles  were  fully 
acted  upon  they  must  become  Anlipsedo- 
baptists  ;  or,  as  they  called  them,  Anabap- 
tists :*  a  proof  this,  not  only  that  in  their 
judgment  there  was  neither  precept  nor  pre- 
cedent in  the  scriptures  in  favor  of  paedo- 
baptism,  but  that  it  was  in  matters  of  posi- 
tive institution  that  they  claimed  to  act 
without  either. 

The  question  is.  On  what  principles  did 
the  apostles  proceed  in  forming  and  organi- 
zing Christian  churches,  positive  or  moral? 
If  the  former,  they  must  have  been  furnish- 
ed with  an  exact  model  or  pattern,  like  that 
which  was  given  to  Moses  in  the  mount, 
and  have  done  all  things  according  to  it: 
but  if  the  latter,  they  would  only  be  furnish- 
ed with  general  principles,  comprehending, 
but  not  specifying  a  great  variety  of  particu- 
lars. 

That  the  framing  of  the  tabernacle  was 
positive  there  can  be  no  doubt;  and  that  a 
part  of  the  religion  of  the  New  Testament 
is  so  is  equally  evident.  Concerning  this  the 
injunctions  of  the  apostle  are  minute  and 
very  express.  "  Be  ye  followers  (imitators) 
of  me  as  I  also  am  of  Christ." — "  Now  I 
praise  you,  brethren,  that  ye  remember  me 
in  all  things,  and  keep  the  ordinances  as  I 
delivered  them  to  you." — "  For  I  have  re* 
ceived  of  the  Lord  that  which  also  I  deliv- 
ered unto  you."  But  were  we  to  attempt 
to  draw  up  a  formula  of  church  government, 
worship,  and  discipline,  which  should  in- 
clude any  thing  more  than  general  oiitlines, 
and  to  establish  it  upon  express  New  Tes- 
tament authorities,  we  should  attempt  what 
is  impracticable. 

Doubtless  the  apostles  acted  under  di- 
vine direction  ;  but,  in  things  of  a  moral  na- 
ture, that  direction  consisted  not  in  providing 
them  with  a  model  or  pattern,  in  the  man- 
ner of  that  given  to  Moses,  but  in  furnishing 
them  with  general  principles,  and  enduing 
them  with  holy  wisdom  to  apply  them  as 
occasions  required. 

We  learn,  from  the  Acts  and  the  Epis- 
tles, that  the  first  churches  were  congrega- 
tions of  faithful  men,  voluntarily  united  to- 
gether for  the  stated  ministration  of  the 
word,  the  administration  of  Christian  ordi- 
nances, and  the  mutually  assisting  of  each 
other  in  promoting  the  cause  of  Christ ; 
that  they  were  governed  by  bishops  and 
deacons  of  their  own  chosing;  that  a  bish- 
op was  an  overseer,  not  of  the  other  minis- 
ters, but  of  the  flock  of  God  ;  that  the  gov- 
ernment and  discipline  of  each  church  was 
within  itself;  that  the  gifts  of  the  ditTerent 

'  Preface  to  Bishop  Sanderson's  SeriiK^is,  Sect-  23. 


FULLER     ON     S  AN  D  E  i\I  AN  I  ANI  SM, 


329 


members  were  so  employed  as  to  conduce 
lo  the  weliare  of  the  body  ;  and  that  in  ca- 
ses ot"  disorder,  every  proper  means  was 
Used  to  vindicate  the  honor  of  Christ  and 
reclaim  the  party.  These,  and  others  which 
might  be  named,  are  what  I  mean  by  gener- 
al principles.  They  are  sometimes  illus- 
trated by  the  incidental  occurrence  of  ex- 
amples (whjch  examples  in  all  similar  cases 
are  binding  ;)  but  it  is  not  always  so.  That 
a  variety  of  cases  occur  in  our  time  re- 
specting which  we  have  nothing  more  than 
general  principles  to  direct  us,  is  manifest 
to  every  person  of  experience  and  reflec- 
tion. We  know  that  churches  were  form- 
ed, officers  chosen  and  ordained,  and  pray- 
er and  praise  conducted  with  "  the  under- 
standing," or  so  as  to  be  understood  by  oth- 
ers :  but  in  what  particular  manner  they 
proceeded  in  each  we  are  not  told.  We 
have  no  account  of  the  formation  of  a  sin- 
gle church,  no  ordination  service,  nor  any 
6uch  thing  as  a  formula  of  worship.  We 
are  taught  to  sing  praises  to  God  in  psalms, 
hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  but  have  no  in- 
spired tunes.  We  have  accounts  of  the 
election  of  church-officers :  bnt  no  mention 
of  the  mode  of  proceeding,  or  how  they  as- 
certained the  mind  of  the  church.  If  we 
look  for  express  precept  or  example  for  the 
removal  of  a  pastor  from  one  situation  to 
another,  we  shall  find  none.  We  are  taught 
■however,  that  for  the  church  to  grow  unto 
an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord,  it  requires  to 
be  "  fitly  fi-amed  together."  The  want  of 
fitness  in  a  connection,  therefore,  especially 
if  it  impede  the  growth  of  the  spiritual 
temple,  may  justify  a  removal.  Or,  if  there 
be  no  want  of  fitness,  yet,  if  the  material 
be  adapted  to  occupy  a  more  important  sta- 
tion, a  removal  of  it  may  be  very  proper. 
Such  a  principle  may  be  misapplied  to 
ambitious  and  interested  purposes ;  but,  if 
the  increase  of  the  temple  be  kept  in  view, 
it  is  lawful,  and  in  some  cases  attended  with 
great  and  good  effects. 

This  instance  may  suffice  instead  of  a  hun- 
dred, and  serves  to  show  that  the  forms  and 
orders  of  the  New  Testament  church,  much 
more  than  those  of  the  Old,  are  founded  on 
the  reason  of  things.  They  appear  to  be 
no  more  than  what  men,  posessed  of  the 
wisdom  from  above,  would,  as  it  were  in- 
stinctively, or  of  their  own  accord,  fall  into, 
even  though  no  specific  directions  should 
be  criven  them. 

That  such  were  the  pnnciples  on  which 
the  apostles  proceeded  is  manifest  from 
their  own  professions.,  or  from  the  general 
jyrecepts  which  they  addressed  to  the  chur- 
ches. These  are  a.s  follows  ;— "  Let  all 
things  be  done  to  edifying.''''  "  Let  all 
things  be  done  deccnlly,  and  in  order.''''— 
"Follow  after  the  things  that  make,  for 
peace,  and  tilings  wherewith  oncmay  edify 

Vol.  3. — Pr. 


another.''''  Wliatever  measures  had  a  ten- 
dency to  build  up  the  church  of  God  and 
individuals  in  their  most  holy  faith,  these 
they  pursued.  Whatever  measures  ap- 
proved themselves  to  minds  endued  with 
holy  wisdom  as  fit  and  lovely,  and  as  tend- 
ing, like  good  discipline  in  an  army,  to  the 
enlargement  of  Christ's  kingdom,  these 
they  followed,  and  inculcated  on  the  chur- 
ches. And  however  worldly  minds  may 
have  abused  the  principle,  by  introducing 
vain  customs  under  the  pretence  of  decency., 
it  is  that  wliich,  understood  in  its  simple  and 
original  sense,  must  still  be  the  test  of  good 
order  and  Christian  discipline. 

The  discipline  of  the  primitive  churches 
occupies  no  prominent  place  in  their  char- 
acter. It  is  not  that  ostentatious  thing 
which,  under  the  name  of  an  "  ordinance," 
has  become  of  late  a  mere  bone  of  conten- 
tion. It  was  simply  the  carrying  into  effect 
the  great  principle  of  brotherly  love,  and 
the  spirit  Avith  which  it  was  exercised  was 
that  of  long  suffering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
faithfulness,  and  meekness. 

The  way  in  which  the  apostles  actually 
proceeded,  in  the  forming  and  organizing  of 
churches,  corresponds  with  these  statements. 
When  a  number  of  Christians  were  assem- 
bled together  in  the  days  of  Pentecost  they 
were  the  first  Christian  church-  But  at  first 
they  had  no  deacons  and  probably  no  pas- 
tors except  the  apostles  :  and  if  the  reason  of 
things  had  not  required  it  they  might  have 
continued  to  have  none.  Bui  in  the  course 
of  things  new  service  rose  upon  their  hands, 
therefore  they  must  have  new  servants  to 
perform  it  ;*  for,  said  the  apostles,  "  It  is  not 
reaso7i  that  we  should  leave  the  word  of 
God,  and  serve  tables ;  Wherefore  breth- 
ren look  ye  out  among  you  seven  men  of 
honest  report,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
of  wisdom,  w'homwemay  appoint  over  this 
business."  In  this  proceeding  we  perceive 
nothing  of  the  air  of  a  ceremony,  nothing 
like  that  of  a  punctilious  attention  to  forms, 
which  marks  -obedience  to  a  positive  insti- 
tute ;  but  merely  the  conduct  of  men  endu- 
ed with  the  wisdom  from  above,  servants 
appointed  when  service  required  it,  and  the 
number  of  the  one  proportioned  to  the 
quantity  of  tlie  other.  All  things  are  done 
"  decently  and  in  order ;"  all  things  are 
done  "to  edifying." 

In  the  course  of  things,  the  apostles,  who 
had  supplied  the  place  of  bishops,  or  pas- 
tor.s,  would  be  called  to  travel  into  other 
parts  of  the  world,  and  then  it  is  likely  the 
church  at  Jerusalem  w-ould  have  a  bishop, 
or  bishops  of  their  own.  As  the  number 
of  deacons  was  regulated  by  the  work  to 
be  done,  so  would  it  be  by  bishops,  both  of 
this  and  in  other  churche.s.     A  large  church 


A  rkacon  as  well  as  a  minister,  ineaas  a  servant. 


330 


FULLER    ON    S A N D E M A N I A N  I  S  M 


where  much  service  was  to  be  done,  requi-i joined  them,  they  are  said  to  bo  "added  to 


red  seven  deacons :  and  where  tliey  abound 
ed  in  numbers  and  spiritual  gifts,  there 
might  be  a  plurality  of  pastors.     With  re- 


the  church." 

Again :  the  first  missionaries  to  a  heathen 
country  could  not  be  chosen  by  those  to 


spect  to  US)  Avhere  the  reason  of  the  thing  vvhom  they  were  .sent,  but  by  him  or  them 
exists,  that  is,  where  there  are  churches  vvho  sent  them;  nor  would  their  influence 
whose  numbers  require  it,  and  whose  abil-  be  confined  to  a  single  congregation,  but 


ity  admits  of  it,  it  is  still  proper  :*  but  for  a 
small  church  to  have  more  pastors  than 
one,  is  as  unnecessary  as  to  have  seven  dea- 
cons.    Such  a  rule  must  favor  idleness,  and 


by  a  kind  of  parental  authority,  would  ex- 
tend to  all  tJie  societies  that  might  be  rais- 
ed by  means  of  their  labors.  It  would  be 
different  with  succeeding  pastors  who  mijxlit 


confine    useful   ministers    from   extending  be   raised  up  from   among  the  converts: 


their  labors.     To  place  two  or  three  in  a 

f)ost  whicJi  might  be  filled  by  one,  must 
eave  many  other  places  unoccupied.  Such 
a  system  is  more  adapted  for  show  than  for 
promoting  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

It  may  serve  to  illustrate  and  simplify  the 
subject,  if  we  compare  the  conduct  of  the 
apostles  with  that  of  a  company  of  mission- 
aries in  our  times.  What,  indeed,  was  an 
apostle  but  an  inspired  missionary  ?  Al- 
lowing only  for  ordinary  Christian  mission- 
aries being  uninspired,  we  shall  see  in  their 
history  all  the  leading  characteristics  of 
apostolic  practice. 

Conceive  of  a  church,  or  of  a  society  of 
Christians  out  of  a  number  of  churches,  or 
of  "any  two  agreeing  together,"  asunder- 
taking  a  mission  among  the  heathen.  One 
of  the  first  things  they  would  attend  to 
would  be  the  selection  of  suitable  missiona- 
ries ;  next,  they  v.-ould  instruct  them  in  the 
things  necessary  to  their  undertaking ;  and 
after  this  send  them  forth  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel. Such,  exactly,  was  the  process  of  our 
Lord  toward  his  apostles.  He  first  selected 
them;  then,  during  his  personal  ministry, 
instructed  them  ;  and,  after  his  resurrection, 
gave  them  their  commission,  with  a  rich 
effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  fit  them  for 
their  undertaking. 

The  missionaries  on  arriving  at  the  place 
of  action  would  first  unite  in  social  prayer 
and  fellowship ;  and  this  would  be  the  first 
Christian  church.  Thus  the  apostles,  and 
those  who  adhered  to  them,  first  met  in  an 
upper  room  for  prayer,  preparatory  to  their 
attack  on  the  kingdom  of  Satan ;  and  this 
litde  "band  of  about  a  hundred  and  twen- 
ty" formed  the  first  Christian  church ;  and, 
when  others  were  converted  to  Christ  and 


*I  say  w/wse  ability  admits  of  it ;  for  there  is  equal 
proof  from  the  New  Testament  that  they  who  preach 
the  gospel  should  live  of  the  sospel,  as  there  is  of  a  plu- 
rality of  ehlers.  But  the  zeal  for  tho  latter  has  not  al- 
ways been  accompanied  by  a  zeal  for  the  former..  If 
the  term  elder  must  be  understood  to  be  not  only  a  term 
of  office,  but  of  the  pastoral  office  exclusivly,  and  a  plu- 
rality of  Ihem  bo  ref|uircd,  why  is  nota  pluraUly  of  them 
supported  7  The  office  of  elder  in  those  churches  which 
are  partial  to  this  system  is  little  more  than  nominal ;  for, 
v/hile  an  elder  is  emiiloyfd  like  other  uicn  in  the  neces- 
sary cares  of  life,  he  cannot  ordinarily  fulfil  the  duties 
of  his  office.  No  man  that  trtirrrth  in  thin  marfarr  (uii- 
less  it  be  in  aid  of  a  poor  church)  o>if;hl  to  enta'm^lr.  him- 
gel/  irith  the  afFuirs  of  this  li/i  :  tliol  hi  vurj  j/ca,-.  Iv.m 
•cAo  hn'h  chosen  him  to  bo  a  soldifr. 


they  would  of  course  be  chosen  by  their 
brethren,  and  their  authority  be  confined  to 
those  who  elected  them.  Thus  the  apos- 
tles were  not  constituted  such  by  the  church- 
es, but  received  their  appointment  immedi- 
ately from  Christ ;  nor  was  their  authority 
limited  to  any  particular  church,  but  ex- 
tended to  all.  In  this  they  stand  distin- 
guished from  ordinary  pastors,  vvho  were 
elected  by  the  churches,  and  whose  author- 
ity is  confined  to  the  churches  tliat  elected 
them. 

Again :  The  first  missionaries  to  a  hea- 
then country  would  be  employed  in  the 
planting  of  churches  wherever  proper  ma- 
terials were  found  for  the  purpose ;  and, 
if  the  work  so  increased  upon  their  hands 
as  to  be  too  much  for  them,  they  would  de- 
pute others  whom  God  should  gift  and 
qualify,  like-minded  with  themselves,  to  as- 
sist them  in  it.  Some  one  person  at  least 
of  this  description  would  be  present  at  the 
formation  and  organization  of  every  church, 
to  see  to  it  that  all  things  were  done  '■  de- 
cently and  in  order."  And,  if  there  were 
any  other  churches  in  the  neighborhood, 
their  elders  and  messengers  would  doubt- 
less be  present,  and,  to  express  their  broth- 
erly concurrence,  would  join  in  it.  Thus 
the  apostles  planted  churches;  and,  when 
elders  were  ordained,  the  people  chose 
them,  and  they,  by  the  solemn  laying  on  of 
hands,  invested  them  with  the  office  (Acts 
xiv.  23.)  and,  when  the  Avork  increased  up- 
on their  hands,  they  appointed  such  men  as 
Timothy  and  Titus  as  evangelists,  to  ''set 
things  in  order"  in  their  stead.  2  Tim.  ii. 
2 ;  Tit.  i.  5.  In  these  ordinations,  a  Paul 
or  a  Titus  would  preside;  but  the  other 
elders  who  were  present  would  unite  in 
brotherly  concurrence,  and  in  importuning 
a  blessing  on  the  parties :  and  hence  there 
would  be  the  "  laying  on  of  hands  of  the 
presbytery,"  or  elders. 

I  may  add,  though  it  does  not  immedi- 
ately respect  any  question  here  at  issue,  if 
the  first  mission-tries,  and  those  appointed 
by  them,  planted  churches,  set  them  in  or- 
der, and  presided  at  the  ordination  of  el- 
der.s,  it  was  not  because  the  same  things 
would  not  have  been  valid,  if  done  by  others, 
but  because  they  would  not  have  been 
done.     Let  but  churches  be  planted,  set  in 


FULLER     ON     S  A  N  DE  MA  N  I  A  N  I  S  M  . 


331 


order,  and  scripturally  organized,  and, 
whether  it  be  by  the  missionaries  or  suc- 
ceediui?  native  pastors,  all  is  good  and  ac- 
ceptable to  Chrii^t.  And  such,  I  conceive, 
is  the  state  of  things  with  respect  to  the 
apostles  and  succeeding  ministers.  The 
same  things  which  were  done  by  the  apos- 
tles were  done  by  other.s  appointed  by 
them ;  and  had  they  been  done  by  elders 
whom  they  had  not  appointed,  provided  the 
will  oi"  Christ  had  been  properly  regarded, 
they  would  not  have  objected  to  their  va- 
lidity. This  is  certainly  true  in  some  par- 
ticulars, and  I  see  not  why  it  should  not  be 
in  all.  Paul  left  Timothy  at  Ephesus  that 
he  might  charge  some  that  they  taught  no 
other  doctrine :  but,  if  the  Ephesian  teach- 
ers had  been  themselves  attached  to  the 
truth,  neither  Paul  nor  Timothy  would  have 
been  offended  with  them  for  having  super- 
seded their  interference.  He  also  left  Ti- 
tus in  Crete  to  set  in  order  the  things  that 
were  wanting.,  and  to  ordain  elders  in  every 
city:  but,  if  the  Cretians  themselves  had 
had  suificient  wisdom  and  virtue  to  have 
regulated  their  own  affairs  by  the  word  of 
God,  I  believe  their  order  would  not  have 
been  reckoned  disorder.  Had  there  been 
elders  already  ordained  among  them  com- 
petent to  assist  in  the  ordination  of  others, 
if  we  may  judge  from  the  general  tenor  of 
apostolic  practice,  instead  of  objecting  to 
the  validity  of  their  proceedings,  both  Paul 
and  Titus  would,  though  absent  in  the  flesh, 
have  been  with  them  in  the  spirit,  '-joying 
and  beholding  their  order,  and  the  stead- 
fastness of  their  faith  in  Christ." 

The  sum  is,  that  church  government  and 
discipline  are  not  a  body  of  ceremonies, 
but  a  few  general  principles  and  examples, 
sufficient  for  all  practical  purposes,  but  not 
sufficient  to  satisfy  those  who,  in  New  Tes- 
tament directions,  expect  to  find  an  Old 
Testament  ritual.  It  is  not  difficult  to  per- 
ceive the  wisdom  of  God  in  thus  varying 
the  two  dispensations.  The  Jewish  church 
was  an  army  of  soldiers,  who  had  to  go 
through  a  variety  of  forms  in  learning  their 
discipline :  the  Christian  church  is  an  army 
going  forth  to  battle.  The  members  of  the 
former  were  taught  punctilious  obedience, 
and  led  with  great  formality  through  a  va- 
riety of  religious  evolutions:  but  those  of 
the  latter  (though  they  also  must  keep  their 
ranks,  and  act  in  obedience  to  command 
whenever  it  is  given)  are  required  to  attend, 
not  so  much  to  the  mechanical  as  to  the 
mental,  not  so  much  to  the  minute  observa- 
tion of  forms  as  to  the  spirit  and  design  of 
Ihem.  The  order  of  the  one  would  almost 
seem  to  be  appointed  for  order's  sake :  but 
in  ihat  of  the  other  the  utility  of  every 
thing  is  apparent.  The  obedience  of  the 
former  was  tl.at  of  children ;  the  latter  of 
sons  arrived  at  muturer  a<Te. 


As  our  Saviour  abolished  the  Jewish  law 
of  divorce,  and  reduced  marriage  to  its  ori- 
ginal simplicity;  so,  having  abolished  the 
form  and  order  of  the  church  as  appointed 
by  Moses,  he  reduced  it  to  what,  as  to  its 
first  principles,  il  was  from  the  beginning, 
and  to  what  must  have  corrcsj)onded  with 
(he  desires  of  believers  in  every  age.  It 
was  natural  for  "  the  sons  of  God,"  in  the 
days  of  Seth,  to  assemble  together,  and 
"  call  upon  the  name  of  tlie  Lord  ;"  and 
their  unnatural  fellowship  with  unbelievers 
brought  on  the  deluge.  And,  even  under 
the  Jewish  dispensation,  wicked  men,  though 
descended  from  Abraham,  were  not  consid- 
ered as  Israelites  indeed,  or  ti-v.e  citizens  of 
Zion.  The  friends  of  God  were  then  the 
"  companions  of  those  that  feared  him." 
They  '•  spake  often  one  to  another,"  and  as- 
sembled for  mutual  edification.  What  then 
is  gospel  church-fellowship  but  godliness 
ramified,  or  the  principle  of  holy  love  redu- 
ced to  action  ?  There  is  scarcely  a  precept 
on  the  subject  of  church  discipline  but  what 
may,  in  substance,  be  found  in  the  proverbs 
of  Solomon. 

It  does  not  follow  hence  that  all  forms  of 
worship  and  of  church  government  are  in- 
difl'erent,  and  left  to  be  accommodated  to 
times,  places,  and  circumstances.  The 
principles  or  general  outlines  of  things  are 
marked  out,  and  we  are  not  at  liberty  to 
deviate  from  them ;  nor  are  they  to  be  fill- 
ed upby  worldly  policy,  but  by  a  pure  desire 
of  carrying  them  into  effect  according  to 
their  true  intent:  to  which  may  be  added, 
that,  so  far  as  they  are  exemplified  in  the 
New  Testament,  it  is  our  duty  in  similar 
cases  to  follow  the  example. 

It  does  follow,  however,  that  scripture 
precedent,  important  as  it  is,  is  not  binding 
on  Christians  in  things  of  a  moral  nature, 
unless  the  reason  of  the  thing  be  the  same 
in  both  cases.  Of  this  proof  has  been  of- 
fered in  Letter  IX.,  relative  to  the  washing 
of  the  feet,  tlie  kiss  of  charity,  &c.  It  also 
follows  that,  in  attending  to  positive  institu- 
tions neither  express  precept  nor  precedent 
is  necessary,  in  what  respects  the  holy  man- 
ner of  performing  them,  nor  binding  in  re- 
gard of  merely  accidental  circumstances, 
which  do  not  properly  belong  to  them.  It 
required  neither  express  precept  nor  prece- 
dent to  make  it  the  duty  of  the  Corinthians, 
when  meeting  to  celebrate  the  Lord's  sup- 
per, to  do  it  soberly  and  in  the  fear  of  God, 
nor  to  render  the  contrary  a  sin.  There 
are  also  circumstances  which  may,  on  some 
occasions,  accompany  a  positive  institution, 
and  not  on  others,  which  being,  therefore, 
no  part  of  it,  are  not  binding.  It  is  a  fact 
that  the  Lord's  supper  was  first  celebrated 
with  unleavened  bread  ;  for  no  leaven  was 
to  be  found  at  the  time  in  all  the  Jewisli 
habitations;  but  no  mention  being  made  of 


332 


FULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


this,  either  in  the  institution  or  in  the  repe-]be  express  precept  or  precedent  lor  it,  or 
fition  of  it  by  tiie  apostle,  we  conchide  itinot,  is  of  no  consequcnee ;  for  the  distinc- 
was  a.  mere  accidental  circumstance,  no  jtion  of  sex  is  a  mere  circumstance  in  nowise 
more  belonging  to  the  ordinance  than  its  affecting  the  qualifications  required,  and 
having  been  in  "  a  large  upper  room."  It  therefore  not  belonging  to  :he  institution, 
is  a  fact,  too,  that  our  Lord  and  his  disciples  jit  is  of  just  as  mucli  account  as  whether  a 
sat  in  a  reclining  posture  at  the  supper,  af-  beUever  be  a  Jew  or  a  Greek,  a  slave  or  a 
ter  the  manner  of  sitting  at  their  ordinary '  free  man :  that  is,  it  is  o^'no  account  at  all ; 
meals  ;  yet  none  imagine  this  to  be  binding!  "for  there  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  bond 
upon  us.  It  is  also  a  fact,  with  regard  tojnor  free,  male  nor  female;  but  all  are 
the  time,  that  our  Saviour  first  sat  down  lone  in  Christ  Jesus."  Express  precept  or 
with  his  disciples  on  the  evening  of  the  fifth  [precedent  might  as  well  be  demanded  for 
(lay  of  the  week,  the  night  in  which  he  was!  the  parties  being  tall  or  low,  black  or  white, 
betrayed  ;  but  though  that  was  a  memora-, sickly  or  healthy,  as  for  their  being  male  or 
ble  night,  and  is  mentioned  by  the  apostle  female. 


in  connection  with  the  supper,  yet  no  one 
supposes  it  to  be  binding  upon  us  ;  especial- 
ly as  we  know  it  was  afterwards  celebrated 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week  by  the  church 
at  Troas, 

Much  has  been  advanced,  however,  in 
favor  of  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  exclu- 
sively the  time  for  the  celebration  of  ihe 
Lord's  supper,  and  of  its  being  still  binding 
on  Christians.  A  weekly  communion  might, 
for  any  thing  we  know,  be  the  general  prac- 
tice of  the  first  churches ;    and  certainly 


To  accommodate  the  spirit  of  New  Tes- 
tament practice  to  the  fluctuating  manners 
and  inclinations  of  men  is  certainly  what 
ought  not  to  be :  but  neither  can  it  be  de- 
nied that  many  of  the  apostolic  practices 
were  suited  to  the  state  of  things  at  the 
time,  and  would  not  have  been  what  they 
were  if  circumstances  had  been  different. 
To  instance  in  their  proceedings  on  the 
sevejiih  and  first  days  of  the  v/eek :  It  ia 
well  known  that,  in  preaching  to  the  Jews, 
and  others  who  attended  with  them,  they 


there  can  be  no  objection  to  the  thing  itself;  |  generally  took  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  :* 
but  to  render  it  a  term  of  communion  is  lay- j  the  reason  of  which  doubtless  was  its  being 
ing  bonds  in  things  wherein  Christ  has  laid  I  the  day  in  which  they  were  to  be  met  with 
none.  That  the  supper  was  celebrated  on  |  at  tlieir  synagogues.  Hence  it  is  that  on 
the  first  day  of  the  week  by  the  church  atlthe^Jr.?;  day  of  the  week  so  little  is  said  of 
Troas  is  certain;  that  it  was  so  every  first^  their  preaching  to  unbelievers,  and  so  much 
day  of  the  week  is  possible,  perhaps  proba-iof  the  celebration  of  Christian  ordinances, 
ble;  but  the  passage  does  not  prove  that  it| which  is  represented  as  the  specific  object 
was  so ;  and  still  less,  as  Mr.  Braidwood  of  tlieir  coming  together.f  But  the  same 
affirms,  that  "it  can  only  be  dispensed  on  motive  that  induced  the  apostles  to  preach 
that  day." — Letters,  p.  44.     The  words  of  to  unbelievers  chiefly  on  the  seventh  day  of 


the  institution  are,  "  As  often  as  ye  eat," 
&c.,  without  determining  how  often.  Those 
who  would  make  these  terms  so  indetermi- 
nate as  not  to  denote  frequency,  and  conse 


not  sufficiently  consider  their  force.  The 
term  "  often,"  we  all  know,  denotes  frequen- 
cy ;  and  "  as  often"  denotes  the  degree  of 
of  that  frequency  ;  but  every  comparative 
supposes  the  positive.  There  can  be  no  de- 
gree of  frequency  where  frequency  itself  is 
not.  It  might  as  well  be  said  that  the 
words,  How  much  she  hath  glorified  herself, 
so  much  torment  give  her,  convey  no  idea 
of  Babylon  having  glorified  herself  more 
than  others,  but  merely  of  her  pimishment 
being  proportioned  to  her  pride,  be  it  much 
or  little. 

The  truth  appears  to  be  that  the  Lord's 
«upper  ought  to  be  frequently  celebrated; 
but  the  exact  time  of  it  is  a  circumstance 
which  does  not  belong  to  the  ordinance  it- 
self. 

Similar  remarks  might  be  made  on  fe- 
viale  commimion,  a  subject  on  which  a 
^'rcat  deal  has  been  written  of  late  years  in 
ihe  baptismal  controversy.     Whether  there 


the  week  would,  in  our  circumstances,  have 
induced  them  to  preach  to  them  on  the  first, 
that  being  now  the  day  on  which  they  or- 
dinarily assemble   together.      In  countries 


quently  to  be  no  rule  at  all  as  to  time,  do  where  Christianity  has  so  far  obtained  as 


for  the  legislature  to  respect  the  first  day  of 
the  week  as  a  day  of  rest,  instead  of  having' 
now  and  then  an  individual  come  into  our 
assemblies,  as  the  primitive  churches  had, 
and  as  churches  raised  in  heathen  coun- 
tries must  still  have,  we  have  multitudes 
who  on  that  day  are  willing  to  hear  the 
word.  In  such  circumstances  the  apostles 
would  have  preached  both  to  believers  and 
unbelievers,  and  administered  Christian  or- 
dinances, all  on  the  same  day.  To  frame 
our  worship  in  things  of  this  nature  after 
apostolic  example,  without  considering  the 
reasons  of  their  conduct,  is  to  stumble  in 
darkness,  instead  of  walking  as  children  of 
the  light.  Yet  this  is  the  kind  of  apostolic 
practice  by  which  the  churches  have  been 
teazed  and  divided,  the  great  work  of 
preaching  the  gospel  to  the  ungodly  neglect- 


Acts  xiii.  42,-  xviii.  4;  xvi.  i;; 
1  Cor.  .vi.  CO.     Acts  XX.  7. 


FULLER     OX     S  A  N  D  E  ]M  A  N  I  A  N  I  3  M . 


333 


ed,  and  Christianity  reduced  to  litigious  tri- 
fling. 

If  the  practice  of  Christ  and  his  apostles 
be  in  all  cases  binding  upon  Christians, 
whether  the  reason  of  tlie  thing  be  the  same 
or  not,  why  do  they  not  eat  the  Lord's  sup- 
per with  unleavened  bread,  and  in  a  recli- 
ning posture  ?  And  why  do  they  not  as- 
semble together  merehj  to  celebrate  this  or- 
dinance, and  that  on  a  Lord's-day  evening  ? 
From  the  accounts  in  1  Cor.  xi.  20,  and 
Acts  XX.  7,  two  things  appear  to  be  evident : 
First :  That  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
supper  was  the  specific  object  of  the  coming 
together  both  of  the  church  at  Corinth  and 
of  that  at  Troas  :  ihe  former  came  together 
(professedly)  to  eat  ihe  Lord's  supper;  the 
latter  are  said  to  have  come  together  to 
break  bread.  Secondly:  That  it  was  on 
the  evening  of  the  day.  This  is  manifest 
not  only  from  its  being  called  the  Lord's 
supper  but  from  the  Corinthians  making  it 
their  own  supper,  and  from  its  being  follow- 
ed at  Troas  by  a  sermon  from  Paul  which 
required  "  hghts,"  and  continued  till  "  mid- 
night." 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  church  at 
either  Corinth  or  Troas  had  no  other  wor- 
ship during  the  first  day  of  the  week  than 
this ;  but  that  this  was  attended  to  as  a  dis- 
tinct object  of  assembling,  and,  if  there  were 
any  other,  after  the  other  was  over. 

it  may  be  thought  that  these  were  mere- 
ly accidental  circumstances,  and  therefore 
not  binding  on  us.  It  does  not  appear  to 
me,  however,  that  we  are  at  liberty  to  turn 
the  Lord's  supper  into  a  breakfast.  But  if 
we  be,  and  choose  to  do  so,  let  us  not  pre- 
tend to  a  punctilious  imitation  of  the  first 
churches. 

It  is  well  known  to  be  a  peculiarity  in 
Sandemanian  societies  not  1o  determine  any 
question  by  a  majority.  They,  like  the  first 
churches,  must  be  of  one  mind.;  and,  if 
there  be  any  dissentients  who  cannot  be 
convinced,  they  are  excluded.  Perfect 
imanimity  is  certainly  desirable,  not  only  in 
the  great  principles  of  the  gospel,  but  in 
questions  of  discipline,  and  even  in  the 
choice  of  officers  :  but  how  if  this  be  unat- 
tainable ?  The  question  is,  whether  it  be 
more  consistent  with  the  spirit  and  practice 
of  the  New  Testament  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  church  to  forbear  v/ith  the  less,  or, 
Diotrephcs-like,  to  cast  them  out  of  the 
church  ;  and  this  for  having  according  to 
the  best  of  their  judgments  acted  up  to  the 
scriptural  directions?  One  of  these  modes 
of  proceeding  must  of  necessity  be  pursued, 
for  there  is  no  middle  course ;  and  if  we 
loved  one  another  with  genuine  Christian 
affection  we  could  not  be  at  a  loss  which  to 
preler.  The  New  Testament  speaks  of  an 
election  of  seven  deacons,  but  says  nothing 
on  the  mode  of  its  being  conducted.    Now, 


considering  the  number  of  members  in  the 
church  at  Jerusalem,  unless  they  were  di- 
rected in  their  choice  by  inspiration  which 
there  is  no  reason  to  think  they  were,  it  is 
more  than  a  thousand  to  one  that  those 
seven  persons  who  were  chosen  were  not 
the  persons  whom  every  individual  member 
first  proposed.  What  then  can  we  suppose 
them  to  have  done  ?  They  might  discuss 
the  subject  till  they  became  of  one  mind  : 
or,  which  is  much  more  likely,  the  less  num- 
ber, perceiving  the  general  wish  and  con- 
sidering that  their  brethren  had  under- 
standing as  well  as  they,  might  peaceably 
give  up  their  own  opinions  to  the  greater, 
"submitting  one  to  another  in  the  fear  of 
God."  But  supposing  a  hundred  of  the 
members  had  said  as  follows  :  "  Without  re- 
flecting on  any  who  have  been  named,  we 
think  two  or  three  other  brethren  more  an- 
swerable to  the  qualifications  required  by 
the  apostles  than  some  of  them ;  but,  having 
said  this,  we  are  willing  to  acquiesce  in  the 
general  voice" — should  they  or  would  they 
have  been  excluded  for  this?  Assuredly 
the  exclusions  of  the  New  Testament  were 
for  very  different  causes  ! 

The  statements  of  the  society  in  St.  Mar- 
tin's-le-grand  on  this  subject  are  sophistical, 
self-contradictory,  and  blasphemous.  "  No- 
thing," say  they,  "  is  decided  by  the  vote  of 
the  majority.''''  In  some  cases  indeed  there 
are  dissenting  voices.  The  reasons  of  the 
dissent  are  thereupon  proposed  and  consid- 
ered. If  they  are  scriptural,  the  whole 
church  has  cause  to  change  its  opinion  ;  if 
not,  and  the  person  persists  in  his  opposition 
to  the  word  of  God  the  church  is  bound  to 
reject  him."  But  who  is  to  judge  whether 
the  reasons  of  the  dissentients  be  scriptural 
or  not?  The  majority  no  doubt,  and  an 
opposition  to  their  opinion  is  an  opposition 
to  the  U'ord  of  God  ! 

Humility  and  love  will  do  great  things 
toward  unanimity ;  but  this  forced  unanimity 
is  the  highest  refinement  of  spiritual  tyran- 
ny. It  is  a  being  compelled  to  believe  as 
the  church  believes,  and  that  not  only  on 
subjects  clearly  revealed  and  of  great  im- 
portance, but  in  matters  of  mere  opinion,  in 
which  the  most  upright  minds  may  differ, 
and  to  \Vhich  no  standard  can  apply.  What 
can  he  who  exalteth  himself  above  all  that 
is  called  God  do  more  than  set  up  his  decis- 
ions as  the  \cord  of  God,  and  require  men 
on  pain  of  excommunication  to  receive 
them  ? 


LETTER    XI. 

On  the  Kingdom  of  Christ. 

You   are    aware   that   (he  admirers  of 
Messrs.   Glas.s   a>id    ?andcman   generally 


3n4 


FULLER     ON     S A N D E M A N I A N  I  S  M  . 


vfiliK^  tlicrnsolves  on  their  '•  clear  views  oflbnt  whi(;h  is  earthly,  seritiuni.  and  devihsh, 
liie  gospel,  and  of  the  nature  of  Clirist's  they  are  concerned  to  hiy  asiile  every  thing 
kiiiirdom:"  and  I  doubt  not  but  theyhavelof  the  kind,  and  to  cherish  the  spirit  of  a 


written  things  concerning  both  which  de 
serve  attention.  It  appears  to  me,  however, 
that  they  have  done  much  more  in  detecting 
error  than  in  advancing  truth ;  and  that 
their  writings  on  the  kingdom  of  Christ  re- 
late more  to  what  it  is  not,  than  to  what  it  is. 
Taking  up  the  sentence  of  our  Lord,  "My 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,"  they  have 
said  much,  and  much  to  purpose,  against 
worldly  establishments  of  religion,  with 
their  unscriptural  appendages ;  but,  after 
all,  have  they  shown  what  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  ?'s;  and  does  their  religion,  taken  as 
a  whole,  exemplify  it  in  its  genuine  simpli- 
city ?  If  writing  and  talking  about  "  simple 
truth,"  would  do  it,  they  could  not  be  want- 
ing ;  but  it  will  not.  Is  there  not  as  much 
of  a  worldly  spirit  in  their  religion  as  in  that 
which  they  explode,  only  that  it  is  of  a  dif 
ferent  species  ?  Nay,  is  there  not  a  greater 
defect  among  them  in  what  relates  to  right- 
eousness, peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Spirit," 
than  will  often  be  found  in  what  they  de- 
nominate Babylon  itself? 

A  clear  view  of  the  nature  of  Christ's 
kingdom  would  hardly  be  supposed  to  over- 
look the  apostle's  account  of  it.  "  The 
kingdom  of  God,"  he  saj^s,  "  is  not  meat  and 
drink,  but  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in 
the  Holy  Spirit."  From  this  statement  we 
should  expect  to  find  the  essence  of  it  placed 
in  things  moral,  rather  than  in  things  cere- 
monial; in  things  clearly  revealed,  rather 
than  in  matters  of  doubtful  disputation  ;  and 
in  things  of  prime  importance,  rather  than 
in  those  of  but  comparatively  small  account. 
We  certainly  should  not  expect  to  see  the 
old  error  of  the  Pharisees  revived,  that  of 
tithing  mint  and  rue  to  the  neglect  of  judg- 
ment, mercy,  and  the  love  of  God. 

We  should  also  expect  the  most  eminent 
mibjects  of  this  kingdom  would  be  men  who, 
while  they  conscientiously  attend  to  the 
positive  institutions  of  Christ,  abhor  the 
thought  of  making  them  a  substitute  for  so- 
briety, righteousness,  and  godliness :  men 
who  need  not  a  special  precept  for  every 
duty;  but,  drinking  deeply  into  the  law  of 
love,  are  ready,  like  the  father  of  the  faith 
ful,  to  obey  all  its  dictates. 

And,  as  the  kingdom  of  God  consists  in 
peace,  we  should  expect  its  most  eminent 
subjects  to  be  distinguished  by  that  dove- 
like spirit  which  seeks  the  things  which 
make  for  peace.  They  may  indeed  be  calir 
ed  upon  to  contend  for  the  faith,  and  that 
earnestly  ;  but  contention  will  not  be  their 
element,  nor  will  their  time  be  chiefly  occu- 
pied in  conversing  on  the  errors,  absurdities, 
.and  faults  of  others.  Considering  bitter 
zeal  and  stTifc  in.  the  heart  as  belonging  to 
the  wi.^Joni  Uiat  doscendeth  not  from  above. 


new-born  babt 

Finally  :  The  joys  which  they  possess,  in 
having  heard  and  believed  the  good  news 
of  salvation,  may  be  expected  to  render 
them  dead  to  those  of  the  world ;  so  much 
so,  at  least,  that  they  will  have  no  need  to 
repair  to  the  diversions  of  the  theatre,  or 
other  carnal  pastimes,  in  order  to  be  happy  ; 
nor  will  they  dream  of  such  methods  of  as- 
serting their  Christian  liberty,  and  opposing 
Pharisaism. 

Whether  these  marks  of  Christ's  Bubjects 
be  eminently  conspicuous,  among  the  peo- 
ple alluded  to,  those  who  are  best  acquaint- 
ed with  them  are  able  to  determine ;  but,  so 
far  as  appears  from  their  writings,  whatever 
excellences  distinguish  them,  they  do  not 
consist  in  things  of  this  nature. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  apostle,  after  rep- 
resenting the  kingdom  of  God  as  being 
"  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness, 
peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Spirit,"  adds, 
for  he  that  in  these  things  serveth  Christ 
is  acceptable  to  God  and  approved  of  men. 
Let  us  therefore  follow  after  the  things 
which  make  for  peace,  and  things  where- 
with one  may  edify  another."  This  not 
only  shows  what  the  prominent  features  of 
Christ's  kingdom  are,  but  affords  a  striking 
contrast  to  the  kingdom  contended  for  by 
Sandemanians,  which,  instead  of  recom- 
mending itself  to  both  God  and  man,  would 
seem  rather  to  have  been  copied  from  the 
religion  of  that  people  who  "  pleased  not 
God,  and  were  contrary  to  all  men." 

The  substitution  of  Ibrmsand  ceremonies 
lor  the  love  of  God  and  man  is  one  of  the 
many  ways  in  which  depravity  has  been 
wont  to  operate.  What  else  is  Paganism, 
apostate  .Tudaism,  Popery  and  many  odier 
things  which  pass  for  religion  ?  And  wheth- 
er the  same  principle  does  not  pervade  the 
system  in  question,  and  even  con&titute  one 
of  its  leading  features,  let  the  impartial  ob- 
server judge.  If  it  does  not  place  the  king- 
dom of  God  in  meat  and  drink,  it  places  it 
in  things  analogous  to  tliem,  rather  than  in 
righteousness,  peace,  and  joy,  in  the  Holy 
Spirit 

It  is  true  tlie  forms  contended  for  in  this 
case  are  not  the  same  as  in  many  others, 
being  such  only  as  are  thought  to  be  enjoin- 
ed in  the  scriptures.  That  many  of  them 
arise  from  a  misunderstanding  of  the  scrip- 
tures, I  have  endeavored  to  show  in  a  for- 
mer letter ;  but,  whether  it  be  so  or  not,  if 
an  improper  stress  be  laid  upon  them  they 
may  be  as  injurious  as  though  they  were 
not  scriptural.  When  the  brazen  serpent 
became  an  idol  it  was  as  pernicious  as  other 
idols.  The  tithing  of  lierb.s,  though  in  it- 
self right,  yet,  being  done  to  tlie  neglect  of 


FULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


335 


"  weightier  matters,'"'  became  the  very  char- 
acteristic of  hypocrisy. 

It  has  been  said  that  obedience  to  the 
least  of  God's  commands  cannot  be  un- 
friendly to  obedience  to  the  greatest ;  and 
if  it  be  genuine  it  cannot ;  but  to  deny  the 
possibility  of  the  great  things  of  God's  law 
neing  set  aside  by  a  fondness  Ibr  little  things, 
is  to  deny  the  fact  just  referred  to,  and  dis- 
covers but  a  slender  acquaintance  with  the 
human  heart,  which  certainly  can  burn  in 
zeal  for  a  ceremony,  when,  as  to  the  love 
of  God  and  man,  it  is  as  cold  as  death. 

If  the  nature  of  Christ's  kingdom  were 
placed  in  those  things  in  which  the  apostle 
places  it,  the  government  and  discipline  of 
the  church  would  be  considered  as  means 
and  not  as  enck.  The  design  of  order  and 
discipline  in  an  army  is  to  enable  it  to  en- 
counter the  enemy  to  advantage  ;  and  such 
was  the  order  and  discipline  of  the  primitive 
churches.  It  was  still,  peaceable  and  af- 
fectionate, without  parade  and  without  dis- 
putes. It  consisted  in  all  things  being  done 
to  edifying,  and  in  such  an  arrangement  of 
energies  as  that  every  gift  should  be  em- 
ployed to  the  best  advantage  in  building  up 
the  church  and  attacking  the  kingdom  of 
Satan.  But  is  this  the  order  and  discipline 
of  which  so  much  has  of  late  been  written? 
Surely  not !  From  the  days  of  Glass  and 
Sandeman  until  now,  it  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  their  object  to  convert  men  to 
Christ  from  among  the  ungodly,  but  to 
make  proselytes  of  other  Christians.  And 
is  this  to  undersland  the  true  nature  of 
Christ's  kingdom?  If  there  were  not  an- 
other fact,  this  alone  is  sufficient  to  prove 
that  their  religion,  though  it  may  contain  a 

fiortion  of  truth,  and  though  godly  men  may 
lave  been  mislead  by  it,  yet  taken  as  a 
whole,  is  not  of  God.  There  is  not  a  surer 
mark  of  false  religion  than  its  tendency  and 
aim  being  to  make  proselytes  to  ourselves 
rather  than  converts  to  Christ.  Acts  xx. 
30. 

That  there  is  neither  tendency  in  the  sys- 
tem nor  aim  in  those  who  enter  fully  into  it 
to  promote  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  is  mani- 
fest, and  easily  accounted  for.  They  nei- 
ther expect,  nor,  as  it  would  seem,  desire 
its  progress,  but  even  look  with  a  jealous 
eye  on  all  opinions  and  efforts  in  favor  of  its 
enlargement ;  as  though,  should  it  be  great- 
ly extended,  it  must  needs  be  a  kingdom  of 
this  world !  This,  I  am  aware,  is  a  serious 
charge,  but  it  does  not  originate  with  me. 
Mr.  Braidwood.  of  Edinburgh,  who  must  be 
allowed  to  have  tiie  best  opportunities  of 
knowing  the  system  and  its  adherents,  and 
who  cannot  be  supposed  to  write  under  the 
influence  of  prejudice,  seeing  he  acknowl- 
edges he  has  "learned  many  things  from 
the  ancient  writings  of  this  class  of  profess- 
ing Chri.'^iiai:,'  in  relation  (o  Ihc  simple  doc- 


trine of  the  gospel  and  the  nature  of  Christ's 
kingdom  ;"  Mr.  Braidwood,  I  say,  writes  as 
follows  :  "  I  feel  it  incumbent  on  me  to  warn 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  against  tliat  state  of 
mind  which  makes  them  slow  to  believe  the 
prophecies  relating  to  the  extent  of  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom."  "  1 1  is  remarkable  that 
some  Gentile  Christians  now  show  a  dispo- 
sition toward  the  Jews,  similar  to  that  which, 
in  the  apostolic  age,  the  Jews  manitlsted 
toward  the  Gentiles,  namely  a  dii^like  to 
their  salvation !  It  is  truly  mortifying  to 
reflect  that  the  greater  number  of  those  who 
indulge  this  state  of  mind  are  persons  much 
instructed  in  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel 
and  of  the  things  concerning  the  kingdom 
of  God.  They  call  it  a  Jewish  notion  to 
expect  an  extensive  influence  of  the  word 
of  God  among  all  nations.  The  very  oppo- 
site is  the  fact ;  for  the  apostle  Paul,  describ- 
ing his  countrymen,  says,  'They please  not 
God,  and  are  contrary  to  all  men,  forbid- 
ding us  to  speak  unto  the  Gentiles  that  they 
might  be  saved.'  And  even  believing  Jews 
were  not  very  willing  to  acknowledge  the 
first  Gentile  converts,  and  were  surprised 
when  they  heard  that  God  had  also  granted 
to  the  Gentiles  repentance  unto  life.  But 
the  apostle  thus  describes  the  spirit  by 
which  he  regulated  his  own  conduct :  '  I 
please  all  men  in  all  things,  not  seeking 
mine  own  profit,  but  the  profit  of  many,  that 
they  may  be  saved  !' 

"  The  freeness,  of  divine  grace,  its  sove- 
reignty, its  opposition  to  the  most  darling 
inchnations  of  the  human  heart,  the  spiritual 
and  heavenly  nature  of  Christ's  kingdoiu — 
all  these  have  been  used  as  arguments 
against  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  or  any 
signal  prosperity  of  the  gospel  among  the 
Gentiles !  And  they  whose  hearts'  desire 
and  prayer  to  God  for  Israel,  and  for  the 
nations,  is  that  they  may  be  saved,  are  ac- 
cused of  ignorance  of  the  gospel,  and  of 
wishing  to  see  a  corrupt  faith  prevail,  es- 
pecially if  they  dare  to  express  a  hope  that 
their  prayers  will  be  answered  !" 

It  would  seem,  hence,  to  be  the  interest 
of  this  class  of  professing  Christians  that 
the  world  and  the  church  should  continue 
what  they  are.  They  glory  in  the  latter 
being  few  in  number:  if,  therefore,  any 
considerable  part  of  mankind  were  to  em- 
brace even  what  they  account  the  truth,  they 
would  have  nothing  left  in  comparison 
whereof  to  glory  I 

Mr.  Braidwood  addresses  the  party  on 
whom  he  animadverts  as  follows:  "'Will 
the  purest  and  simplest  views  that  can  be 
entertained  of  the  truth  concerning  Jesus 
have  any  tendency  to  make  us  less  concern- 
ed about  the  salvation  of  men,  and  more 
anxious  to  darken  the  things  revealed  in 
the  scriptures  concerning  the  success  of  the 
gospel  among  all  nations  ?     IN'o,  my  friend, 


33G 


FULLER     ON     S  A  N  D  EM  AN  I  AN  I  S  M. 


1-et  us  beware  of  imputing  to  tlic  gospel  a 
state  of  mind  which  so  ill  accords  witli  its 
genuine  influence,  and  which  can  arise  only 
from  prejudice  and  from  mistakeii  vieivs  of 
the  Messiah''s  kingdom.  That  glorious 
kingdom,  instead  of  dying  away,  as  some 
have  supposed,  like  an  expiring  lamp,  be- 
fore the  advent  of  its  eternal  king,  shall 
break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  opposing 
kingdoms,  and  shall  stand  forever,  although 
its  own  subjects,  acting  consistently,  use  no 
carnal  weapons." — Lctlers,  i^-c.  pp.  28,  30. 

The  writer  to  whom  these  excellent  re- 
marks are  addressed,  signs  himself  Pate- 
wow.  I  know  not  who  he  is  ;  but,  as  the 
signature  is  the  same  as  that  affixed  to  Mr. 
Sandeman's  Letters  on  Therou  and  Aspasio, 
I  conclude  he  is  and  wislies  to  be  thought  a 
Sandemanian.  Mr.  Braidwood  calls  him 
his  "  friend,-'  and  speaks  of  his  being  "morti- 
fied" by  these  his  erroneous  sentiments,  as 
though  he  had  a  feeling  lor  Patenion's  gen- 
eral creed,  or  that  '•  instruction  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  gospel  and  of  the  things  con- 
cerning the  kingdom  of  God"  which  he  and 
others  had  received.  For  my  part,  without 
deciding  upon  the  state  of  individuals,  I  am 
persuaded  that  these  people,  with  all  their 
professions  of  "  clear  views,"  "  simple 
truths,"  and  "simple  belief,"  have  imbibed 
a  corrupt  and  dangerous  system  of  doctrine. 

Paloemon,  whoever  he  is,  would  do  well 
to  examine  himself  icheiher  he  be  in  the 
faith :  and,  were  I  in  Mr.  Braidwood's 
place,  I  should  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  re- 
examine what  I  had  '•  learneil  from  the  an- 
cient writings  of  this  class  of  professing 
Christians  relative  to  the  simple  doctrine  of 
the  gospel  and  the  nature  of  Christ's  king- 
dom ;"  and  to  ask  myself  what  I  had  asked 
my  friend,  Whether  that  can  be  pure  and 
siraple  truth  which  is  productive  of  such  ef- 
fects 7 


LETTER    XIT. 

The  spirit  of  the  system,  compared  with  that 
of  primitive  Christianity. 

You  are  aware  that  doctrines,  whether 
true  or  false,  if  really  believed,  become  prin- 
ciples of  action.  They  are  a  mould  into 
which  the  mind  is  cast,  and  from  which  it 
receives  its  impression.  An  observant  eye 
will  easily  perceive  a  spirit  which  attends 
different  religions,  and  different  systems  of 
the  same  religion  ;  which  over  and  above 
the  diversities  arising  from  natural  temper, 
will  manifest  itself  in  tlieir  respective  ad- 
herents. Paganism,  Mahomedanism,  De- 
ism, apostate  Judaism,  and  various  systems 
which  have  appeared  under  the  name  of 
Christianity,  have  each  discovered  a  spirit 
oi'  its  own ;  and  so  has  Christianity  itself 


Tlius  it  was  from  the  beginning :  those  who 
received  "  another  doctrine"  received  witii 
it  "  another  spirit ;"  and  hence  we  are  told 
of  "the  spirit  of  truth,  and  the  spirit  of  er- 
ror:" he  that  had  the  one  was  said  to  be 
"  of  God,"  and  he  that  had  the  odier  "  not 
of  God." 

I  hope  it  will  be  understood  that  in  what 
I  write  on  this  subject  there  is  no  reference 
to  individuals,  nor  any  wish  to  judge  men 
indiscriminately  by  tlie  names  under  which 
tliey  pass,  nor  any  desire  to  charge  the 
evils  which  may  belong  to  the  system  on  all 
who  have  discovered  a  partiality  in  its  favor, 
or  who  have  defended  particular  parts  of  it. 
1  shall  only  take  a  brief  review  oi'  the  spirit 
which  is  of  God,  and  compare  that  of  Mr. 
Sandeman  and  the  generahty  of  his  admi- 
rers with  it. 

First :  The  spirit  of  primitive  Christiani- 
ty was  full  of  the  devout  and  the  affectionate. 
Of  this  there  needs  little  to  be  said  in  a  way 
of  proof,  as  the  thing  is  evident  to  any  one 
who  is  acquainted  with  the  Bible.  The 
Psalms  of  David  are  full  of  it ;  and  so  is  the 
New  Testament.  Primitive  Christianity 
was  the  religion  of  lore.  It  breathed  grace, 
mercy,  and  peace,  on  all  that  loved  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.  Among 
such  it  would  not  break  a  bruised  reed,  nor 
quench  the  smoking  flax.  Its  faithfulness 
was  tempered  with  brotherly  kindness.  It 
had  compassion  for  the  ignorant,  and  them 
that  were  out  of  the  way ;  and,  while  siding 
with  God  against  the  wicked,  it  wept  over 
them,  and  was  willing  to  do  or  suffer  any 
thing,  if  by  any  means  it  might  save  some 
of  them.  But  is  this  Sandemanianism '? 
You  will  scarcely  meet  with  terms  express- 
ive of  devotion  or  affection  in  any  of  its  pro- 
ductions, unless  it  be  to  hold  them  up  to  ridi- 
cule. It  appears  to  be  at  war  with  all  de- 
votion and  devout  men.  Its  most  indignant 
opposition  and  bitterest  invectives  are  re- 
served for  them.  Its  advocates  would  have 
you  think,  indeed  that  it  is  blind  devotion, 
like  that  of  the  Pharisees,  at  which  tliry 
sneer :  but  where  are  we  to  look  for  that 
which  is  not  so,  and  with  which  tlicy  are 
not  at  war  ?  Is  it  to  be  found  out  of  their 
own  connections?  Every  thing  there  which 
has  the  appearance  of  religion  is  pharisaism. 
It  must  therefore  be  among  theuis'  Ives  if 
any  where.  But  if  the  spirit  of  "  love, 
peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  good- 
ness, meekness,"  &c.  prevail  in  their  assem- 
blies, it  is  singular  that  the  same  spirit 
should  not  appear  in  their  writings.  Who 
that  has  read  them  will  s:iy  that  their  gene- 
ral tendency  is  to  promote  the  love  of  either 
God  or  man?  Toward  worldly  men,  in- 
deed, who  make  no  ])rctence  to  religion,  the. 
system  seems  to  bear  a  friendly  aspect :  but 
it  discovers  no  concern  for  their  salvation. 
It  would  seem  to  have  no  tears  to  shed  over 


FULLER     ON    S A N D E M A N I A N  I  S  M. 


337 


a  perishing  world  ;  and  even  looks  with  a 
jealous  eye  on  those  that  have,  glorying 
in  the  paucity  of  its  numbers  ! 

Whether  the  advocates  of  this  system 
perceive  the  discordance  between  their  own 
spirit  and  that  of  David,  or  whatever  is  the 
reason,  it  is  common  for  them  to  apply  to 
Christ  a  great  deal  of  what  he  manifestly 
wrote  of  his  own  devout  feeling.  Christ,  it 
seems,  might  be  the  subject  of  devotion 
without  any  danger  of  self-righteous  pride  ; 
but  we  cannot,  and  therefore  must  have 
little  or  nothing  to  do  with  it. 

It  is  among  people  of  this  description  that 
TeWgious  feelmgs  and  affections  are  ordina- 
rily traduced.  There  are  no  doubt,  many 
enthusiastic  feelings,  which  have  no  true 
religion  in  them.  There  is  such  a  thing  too 
as  to  make  a  Saviour  of  them  as  well  as  of 
our  duties.  But  we  must  not  on  this  ac- 
count exclude  the  one  any  more  than  the 
other.  President  Edwards,  in  his  Treatise 
on  Religious  Affections,  has  proved  beyond 
all  reasonable  contradiction  that  the  essence 
of  true  rehgion  lies  in  them.  In  reading 
that  work,  and  Mr.  Sandeman's  Letters,  we 
may  see  many  of  the  same  things  exposed 
as  enthusiastic ;  but  the  one  is  an  oil  that 
breaketli  not  the  head,  the  other  an  effusion 
of  pride  and  bitterness.  The  former  while 
rejecting  what  is  naught,  retains  the  savor 
of  pure,  humble  and  holy  religion :  but  the 
latter  is  as  one  who  should  propose  to  re- 
move the  disorders  of  the  head  by  means  of 
a  guillotine. 

It  has  been  observed  that  every  religion 
which,  instead  of  arising  from  love  to  the 
truth,  has  its  origin  in  dislike  or  opposition, 
even  though  it  be  to  error,  will  come  to 
nothing.  You  may  sometimes  see  the  prin- 
cipal inhabitants  of  a  village  fall  out  with 
the  clergyman,  perhaps  on  account  of  some 
difference  on  the  subject  of  tithes,  and  pro- 
ceed to  build  a  place  lor  dissenting  worship : 
also  dissenting  congregations  themselves 
will  sometimes  divide  from  mere  antipathy 
to  thepreacher,  or  from  offence  takenat  some 
of  the  people :  but  did  you  ever  know  such 
undertakings  productive  of  much  good? 
Whenweadhereto  a  system  of  religion  from 
opposition  to  something  else,  we  do  not  so 
much  regard  it  for  what  it  is  as  for  what  it 
is  not.  Whatever  good,  therefore,  there 
may  be  in  it,  it  will  do  us  no  good,  and  we 
shall  go  on  waxing  worse  and  worse.  It 
is  remarkable  that  the  Sadducees,  according 
to  Prideaux,  professed,  at  their  outset,  the 
strictest  adherence  to  the  vritten  word,  ut- 
terly renouncing  the  traditions  of  the  elders, 
tchich  th e  Pharisees  had  agreed  to  hold.  In 
a  little  time,  however,  they  rejected  a  great 
part  of  the  word  itself,  and  its  most  import- 
ant doctrines,  .such  as  the  resurrection  and 
a  future  life.  This  was  no  more  than  might 
have  been  expected  ;  for  the  origin  of  the 

Vol..  3.— Qq. 


system  was  not  attachment  to  the  word,  but 
dislike  to  the  Pharisees. 

How  far  these  remarks  apply  to  the  reli- 
gion in  question,  let  those  who  are  best  ac- 
quainted with  it  judge.  It  doubtless  con- 
tains some  important  truth,  as  did  Saddu- 
ceeism  at  its  outset ;  but  the  spirit  which 
pervades  it  must  render  it  doubtful  whether 
this  be  held  for  its  own  sake  so  much  as 
from  opposition  to  other  principles.  If  truth 
be  loved  for  its  own  sake,  ii  will  occupy  our 
minds  irrespective  of  the  errors  which  are 
opposed  to  it,  and  whether  they  exist  or  not. 
But  by  the  strain  of  writing  and  conversa- 
tion which  prevails  in  this  connection, 
it  would  seem  that  the  supposed  absurdities 
of  others  are  the  life  of  their  religion,  and 
that  if  these  were  once  to  cease  their  zeal 
would  expire  with  them.  It  is  the  vulture, 
and  not  the  dove,  that  is  apparent  in  all 
their  writings.  Who  will  say  that  Mr. 
Sandeman  sought  the  good  of  his  oppo- 
nents, when  all  through  his  publications  he 
took  every  opportunity  to  hold  them  up  to 
contempt ;  and  with  evident  marks  of  pleas- 
ure to  describe  them  and  their  friends  as 
walking  in  a  devout  path  to  hell  ?  The 
same  is  manifestly  the  spirit  of  his  followers, 
though  they  may  not  possess  his  sarcastic 
talents.  But  are  these  the  weapons  of 
the  Christian  warfare  ?  Supposing  Fla- 
vel,  Boston,  the  Erskines,  &c.,  to  have  been 
bad  men,  was  this  the  way  to  deal  with 
them  ?  Is  there  no  medium  between  flat- 
tery and  malignity  ? 

Mr.  Sandeman  would  persuade  us  that 
Paul  was  of  his  ''  temper."*  Paul  was  cer- 
tainly in  earnest,  and  resisted  error  wherev- 
er he  found  it.  He  does  not,  however,  treat 
those  who  build  on  a  right  foundation, 
though  they  raise  a  portion  of  what  will  be 
ultimately  consumed,  as  enemies  to  the 
truth.!  And  in  his  conduct,  even  to  the  ene- 
mies of  Christ,  I  recollect  no  sarcastic 
sneers,  tending  to  draw  upon  them  the 
contempt  of  mankind,  but  every  thing  cal- 
culated to  do  them  good.  If,  however,  it 
were  not  so,  he  must  have  practised  differ- 
ently from  what  he  wrote.  "  The  servant 
of  the  Lord,"  he  says  in  his  Epistle  to  Timo- 
thy, "  must  not  strive  (as  for  mastery  ;)  but 
be  gentle  unto  all  men ;  in  meekness  in- 
structing those  that  oppose  themselves  :  if 
God  peradventure  will  give  them  repentance 
to  the  acknowledging  of  the  truth."  Paul 
would  have  instructed  and  intreated  those 
whom  Mr.  Sandeman  scorned. 

There  is  a  calmness,  I  acknowledge,  in 
the  advocates  of  this  doctrine,  which  dis- 
tinguishes their  writings  from  the  low  and 
fulsome  productions  of  the  English  Antino- 
mians.  But  calmness  is  not  always  oppo- 
sed to  bitterness:  on  the  contrary,  it  may 


'  Epistiilan'  C'lrrespciiidcm; 
r  1  Cor.  iii.'  11—15. 


p.  9 


338 


PULLER    ON    SANDEMANIANISM. 


be  studied  for  the  very  purpose  of  conceal- 
ing it.  "  The  words  of  his  mouth  were 
smoother  than  butter,  but  war  was  in  his 
heart :  his  sayings  were  softer  than  oil,  yet 
were  they  drawn  swords." 

The  only  thing  that  I  know  of  which  has 
the  appearance  of  love  is  that  attachment 
which  they  have  to  one  another,  and  which 
they  consider  as  love  for  thetrutli's  sake.  But 
even  here  there  are  things  whicli  I  am  not 
able  to  reconcile.  Love  for  the  truth's  sake 
unites  the  heart  to  every  one  in  proportion 
as  he  appears  to  embrace  it :  but  the  nearer 
you  approach  to  these  people,  provided  you 
follow  not  with  them,  so  much  the  more  bit- 
ter are  their  invectives.  Again :  Love  for 
the  truth's  sake  takes  into  consideration  its 
practical  effects.  It  was  truth  embodied  in 
the  spirit  and  life  that  excited  attachment 
of  the  apostle  John :  ''  I  rejoiced  greatly 
that  I  found  of  thy  children  walking  intrutli.''^ 
But  that  which  excites  their  love  seems  to 
be  the  "  clear  views"  which  they  conceive 
their  friends  to  entertain  above  other  pro- 
fessing Christians.  Once  more :  Love,  be 
it  for  the  sake  of  what  it  may,  will  so  unite 
us  to  one  another  as  to  render  separation 
painful,  and  lead  to  the  use  of  all  possible 
means  of  preventing  it.  But  such  is  the 
discipline  of  those  who  drink  into  these  prin- 
ciples, that,  for  differences  which  others 
would  consider  as  objects  of  forbearance, 
they  can  separate  men  from  their  commu- 
nion in  considerable  numbers,  with  little  or 
no  apparent  concern.  I  can  reconcile  such 
things  with  self-love  ;  but  not  with  love  for 
the  truth''s  sake. 

Secondly:  The  spirit  of  primitive  Chris- 
tianity was  a  spirit  of  meekness  and  humil- 
ity. Of  this  Christ  himself  was  the  great 
pattern  ;  and  they  that  would  be  his  disci- 
ples must  "  learn  of  him  who  was  meek  and 
lowly  of  heart."  They  were  unbelievers, 
and  not  Christians,  who  "  trusted  in  them- 
selves that  they  were  righteous,  and  despi- 
sed others."  He  that  would  be  wise  was 
required  to  become  a  fool  that  he  might  be 
wise. 

The  apostle  Paul,  notwithstanding  his 
high  attainments  in  the  knowledge  ot 
Christ,  reckoned  himself  as  knowing  noth- 
ing comparatively,  de.siring  above  all  things 
"  that  he  might  know  him,  and  the  power  of 
his  resurrection,  and  the  fellowship  of  his  suf- 
ferings, and  be  made  conformable  unto  his 
death."  If  any  man  "  thought  that  he  knew 
any  thing,"  he  declared  that  he  knew  "  noth- 
ing yet  as  he  ought  to  know."  But  is  this  the 
spirit  of  the  system  in  question?  One  of 
the  first  things  that  presents  itself  is  a  pre- 
tence to  something  very  nearly  akin  to  in- 
fallibility ;  an  imposing  air  in  all  its  deci.t!- 
ions.  tending  to  bear  down  timid  spirits, 
especially  as  the  sincerity  and  consequent- 
ly the  Christianity  of  the  party  is  suspend- 


ed upon  his  entirely  yielding  himself  up  tc 
it. 

If  it  be  necessary  to  become  fools  that 
we  may  be  wise,  how  are  we  to  account 
for  those  "  clear  views  of  the  gospel"  of 
which  these  people  boast?  They  have 
given  abundant  proof  that  they  account 
others  fools  who  do  not  see  with  them  ;  and 
they  may  account  themselves  to  have  been 
such  till  they  imbibed  their  present  princi- 
ples ;  but,  if  any  symptoms  have  appeared 
of  their  being  fools  in  their  own  eyes  from 
that  time  forivard,  they  have  escaped  my  ob- 
servation. Instead  of  a  self-difRdent  spirit, 
which  treats  with  respect  the  understanding 
of  others,  and  implores  divine  direction,  no 
sooner  have  these  principles  taken  posses- 
sion of  a  man  than  they  not  only  render 
him  certain  that  he  is  in  the  right,  but  in- 
stantly qualify  him  to  pronounce  on  those 
who  follow  not  with  him  as  destitute  of  the 
truth. 

We  may  be  told,  however,  that  there  ia 
one  species  of  pride,  at  least,  of  Avhich  the 
system  cannot  be  suspected,  namely,  that 
of  self  righteousness,  seeing  it  is  that  against 
which  its  abettors  are  constantly  declaim- 
ing. But  he  that  would  know  the  truth 
must  not  take  up  with  mere  professions. 
If  a  sell-righteous  spirit  consist  in  "trusting 
in  themselves  that  they  are  righteous,  and 
despising  others,"  I  see  not  how  they  are 
to  be  acquitted  of  it.  A  self-righteoua 
spirit  and  its  opposite  will  be  allowed  to  be 
drawn  with  sufficient  prominency  in  the 
parable  of  the  Pharisee  and  the  publican. 
The  question  is,  which  of  these  character.? 
is  exemplified  by  those  who  enter  fully  into 
the  Sandemanian  system  ?  Is  it  the  publi- 
can ?  Look  at  it.  I  am  aware  that  he  is 
the  favorite  of  the  party,  and  so  he  is  of 
other  parties ;  for  you  never  heard  of  any 
who  were  the  professed  advocates  of  the 
Pharisee ;  but  are  they  of  the  spirit  of  the 
publican  ?  Rather,  are  they  not  manifestly 
of  the  spirit  of  the  Pharisee,  who  looked 
down  with  scorn  upon  his  fellow-worship- 
per ? 

Mr.  Braidwood,  referring  to  a  late  publi- 
cation by  one  of  this  class  of  professing 
Christians,  who  calls  himself  Si7nple.v, 
writes  as  follows :  "  The  work  referred  to 
seems  intended  chiefly  to  show  how  much 
Simple.v,  and  they  who  agree  with  him, 
despise  others,  and  liow  far  they  alone  are 
from  trustinsr  to  themselves  that  they  are 
righteous.  This  their  apparent  inconsisten- 
cy, their  confident  assertions  when  no  proof 
is  given,  their  unfeeling  and  indiscriminate 
censures  (which  therefore  cannot  be  always 
just,)  and  their  fearless  anathemas  against 
all  who  follow  not  with  them,  prevent  them 
from  obtaining  a  hearing,  not  only  from 
those  whom  they  might  be  warranted  to 
consider  as  false  professors,  but  from  disci- 


FULLER     ON     SANDEMANIANISM, 


339 


pies  of  Christ,  who  need  to  be  taught  the 
way  of  God  more  perfectly.  And  in  this 
also  they  glory. 

"  If  they  would  suffer  an  exhortation 
•from  a  fellow-sinner,  I  would  entreat  iheni 
to  recollect  that  the  Pharisee,  praying  in 
the  temple,  disdained  the  publican,  while 
the  publican  disdained  no  man  and  had 
nothing  to  say  except  what  regarded  him- 
self and  THE  Most  High.  'God  be  mer- 
ciful to  me  a  sinner.'.  They  will  never  suc- 
cessfully combat  self-righteousness  till  they 
themselves  become  poor  and  of  a  cordrile 
spirit.  The  most  effectual  way  to  condemn 
pride  is  to  give  an  example  of  humility. 

"  Self-abasement  corresponds  with  the 
humbling  doctrine  of  Christ  crucified ;  while 
the  indulgence  of  an  opposite  spirit,  in  con- 
nection with  clear  views  of  the  freedom 
and  sovereignty  of  divine  grace,  presents 
a  most  unnatural  and  unedifying  object — 
the  publican  turning  the  chase  upon  the 
Pharisee,  and  combating  him  with  his  own 
weapons!  Nay,  he  who  professes  to  ac- 
count himself  the  chief  of  sinners,  having 
once  begun  to  imitate  an  example  so  re- 
pugnant to  the  genuine  influence  of  the 
doctrine  for  which  he  contends,  now  pro- 
ceeds to  attack  all  who  come  in  his  way — 
self  condemned  publicans,  not  entirely  of 
his  own  mind,  as  well  as  proud  Pharisees, 
avowing  their  impious  claims  upon  the  Di- 
vine Being.  May  we  not  ask,  Who  art 
thou  that  judgest?''^ — Letters,  <^c.,  Introduc- 
tion. 

As  to  Mr.  Braidwood's  allowing  them  to 
possess  "  clear  views  of  the  freedom  and 
sovereignty  of  divine  grace,"  I  do  not  un- 
derstand how  such  views  can  accompany, 
and  still  less  produce,  such  a  spirit  as  he 
has  described;  but,  with  regard  to  the 
spirit  itself,  it  is  manifestly  drawn  from  life. 
and  is  of  greater  effect  than  if  he  had 
written  a  volume  on  the  subject.  Whether 
his  observations  do  not  equally  apply  to 
that  marked  separation  of  church-mem- 
bers from  others  in  public  worship,  said  to 
be  practised  of  late  in  Ireland,  and  to  which 
he  refers  in  page  32,  let  those  who  have 
their  senses  exercised  to  discern  both  good 
and  evil  judge. 

Lastly:  The  spirit  of  primitive  Christi- 
anity was  catholic  and  pacijic.  Its  lan- 
guage is,  '•  Grace  be  with  all  them  that 
love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity." 
"  As  many  as  walk  by  this  rule  (that  is,  the 
cross  of  Christ,)  peace  be  on  them,  and 
mercy,  and  upon  the  Israel  of  God."  "All 
that  in  every  place  call  upon  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord,  both  theirs  and  ours, 
grace  be  unto  Ihem,  and  peace,  from  God 
oyr  Father,  and  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

There  were  cases  in  which  the  apostles 
and  first  Christians  were  obliged  to  with- 
draw even  from  brethren  who  walked  dis- 


orderly; but  this  would  give  them  pain. 
And,  if  the  disordered  state  of  the  Chris- 
tian world  at  present  render  it  necessary 
for  some  of  the  friends  of  Christ  to  with- 
draw from  others,  it  must  needs,  to  a  truly 
good  man,  be  a  matter  of  deep  regret.  It 
will  be  his  concern,  too,  to  diminish  the 
breach  rather  than  to  widen  it :  to  consider 
the  things  wherein  he  agrees  with  others, 
and,  as  far  as  he  conscientiou.«ly  can,  to  act 
with  them.  If  we  see  individuals,  or  a 
community,  who,  instead  of  such  regret, 
are  generally  employed  in  censuring  all 
who  follow  not  with  them,  as  enemies  to 
the  truth ;  and,  instead  of  acting  with  them 
in  things  wherein  they  are  agreed,  are  stu- 
dious to  render  the  separation  as  wide  as 
possible,  and  glory  in  it — can  we  hesitate 
to  say  this  is  not  Christianity? 

There  is  a  zeal  which  may  properly  be 
denominated  catholic,  and  one  which  may 
as  properly  be  denominated  sectarian.  It 
is  not  supposed  that  any  man,  or  body  of 
men,  can  be  equally  concerned  in  promoting 
Christ's  mterest  in  all  places.  As  our  pow- 
ers are  limited,  we  must  each  build  the 
wall,  as  it  were,  over  against  our  own  hou- 
ses. Nor  are  we  obliged  to  be  equally  con- 
cerned for  the  prosperity  of  all  religious 
undertakings  in  which  the  parties  may  be 
in  the  main  on  the  side  of  Christ.  It  is 
right  that  we  should  be  most  interested  in 
that  which  approaches  the  nearest  to  truth 
and  true  religion.  But  true  catholic  zeal 
will  nevertheless  have  the  good  of  the  uni- 
versal church  of  Christ  for  its  grand  object, 
and  will  rejoice  in  the  prosperity  of  every 
denomination  of  Christians,  in  so  far  as 
they  appear  to  have  the  mind  of  Christ. 
Those  who  builded  the  wall  against  their 
own  houses  would  not  consider  themselves 
as  the  only  builders,  but  would  bear  good 
will  to  their  brethren,  and  keep  in  view  the 
rearing  of  the  whole  wall,  which  should  en- 
compass the  city.  As  it  is  not  our  being 
of  the  religion  of  Rome,  nor  of  any  other 
which  happens  to  be  favored  by  the  state, 
that  determines  our  zeal  to  be  catholic,  so 
it  is  not  our  being  of  a  sect  or  party  of 
Christians,  or  endeavoring  with  Christian 
meekness  and  frankness  to  convince  others 
of  what  we  account  the  mind  of  Christ, 
that  gives  it  the  character  of  sectarian.  It 
is  a  being-  more  concerned-  to  propagate 
those  things  wherein  we  differ  from  other 
Christians  than  to  impart  the  common  sal- 
vation. Where  this  is  the  case  we  shall  so 
limit  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  ourselves 
as  nearly  to  confine  our  good  wishes,  pray- 
ers, and  efforts  to  our  own  denomination, 
and  treat  all  others  as  if  we  had  nothing  to 
do  with  them  in  religious  matters  but  in  a 
wav  of  censure  and  dispute.  Wherein  this 
kind  of  zeal  differs  from  tlyit  of  the  Phari- 
sees that  compasscil  sea  and  land  to  make 


340 


FULLER    ON    S  A  N  D  EM  A  NI  A  N  I  S  M, 


I  roselytes,  but  who,  when  made,  were  turn- 
ed to  tliejn  rather  tlian  to  God,  I  cannot 
understand. 

It  is  remarkable  that,  notwithstanding  all 
that  has  been  written  by  the  advocates  of 
this  system  about  a  free  gospel  to  the  un- 
godly, they  do  not  seem  to  have  much  to 
do  in  laboring  for  the  conversion  of  men  of 
this  description.  Their  principal  attention, 
like  that  of  the  Socinians,  seems  directed 
toward  religious  people  of  other  denomina- 
tions, and  from  them  their  forces  have  been 
mostly  recruited.  This  may  not  have  been 
universally  the  case,  but  from  every  thing 
that  I  have  seen  and  heard  it  is  very  gene 
rally  so :  and,  if  this  do  not  betray  a  zeal 
more  directed  to  the  making  of  proselytes 
to  themselves  than  of  converts  to  Christ,  it 
will  be  difficult  to  determine  what  does. 

The  zeal  of  the  apostles  was  directed  to 
the  correction  of  evils,  the  healing  of  differ 
ences,  and  the  uniting  of  the  friends  of  Je 
BUS  Christ ;  but  the  zeal  produced  by  this 
system  appears  to  be  of  a  contrary  tenden- 
cy. Wherever  it  most  prevails,  we  hear 
most  o{'  bitterness,  contention,  and  division. 

It  may  be  said,  this  is  no  more  than  was 
true  of  the  gospel  itself,  which  set  a  man 
at  variance  with  his  father,  his  mother,  and 
his  nearest  friends  ;  and  relates  not  to  what 
it  causes,  but  to  what,  through  the  corrup- 
tions of  men,  it  occasions.  The  words  of 
our  Lord,  however,  do  not  describe  the  bit- 
terness of  believers  against  unbelievers,  but 
of  unbelievers  against  believers,  who,  as 
Cain  hated  his  brother,  hate  them  for  the 
gospel's  sake. 

It  has  been  said  that  "  the  poignancy  of 
Mr.  Sandeman's  words  arises  from  their 
being  true."  The  same  might  be  said,  and 
with  equal  justice,  of  any  other  "bitter 
words,"  for  which  men  of  contemptuous 
spirits  know  how  to  "  whet  their  tongues." 
If  the  doctrine  which  Mr.  Sandeman  taught 
were  true,  it  would  do  good  to  them  that 


believed  it.  It  certainly  produces  its  own 
likeness  in  them ;  but  what  is  it  ?  Is  it  not 
'•  trusting  in  themselves  that  they  are  right- 
eous, and  despising  others?"  Is  it  not 
descrying  the  mote  in  a  brother's  ej^e,  while 
blinded  to  the  beam  in  their  own  ? 

There  is  a  very  interesting  description 
given  in  the  Epistle  of  James  of  two  oppo-" 
site  kinds  of  wisdom.  The  former  is  repre- 
sented as  coming  "  from  above ;"  the  latter 
as  "  coming  not  from  -above,"  but  as  being 
"  earthly,  sensual,  devilish."  That  is  "  first 
pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  easy  to  be  en- 
treated, full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits,  with- 
out partiality,  and  without  hypocrisy :"  this 
works  "  bitter  zeal  and  strife  in  the  heart." 
"  The  fruit  of  righteousness  is  sown  in 
peace,"  and  in  making  peace,  by  the  one : 
but  by  the  other  is  produced  "  confusion, 
and  every  evil  work."  Yet  these  latter  are 
supposed  to  "  glory ;"  but  in  glorying  they 
"lie  against  the  truth."  Without  wishing 
to  ascribe  either  to  bodies  of  people  indis- 
criminately, there  is  enough  said  to  enable 
us  to  form  a  judgment  of  things  by  the  ef- 
fects which  they  produce. 

To  conclude. — It  is  no  part  of  my  design 
to  vindicate  or  apologize  for  the  errors  of 
other  denominations.  The  Christian  church 
is  not  what  it  was  at  the  beginning ;  and 
though  every  body  of  Christians  is  not 
equally  corrupt,  yet  none  is  so  pure  but  that, 
if  its  character  were  reported  by  the  great 
Head  of  the  church,  he  would  have  "  some- 
what against"  it.  But,  whatever  errors  or 
evils  may  be  found  in  any  of  us,  it  is  not 
this  species  of  reform,  even  if  it  were  uni- 
versally to  prevail,  that  would  correct  them. 
On  the  contrary,  if  we  may  judge  from  its 
effects  during  the  last  fifty  years,  it  would 
lead  the  Christian  world,  if  not  to  down- 
right infidelity,  yet  to  something  that  comes 
but  very  little  short  of  it. 

I  am  your  affectionate  Friend  and  Broth- 
er, ANDREW  FULLER. 


THE  END. 


MEMOIRS 


OF   THE    LATE 

REV.  SAMUEL  P  E  A  R  C  E ,  A,.vJ^i^ 

WITH    EXTRACTS    FROM    SOME    OF   HIS    MOST 

INTERESTING    LETTERS 


COMPILED  By  ANDREW  FULLER,  D.  D. 


Oh  Jonathan,  thou  wast  slain  upon  thy  high  places.    I  am  distressed  for  thee,  my  brother  Jonathan  \— David. 


INTRODUCTION. 

It  was  observed  by  this  excellent  man, 
during  his  last  atfliction,  that  he  never  till 
then  gained  any  personal  instruction  from 
our  Lord's  telhng  Peter,  by  ivhat  death  he 
should  glorify  God.  To  die  by  a  consump- 
tion, had  used  to  be  an  object  of  dread  to 
him :  But,  "  Oh  my  Lord,  (said  he,)  if  by  this 
death  I  can  most  glorify  thee,  I  prefer  it 
to  all  others."  The  lingering  death  of  the 
cross,  by  which  our  Saviour  himself  expi- 
red, afforded  him  an  opportunity  of  utter- 
ing some  of  the  most  affecting  sentences 
which  are  left  on  sacred  record :  And  to  the 
lingering  death  of  this  his  honored  servant, 
we  are  indebted  for  a  considerable  part  of 
the  materials  which  appear  in  these  Me- 
moirs. Had  he  been  taken  away  suddenly, 
there  had  been  no  opportunity  for  him  to 
have  expressed  his  sentiments  and  feelings 
in  the  manner  he  has  now  done  in  letters 
to  his  friends.  While  in  health,  his  hands 
were  full  of  labor,  and  consequently  his 
letters  were  written  mostly  upon  the  spur 
of  occasion ;  and  related  principally  to  bu- 
siness, or  to  things  which  would  be  less  in- 
teresting to  Christians  in  general.  It  is 
true,  even  in  them  it  was  his  manner  to 
drop  a  few  sentiments,  towards  the  close, 
'  of  an  experimental  kind ;  and  many  of  these 
hints  will  be  interspersed  in  this  brief  ac- 
count of  him :  But  it  was  during  his  afflic- 
tion, when,  being  laid  aside  nearly  a  year, 
and  obhged  to  desist  from  all  public  con- 
cerns, that  he  gave  scope  to  the  feelings  of 
his  heart.  Here,  standing  as  on  an  emi- 
nence, he  reviewed  his  life,  re-examined 
the  ground  of  his  hope,  and  anticipated  the 
crown  which  awaited  him,  with  a  joy  truly 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glon/. 

Like  Elijah,  he  has  left  the  chariot  of  Is- 
rael, and  ascended  as  in  a  chariot  of  fire  ; 


but  not  without  having  first  communicated 
of  his  eminently  Christian  spirit.  Oh  that 
a  double  portion  of  it  may  rest  upon  us ! 


CHAPTER    I. 

His  Parentage,  Conversion,  Call  to  the 
Ministry,  and  Settlement  at  Birming- 
ham. 

Mk.  Samuel  Pearce  was  born  at  Ply- 
mouth, on  July  20th,  1766.  His  father,  who 
survives  him,  is  a  respectable  silversmith, 
and  has  been  many  years  a  deacon  of  the 
Baptist  church  in  that  place. 

When  a  child,  he  lived  with  his  grand- 
father, who  was  very  fond  of  him,  and  en- 
deavored to  impress  his  mind  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  religion.  At  about  eight  or  nine 
years  of  age,  he  came  home  to  his  father 
with  a  view  of  learning  his  business.  As  he 
advanced  in  life,  his  evil  propensities,  as  he 
has  said,  began  to  ripen ;  and  forming  con- 
nections with  several  vicious  school-fellows, 
he  became  more  and  more  corrupted.  So 
gready  was  his  heart,  at  this  time,  set  in 
him  to  do  evil,  that  had  it  not  been  for  the 
restraining  goodness  of  God,  which  some- 
how, he  knew  not  how,  preserved  him  in 
most  instances  from  carrying  his  wicked 
inclinations  into  practice,  he  supposed  he 
should  have  been  utterly  ruined. 

At  times  he  was  under  strong  convic- 
tions, which  rendered  him  miserable;  but 
at  other  times  they  subsided ;  and  then  he 
would  return  with  eagerness  to  his  sinful 
pursuits.  When  about  fifteen  years  old  he 
was  sent  by  his  lather  to  inquire  after  the 
welfare  of  a  person  in  the  neighborhood,  in 
dying  circumstances,  who  (though  before 
his  departure  he  was  in  a  happy  state  of 
mind,  yet)  at  that  time  was  sjni<ing  into 


342 


MEMOIRS     OF     PEARCE, 


deep  despair.  While  in  tlie  room  of  the 
dying  man,  he  heard  him  cry  out  with  in- 
expressible atrony  of  spirit,  "  I  am  damned 
for  ever."  Tliese  awful  words  pierced  his 
soul ;  and  he  felt  a  resolution  at  the  time  to 
serve  the  Lord :  but  the  impression  soon 
wore  off,  and  he  again  returned  to  folly. 

When  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  it 
pleased  God  effecuially  to  turn  him  to  him- 
self A  sermon  delivered  by  Mr.  Birt,  who 
was  then  co-pastor  with  Mr.  Gibbs,  of  the 
Baptist  church  at  Plymouth,  was  the  first 
mean  of  impressing  his  heart  with  a  sense 
of  his  lost  condition,  and  of  directing  him 
to  the  gospel  remedy.  The  change  in  him 
appears  to  have  been  sudden,  but  effectual; 
and  the  recollection  of  his  former  vicious 
propensities,  though  a  source  of  bitterness, 
yet  furnished  a  strong  evidence  of  its  being 
the  work  of  God.  "  I  believe,"  he  says, 
"  few  conversions  were  more  joyful.  The 
change  produced  in  my  views,  feelings,  and 
conduct,  was  so  evident  to  myselfj  that  I 
could  no  more  doubt  of  its  being  from  God, 
than  of  my  existence.  I  had  the  witness 
in  myself,  and  was  filled  with  peace  and 
joy  unspeakable." 

His  feelings  being  naturally  strong  and 
receiving  a  new  direction,  he  entered  into 
religion  with  all  his  heart ;  but  not  having 
known  the  devices  of  Satan,  his  soul  was 
entangled  by  its  own  ardor,  and  he  was 
thrown  into  great  perplexity.  Having  read 
Doddridge's  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion 
in  the  Soul,  he  determined  formally  to  ded- 
icate himself  to  the  Lord,  in  a  manner  re- 
commended in  the  seventeenth  chapter  of 
that  work.  The  form  of  a  covenant,  as 
there  drawn  up,  he  also  adopted  as  his 
own ;  and  that  he  might  bind  himself  in 
the  most  solemn  and  affecting  manner, 
signed  it  with  his  blood.  But  afterwards 
failing  in  his  engagements,  he  was  plunged 
into  dreadful  perplexity,  and  almost  into 
despair.  On  a  review  of  his  covenant,  he 
seems  to  have  accused  himself  of  Pharisai- 
cal reliance  upon  the  strength  of  his  own 
resolutions ;  and  therefore,  taking  the  paper 
to  the  top  of  his  father's  house,  he  tore  it 
into  small  pieces,  and  threw  it  from  him  to 
be  scattered  by  the  wind.  He  did  not 
however,  consider  his  obligation  to  be  the 
Lord's,  as  hereby  nullified ;  but  feeling 
more  suspicion  of  himself,  he  depended  up- 
on the  blood  of  the  C7-oss. 

After  this  he  was  baptized,  and  became 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Ply- 
mouth, the  ministers  and  members  of  which, 
in  a  few  years,  perceived  in  him  talents  for 
pubhc  work.  Being  solicited  by  both  his 
pastors,  he  exercised  as  a  probationer ;  and 
receiving  a  unanimous  call  from  the  church, 
entered  on  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  No- 
vember, 178C.     Soon  after  this  he  went  to 


the  academy  at  Bristol,  then  under  the  su- 
perintendence of  Dr.  Caleb  Evans. 

Mr.  Birt,  now  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church 
in  the  square,  Plymouth  Dock,  in  a  letter  to 
the  Compiler  of  these  Memoirs,  thus  speaks 
of  him :  "  Though  he  was,  so  far  as  I  know, 
the  very  first  fruits  of  my  ministry,  on  my 
coming  hither,  and  though  our  friendship 
and  affection  for  each  other  were  great  and 
constant,  yet  previous  to  his  going  to  Bris- 
tol I  had  but  few  opportunities  of  conver- 
sing with  him,  or  of  making  particular  ob- 
servations on  him.  All  who  best  knew 
him,  however,  will  remember,  and  must 
tenderly  speak  of  his  loving  deportment; 
and  those  who  attended  the  conferences 
with  him  soon  received  the  most  impressive 
intimations  of  his  future  eminence  as  a  min- 
ister of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

"  Very  few,"  adds  Mr.  Birt,  "  have  enter- 
ed upon,  and  gone  through  their  religious 
profession  with  more  exalted  piety,  or  warm- 
er zeal,  than  Samuel  Pearce ;  and  as  few 
have  exceeded  him  in  the  possession  and 
display  of  that  charity  which  'suffereth 
long,  and  is  kind,  that  envieth  not,  that 
vaunteth  not  itself,  and  is  not  puffed  up, 
that  doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly,  that 
seeketh  not  her  own,  is  not  easily  provoked, 
thinketh  no  evil,  that  beareth  all  things,  be- 
lieveth  all  things,  endureth  all  things.'  But 
why  should  I  say  this  to  you  ?  You  knew 
him  yourself" 

While  at  the  academy  he  was  much  dis- 
tinguished by  the  amiableness  of  his  spirit 
and  behavior.  It  is  sometimes  observable 
that  where  the  talents  of  a  young  man  are 
admired  by  his  friends,  and  his  early  efforts 
flattered  by  crowded  auditories,  effects  have 
been  produced  which  have  proved  fatal  to 
his  future  respectability  and  usefulness. 
But  this  was  not  the  case  with  Mr.  Pearce. 
Amidst  the  tide  of  popularity,  which  even 
at  that  early  period  attended  his  ministerial 
exercises,  his  tutors  have  more  than  once 
remarked  that  he  never  appeared  to  them 
to  be  in  the  least  elated,  or  to  have  neglect- 
ed his  proper  studies ;  but  was  uniformly 
the  serious,  industrious,  docile,  modest,  and 
unassuming  young  man. 

Towards  the  latter  end  of  1789,  he  came 
to  the  church  in  Cannon  street,  Birming- 
ham, to  whom  he  was  recommended  by  • 
Mr.  Hall,  now  of  Cambridge,  at  that  time 
one  of  his  tutors.  After  preaching  to  them 
awhile  on  approbation,  he  was  chosen  to 
be  their  pastor.  His  ordination  was  in  Au- 
gust, 1790.  Dr.  Evans  gave  the  charge, 
and  the  late  Mr.  Robert  Hall  of  Arnsby, 
delivered  an  address  to  the  church  on  the 
occasion.  In  the  year  1791,  he  married 
Miss  Sarah  Hopkins,  daughter  of  Mr.  Josh- 
ua Hopkins  of  Alcester :  a  connection  which 
appears  to  have  been  all  along  a  source  of 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


great  enjoyment  to  him.  The  following 
lines  addressed  to  Mrs.  Pearce  when  he  was 
on  a  journey,  a  little  more  than  a  year  after 
their  marriage,  seem  to  be  no  more  than  a 
common  letter ;  yet  they  show,  not  only  the 
tenderness  of  his  affection,  but  his  heavenly 
mindedness,  his  gentle  manner  of  persua- 
ding, and  how  every  argument  was  fetched 
from  religion,  and  every  incident  improved 
for  introducing  it : 

"  Chipping  Norton,  August  15,  1792. 

"  I  believe  on  retrospection,  that  I  have 
hitherto  anticipated  the  proposed  time  of 
my  return,  rather  than  delayed  the  inter- 
view with  my  dear  Sarah  for  an  hour.  But 
what  shall  I  say  my  love  now,  to  reconcile 
you  to  my  procrastinating  my  return  for 
several  days  more?  Why,  I  will  say,  it 
appears  I  am  called  of  God ;  and  I  trust 
the  piety  of  both  of  us  will  submit  and  say, 
Thy  will  be  done. 

"  You  have  no  doubt  perused  Mr.  Ry- 
land's  letter  to  me,  wherein  I  find  he  solicits 
an  exchange.  The  reason  he  assigns  is  so 
obviously  important,  that  a  much  greater 
sacrifice  than  we  are  called  to  make,  should 
not  be  withheld  to  accomplish  it.  I  there- 
fore propose,  God  willing,  to  spend  the 
next  Lord's  day  ai  Northampton.  I  thought 
of  taking  tea  with  you  this  evening :  that 
would  have  been  highly  gratifying  to  us 
both;  but  it  must  be  our  meat  and  drink  to 
do  and  submit  to  the  will  of  our  heavenly 
Father.  All  is  good  that  comes  Irom  him, 
and  all  is  done  right  which  is  done  in  obe- 
dience to  him.  Oh  to  be  perfectly  resigned 
to  his  disposal — how  good  is  it !  May  you, 
my  dearest  Sarah,  and  myself,  daily  prove 
the  sweetness  of  this  pious  frame  of  soul : 
then  all  our  duties  will  be  sweet,  all  our 
trials  will  be  light,  all  our  pleasures  will  be 
pure,  and  all  our  hopes  sanctified. 

"  This  evening  I  hope  to  be  at  North- 
ampton. Let  your  prayers  assist  my  eiforts 
on  the  ensuing  Sabbath.  You  will,  I  trust, 
find  in  Mr.  R.  a  ship  richly  laden  with  spir- 
itual treasures.  Oh  for  more  supplies  from 
the  exhaustless  mines  of  grace  !     S.  P." 

The  soul  of  Mr.  Pearce  was  formed  for 
friendship :  It  was  natural,  therefore,  to  sup- 
pose, that  while  engaging  in  the  pursuit  of 
his  studies  at  the  academy,  he  would  contract 
religious  intimacies  with  some  of  his  breth- 
ren ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  the 
grand  cement  of  his  friendship  was  kindred 
piety.  In  the  following  letters,  addressed 
to  his  friend,  Mr.  Steadman,  the  reader  will 
perceive  the  justness  of  this  remark,  as  well 
as  the  encouraging  prospects  which  soon 
attended  his  labors  at  Birmingham : 

My  very  t)e.\r  Brother,     May  9,  1792. 
"You   live  so   remote  that  I  can  hear 


nothing  of  your  prosperity  at  Broughton, 
I  hope  you  are  settled  with  a  comfortable 
people,  and  that  you  enjoy  much  of  your 
Master's  presence,  both  in  the  study  and 
the  pulpit.  For  my  part,  I  have  nothing  to 
lament  but  an  insensible,  ungrateful  heart, 
and  that  is  sufficient  cause  for  lamentation. 
This,  only  this,  bows  me  down  ;  and  under 
this  pressure  I  am  ready  to  adopt  the  words 
I  preached  from  last  evening:  Oh  that  J 
had  wings  like  a  dove,  for  then  would  I  jiy 
away  and  be  at  rest ! 

"  As  a  people  we  are  generally  united  ;  I 
believe  more  so  than  most  churches  of  the 
same  dimensions.  Our  number  of  members 
is  about  two  hundred  and  ninety-five,  be- 
tween forty  and  fifty  of  whom  have  joined 
us  since  I  saw  you,  and  most  of  them  I 
have  the  happiness  of  considering  as  my 
children  in  the  faith.  There  is  still  a  cry- 
ing out  amongst  us  after  salvation ;  and 
still,  through  much  grace,  it  is  my  happi- 
ness to  point  them  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  who 
taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world. 

"  In  preaching,  I  have  often  peculiar  lib- 
erty ;  at  other  times  barren.  I  suppose  my 
experience  is  like  that  of  most  of  my  breth- 
ren :  but  I  am  not  weary  of  my  work.  I 
hope  still  that  I  am  willing  to  spend  and  be 
spent,  so  that  I  may  win  souls  to  Christ, 
and  finish  my  course  with  joy ;  but  I  want 
more  heart  religion;  I  want  a  more  habit- 
ual sense  of  the  divine  presence ;  I  want 
to  walk  with  God  as  Enoch  walked.  There 
is  nothing  that  grieves  me  so  much,  or  brings 
so  much  darknesss  on  my  soul,  as  my  little 
spirituality,  and  frequent  wanderings  in  se- 
cret prayer.  I  cannot  neglect  the  duty ; 
but  it  is  seldom  that  I  enjoy  it. 

"'Ye  that  love  the  Lord  indeed, 
Tell  me  is  it  so  with  you"!' 

When  I  come  to  the  house  of  God,  I  pray 
and  preach  with  freedom.  Then  I  think 
the  presence  of  the  people  seems  to  weigh 
more  with  me  than  the  presence  of  God, 
and  deem  myself  a  hypocrite,  almost  ready 
to  leave  my  pulpit,  for  some  more  pious 
preacher.  But  the  Lord  does  own  the 
word ;  and  again  I  say,  if  I  go  to  hell  my- 
self, I  will  do  what  I  can  to  keep  others 
from  going  thither ;  and  so  in  the  strength 
of  the  Lord  I  will. 

"  An  observation  once  made  to  nie  helps 
to  support  me  above  water :  '  II'  you  did 
not  plough  in  your  closet,  you  would  not 
reap  in  the  pulpit.'  And  again  I  think  the 
Lord  dwelleth  in  Zion,  and  loveth  it  ovore 
than  the  dwellings  of  Jacob.  S.  P." 

'■'■Fehrvanj  1,  1793. 
"  The  pleasure  which  your  frieiul'.y  epis- 
tle gave  me,  rises  beyond  expression  ;  and 
it  is  one  of  the  first  wishes  of  my  heart 
ever  to  live  in  your  valued  friendship.  Ac- 
cept tliis,  and  my  former  letters,  my  dear 


344 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


brother,  as  sufficient  evidences  of  my  ar- 
dent wishes  to  preserve  by  correspondence, 
that  mutual  remembrance  of  each  other, 
which  on  my  part  will  ever  be  pleasurable, 
and  on  yours,  I  hope,  never  painful. 

"  But  ah,  how  soon  may  we  be  rendered 
incapable  of  such  an  intercourse !  When 
1  left  Bristol,  I  left  it  with  regret.  I  was 
sorry  to  leave  my  studies  to  embark  (inex- 
perienced as  I  am)  on  the  tempestuous 
ocean  of  public  life,  where  the  high  blowino; 
v/inds,  and  rude  and  noisy  billows,  must 
more  or  less  inevitably  annoy  the  trembling 
voyager.  Nor  did  it  make  a  small  addition 
to  my  pain,  that  I  was  to  part  with  so  many 
of  my  dear  companions,  with  Avhom  I  had 
spent  so  many  happy  hours,  either  in  fur- 
nishing or  unburthening  the  mind.  I  need 
not  say,  among  the  first  of  these  I  consider- 
ed Josiah  Evans.  But  ah,  my  friend,  we 
shall  see  his  face  no  more  !  Through  di 
vine  grace  I  hope  we  shall  go  to  him,  but 
he  will  not  return  to  us.  'He  wasted 
away,  he  gave  up  the  ghost,  and  where  is 
he  V  I  was  prepared  for  the  news  because 
I  expected  it.  The  last  time  I  heard  direct- 
ly from  him,  was  by  a  very  serious  and  af- 
fectionate letter,  which  I  received,  I  think, 
last  September.  To  it  I  replied ;  but  re- 
ceived no  answer.  I  conjectured,  I  feared  ; 
and  now  my  conjectures  and  fears  are  all 
realized.  Dear  departed  youth !  thy  memo- 
ry %vill  ever  be  grateful  to  this  affectionate 
breast.  May  thy  amiable  qualities  live 
again  in  thy  surviving  friend,  that  to  the 
latest  period  of  his  life  he  may  thank  God 
for  the  friendship  of  Josiah  Evans. 

"  I  assure  you,  my  dear  Steadman,  I  feel, 
keenly  feel  the  force  of  the  sentiment,  which 
Blair  thus  elegantly  expresses : 

'  Of  joys  departed  ne'er  to  be  recall'd, 
How  painl'ul  the  remembrance!' 

"But  I  sorrow  not  as  one  without  hope. 
I  have  a  two-fold  hope :  I  hope  he  is  now 
among  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect, 
and  that  he  will  be  of  the  blessed  and  holy 
number  who  have  part  in  the  first  resurrec 
tion:  and  I  hope  also,  through  the  same 
rich,  free,  sovereign,  ajmighty,  matchless 
grace,  to  join  the  number  too.  Pleasing 
thouglit !     Unite  to  divide  no  more  ! 

"I  preached  last  night  from  Rev.  xxi.  6  : 
*I  will  give  imto  him  that  is  athirst  of  the 
fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely.'  I  took 
occasion  to  expound  tiie  former  part  of  the 
chapter,  and  found  therein  a  pleasure  inex- 
pressible ;  especially  when  speaking  from 
the  first  verse,  '  And  there  was  no  more 
sea.'  The  first  idea  which  presented  itself 
to  me  was  this — (here  shall  be  no  bar  io  in- 
tercourse. Whether  the  thought  be  just  or 
not,  I  leave  with  you  and  my  hearers  to  de- 
termine: but  T  found  liapny  liberty  in  illus- 
trating it.     What  is  it  that  separates  one 


nation,  and  one  part  of  the  globe  from 
another?  Is  it  not  the  sea?  Are  not 
Christians,  though  all  of  one  family,  the 
common  father  of  which  is  God,  separated 
by  this  sea,  or  that  river,  or  the  other 
stream  below?  Yes;  but  they  are  one 
family  still.  There  shall  be  none  of  these 
obstructions  to  communion,  of  these  bars 
to  intercourse ;  nothing  to  divide  their  af- 
fections or  disunite  their  praise  for  ever. 
Forgive  my  freedoms,  I  am  writing  to  a 
friend,  to  a  brother.  S.  P." 

There  are  few,  if  any,  thinking  men,  but 
who  at  some  seasons  have  had  their  minds 
perplexed  with  regard  to  religious  princi- 
ples, even  those  which  are  of  the  greatest 
importance.  In  the  end,  however,  where 
the  heart  is  right,  they  commonly  issue 
in  a  more  decided  attachment  to  the  truth. 
Thus  it  was  with  Mr.  Pearce.  In  another 
part  of  the  above  letter,  he  thus  writes  to 
his  friend  Steadman :  "  I  have  since  I  saw 
you,  been  much  perplexed  about  some  doc- 
trinal points,  both  Arminian  and  Socinian, 
I  believe  through  reading  very  attentively, 
but  without  sufficient  dependence  on  the 
Spirit  ol"  truth,  several  controversies  on 
those  subjects ;  particularly  the  writings  of 
Whitby,  Priestly,  and  others.  Indeed,  had 
the  state  of  mind  I  was  in  about  ten  weeks 
since  continued,  I  should  have  been  inca- 
pable of  preaching  with  comfort  at  all.  But 
in  the  mount  of  the  Lord  will  he  be  seen. 
Just  as  I  thought  of  giving  up,  he  Avho  hath 
the  hearts  of  all  men  in  his  hand,  and  turn- 
eth  them  as  the  rivers  of  water  are  turned, 
was  pleased,  by  a  merciful  though  afflicting 
providence,  to  set  me  at  a  happy  liberty. 

I  was  violently  seized  with  a  disorder 
very  rife  here,  and  which  carried  off  many, 
supposed  to  be  an  inflamation  in  the  bow- 
els. One  Sabbath  evening  I  felt  such 
alarming  symptoms  that  I  did  not  expect  to 
see  the  Monday  morning.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances I  realized  the  feelings  of  a  dy- 
ing man.  My  mind  hadbeen  so  accustomed 
to  reflect  on  virtue  and  moral  goodness  that, 
the  first  thing  I  attempted,  was  a  survey  of 
my  own  conduct ;  my  diligence  and  faith- 
fulness in  the  ministry,  my  unspotted  life, 
&c.,  &c.  But  ah  !  vain  props  these  for  dy- 
ing men  to  rest  on  !  Such  heart  sins,  such 
corruptions  and  evil  propensities  recurred 
to  my  mind,  that  if  ever  I  knew  the  mo- 
ment when  I  felt  my  own  righteousness  to 
be  like  loathsome  and  filthy  rags,  it  waa 
then.  And  where  should  I,  where  could  I, 
where  did  I  flee,  but  to  Him  whose  glory 
and  grace  I  had  been  of  late  degrading,  at 
least  in  m)''  thoughts  ?  Yes,  there  I  saw 
peace  for  guilty  consciences  was  to  be  alone 
obtained  through  an  almighty  Saviour. 
And  O !  wonderful  to  tell,  I  again  came  to 
him  ;  nor  was  I  sent  away  without  the  bles- 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


345 


sing.     I  found  him  full  of  all  compassion 
ready  to  receive  the  most  ungrateful  of  men. 

*  O  !  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor 
Daily  I'm  constrained  to  be.' 

Thus,  my  dear  brother,  was  the  snare  bro' 
ken,  and  thus  I  escaped. 

"  '  A  debtor  to  m«rcy  alone, 
Of  covenant  mercy  I  sing. ' 

Join  with  me  in  praising  Him,  who  remem- 
bered me  in  my  low  estate,  because  his 
mercy  endureth  for  ever.  Yet  this  is  among 
the  all  things.  I  have  found  it  has  made 
me  more  spiritual  in  preaching.  I  have 
prized  the  gospel  more  than  ever,  and  hope 
it  will  be  the  means  of  guarding  me  against 
future  temptations.  Your  brother,  with  ar 
dent  affection,  in  the  dear  Lord  Jesus. 

«S.  P." 

From  his  first  coming  to  Birmingham, 
his  meekness  and  patience  were  put  to  the 
trial  by  an  Antinomian  spirit  which  infect- 
ed many  individuals,  both  in  and  out  of  his 
congregation.  It  is  well  known  with  what 
affection  it  was  his  practice  to  beseech  sin 
ners  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  and  to  exhort 
Christians  to  the  exercise  of  practical  god- 
liness :  but  these  were  things  which  they 
could  not  endure.  Soothing  doctrine  was 
all  they  desired.  Therefore  it  was,  that 
his  ministry  was  traduced  by  them  as  Ar- 
minian,  and  treated  with  neglect  and  con- 
tempt. But,  like  his  divine  master,  he  bore 
the  contradiction  of  sinners  against  himself, 
and  this  while  he  had  the  strongest  satis- 
faction that  in  those  very  things  to  which 
they  objected,  he  was  pleasing  God.  And 
though  he  plainly  perceived  the  pernicious 
influence  of  their  principles  upon  their  own 
minds,  as  well  as  the  minds  of  others,  yet 
he  treated  them  with  great  gentleness  and 
long  forbearance  ;  and  when  it  became  ne- 
cessary to  exclude  such  of  this  description 
as  were  in  communion  with  him,  it  was 
with  the  greatest  reluctance  that  he  came 
into  that  measure,  and  not  without  having 
first  tried  all  other  means  in  vain.  He  was 
not  apt  to  deal  in  harsh  language ;  yet  in 
one  of  his  letters  about  that  time,  he  speaks 
of  the  principles  and  spirit  of  these  people 
as  a  "  cursed  leaven." 

Among  his  numerous  religious  friend- 
ships, he  seems  to  have  formed  one  for  the 
special  purpose  of  spiritual  improvement. 
This  was  with  Mr.  Summers  of  London, 
who  often  accompanied  him  in  his  journeys ; 
to  whom,  therefore,  it  might  be  "expected 
he  would  open  his  heart  without  reserve. 
Here,  it  is  true,  we  sometimes  see  him,  like 
his  brethren,  groaning  under  darkness, 
want  of  spirituality  and  the  remains  of  in- 
dweliitig  sin ;  but  frequently  rising  above 
all,  as  into  his  native  element,  and'pouring 

Vol.  3.— Rr. 


forth  his  ardent  soul  in  expressions  of  joy 
and  praise.  On  Aug.  19,  1793,  he  writes 
thus: 

"My  dear  Brother, 

"  When  I  take  my  pen  to  pursue  my  cor- 
respondence with  you,  I  have  no  concern 
but  to  communicate  something  which  may 
answer  the  same  end  we  propose  in  our 
annual  journeys :  viz.  lending  some  assist- 
ance in  the  important  object  of  getting,  and 
keeping  nearer  to  God.  This  I  am  per- 
suaded is  the  mark  at  which  we  should  be 
continually  aiming,  nor  rest  satisfied  until 
we  attain  that  to  which  we  aspire.  I  am 
really  ashamed  of  myself,  when  on  the  one 
hand,  I  review  the  time  that  has  elapsed 
since  I  first  assumed  the  Christian  name, 
with  the  opportunities  in  godliness  which 
have  crowded  on  my  moments  since  that 
period  ;  and  when  on  the  other,  I  feel  the 
little  advance  I  have  made !  More  light, 
to  be  sure,  I  have  ;  but  light  without  hea.t 
leaves  the  Christian  half  dissatisfied.  Yes- 
terday I  preached  on  the  duty  of  engaged- 
ness  in  God's  service,  from  Jer.  xxx.  21, 
'  Who  is  this  that  engaged  his  heart  to  ap- 
proach unto  me  ?  saith  the  Lord.'  (A  text 
for  which  I  am  indebted  to  our  last  jour- 
ney. While  urging  the  necessity  of  ^earf 
religion,  including  sincerity  and  ardor,  I 
found  myself  much  assisted  by  reflecting 
on  the,  ardor  which  our  dear  Redeemer 
discovered  in  the  cause  of  sinners.  '  Ah,' 
I  could  not  help  saying,  '  if  our  Saviour  had 
measured  his  intenseness  in  his  engage- 
ments for  us  by  our  fervency  in  fulfilling 
our  engagements  to  him,  we  should  have 
been  now  farther  from  hope  than  we  are 
from  perfection.' 

" '  Dear  Lord,  the  ardor  of  thy  love 
Reproves  ray  cold  returns.' 

"  Two  things  are  causes  of  daily  aston- 
ishment to  me  ;  the  readiness  of  Christ  to 
come  from  heaven  to  earth  for  me ;  and  my 
backwardness  to  rise  from  earth  to  heaven 
with  him.  But  oh  how  animating  the  pros- 
pect !  A  time  approaches  when  we  shall 
rise  to  sink  no  more  :  to  'be  for  ever  with 
the  Lord.'  To  be  with  the  Lord  for  a  week, 
for  a  day,  for  an  hour ;  how  sweetly  must 
the  moments  pass !  But  to  he  for  ever  with 
the  Lord  ;  that  instamps  salvation  with  per- 
fection ;  that  gives  an  energy  to  our  hopes, 
and  a  dignity  to  our  joy,  so  as  to  render  it 
•  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory  !'  I  have 
had  a  few  realizing  moments  since  we  part- 
ed, and  the  effect  has  been,  I  trust,  a  bro- 
ken heart.  O,  my  brother,  it  is  desirable  to 
have  a  broken  heart,  were  it  only  lor  the 
sake  of  the  pleasure  it  feels  in  being  help- 
ed and  healed  by  Jesus  !  Heart  affecting 
views  of  the  cursed  effects  of  sin  are  highly 
salutary  to  a  Christian's  growth  in  humili- 


346 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE 


ty,  confidence,  and  gratitude.  At  once  how 
abasing  and  exalting  is  the  comparison  of 
our  loatlisome  hearts  with  that  of  the  love- 
ly Saviour !  In  him  we  see  all  that  can 
charm  an  angel's  heart ;  in  ourselves,  all 
that  can  gratify  a  devil's.  And  yet  we  may 
rest  perfectly  assured  that  these  nests  of 
iniquity  shall  ere  long  be  transformed  into 
the  temple  of  God  ;  and  these  sighs  of  sor- 
row be  exchanged  for  songs  of  praise. 

"  Last  Lord's  day  I  spent  the  most  profi- 
table Sabbath  to  myself  that  I  ever  remem- 
ber since  I  have  been  in  the  ministry ;  and 
to  this  hour  I  feel  the  sweet  solemnities  of 
that  day  delightfully  protracted.  Ah,  my 
brother,  were  it  not  for  past  experience,  I 
should  say, 

'  My  heart  presumes  I  cannot  lose 
The  relish  all  my  days.' 

But  now  I  rejoice  with  trembling ;  desiring 
to  '  hold  fast  what  I  have,  that  no  man  take 
my  crown.'  Yet  fearing  that  I  shall  find 
how 

— 'E  re  one  fleeting  hour  is  past, 

The  llatt'ring  world  employs 
Some  sensual  bait  to  sieze  my  taste, 

And  to  pollute  my  joys.' 

Yours,  in  our  dear  Saviour,        S.  P." 

In  April,  1794,  dropping  a  few  lines  to 
the  Compiler  of  these  Memoirs,  on  Lord's 
day  evening,  he  thus  concludes :  "  We 
have  had  a  good  day.  I  find,  as  a  dear 
friend  once  said,  It  is  pleasant  speaking 
for  God  ichen  we  walk  with  him.  Oh  for 
much  of  Enoch's  spirit !  The  Head  of  the 
church  grant  it  to  my  dear  brother,  and  his 
affectionate  friend,  S.  P." 

In  another  letter  to  Mr.  Summers,  dated 
June  24,  1794,  he  thus  writes  :  "  We,  my 
friend,  have  entered  on  a  correspondence 
of  heart  with  heart,  and  must  not  lose  sight 
of  that  avowed  object.  1  thank  you  sin- 
cerely for  continuing  the  remembrance 
of  so  unworthy  a  creature  in  your  inter- 
course with  Heaven ;  and  I  thank  that  sa- 
cred Spirit,  whose  quickening  influences 
you  say  you  enjoy  in  the  exercise.  Yes, 
my  brother,  I  have  reaped  the  fruits  of  your 
supplications.  I  have  been  indulged  with 
eome  seasons  of  unusual  joy,  tranquil  as 
solitude,  and  solid  as  the  rock  on  which  our 
hopes  are  built.  In  public  exercises,  pecu- 
liar assistance  has  been  afforded  ;  especial- 
ly in  these  three  things— the  exaltation 
of  the  Redeemer's  glory  ;  the  detectioaof 
the  crooked  way.s,  false  refuges,  and  self- 
delusions  of  the  human  heart ;  and  the  stir- 
ring up  of  the  saints  to  press  onward,  ma- 
king God's  cause  their  own,  and  consider- 
ing themselves  as  living  not  for  themselves, 
but  for  him  alone. 

"Nor  hath  the  word  been  without  its  ef- 


fect; above  fifiy  have  been  added  to  our 
church  this  year,  most  of  whom  I  rejoice 
in,  as  the  seals  of  my  ministry  in  the  Lord. 
Indeed  I  am  surrounded  with  goodness ; 
and  scarce  a  dcay  passes  over  my  head,  but 
I  say,  were  it  not  for  an  ungrateful  heart  I 
should  be  the  happiest  man  alive  ;  and  that 
excepted,  I  neither  expect  nor  wish  to  be 
happier  in  this  world.  My  wile,  my  child- 
ren, and  myself  are  uninterruptedly  healthy ; 
my  friends  kind  ;  my  soul  at  rest ;  my  la- 
bors successful,  &c.  Who  should  be  con- 
tent and  thankful,  if  I  should  not?  Oh,  my 
brother,  help  me  to  praise  !  S.  P." 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Pearee,  from  Ply- 
mouth, dated  Sept.  2,  1794,  the  dark  side 
of  the  cloud  seems  towards  him :  "  I 
have  felt  much  barrenness,  says  he,  as  to 
spiritual  things,  since  I  have  been  here, 
compared  with  my  usual  frame  at  home  ; 
and  it  is  a  poor  exchange  to  enjoy  the  crea- 
ture at  the  expense  of  the  Creator's  pres- 
ence :  a  few  seasons  of  spirituality  I  have 
enjoyed ;  but  my  heart,  my  inconstant  heart, 
is  too  prone  to  rove  from  its  proper  centre. 
Pray  for  me,  my  dear,  my  dearest  friend  ! 
I  do  for  you  daily.  Oh  wrestle  for  me,  that 
I  may  have  more  of  Enoch's  spirit !  I  am 
fully  persuaded  that  a  Christian  is  no  longer 
really  happy,  and  inwardly  satisfied,  than 
whilst  he  walks  with  God  ;  and  I  would  this 
moment  rejoice  to  abandon  every  pleasure 
here  ibr  a  closer  walk  with  him.  I  cannot, 
amidst  all  the  round  of  social  pleasure, 
amidst  the  most  inviting  scenes  of  nature, 
feel  that  peace  with  God  which  passeth 
understanding.  My  thirst  for  preaching 
Christ,  I  fear,  abates,  and  a  detestable  van- 
ity for  the  reputation  of  a  '  good  preacher' 
(as  the  world  terms  it)  has  already  cost  me 
many  conflicts.  Daily  I  feel  convinced  of 
the  propriety  of  a  remark  which  my  friend 
Summers  made  on  his  journey  to  Wales, 
that  '  It  is  easier  for  a  Christian  to  walk 
habitually  near  to  God,  than  to  be  irregular 
in  our  walk  with  him.'  But  I  want  resolu- 
tion ;  I  want  a  contempt  for  the  world  ;.  I 
want  more  heavenly-mindedness ;  I  want 
more  humility  ;  I  want  mucii,  very  much  of 
that,  which  God  alone  can  bestow.  Lord, 
help  the  weakest  Iamb  in  all  thy  flock  ! 

"  I  preached  this  evening  from  Cant.  ii. 
3  :  '  I  sat  down  under  his  shadow  with  great 
delight,  and  his  fruit  was  sweet  to  my  taste.' 
But  how  little  love  for  my  Saviour  did  I  feel ! 
with  what  little  affection  and  zeal  did  I 
speak  !  I  am,  by  some,  praised ;  I  am  fol- 
lowed by  many  ;  I  am  respected  by  mcst  of 
my  acquaintances ;  but  all  this  is  nothing, 
yea,  less  than  notliing.  compared  with  pos- 
sessing '  this  testimony,  that  I  phase  God. 
Oh  thou  friend  of  sinners,  humble  me  by 
repentance,  and  melt  me  down  with  love ! 

"  To-morrow  morning  I  set  ofl'  for  Laun- 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE 


347 


reston.  I  write  to-night,  lest  my  stay  in 
Cornwall  might  make  my  delay  appear  te- 
dious to  the  dear  and  deserving  object  of  my 
most  undissemhled  love.  Oh,  my  Sarah, 
had  I  as  much  proof  that  I  loved  Jesus  Clirist 
as  I  have  of  my  love  to  you^  I  should  prize 
it  more  than  rubies  !  As  often  as  you  can 
find  an  hour  lor  correspondence,  think  of 
your  more  than  ever  affectionate. 

"S.  P." 

In  another  to  Mr.  Summers,  dated  Nov. 
10,  1794,  he  says  :  "  I  suppose  I  shall  visit 
London  in  the  spring.  Prepare  my  way  by 
communion  both  with  God  and  man. 
hope  your  soul  prospers.  I  have  enjoyed 
more  of  God  within  this  month  than  ever 
since  the  day  of  my  espousals  with  him 
Oh,  my  brother,  help  me  to  praise  1  I  can- 
not say  that  I  am  quite  so  exalted  in  my 
frame  to-day ;  yet  still  I  acknowledge  what 
I  have  lived  upon  for  weeks.  That  were 
there  no  being  or  thing  in  the  universe,  be- 
side God  and  me,  I  should  be  at  no  loss 
for  happiness.     Oh, 


'  'Tis  heaven  to  rest  in  his  embrace 
And  no  where  else  but  there.' 


s.  p. 


CHAPTER   II. 


His  laborious  exertiotis  in  promoting  Mis- 
sions to  the  Heathen^  and  offering  himself 
to  become  a  Missionary. 


Mr.  Pearce  has  been  uniformly  the 
spiritual  and  the  active  servant  of  Christ; 
but  neither  his  spirituality  nor  his  activity 
Avould  have  appeared  in  the  manner  they 
have,  but  for  his  engagements  in  the  intro- 
duction of  the  gospel  among  the  heathen. 

It  was  not  long  after  his  settlement  at 
Birmingham,  that  he  became  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Carey,  in  whom  he  found  a  soul 
nearly  akin  to  his  own.  When  the  brethren 
in  the  counties  of  Northampton  and  Leices- 
ter formed  themselves  into  a  Missionary 
Society  at  Kettering,  in  Oct.  1792,  he  was 
there,  and  entered  into  the  business  with 
all  his  heart.  On  his  return  to  Birming 
ham,  he  communicated  the  subject  to  his 
congregation  with  so  much  effect,  that  to 
the  small  sum  of  £13  2^.  3c/.,  with  which 
the  subscription  was  begun,  was  added  £70, 
which  was  collected  and  transmitted  to  the 
treasurer ;  and  the  leading  members  of  the 
church  formed  themselves  into  an  Assistant 
Society.  Early  in  the  following  spring, 
when  it  was  resolved  that  our  brethren, 
Thomas  and  Carey,  should  go  on  a  mission 
to  the  Hindoos,  and  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  was  wanted  for  the  jnirpose,  he  la- 
bored with  increasing  ardor  in  various  parts 
of  the  kingdom;  and  when  tlie  object  was 


accomplished,  he  rejoiced  in  all  his  labor, 
smiling  in  every  company,  and  blessing 
God. 

During  his  labors  and  journeys,  on  this 
important  object,  he  wrote  several  letters  to 
his  friends,  an  extract  or  two  from  which, 
will  discover  the  state  of  his  mind  at  this 
period,  as  well  as  the  encouragements  that 
he  met  with  in  his  work  at  home : 

TO  MR.  STEDMAN. 

"  Birmingham^  February  8,  1793. 
"My  very  dear  Brother, 

"  Union  of  sentiment  often  creates  friend- 
ship among  carnal  men,  and  similarity  of 
feeling  never  fails  to  produce  affection 
among  pious  men,  as  far  as  that  similarity 
is  known.  I  have  loved  you  ever  since  I 
knew  you.  We  sav.^,  we  felt  alike  in  the 
interesting  concerns  of  personal  religion. 
We  formed  a  reciprocal  attachment.  We 
expressed  it  by  words.  We  agreed  to  do 
so  by  correspondence  ;  and  we  have  not  al- 
together been  wanting  to  our  engagements. 
But  our  correspondence  has  been  interrupt- 
ed, not,  I  believe,  through  any  diminution 
of  regard  on  either  side :  I  am  persuaded 
not  on  mine.  I  rather  condemn  myself  as 
the  first  aggressor ;  but  I  excuse  while  I  con- 
demn, and  so  would  you,  did  you  know  half 
the  concerns  which  devolve  upon  me  in  my 
present  situation.  Birmingham  is  a  central 
place ;  the  inhabitants  are  numerous ;  our 
members  are  between  three  and  four  hun- 
dred. The  word  preached  has  lately  been 
remarkably  blessed.  In  less  than  five 
months  I  baptized  nearly  forty  persons,  al- 
most all  newly  awakened.  Next  Lord's 
day  week  I  expect  to  add  to  their  number. 
These  persons  came  to  my  house  to  propose 
ihe  most  important  of  all  inquiries  :  What 
must  we  do  to  be  saved  V  I  have  been  thus 
engaged  some  weeks  during  the  greatest 
part  of  most  days .  This  with  four  sermons 
a  week,  will  account  for  my  neglect.  But 
your  letter,  received  this  evening,  calls  forth 
every  latent  affection  of  my  heart  for  you. 
We  are,  my  dear  brother,  not  only  united 
in  the  common  object  of  pursuit — Salvation; 
not  only  rest  our  hopes  on  the  same  founda- 
tion— Jesus  Christ ;  but  we  feel  alike  re- 
specting the  poor  heathens !  Oh,  how  Chris- 
tianity expresses  the  mind  !  What  tender- 
ness for  our  poor  fellow  sinners !  What 
sympathy  for  their  moral  misery  !  What 
desires  to  do  them  everlasting  good  doth  it 
provoke !  How  satisfying  to  our  judgments 
is  this  evidence  of  grace  !  How  gratifying 
to  our  present  taste  are  these  benevolent 
breathings !  Oh,  how  I  love  that  man 
whose  soul  is  deeply  affected  witli  the  im- 
portance of  the  precious  gospel  to  idola- 
trous heathens !  Excellently,  my  dear 
brother  von  observe,  that,  great  as  its  bless- 


348 


MEMOIRS     OF     PEARCE. 


ings  are  in  the  estimation  of  a  sinner  called 
in  a  Christian  country,  inexpressibly  great- 
er must  they  shine  on  the  newly  illuminated 
mind  of  a  converted  pagan. 

"  We  shall  be  glad  of  all  your  assistance 
in  a  pecuniary  way,  as  the  expense  will  be 
lieavy.  Dear  brother  Carey  has  paid  us  a 
visit  of  love  this  week.  He  preached  ex- 
cellently to-night.  I  expect  brother  Thomas 
next  week  or  the  week  after.  I  wish  you 
would  meet  him  here.  I  have  a  house  at 
your  command,  and  a  heart  greatly  attach 
ed  to  you.  S.  P." 


TO  MR.  FULLER. 

'' February  2Z,  1793. 

"  I  am  willing  to  go  any  where,  and  do 
.iny  thing  in  my  power  ;  but  I  hope  no  plan 
will  be  suffered  to  interfere  with  the  affect- 
ing, hoped  for,  dreaded  day,  March  13,  (the 
day  of  our  brethren,  Carey  and  Thomas's 
solemn  designation  at  Leicester.)  Oh,  how 
the  anticipation  of  it  at  once  rejoices  and 
afflicts  me.  Our  hearts  need  steeling  to 
part  with  our  much-loved  brethren,  who 
are  about  to  venture  their  all  for  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  I  feel  my  soul  melting 
within  me  when  I  read  the  twentieth  chap- 
ter of  the  Acts,  and  especially  verses  36 — 
38.  But  why  grieve  ?  We  shall  see  them 
again :  Oh,  yes :  them,  and  the  children 
whom  the  Lord  will  give  them ;  we,  and 
the  children  whom  the  Lord  hath  given  us. 
We  shall  meet  again:  not  to  weep  and 
pray,  but  to  smile  and  praise.        S.  P." 

From  the  day  of  the  departure  of  the 
Missionaries,  no  one  was  more  importunate 
in  prayer  than  Mr.  Pearce ;  and  on  the 
news  of  their  safe  arrival,  no  one  was  more 
filled  with  joy  and  thankfulness. 

Hitherto  we  had  witnessed  his  zeal  in 
promoting  this  important  undertaking  at 
home  ;  but  this  did  not  satisfy  him.  In  Oc- 
tober, 1794,  we  were  given  to  understand 
that  he  had  ibr  some  time  had  it  in  serious 
contemplation  to  go  himself,  and  to  cast  in 
his  lot  with  his  brethren  in  India.  When 
his  designs  were  first  discovered,  his  friends 
and  connections  were  much  concerned  about 
it,  and  endeavored  to  persuade  him  that 
he  was  already  in  a  sphere  of  usefulness 
too  important  to  be  relinquished.  But  his 
answer  was,  that  they  were  too  interested 
in  the  affair  to  be  competent  judges,  and 
nothing  would  satisfy  him  short  of  his'  ma- 
king a  formal  offer  of  his  services  to  the 
committee :  nor  could  he  be  happy  for  the^n 
to  decide  upon  it,  without  their  appointing 
a  day  of  solemn  prayer  for  the  purpose,  and 
Avhen  assembled,  hearing  an  account  of  the 

principal  exercises   of  his  mind  upon  the      About  a  month  preceding  the  decision  of 
subject,  with  the  reasons  which  induced  him! this  affair,  he  drew  up  a  nairative  oi  his 


to  make  the  proposal,  as  well  as  the  reasons 
alleged  by  his  connections  against  it. 

On  Oct.  4,  1794,  he  wrote  to  an  intimate 
friend,  of  whom  he  entertained  a  hope  that 
he  might  accompany  him,  as  follows : 

"  Last  Wednesday  I  rode  to  Northamp- 
ton, where  a  ministers'  meeting  was  held 
on  the  following  day.  We  talked  much 
about  the  mission.  We  read  some  fresh 
and  very  encouraging  accounts.  We  la- 
mented that  we  could  obtain  no  suitable 
persons  to  send  out  to  the  assistance  of  our 
brethren.  Now  what  do  you  think  waa 
said  at  this  meeting  ?  My  dear  brother,  do 
not  be  surprised  that  all  present  united  in 
opinion,  that  in  all  our  connection  there  was 
no  man  known  to  us  so  suitable  as  you,  pro- 
vided you  were  disposed  for  it,  and  things 
could  be  brought  to  bear.  I  thought  it 
right  to  mention  this  circumstance ;  and 
one  thing  more  1  cannot  refrain  from  saying, 
that  were  it  manifestly  the  will  of  God,  I 
should  call  that  the  happiest  hour  of  my  life, 
which  witnessed  our  botk  embarking  with 
our  families  on  board  one  ship,  as  helpers 
of  the  servants  of  Jesus  Chsist  already  in 
Hindostan.  Yes,  I  could  unreluctantly 
leave  Europe  and  all  its  contents  for  the 
pleasures  and  perils  of  this  glorious  service. 
Often  my  heart  m  the  sincerest  ardors  thus 
breathes  forth  its  desires  unto  God :  '  Here 
am  I,  send  me  !'  But  I  am  ignorant  wheth- 
er you  from  experience  can  realize  my  feel- 
ings. Perhaps  you  have  friendship  enough 
for  me  to  lay  open  your  meditations  on  this 
subject  in  your  next.  If  you  have  had  half 
the  exercises  that  I  have,  it  will  be  a  relief 
to  your  laboring  mind :  or,  if  you  think  I 
have  made  too  free  with  you,  reprove  me, 
and  I  will  love  you  still.  O  if  I  could  find 
a  heart  that  had  been  tortured  and  ravished 
like  my  own  in  this  respect,  I  should  form  a 
new  kind  of  alliance,  and  feel  a  friendship 
of  a  novel  species.  With  eagerness  should 
I  communicate  all  the  vicissitudes  of  my  sen- 
sations, and  with  eagerness  listen  to  a  reci- 
tal of  kindred  feelings.  With  impatience  I 
should  seek,  and  with  gratitude  receive  di- 
rection and  support,  and,  I  hope,  feel  a  new 
occasion  of  thankfulness,  when  I  bow  my 
knee  to  the  Father  of  mercies  and  the  God 
of  all  comfort.  Whence  is  it  that  I  thus 
write  to  you,  as  I  have  never  written  to  any 
one  before?  Is  there  a  fellowship  of  the 
Spirit ;  or  is  it  the  confidence  that  I  have  in 
your  friendship  that  thus  directs  my  pen  ? 

Tell  me  dear ,  tell  me  how  you  have 

felt,  and  how  you  still  feel  on  this  interest- 
ing subject,  and  do  not  long  delay  the  grati- 
fication to  your  very  affectionate  friend  and 
brother.  S.  P." 


MEMOIRS     OF    PEARCE 


349 


experience  respecting  it ;  resolving  at  the 
same  time  to  set  apart  one  day  in  every 
week  for  secret  fasting  and  prayer  to  God 
for  direction ;  and  to  keep  a  diary  of  the 
exercises  of  his  mind  during  the  month. 

When  the  committee  were  met  at  North- 
ampton according  to  his  desire,  he  present- 
ed to  them  the  narrative ;  and  which  was 
as  follows : 

"  October  8,  1794.  Having  had  some 
peculiar  exercises  of  mind  relative  to  my 
personally  attempting  to  labor  for  the  dear 
Redeemer  amongst  the  heathen  ;  and  being 
at  a  loss  to  know  what  is  the  will  of  the 
Lord  in  this  matter  respecting  me,  I  have 
thought  that  I  might  gain  some  satisfaction 
by  adopting  these  two  resolutions  ;  First, 
That  I  will  as  in  the  presence  of  God,  faith- 
fully endeavor  to  recollect  the  various  work- 
ings of  my  mind  on  this  subject,  from  the 
first  period  of  my  feeling  any  desire  of  this 
nature  until  now,  and  commit  them  to  wri- 
ting; together  with  what  considerations  do 
now,  on  the  one  hand,  impel  me  to  the  work, 
and  on  the  other,  what  prevent  me  from  im- 
mediately resolving  to  enter  upon  it.  Sec- 
ondly, That  I  will  from  this  day  keep  a 
regular  journal,  with  special  relation  to  this 
matter. 

"  This  account  and  journal  will,  I  hope, 
furnish  me  with  much  assistance,  in  forming 
a  future  opinion  of  the  path  of  duty ;  as 
well  as  help  any  friends  whom  I  may  here- 
after think  proper  to  consult,  to  give  me 
suitable  advice  in  the  business.  Lord,  help 
me ! 

"  It  is  very  common  for  young  converts 
to  feel  strong  desires  for  the  conversion  of 
others.  These  desires  immediately  followed 
the  evidences  of  my  own  religion  :  and  I 
remember  well  they  were  particularly  fixed 
upon  the  poor  heathens.  I  believe  the  first 
week  that  I  knew  the  grace  of  God  in  truth, 
I  put  up  many  fervent  cries  to  Heaven  in 
their  behalf;  and  at  the  same  time  felt  a 
strong  desire  to  be  employed  in  promoting 
their  salvation.  It  was  not  long  after,  that 
the  first  settlers  sailed  for  Botany  Bay.  I 
longed  to  go  with  them  although  in  compa- 
ny with  the  convicts,  in  hopes  of  making 
known  the  blessings  of  the  great  salvation 
iti  New  Zealand.  I  actually  had  thought 
of  makiiig  an  effort  to  go  out  unknown  to 
my  friends ;  but  ignorant  how  to  proceed,  I 
abandoned  my  purpose.  Nevertheless,  I 
could  not  help  talking  about  it :  and  at  one 
time  a  report  was  circulated  that  I  was  re- 
ally going ;  and  a  neighboring  minister  very 
seriously  conversed  with  me  upon  the  sub- 
ject. 

"  While  I  was  at  the  Bristol  Academy, 
the  desire  remained  ;  but  not  with  that  en- 
ergy as  at  first,  except  on  one  or  two  occa- 
sions.   Being  sent  by  my  tutor  to  preach 


two  Sabbaths  at  Coldford,  I  felt  particular 
sweetness  in  devoting  the  evenings  of 
the  week  to  going  from  house  to  house 
among  the  colliers,  who  dwell  in  the  Forest 
of  Deane,  adjoining  the  town,  conversing 
and  praying  with  them,  and  preaching  to 
them.  In  these  exercises  I  found  the  most 
solid  satisfaction  that  I  have  ever  known  in 
discharging  the  duties  of  my  calling.  In  a 
poor  hut,  with  a  stone  to  stand  upon,  and  a 
three-legged  stool  for  my  desk,  surround- 
ed with  thirty  or  forty  of  the  smutty  neigh- 
bors, I  have  felt  such  an  unction  from  above, 
that  my  whole  auditory  have  been  melted 
into  tears,  whilst  directed  to  '  the  Lamb  of 
God  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world ;'  and  I,  weeping  among  them,  could 
scarcely  speak,  or  they  hear,  for  interrupt- 
ing sighs  and  sobs.  Many  a  time  did  I 
then  think.  Thus  it  was  with  the  apostles  of 
our  Lord,  when  they  went  from  house  to 
house  among  the  poor  heathen.  In  work 
like  this,  I  could  live  and  die.  Indeed,  had 
I  at  that  time  been  at  liberty  to  settle,  I 
should  have  preferred  that  situation  to  any 
in  the  kingdom  with  which  I  was  then  ac- 
quainted. 

"  But  the  Lord  placed  me  in  a  situation 
very  different.  He  brought  me  to  Birming- 
ham ;  and  here,  among  the  novelties,  cares, 
and  duties  of  my  station,  I  do  not  rem.em- 
ber  any  wish  for  foreign  service,  till  after  a 
residence  of  some  months  I  heard  Dr.  Coke 
preach  at  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's  chapels,  from 
Psalm  Ixviii.  31.  '  Ethiopia  shall  soon 
stretch  out  her  hands  unto  God.'  Then  it 
was,  that  in  Mr.  Home's  phrase,  '  I  felt  a 
passion  for  missions.'  Then  I  felt  an  inter- 
est in  the  state  of  the  heathen  world  far 
more  deep  and  permanent  than  before,  and 
seriously  thought  how  I  could  best  promote 
their  obtaining  the  knowledge  of  the  cruci- 
fied Jesus. 

"As  no  way  at  that  time  was  open,  I 
cannot  say  that  I  thought  of  taking  a  part 
of  the  good  work  among  the  heathen  abroad ; 
but  resolved  that  I  would  render  them  all 
the  assistance  I  could  at  home.  My  mind 
Avas  employed  during  the  residue  of  that 
week  in  meditating  on  Psalm  Ixvii.  3,  '  Glo- 
rious things  are  spoken  of  thee,  O  city  of 
God ;'  and  the  next  Sabbath  morning  I 
jspoke  from  those  words.  On  the  promised  in- 
crease of  the  church  of  God.  I  had  observ- 
ed that  our  monthly  meetings  for  prayer 
had  been  better  attended  than  the  other 
prayer  meetings,  from  the  time  that  I  first 
knew  the  people  in  Cannon  street:  but  I 
thought  a  more  general  attention  to  them 
was  desirable.  I  therefore  preached  on  the 
Sabbath-day  evening  preceding  the  next 
monthly  prayer-meeting,  from  Matt.  vi.  10, 
'  Thy  kingdom  come  ;'  and  urged  with  ar- 
dor and  affection  a  universal  union  of  the 
serious  part  of  the  congregation  in  this  ex- 


350 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE 


crcise.  It  rejoiced  me  to  see  three  times 
as  many  the  next  night  as  usual ;  and  for 
some  lime  after  that,  I  had  nearly  equal 
cause  for  joy. 

"As  to  my  own  part,  I  continued  to 
preach  much  upon  the  promises  of  God  re- 
Bpecting  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  na- 
tions ;  and  by  so  doing,  and  always  com- 
municating to  my  people  every  piece  of  in- 
formation I  could  obtain  respecting  the 
present  state  of  missions,  they  soon  imbibed 
the  same  spirit :  and  from  that  time  to 
this  they  have  discovered  so  much  concern 
for  the  more  extensive  spread  of  the  gospel, 
that  at  our  monthly  prayer-meetings  both 
stated  and  occasional,  I  should  be  as  much 
surprised  at  the  case  of  the  heathen  being 
omitted  in  any  prayer,  as  at  an  omission  of 
the  name  and  merits  of  Jesus. 

"  Indeed  it  has  been  a  frequent  mean  of 
enkindling  my  languid  devotion,  in  my  pri- 
vate, domestic,  and  public  engagements  in 
prayer.  When  I  have  been  barren  in  pe- 
titioning for  myself,  and  other  things,  often 
have  I  been  sweetly  enlarged  when  I  came 
to  notice  the  situation  of  those  who  were 
perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge. 

"  Thus  I  went  on  praying,  and  preaching, 
and  conversing  on  the  subject,  till  the  time 
of  brother  Carey's  ordination  at  Leicester, 
May  24,  1791.  On  the  evening  of  that  day, 
he  read  to  the  ministers  a  great  part  of  his 
manuscript,  since  published;  entitled,  An 
Inquiry  into  the  Obligations  of  Cliristians 
to  use  Means  for  the  Conversion  of  the 
Heathens.  This  added  fresh  fuel  to  my  zeal. 
But  to  pray  and  preach  on  the  subject,  was 
all  I  could  then  think  of  doing.  But  when  I 
heard  of  a  proposed  meeting  at  Kettering, 
Oct.  2,  1792,  for  the  express  purpose  of  con- 
sidering our  duty  in  regard  to  the  heathens, 
I  could  not  resist  my  inclination  for  going ; 
although  at  that  time  I  was  not  much  ac- 
quainted with  the  ministers  of  the  North- 
amptonshire association.  There  I  got  my 
judgment  informed,  and  my  heart  increa- 
singly interested.  I  returned  home  resolved 
to  lay  myself  out  in  the  cause.  The  public 
steps  I  have  taken  are  too  well  known  to 
need  repeating;  but  my  mind  became  now 
inclined  to  so  among  the  heathen  myself 
Yet  a  consideration  of  my  connections  with 
the  dear  people  of  God  in  Birmingham, 
restrained  my  desires,  and  kept  me  from 
naming  my  Avishes  to  any  body,  (as  1  re- 
member) except  to  brother  Carey.  With 
him  I  was  pretty  free.  We  had  an  interest- 
ing conversation  about  it  just  before  he  left 
Europe.  I  shall  never  foriret  the  manner  of 
liis  sayinij,  '  Well,  you  will  come  after  us.' 
My  heart  said,  Amen  !  and  my  eagerness 
for  the  work  increased ;  though  I  never 
talked  freely  about  it,  except  to  my  wife, 
fuid  we  both  then  thought  that  my  relation 
to  die  church  in  Cannon  street,  and  useful- 


ness there,  forbade  any  such  an  attempt. 
However  I  have  made  it  a  constant  matter 
of  prayer,  often  begging  of  God,  as  I  did 
when  first  I  was  disposed  for  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  either  that  he  would  take  away 
the  desire,  or  open  a  door  for  its  fulfilment. 
And  the  result  has  uniformly  been,  that  the 
more  spiritual  I  have  been  in  the  frame  of 
my  mind,  the  more  love  I  have  felt  for  God ; 
and  the  more  communion  I  have  enjoyed 
with  him,  so  much  the  more  disposed  have 
I  been  to  engage  as  a  missionary  among 
the  heathen. 

"  Until  the  accounts  came  of  our  breth- 
ren's entrance  on  the  work  in  India,  my 
connections  in  Europe  pretty  nearly  balan- 
ced my  desire  for  going  abroad ;  and 
though  I  felt  quite  devoted  to  the  Lord's 
will  and  work,  yet  I  thought  the  scale  ra- 
ther preponderated  on  the  side  of  my  abi- 
ding in  my  present  situation. 

"  But  since  our  brethren's  letters  have  in- 
formed us  that  there  is  such  prospects  of 
usefulness  in  Hindostan;  that  priests  and 
people  are  ready  to  hear  the  word ;  and 
that  preachers  are  a  thousand  times  more 
wanted,  than  people  to  preach  to,  my  heart 
has  been  more  deeply  affected  than  ever 
with  their  condition  ;  and  my  desires  for  a 
participation  of  the  toils  and  pleasures, 
crosses  and  comforts  of  which  they  are  the 
subjects  are  advanced  to  an  anxiety  which 
nothing  can  remove,  and  time  seems  to  in- 
crease. 

"  It  has  pleased  God  also  lately  to  teach 
me  more  than  ever,  XhaX  himself  is  the  foun- 
tain of  happiness ;  that  likeness  to  him, 
friendship  for  him,  and  communion  with 
him,  form  the  basis  of  all  true  enjoyment ; 
and  that  this  can  be  attained  as  well  in  an 
eastern  jungle,  among  Hindoos  and  Moors, 
as  in  the  most  polished  parts  of  Europe. 
The  very  disposition,  which,  blessed  be  my 
dear  Redeemer !  he  has  given  me,  to  be 
any  thing,  do  any  thing,  or  endure  any 
thing,  so  that  his  name  might  be  glorified — 
I  say,  the  disposition  itself  is  heaven  begun 
below.  I  do  feel  a  daily  panting  after  more 
devotedness  to  his  service,  and  I  can  never 
think  of  my  suffering  Lord,  without  dissolv- 
ing into  love ;  love  which  constrains  me  to 
glorify  him  with  my  body  and  spirit,  which 
are  his. 

"  I  do  often  represent  to  myself  all  the 
possible  hardships  of  a  mission,  arising  from 
my  own  heart,  the  nature  of  the  country, 
domestic  connections,  disappointment  in  my 
hopes,  &c.  &c.  And  then  I  set  over  against 
them  all,  these  two  thoughts:  I  am  God^s 
servant  and,  God  is  my  friend.  In  this,  I 
anticipate  happiness  in  the  midst  of  suffer- 
ing, liffht  in  darkness,  and  life  in  death. 
Yea,  I  do  not  count  my  life  dear  unto  my- 
s(;lf,  so  that  I  may  win  some  poor  heathens 
unto  Christ ;  and  I  am  willing  to  be  offered 


MEMOIRS    OB^    PEARCE. 


35t 


as  a  sacrifice  on  the  service  of  the  faith  of 
the  gospel. 

"Mr.  Home  justly  observes,  'that,  in 
order  to  justify  a  man's  undertaking  the 
work  of  a  missionary,  he  should  be  qualified 
lor  it,  disposed  heartily  to  enter  upon  it,  and 
free  from  such  ties  as  exclude  an  engage- 
ment.' As  to  the  first,  other.s  must  judge 
for  me  ;  but  they  must  not  be  men  who  have 
an  interest  in  keeping  me  at  home.  I  shall 
rejoice  in  opportunities  of  attaining  to  an 
acquaintance  with  the  ideas  of  judicious  and 
impartial  men  in  this  matter,  and  with  them 
I  must  leave  it.  A  willingness  to  embark 
in  this  cause  I  do  possess  :  and  I  can  hardly 
persuade  myself  that  God  has  for  ten  years 
inclined  my  heart  to  this  work  without  hav- 
ing any  thing  for  me  to  do  in  it.  But  the 
third  thing  requires  more  consideration ; 
and  here  alone  I  hesitate."  Here  he  goes 
on  to  state  all  the  objections  from  this  quar- 
ter, with  his  answers  to  them,  leaving  it 
with  his  brethren  to  decide  when  they  had 
heard  the  whole. 

The  committee,  after  the  most  serious 
and  mature  deliberation,  though  they  were 
fully  satisfied  as  to  brother  Pearce's  qualifi- 
cations, and  greatly  approved  of  his  spirit, 
yet  were  unanimously  of  opinion  that  he 
ought  not  togo  ;  and  that  not  merely  on  ac- 
count of  his  connections  at  home,  which 
might  have  been  pleaded  in  the  case  of 
brother  Carey,  but  on  account  of  the  mis- 
sion itself,  which  required  his  assistance  in 
the  station  which  he  already  occupied. 

In  this  opinion  brother  Carey  himself 
with  singular  disinterestedness  of  mind,  af- 
terwards concurred  ;  and  wrote  to  brother 
Pearce  to  the  same  effect. 

On  receiving  the  opinion  of  the  commit- 
tee, he  immediately  wrote  to  Mrs.  P.  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Northampton  Nov.  13,  1794. 
"My  dear  Sarah, 

"  I  am  disappointed,  but  not  dismayed.  I 
ever  wish  to  make  my  Saviour's  will  my 
own.  I  am  more  satisfied  than  ever  I  ex 
pected  I  should  be  with  a  negative  upon 
my  earnest  desires,  because  the  business 
has  been  so  conducted,  that  I  think,  (if  by 
any  means  such  an  issue  could  be  insured) 
the  mind  of  Christ  has  been  obtained.  My 
dear  brethren  here  have  treated  the  affair 
with  as  much  seriousness  and  affection  as  I 
could  possibly  desire,  and,  I  think,  more  than 
so  insignificant  a  worm  could  expect.  Af- 
ter we  had  spent  the  former  part  of  this  day 
in  fasting  and  prayer,  with  conversation  on 
the  subject,  till  near  two  o'clock,  brother 
l^otts.  King,  and  I  retired.  We  prayed 
while  the  conmiittee  consulted.  The  case 
seemed  difficult,  and  1  suppose  they  were 
nearly  two  hours  in  deciding.  At  last,  tme 
forced  them  to  a  point ;  and  their  answer  I 


inclose  for  your  satisfaction.  Pray  take 
care  of  it;  it  will  serve  forme  to  refer  to 
when  my  mind  may  labor  beneath  a  burden 
of  guilt  another  day. 

"  I  am  my  dear  Sarah's  own       S.  P." 

The  decision  of  the  committee,  though  it 
rendered  him  much  more  reconciled  to 
abide  in  his  native  country  than  he  could 
have  been  without  it;  yet  did  not  in  the 
least  abate  his  zeal  for  the  object.  As  he 
could  not  promote  it  abroad,  he  seemed  re- 
solved to  lay  himself  out  more  for  it  at  home. 
In  March,  1795,  after  a  dangerous  illness, 
he  says,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Fuller,  "  Through 
mercy  I  am  almost  in  a  state  of  convales- 
cence. May  my  spared  life  be  Avholly  de- 
voted to  the  service  of  my  dear  Redeemer. 
I  do  not  care  where  I  am,  whether  in  Eng- 
land or  in  India,  so  I  am  employed  as  he 
would  have  me ;  but  surely  we  need  pray 
hard  that  God  w'ould  send  some  more  help 
to  Hindostan." 

In  January,  1796,  when  he  was  first  in- 
formed by  the  Secretary,  of  a  young  man, 
(Mr.  Fountain)  being  desirous  of  going,  of 
the  character  that  was  given  of  him  by  our 
friend  Mr.  Savage,  of  London,  and  of  a 
committee  meeting  being  in  contemplation, 
he  wrote  tlius  in  answer  :  "  Your  letter,  just 
arrived,  put — I  was  going  to  saj^,  another 
soul  into  my  little  body  :  at  least  it  has  add- 
ed new  life  to  the  soul  I  have.  I  cannot  be 
contented  with  the  thought  of  being  absent 
from  your  proposed  meeting.  No,  no ;  I 
must  be  there,  (for  my  own  sake  I  mean) 
and  try  to  sing  with  you,  '  O'er  the  gloomy 
hills  of  darkness.'  "* 

In  August,  the  same  year,  having  receiv- 
ed a  letter  from  India,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Ful- 
ler as  follows  "  Brother  Carey  speaks  in 
such  a  manner  of  the  effects  of  the  gospel 
in  his  neighborhood,  as  in  my  view  promi- 
ses a  fair  Illustration  of  our  Lord's  parable, 
when  he  compared  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
to  a  little  leaven,  hid  in  three  measures  of 
meal,  which  insinuated  itself  so  effectually 
as  to  leaven  the  lump  at  last.  Blessed  be 
Ciod,  the  leaven  is  already  in  the  meal. 
The  fermentation  is  begun ;  and  my  hopes 
were  never  half  so  strong  as  they  are  now, 
that  the  whole  shall  be  effectually  leavened. 
O  that  I  were  there  to  ^citneas  the  delightful 
progress!  But  whitiier  am  I  running? 
....  I  long  to  write  to  you  from  Hindostan  .'" 

On  receiving  other  letters  from  India,  in 
January,  1797,  he  thus  writes:  "Perhapn 
you  are  now  rejoicing  in  spirit  with  nie  over 
f>esh  intelligence  from  Bengal.  This  mo- 
ment have  I  concluded  reading  two  let- 
ters from  brother  Thomas :  one  to  the  So- 
ciety, and  the  other  to  myself     He  speaks 


•  The  128  Hymn  of  Dr.  Uippoirsgdlecliuii,  freqiirntl/ 
sun?  at  crtir  committee  meetings. 


352 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


of  others  from  brother  Carey.  I  hope  they 
are  already  in  your  possession.  If  his  cor- 
respondence has  produced  the  same  effects 
on  your  heart  as  brother  Thomas's  has  on 
mine,  you  are  filled  with  gladness  and  hope. 
I  am  grieved  that  I  cannot  convey  them  to 
you  immediately.  I  long  to  witness  the 
pleasure  their  contents  Avill  impart  to  all 
whose  hearts  are  with  us.  O  that  I  were 
accounted  worthy  of  the  Lord  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  the  Booteas !" 

Being  detained  from  one  of  our  mission 
meetings  by  preparing  the  Periodical  Ac- 
counts for  the  press,  he  soon  after  wrote  as 
follows :  '■  We  shall  now  get  out  No.  IV. 
very  soon.  I  hope  it  will  go  to  the  press 
in  a  very  few  days.  Did  you  notice,  that 
the  very  day  on  which  we  invited  all  our 
friends  to  a  day  of  prayer  on  behalf  of  the 
mission,  (Dec.  28,  1796)  was  the  same  in 
which  brother  Carey  sent  liis  best  and  most 
interesting  accounts  to  the  Society?  I 
hope  you  had  solemn  and  sweet  seasons  at 
Northampton.  On  many  accounts  I  should 
have  rejoiced  to  have  been  with  you :  yet  I 
am  satisfied  that  on  the  whole  I  was  doing 
best  at  home."  It  has  been  already  observ- 
ed that  for  a  month  preceding  the  decision 
of  the  committee,  he  resolved  to  devote  one 
day  in  every  week  to  secret  prayer  and 
fasting,  and  to  keep  a  diary  of  the  exercises 
of  his  mind  during  the  whole  of  that  period. 
This  diary  was  not  shown  to  the  committee 
at  that  time,  but  merely  the  preceding  nar- 
rative. Since  his  death  a  few  of  them  have 
perused  it ;  and  have  been  almost  ready  to 
think,  that  if  they  had  seen  it  before,  they 
dared  not  oppose  his  going.  But  the  Lord 
hath  taken  him  to  himself.  It  no  longer  re- 
mains a  question  now,  whether  he  shall  la- 
bor in  England  or  in  India.  A  few  passa- 
ges, however,  from  this  transcript  of  his 
heart,  while  contemplating  a  great  and  dis- 
interested undertaking,  will  furnish  a  better 
idea  of  his  character  than  could  be  given  by 
any  other  hand. 

"  Oct.  8,  1794.  Had  some  remarkable 
freedom  and  affection  this  morning,  both  in 
family  and  secret  prayer.  With  many 
tears  I  dedicated  myself,  body  and  soul,  to 
the  service  of  Jesus;  and  earnestly  im 
plored  satisfaction  respecting  the  path  of 
duty.  I  feel  a  growing  deadness  for  all 
earthly  comforts  ;  and  derive  my  happiness 
immediately  from  God  himself.  May  I  still 
endure,  as  Moses  did,  by  seeing  him  who  is 
invisible  ? 

"  Oct.  10.  Enjoyed  much  freedom  to  day 
in  the  family.  Whilst  noticing  in  prayer  the 
state  of  millions  of  hcatlien  who  know  not 
God,  I  felt  the  aggregate  value  of  their  im- 
mortal souls  with  peculiar  energy. 

"  Afterwards  was  much  struck  whilst  (on 
my  knees  before  God  in  secret)  I  read  the 
fourtii  cliapter  of  Micah.     The  ninth  verse 


I  fancied  very  applicable  to  the  church  in 
Cannon  Street:  but  what  reason  is  there 
for  such  a  cry  about  so  insignificant  a  worm 
as  I  am  1  The  third  chapter  of  Habakkuk 
too  well  expresses  that  mixture  of  solemnity 
and  confidence  with  which  I  contemplate  the 
work  of  the  mission, 

"  Whilst  at  prayer-meeting  to  night,  I 
learned  more  of  the  meaning  of  some  pas- 
sages of  scripture  than  ever  before.  Suita- 
ble frames  of  soul  are  like  good  lights,  in 
which  a  painting  appears  to  its  full  advan- 
tage. I  had  often  meditated  on  Phil.  iii.  7, 
8,  and  Gal.  vi.  14:  hwinever  felt  crucifixion 
to  the  world,  and  disesteem  for  all  that  it 
contains  as  at  that  time.  All  prospects  of 
pecuniary  independence,  and  growing  rep- 
utation, with  which  in  unworihier  moments 
I  had  amused  myself,  were  now  chased  from 
my  mind  :  and  the  desire  of  living  wholly 
to  Christ  swallowed  up  every  other  thought. 
Frowns  and  smiles,  fulness  or  want,  honor 
and  reproach,  were  now  equally  indifferent ; 
and  when  I  concluded  the  meeting,  my 
whole  soul  felt,  as  it  were,  going  after  the 
lost  sheep  of  Christ  among  the  heathen. 

"  I  do  feel  a  growing  satisfaction  in  the 
proposal  of  spending  my  whole  life  in  some- 
thing nobler  than  the  locality  of  this  island 
will  admit.  I  long  to  raise  my  Master's 
banner  in  climes  where  the  sound  of  his 
fame  hath  but  scarcely  reached.  He 
hath  said,  for  my  encouragement,  that  all 
nations  shall  flow  unto  it. 

"  The  conduct  and  success  of  Stach,  Boon- 
ish,  and  other  Moravian  missionaries  in 
Greenland,  both  confound  and  stimulate  me. 
O  Lord,  forgive  my  past  indolence  in  thy  ser- 
vice, and  help  me  to  redeem  the  residue  of 
my  days  for  exertions  more  worthy  a  friend 
of  mankind  and  a  servant  of  God. 

"  Oct.  13.  Being  taken  up  with  visitors 
the  former  part  of  the  day,  I  spent  the  after 
part  in  application  to  the  Bengal  language, 
and  found  the  difficulties  I  apprehend  van- 
ish as  fast  as  I  encountered  them.  I  read 
and  prayed,  prayed  and  read,  and  made  no 
small  advances.     Blessed  be  God  ? 

''  Oct.  15.  There  are  in  Birmingham  fifty 
tliousand  inhabitants ;  and  exclusive  of  the 
vicinity,  ten  ministers  who  preach  the  funda- 
nientai  truths  of  the  gospel.  In  Hindostan 
there  are  twice  as  many  millions  of  inhabi- 
tants ;  and  not  so  many  gospel  preachers. 
Now  Jesus  Christ  hath  commanded  his  min- 
isters to  go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the 
gospel,  to  every  creature.  Why  should  we 
be  so  disproportionate  in  our  labors  ?  Pe- 
culiar circumstances  must  not  be  urged 
against  positive  commands  ;  I  am  therefore 
bound,  if  others  do  not  go,  to  make  the 
means  more  proportionate  to  the  multitude. 

"  To  night,  reading  some  letters  from 
brother  Carey,  in  which  he  speaks  of  his 
wife's  illnes.j  when  she  first  came   into  the 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


353 


country,  I  endeavored  to  realize  myself  not 
only  with  a  eick,  but  a  dead  wife.  The 
thought  was  like  a  cold  dagger  to  my  heart 
at  first ;  but  on  recollection  I  considered  that 
the  same  God  ruled  in  India  as  in  Europe ; 
and  that  he  could  either  preserve  her,  or 
support  me,  as  well  there  as  here.  My 
business  is  only  to  be  where  he  would  have 
me.  Other  things  I  leave  to  him.  O  Lord, 
though  with  timidity,  yet  I  hope  not  without 
satisfaction,  I  look  every  possible  evil  in  the 
face,  and  say,  '  Thy  will  be  done.' 

"  Oct.  17.  This  is  the  first  day  I  have  set 
apart  for  extraordinary  devotion  in  relation 
to  my  present  exercise  of  mind.  Rose 
earlier  than  usual,  and  began  the  day  in 
prayer  that  God  would  be  with  me  in  every 
part  of  it,  and  grant  that  the  end  I  have  in 
view  may  be  clearly  ascertained— the  knowl- 
edge of  his  will. 

"  Considering  the  importance  of  the  work 
before  me,  I  began  at  the  foundation  of  all 
religion,  and  reviewed  the  grounds  en 
which  I  stood ;  the  being  of  a  God,  the  re 
lation  of  mankind  to  him,  with  the  divine 
inspiration  of  the  scriptures ;  and  the  re- 
view afforded  me  great  satisfaction.*  I  al- 
so compared  the  different  religions  which 
claimed  divine  origin,  and  found  little  diffi- 
culty in  determining  which  had  most  inter- 
nal evidence  of  its  divinity.  I  attentively 
read,  and  seriously  considered  Doddridge's 
three  excellent  sermons  on  the  evidences  of 
the  Christian  religion,  which  was  followed 
by  such  conviction,  that  I  had  hardly  pa- 
tience to  conclude  the  book  before  I  fell  on 
my  knees  before  God  to  bless  him  for  such  a 
religion,  established  on  such  a  basis ;  and  I 
have  received  more  solid  satisfaction  this 
day  upon  the  subject  than  ever  I  did  be- 
fore. 

"  I  also  considered,  since  the  gospel  is  true, 
since  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church,  and 
his  will  is  the  law  of  all  his  followers,  what 
are  the  obligations  of  his  servants  in  re- 
spect of  the  enlargement  of  his  kingdom. 
I  here  referred  to  our  Lord's  commission, 
•which  I  could  not  but  consider  as  universal 
in  its  object,  and  permanent  in  its  obliga- 
tion*. I  read  brother  Carey's  remarks  up- 
on it — and  as  the  command  has  never  been 
repealed ;  as  there  is  millions  of  beings  in 
the  world  on  whom  the  command  may  be 
exercised ;  as  I  can  produce  no  counter  rev- 
elation ;  and  as  I  lie  under  no  natural  im- 
possibilities of  performing  it,  I  concluded 
that  I  as  a  servant  of  Christ,  was  bound  by 
this  law. 

•  Tliprf  is  a  wide  difference  be'ween  adnjiiting  these 
principle?  in  Ihenry,  and  and  viakin^  use  of  them.  Da- 
vid tniglit  liave  worn  Saul's  accoutrements  at  a  parade  ; 
but  in  meeting  Goliah  he  must  go  forth  in  an  armor 
that  had  been  tried.  A  mariner  may  sit  in  hi?  cabin  at 
his  ease  while  the  ship  is  in  harbor:  but  ere  he  under- 
takes a  voj-apehe  must  examine  its  soimdness,  and 
whether  it  will  endure  the  storms  which  may  overtake 
him. 

Vol.  3.— Ss. 


"I  took  the  narrative  of  my  experience,  and 
statement  of  my  views  on  the  subject  in  my 
hand,  and  bowing  down  before  God,  I  ear- 
nestly besought  an  impartial  and  an  enlight- 
ened spirit.  I  then  perused  that  paper ;  and 
can  now  say,  that  I  have  (allowing  for  my 
own  fallibility)  no  one  doubt  upon  the  sub- 
ject. I  therefore  resolved  this  solemn  season 
with  reading  a  portion  of  both  Testaments, 
and  earnest  prayer  to  God  for  my  family,  my 
people,  the  heathen  world,  the  society,  and 
particularly  for  the  success  of  our  dear 
brethren  Thomas  and  Carey,  and  his  bles- 
sing, presence,  and  grace  to  be  ever  my 
guide  and  glory.  Accordingly  I  read  the 
49th  chapter  of  Isaiah ;  and  with  what 
sweetness  !  I  never  read  a  chapter  in  pri- 
vate with  such  feelings,  since  I  have  been 
in  the  ministry.  The  8,  9,  10,  20  and  21 
verses  I  thought  remarkably  suitable. 

Read  also  part  of  the  epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  and  the  first  chapter  to  the 
PhiUpians.  O  that  for  me  to  live  may  be 
Christ  alone  !  Blessed  be  my  dear  Saviour 
in  prayer  I  have  had  such  fellowship  with 
him,  as  would  warm  me  in  Greenland,  com- 
fort me  in  New  Zealand,  and  rejoice  me  in 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  ! 

"  Oct.  18.  I  dreamed  that  I  saw  one  of  the 
Christian  Hindoos.  O  how  I  loved  him ! 
I  long  to  realize  my  dream.  How  pleas- 
ant will  it  be  to  sit  down  at  the  Lord's  ta- 
ble with  our  black  brethren,  and  hear  Jesua 
preached  in  their  language.  Surely  then 
will  come  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written, 
'  In  Christ  there  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek, 
Barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  nor  free,  all  are 
ONE  in  him.' 

"  Have  been  happy  to-day  in  completing 
the  manuscript  of  Periodical  Accounts,  No. 
1.  Any  thing  relative  to  the  salvation  of 
the  heathen,  brings  a  certain  pleasure  with 
it.  I  find  I  cannot  pray,  nor  converse  nor 
read,  nor  study,  nor  preach  with  satisfaction 
without  reference  to  tliis  subject. 

"  Oct  20.  Was  a  little  discouraged  on 
reading  Mr.  Zeigenbald's  conferences  with 
the  Malabarians,  till  I  recollected,  what 
ought  to  be  ever  present  to  my  mind  in 
brother  Carey's  words.  The  vxtrk  i? 
GocTs. 

"  In  the  evening  I  found  some  little  diffi- 
culty with  the  language  ;  but  considering 
how  merchants  and  captains  overcome  this 
difficulty  for  the  sake  of  wealth,  I  sat  con- 
founded before  the  Lord  that  I  should  ever 
have  indulged  such  a  thought ;  as  looking 
up  to  him,  I  set  about  it  with  cheerfulness 
and  found  that  I  was  making  a  sensible  ad- 
vance, although  I  can  never  apply  till  11 
o'clock  at  night,  on  account  of  my  others 
duties.* 

Nisht  studies,  often  continued  till  two  or  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  it  is  to  be  feared,  were  the  first 
occasion  of  impeirin?  Mr.  Tearcc's  health  and  brought 


354 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


"  Preached  from  2  Kings,  iv.  26.  '  It  is 
well.'  Was  much  enlarged  both  in  thought 
and  expression.  Whilst  speaking  of  the 
satisfaction  enjoyed  by  a  truly  pious  mind, 
when  it  feels  itself  in  all  circumstances  and 
times  in  the  hand  of  a  good  God,  I  felt,  that 
were  the  universe  destroyed,  and  I  the  only 
being  in  it,  beside  God,  he  is  fully  adequate 
to  my  complete  happiness  ;  and  had  I  been 
in  an  African  wood,  surrounded  with  vene- 
mous  serpents,  devouring  beasts,  and  sav- 
age men,  in  such  a  frame,  I  should  be  the 
subject  of  perfect  peace  and  exalted  joy. 
Yes,  O  my  God,  thou  hast  taught  me  that 
THOO  alone  art  worthy  of  my  confidence ; 
and  with  this  sentiment  fixed  in  my  heart, 
I  am  free  from  all  solicitude  about  any  tem- 
poral prospects  or  concerns.  If  thy  pres- 
ence be  enjoyed,  poverty  shall  be  riches, 
darkness  light,  affliction  prosperity  reproach 
my  honor,  and  fatigue  my  rest :  and  thou 
hast  said.  '  My  presence  shall  go  with 
thee.'  Enough,  Lord,  I  ask  for  nothing, 
nothing  more. 

"  But  how  sad  the  proofs  of  our  depravity ; 
and  how  insecure  the  best  frames  we  enjoy  ! 
Returning  home,  a  wicked  expression  from 
a  person  who  passed  me  caught  my  ear, 
and  occurred  so  often  to  my  thoughts  for 
some  minutes,  as  to  bring  guilt  upon  my 
mind,  and  overwhelm  me  with  the  shame 
before  God.  But  1  appealed  to  God  ibr 
my  hatred  of  all  such  things,  secretly  con- 
fessed the  sin  of  my  heart,  and  again  ven- 
tured to  the  mercy-seat.  On  such  occasions, 
how  precious  a  Mediator  is  to  the  soul. 

"  Oct.  22.  I  did  not  for  the  former  part  of 
the  day  feel  my  wonted  ardor  for  the  work 
of  a  missionary ;  but  rather  an  inclination 
to  consult  flesh  and  blood,  and  look  at  the 
worst  side  of  things.  I  did  so ;  but  when 
on  my  knees  before  God  in  prayer  about  it, 
I  first  considered  that  my  judgment  was 
still  equally  satisfied,  and  my  conscience  so 
convinced,  that  I  durst  not  relinquish  the 
work  for  a  thousand  worlds.  And  then  I 
thought  that  this  dull  frame  had  not  been 
without  its  use  ;  as  I  was  now  fully  convin- 
ced, that  my  desires  to  go  did  not  arise  from 
any  fluctuation  of  inconsistent  passions,  but 
the  settled  convictions  of  my  judgment.  I 
therefore  renewed  my  vows  unto  the  Lord, 
that  let  what  difficulties  soever  be  in  the 
way,  I  would  (provided  the  society  approv- 
ed) surmount  them  all.  I  felt  a  kind  of 
unutterable  satisfaction  of  mind,  in  my  reso- 
lution of  leaving  the  decision  in  the  hands 


on  that  train  of  nervous  sensations  with  which  he  was 
afterwards  afflicted.  Tliough  not  much  accustomed  to 
converse  on  this  subject,  he  once  acknowledged  to  a 
brother  in  the  ministry,  that  owinj;;  tohis  rnervated  state, 
he  sometimes  dreaded  the  approach  of  pubhc  services  to 
such  a  degree,  that  lie  would  rather  have  submitted  to 
etripcR  than  engage  in  them :  and  that  while  in  the  pulpii 
he  was  frequently  distressed  with  the  apprehension  of 
falling  over  it 


of  my  brethren.    May  God  rightly  dispose 
their  hearts  !     I  have  no  doubt  but  he  will, 

"Oct.  23.  Have  found  a  little  time  to 
apply  to  the  Bengalee  language.  How 
pleasant  it  is  to  work  for  God !  Love 
transforms  thorns  to  roses,  and  makes  pain 
itself  a  pleasure.  I  never  sat  down  to  any 
study  with  such  peculiar  and  continued 
satisfaction.  The  thought  of  exalting  the 
Redeemer  in  this  language,  is  a  spur  to 
my  application  paramount  to  every  discour- 
agement lor  want  of  a  living  tutor.  I  have 
passed  this  day  with  an  abiding  satisfaction 
respecting  my  present  views. 

"  Oct.  24.  O  for  the  enlightening,  enli- 
vening, and  sanctifying  presence  of  God 
to-day !  It  is  the  second  of  those  days  of 
extraordinary  devotion  which  I  have  set 
apart  for  seeking  God,  in  relation  to  the 
mission.  How  shall  I  spend  it  ?  I  will  de- 
vote the  morning  to  prayer,  reading,  and 
meditation ;  and  the  afternoon  to  visiting 
the  wretched,  and  relieving  the  needy. 
May  God  accept  my  services,  guide  me  by 
his  counsel,  and  employ  me  for  his  praise  I 

"  Having  besought  the  Lord  that  he  would 
not  suffer  me  to  deceive  myself  in  so  im- 
portant a  matter  as  that  which  I  had  now 
retired  to  consider,  and  exercised  some 
confidence  that  he  would  be  the  rewarder 
of  those  Avho  diligently  seek  him,  I  read 
the  119th  Psalm  at  the  conclusion  of  my 
prayer,  and  felt  and  wondered  at  the  con- 
gruity  of  so  many  of  the  verses  to  the 
breathings  of  my  OAvn  heart.  Often,  with 
holy  admiration,  I  paused,  and  read,  and 
thought,  and  prayed  over  the  verse  again, 
especially  verses  20,  31,  59,  60,  112,  145, 
146.  'My  soul  breaketh  for  the  longing 
that  it  hath  unto  thy  judgments  at  all  times. 
I  have  stuck  unto  thy  testimonies,  O  Lord, 
put  me  not  to  shame.' 

"Most  of  the  morning  I  spent  in  serious- 
ly reading  Mr.  Home's  Letters  on  Mis- 
sions, having  first  begged  of  the  Lord  to 
make  the  perusal  profitable  to  my  instruc- 
tion in  the  path  of  duty.  To  the  interro- 
gation, '  Which  of  you  will  forsake  all,  de- 
ny himself,  take  up  his  cross,  and,  if  God 
pleases,  die  for  his  religion?'  I  replied 
spontaneovisly.  Blessed  be  God,  I  am  wil- 
ling !     Lord,  help  me  to  accomplish  it  I 

"  Closed  this  season  with  reading  the 
61st  and  62nd  chapters  of  Isaiah,  and  pray- 
er for  the  church  of  God  at  large,  my  own 
congregation,  the  heathens,  the  society, 
brethren  Thomas  and  Carey,  all  missiona- 
ries whom  God  hath  sent  of  every  denomi- 
nation, my  own  case,  my  wife  and  family, 
and  for  assistance  in  my  work. 

"  The  after  part  of  this  day  has  been 
gloomy  indeed.  All  the  painful  circum- 
stances which  can  attend  my  going  have 
met  upon  my  heart,  and  formed  a  load  al- 
most iuBupportable.    A  number  of  tilings, 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


355 


which  have  been  some  time  accumulating, 
have  united  their  pressure,  and  made  me 
groan  being  burdened.  Whilst  at  a  prayer 
meeting  I  looked  round  on  my  Christian 
friends,  and  said  to  myself,  A  few  months 
more,  and  probably  I  shall  leave  you  all ! 
But  in  the  deepest  of  my  gloom,  I  resolved 
though  faint  yet  to  pursue,  not  doubting 
but  my  Lord  would  give  me  strength  equal 
to  the  day. 

"  I  had  scarcely  formed  this  resolution 
before  it  occurred.  My  Lord  and  Master 
was  a  man  of  sorrows.  Oppressed,  and 
covered  with  blood,  he  cried,  '  If  it  be  pos- 
sible, let  this  cup  pass  from  me.'  Yet  in 
the  depth  of  his  agonies,  he  added,  '  Thy 
will  be  done.'  This  thought  was  to  me 
what  the  sight  of  the  cross  was  to  Bunyan's 
pilgrim  ;  I  lost  my  burden.  Spent  the  re 
mainder  of  the  meeting  in  sweet  commu 
nion  with  God. 

"  But  on  coming  home,  the  sight  of  Mrs. 
P.  replaced  my  load.  She  had  for  some 
time  been  much  discouraged  at  the  thoughts 
of  going.  I  therefore  felt  reluctant  to  say 
any  thing  on  this  subject,  thinking  it  would 
be  unpleasant  to  her :  but  though  I  strove 
to  conceal  it,  an  involuntary  sigh  betrayed 
my  uneasiness.  She  kindly  inquired  the 
cause.  I  avoided  at  first  an  explanation, 
till  she,  guessing  the  reason,  said  to  this  ef 
feet:  '  I  hope  you  will  be  no  more  uneasy 
on  my  account.  For  the  last  two  or  three 
days,  I  have  been  more  comfortable  than 
ever  in  the  thought  of  going.  I  have  con 
sidered  the  steps  you  are  pursuing  to  know 
the  mind  of  God,  and  I  think  you  cannot 
take  more  proper  ones.  When  you  consult 
the  ministers,  you  should  represent  your 
obstacles  as  strongly  as  your  inducements ; 
and  then,  if  they  advise  your  going,  though 
the  parting  from  my  friends  will  be  almost 
insupportable,  yet  I  will  make  myself  as 
happy  as  I  can,  and  God  can  make  me 
happy  any  where.' 

"Should  this  little  Diary  fall  into  the 
hands  of  a  man  having  the  soul  of  a  mis- 
sionary, circumstanced  as  I  am,  he  will  be 
the  only  man  capable  of  sharing  my  peace, 
my  joy,  my  gratitude,  my  rapture  of  soul. 
Thus  at  evening  tide  it  is  light ;  thus  God 
brings  his  people  through  fire  and  through 
water  into  a  wealthy  place ;  thus  those  who 
ask  do  receive,  and  their  joy  is  full.  '  O 
love  the  Lord,  ye  his  saints:  there  is  no 
want  to  them  that  fear  him  !' 

"  Oct.  26.  Had  much  enlargement  this 
morning,  whilst  speaking  on  the  nature, 
extent  and  influence  of  divine  love ;  what 
designs  it  formed — with  what  energy  it 
acted — with  what  perseverance  it  pursued 
its  object — what  obstacles  it  surmounted 
what  difficulties  it  conquered — and  Avhat 
sweetness  it  imparted  under  the  heaviest 
loads,  and  severest  trials !    Almost  through 


the  day  I  enjoyed  a  very  desirable  frame, 
and  on  coming  home,  my  wife  and  I  had 
some  conversation  on  the  subject  of  my 
going.  She  said,  though  in  general  the 
thought  was  painful,  yet  there  were  some 
seasons  when  she  had  no  preference,  but 
felt  herself  disposed  to  go  or  stay,  as  the 
Lord  should  direct. 

"  This  day  wrote  to  brother  Fuller,  brief- 
ly stating  my  desires,  requesting  his  advice, 
and  proposing  a  meeting  of  the  committee 
on  the  business.  I  feel  great  satisfaction 
arising  from  my  leaving  the  matter  to  the 
determination  of  my  honored  brethren,  and 
to  God  through  them. 

"  Oct.  27.  To-day  I  sent  a  packet  to  our 
brethren  in  India.  I  could  not  forbear  tell- 
ing brother  Carey  all  my  feelings,  views, 
and  expectations:  but  without  saying  I 
should  be  entirely  governed  by  the  opinion 
of  the  society. 

"  Oct.  28.  Still  panting  to  preach  Jesus 
among  my  fellow  sinners  to  whom  he  is 
yet  unknown.  Wrote  to  Dr.  Rogers,  of 
Philadelphia,  to-day,  upon  the  subject,  with 
freedom  and  warmth ;  and  inquired  wheth- 
er, whilst  the  people  of  the  United  States 
were  forming  societies  to  encourage  arts, 
liberty  and  emigration,  there  could  not  a 
few  be  found  among  them  who  would  form 
a  society  for  the  transmission  of  the  word 
of  hfe  to  the  benighted  heathens ;  or  in 
case  that  could  not  be,  whether  they  might 
not  strengthen  our  hands  in  Europe,  by 
some  benevolent  proofs  of  concurring  with 
us  in  a  design,  which  they  speak  of  with 
such  approbation?  With  this  I  sent  Home's 
Letters.  I  will  follow  both  with  my  pray- 
ers, and  who  can  tell  ? 

Oct.  29.  Looked  over  the  Code  of 
Hindoo  Laws  to-day.  How  much  is  there 
to  admire  in  it,  founded  on  the  principles 
of  justice.  The  most  salutary  regulations 
are  adopted  in  many  circumstances.  But 
what  a  pity  that  so  much  excellence  should 
be  abased  by  laws  to  establish  or  counte- 
nance idolatry,  magic,  prostitution,  prayers 
for  the  dead,  false-witnessing,  theft  and  sui- 
cide. How  perfect  is  the  morality  of  the 
gospel  of  Jes\is ;  and  how  desirable  that 
they  should  embrace  it !  Ought  not  means 
to  be  used  ?  Can  we  assist  them  too  soon  ? 
There  is  reason  to  think  that  their  Shasters 
were  penned  about  the  beginning  of  the 
Kollee  Jogue,  which  must  be  soon  after  the 
deluge :  and  are  not  four  thousand  years 
long  enough  for  one  hundred  millions  of  men 
to  be  under  the  empire  of  the  devil  ? 

"Oct.  3L  I  am  encouraged  to  enter  up- 
on this  day  (which  I  set  apart  for  supplica- 
ting God)  by  a  recollection  of  his  promis- 
es to  those  who  seek  him.  If  the  sacred 
word  be  true,  the  servants  of  God  can  nev- 
er seek  his  face  in  vain ;  and  as  I  am  con- 
scious of  my  sincerity  and  earnest  desire 


356 


MEMOIRS     OF    PEARCE. 


only  to  know  his  pleasure  that  I  may  perform 
it,  1  fiiJ  a  degree  of  confidence  that  1  shall 
realize  tiie  fulfilment  of  the  word  on  which 
he  ciiuseth  me  to  hope. 

'•  B<3gciii  the  day  with  solemn  prayer  for 
the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  my 
present  exercise,  that  so  I  niight  enjoy  the 
spirit  and  power  of  prayer,  and  have  my 
personal  religion  improved,  as  well  as  my 
public  steps  directed.  In  this  duty  I  found 
a  little  quickening. 

'•  I  then  read  over  the  narrative  of  my  ex- 
perience, and  my  journal.  I  find  my  views 
are  still  the  same ;  but  my  heart  is  much 
more  established  than  when  I  began  to 
write. 

"  Was  much  struck  in  reading  Paul's  words 
in  2  Cor.  i.  17,  when  after  speaking  of  his 
purpose  to  travel  for  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel,  he  saith,  '  Did  I  then  use  lightness 
when  I  was  thus  minded  ?  Or  the  things 
that  I  purpose,  do  I  purpose  according  to 
the  flesh,  that  witli  me  there  should  be  yea, 
yea — nay,  nay  ?  '  The  piety  of  the  apostle 
in  not  purposing  after  the  flesh,  the  seri- 
ousness of  spirit  with  which  he  formed  his 
designs,  and  his  steadfast  adherence  to  them 
were  in  my  view  worthy  of  the  highest  ad- 
miration and  strictest  imitation. 

"  Thinking  that  I  might  get  some  assist- 
ance from  David  Brainard's  experience,  I 
read  his  life  to  the  time  of  his  being  ap- 
pointed a  missionary  among  the  Indians. 
The  exalted  devotion  of  that  dear  man  al- 
most made  me  question  mine.  Yet  at  some 
seasons  he  speaks  of  sinking  as  well  as  rising. 
His  singular  piety  excepted,  his  feelings, 
prayers,  desires,  comforts,  hopes,  and  sor- 
rows, are  my  own ;  and  if  I  could  follow 
him  in  nothing  else,  I  knew  I  had  been  en- 
abled to  say  this  with  him,  '  I  feel  exceed- 
ingly calm,  and  quite  resigned  to  God  re- 
specting my  future  improvement  (or  sta- 
tion) when  and  where  he  pleased.  My  faith 
lifted  me  above  the  world,  and  removed  all 
those  mountains,  which  I  could  not  look  over 
of  late.  I  thought  I  wanted  not  the  favor 
of  man  to  lean  upon ;  for  I  knew  God's  fa- 
vor was  infinitely  better,  and  that,  it  was 
HO  matter  where,  or  when,  or  how  Christ 
should  send  me,  nor  with  what  trials  he 
should  still  exercise  me,  if  I  might  be 
prepared  for  his  work  and  will.' 

"  Read  the  second,  third,  fourth,  fifth  and 
sixth  chapters  of  the  second  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians.  Felt  a  kind  of  placidity,  but 
not  much  joy.  On  beginning  the  conclu- 
ding prayer,  I  had  no  strength  to  wrestle, 
nor  power  with  God  at  all.  I  seemed  as 
one  desolate  and  forsaken.  I  prayed  for 
myself,  the  society,  the  missionaries,  the 
converted  Hindoos,  the  church  in  Cannon 
street,  my  family,  and  ministry  ;  but  yet  all 
was  dulness,  and  I  feared  I  had  offended 
the  Lord.    I  felt  but  little  zeal  for  the  mis- 


sion, and  was  about  to  conclude  with  a  la- 
mentation over  the  hardness  of  my  heart ; 
when  of  a  sudden  it  pleased  God  to  smite 
the  rock  with  the  rod  of  his  spirit,  and  im- 
mediately the  waters  began  to  flow.  O 
what  a  heavenly,  glorious,  melting  power 
was  it !  My  eyes,  almost  closed  with  weep- 
ing, hardly  sufler  me  to  write.  I  feel  it 
over  again.  O  what  a  view  of  the  love  of 
a  crucified  Redeemer  did  I  enjoy !  the  at- 
tractions of  his  cross,  how  powertul !  I  was 
as  a  giant  refreshed  with  new  wine,  as  to 
my  animation ;  like  Mary  at  the  Master's 
feet  weeping,  for  tenderness  of  soul ;  like  a 
little  child,  for  submission  to  my  heavenly 
Father's  will ;  and  Uke  Paul,  for  a  victory 
over  all  self-love,  and  creature  love,  and 
fear  of  man,  when  these  things  stand  in  the 
way  of  my  duty.  The  intere.-3t  that  Christ 
took  in  the  redemption  of  the  heathen,  the 
situation  of  our  brethren  in  Bengal,  the 
worth  of  the  soul,  and  the  plain  command 
of  Jesus  Christ,  together  with  an  irresisti- 
ble drawing  of  soul,  Avhich  by  far  exceeded 
any  thing  1  ever  felt  before,  and  is  impossi- 
ble to  be  described  to,  or  conceived  of  by 
those  Avho  have  never  experienced  it;  all 
compelled  me  to  vow  that  I  would,  by  his 
leave,  serve  him  among  the  heathen.  The 
bible  lying  open  before  me  (upon  my  knees) 
many  passages  caught  my  eye  and  con- 
firmed the  purposes  of  my  heart.  If  ever 
in  my  lile  I  knew  any  thing  of  the  influen- 
ces of  the  Holy  Spirit,  I  did  at  this  time. 
I  was  swallowed  up  in  God.  Hunger,  ful- 
ness, cold,  Jieat,  friends,  and  enemies,  all 
seemed  nothing  before  God.  I  was  in  a 
new  world.  All  was  delightful ;  for  Christ 
was  all,  and  in  all.  Many  times  I  conclu- 
ded prayer,  but  when  rising  from  my  knees, 
communion  with  God  was  so  desirable,  that 
I  was  sweetly  drawn  to  it  again  and  again, 
till  my  animal  strength  was  almost  exhaust- 
ed. Then  1  thought  it  would  be  pleasure 
to  burn  for  God. 

"  And  noAV  while  I  write,  such  a  heaven- 
ly sweetness  fills  my  soul,  that  no  exterior 
circumstances  can  remove  it ;  and  I  do  uni- 
formly feel,  that  the  more  I  am  thus,  the 
more  I  pant  for  the  service  of  my  blessed 
Jesus  among  the  heathen.  Yes,  my  dear, 
my  dying  Lord,  I  am  thine,  thy  servant; 
and  if  1  neglect  the  service  of  so  good  a 
Master,  I  may  well  expect  a  guilty  con- 
science in  life,  and  a  death  awful  as  that  of 
Judas  or  of  Spira ! 

"  This  evening  I  had  a  meeting'  with  my 
friends.  Returned  much  dejected.  Re- 
viewed a  letter  from  brother  Fuller,  which, 
though  he  says  he  has  many  objections  to 
my  going,  yet  is  so  affectionately  expressed 
as  to  yield  me  a  gratification. 

"  Nov.  3.  This  evening  received  a  letter 
from  brother  Ryland.  containing  many  ob- 
jections: but  contradiction  itself  is  pleasant 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


357 


when  it  is  the  voice  of  judgment  mingled 
with  affection.  I  wish  to  remember  that  / 
may  be  mistaken^  though  I  cannot  say  I  am 
at  present  convinced  that  it  is  so.  I  am 
happy  to  find  that  brother  Ryland  approves 
of  my  referring  it  to  the  committee.  I 
have  much  confidence  in  the  judgment  of 
my  brethren,  and  hope  I  shall  be  perlectly 
satisfied  with  their  advice.  I  do  think,  how- 
ever, if  they  knew  how  earnestly  I  pant  for 
the  work,  it  would  be  impossible  for  them 
to  withhold  their  ready  acquiescence.  O 
Lord,  thou  knowest  my  sincerity,  and  that 
if  I  go  not  to  the  work  it  will  not  be  owing 
to  any  reluctance  on  my  part !  If  I  stay  in 
England,  I  fear  I  shall  be  a  poor  useless 
drone ;  or  if  a  sense  of  duty  prompt  me  to 
activity,  I  doubt  whether  I  shall  ever  know 
inward  peace  and  joy  again.  O  Lord,  I 
am,  thou  knowest  I  am,  oppressed;  mider- 
take  for  me ! 

"  Nov.  5.  At  times  to-day  I  have  been 
reconciled  to  the  thought  of  staying  if  any 
brethren  should  so  advise ;  but  at  other 
times  I  seem  to  think  I  could  not.  I  look 
at  brother  Carey's  portrait  as  it  hangs  in 
my  study,  I  love  him  in  the  bowels  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  long  to  join  his  labors ;  every 
look  calls  up  a  hundred  thoughts,  all  of 
which  inflame  my  desire  to  be  a  fellow- 
laborer  with  him  in  the  work  of  the  Lord. 
One  thing,  however,  I  am  resolved  upon, 
that,  the  Lord  keeping  me,  if  I  cannot  go 
abroad,  I  will  do  all  I  can  to  serve  the  mis- 
sion at  home. 

'•  Nov.  7.  This  is  the  last  day  of  peculiar 
devotion  before  the  deciding  meeting.  May 
I  have  strength  to  wrestle  with  God  to-day 
for  his  wisdom  to  preside  in  the  committee, 
and  by  faith  to  leave  the  issue  to  tlieir  de- 
termination. 

"I  did  not  enjoy  much  enlargement  in 
prayer  to-day.  My  mind  seems  at  present 
incapable  ot  those  sensations  of  joy  with 
which  I  have  lately  been  much  indulged 
through  its  strugglings  in  relation  to  my 
going  or  staying :  yet  I  have  been  enabled 
to  commit  the  issue  into  the  hands  of  God, 
as  he  may  direct  my  brethren,  hoping  that 
their  advice  will  be  agreeable  to  his  will." 

The  result  of  the  committee  meeting  has 
already  been  related;  together  with  the 
state  of  his  mind,  as  far  as  could  be  col- 
lected from  his  letters,  for  some  time  after 
it.  The  termination  of  these  tender  and 
interesting  exercises,  and  of  all  his  other 
labors,  in  so  speedy  a  removal  from  the 
present  scene  of  action,  may  teach  us  not 
to  draw  any  certain  conclusion  as  to  the 
designs  of  God  concerning  our  future  la- 
bors, from  the  ardor  or  sincerity  of  our  feel- 
ings. He  may  take  it  well  that  "it  was  in 
our  hearts  to  build  him  an  house,"  though 
he  should  for  wise  reasons  have  determined 
not  to  gratify  us.     Suffice  it,  that  in  matters 


of  everlasting  moment  he  has  engaged  to 
perfect  that  which  concerns  us."  In  this 
he  hath  condescended  to  bind  himself,  a8 
by  an  oath,  for  our  consolation ;  here  there- 
fore we  may  safely  consider  our  spiritual 
desires  as  indicative  of  his  designs :  but  it 
is  otherwise  in  various  instances  with  regard 
to  present  duty. 


CHAPTER    III. 

His  exercises  and  labors,  from  the  time  of 
his  giving  up  the  idea  of  going  abroad, 
to  the  comm.encement  of  his  last  affliction. 

Had  the  multiplied  labors  of  this  excel- 
lent man  permitted  his  keeping  a  regular 
diary,  we  may  see  by  the  foregoing  speci- 
men of  a  single  month,  what  a  rich  store 
of  truly  Christian  experience  would  have 
pervaded  these  Memoirs.  We  should  then 
have  been  better  able  to  trace  the  gradual 
openings  of  his  holy  mind,  and  the  springs 
of  that  extraordinary  unction  of  spirit,  and 
energy  of  action,  by  which  his  life  was  dis- 
tinguished. As  it  is,  we  can  only  collect  a 
few  gleanings,  partly  from  memory,  and 
partly  from  letters  communicated  by  his 
friends. 

This  chapter  will  include  a  period  of 
about  four  years,  during  which  he  went 
twice  to  London  to  collect  for  the  Baptist 
mission,  and  once  he  visited  Dublin,  at  the 
invitation  of  the  Evangelical  Society  in  that 
city. 

There  appears  throughout  the  general 
tenor  of  his  life,  a  singular  submissiveness 
to  the  will  of  God ;  and  what  is  worthy  of 
notice,  this  disposition  was  generally  most 
conspicuous  when  his  own  will  was  most 
counteracted.  The  justness  of  this  remark 
is  sufficiently  apparent  from  his  letter  to 
Mrs.  Pearce,  of  November  13,  1794,  after 
the  decision  of  the  committee ;  and  the 
same  spirit  was  carried  into  the  common 
concerns  of  life.  Thus,  about  a  month  af- 
terwards, when  his  dear  Louisa  was  ill  of 
a  fever,  he  thus  writes  from  Northampton 
to  Mrs.  Pearce : 

'' December  13,  1794. 
"My  dear  Sarah, 

"  I  am  just  brought  on  the  wings  of  celes- 
tial mercy  safe  to  my  Sabbath's  station.  I 
am  well ;  and  my  dear  friends  heVe  seem 
healthy  and  happy :  but  I  feel  for  you.  I 
long  to  know  how  our  dear  Louisa's  pulse 
beats :  I  fear  stUl  feverish.  We  must  not, 
however,  suffer  ourselves  to  be  infected 
with  a  mental  fever  on  this  account.    Is 

she  ill  ?    It  is  right.     Is  she  very  ill  ? 

dying?  It  still  is  right.  Is  she  gone  to 
join  the  heavenly  choristers  ?  It  is  all  right, 
notwithstanding  our  repinings Repi- 


358 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


nings  !  no ;  we  will  not  repine.  It  is  best 
she  should  go.  It  is  best  for  her.  This 
we  must  allow.  It  is  best  for  us.  Do  we 
expect  it?  O  what  poor,  ungrateful,  short- 
sighted worms  are  we !  Let  us  submit, 
my  Sarah,  till  we  come  to  heaven :  if  we 
do  not  then  see  that  it  is  best,  let  us  then 
complain.  But  why  do  I  attempt  to  con- 
sole? Perhaps  an  indulgent  Providence 
has  ere  now  dissipated  your  fears:  or  if 
that  same  land  Providence  has  removed 
our  babe,  you  have  consolation  enough  in 
him  who  suffered  more  than  we ;  and  more 
than  enough  to  quiet  all  our  passions,  in 
that  astonishing  consideration, — '  God  so 
loved  the  world,  that  he  spared  not  his  own 
Son.'  Did  God  cheerfully  give  the  holy 
child  Jesus  for  us?  and  shall  we  refuse 
our  child  to  him  !  He  gave  his  Son  to  suf- 
fer ;  he  takes  our  children  to  enjoy:  Yes, 
to  enjoy  himself.  S.  P." 

In  June,  1795,  he  attended  the  associa- 
tion at  Kettering,  partly  on  account  of  some 
missionary  business  there  to  be  transacted. 
Thfit  was  a  season  of  great  joy  to  many, 
especially  the  last  forenoon  previous  to 
parting.  From  thence  he  wrote  to  Mrs. 
Pearce  as  Ibllows : 

"•From  a  pew  in  the  house  of  God  at 
Kettering,  with  my  cup  of  joy  running 
over,  I  address  you  by  the  hand  of  brother 
Simmons.  Had  it  pleased  Divine  Provi- 
dence to  have  permitted  your  accompany- 
ing me,  my  pleasures  would  have  received 
no  small  addition ;  because  I  should  have 
hoped  that  you  would  have  been  filled  with 
similar  consolation,  and  have  received  equal 
edification  by  the  precious  means  of  grace 
on  which  I  have  attended.  Indeed,  I  never 
remember  to  have  enjoyed  a  public  meeting 
to  such  a  high  degree  since  I  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  attending  upon  them.  Oh 
that  I  may  return  to  you,  and  the  dear 
church  of  God,  in  the  fulness  of  the  bles- 
sing of  the  gospel  of  Christ !  I  hope,  my 
beloved,  that  you  are  not  without  the  en 
joyment  of  the  sweetness  and  supports  of 
the  blessed  gospel.  Oh  that  you  may  get 
and  keep  near  to  God,  and  in  him  find  infi 
nitely  more  than  you  can  possibly  lose  by 
your  husband's  absence ! 

"Mr.  Hall  preached,  last  evening,  from 
1  Peter  i.  8.  A  most  evangelical  and  ex- 
perimental season !  I  was  charmed  and 
warmed!  Oh  that  Jesus  may  go  on  to  re 
veal  himself  to  him  as  altogether  lovely ! 
I  am  unable  to  write  more  now.  To-day  I 
set  off  for  Northampton,  and  preach  there 
to-night.     The  Lord  bless  you  1" 

In  July,  1795,  he  received  a  pressing  in- 
vitation from  The  general  Evangelical  So- 
ciety in  Dublin,  to  pay  them  a  visit,  and  to 
assist  in  diffusing  the  gofipel  of  the  grace 
0?  God  in  that  kingdom.     To  this  invita- 


tion he  replied  in  the  following  letter,  ad- 
dressed to  Dr.  Mc  Dowal : 

"  Birmingham,  August  3,  1795. 
"Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

•'  I  received  your  favor  of  the  22d  ult., 
and  for  the  interesting  reason  you  assign, 
transmit  a  '  speedy  answer.'  The  society, 
on  whose  behall'  you  wrote,  I  have  ever 
considered  with  the  respect  due  to  the  real 
friends  of  the  best  of  causes — the  cause  of 
God  and  of  his  Christ :  a  cause  which  em- 
braces the  most  important  and  durable  in- 
terests of  our  fellow  men  :  and  your  name, 
dear  sir,  I  have  been  taught  to  hold  in 
more  than  common  esteem  by  my  dear 
brother  and  father,  Messrs.  Birt  and  Fran- 
cis. The  benevolent  institution  which  you 
are  engaged  in  supporting,  I  am  persuaded 
deserves  more  than  the  good  wishes  or 
prayers  of  your  brethren  in  the  kingdom 
and  patience  of  Jesus,  on  this  side  the  chan- 
nel ;  and  it  will  yield  me  substantial  plea- 
sure to  afford  personal  assistance  in  your 
pious  labors.  But,  for  the  present,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  I  must  decline  your  proposal : 
being  engaged  to  spend  a  month  in  London 
this  autumn,  on  the  business  of  our  Mission 
Society,  of  which  you  have  probably  heard. 

"  When  I  formed  my  present  connections 
with  the  church  in  Birmingham,  I  proposed 
an  annual  freedom  for  six  weeks  from  my 
pastoral  duties ;  and  should  the  '  Evangeli- 
cal Society'  express  a  wish  for  my  services 
the  ensuing  year,  I  am  perfectly  inclined, 
God  willing,  to  spend  that  time  beneath 
their  direction,  and  at  what  part  of  the 
year  they  conceive  a  visit  would  be  most 
serviceable  to  the  good  design.  I  only  re- 
quest, that  should  this  be  their  desire,  I 
may  receive  the  information  as  soon  as 
they  can  conveniently  decide,  that  I  may 
withhold  myself  from  other  engagements, 
which  may  interfere  with  the  time  they 
may  appoint.  I  entreat  you  to  make  my 
Christian  respects  acceptable  to  the  gentle- 
men who  compose  the  society,  and  assure 
yourseli'  tliat  I  am,  dear  sir,  respectfully 
and  affectionately, 

"  Your  brother  in  our  Lord  Jesus, 
"S.  P." 

The  invitation  was  repeated,  and  he 
comphed  with  their  request,  engaging  to 
go  over  in  the  month  of  June,  1706. 

A  little  before  this  journey,  it  occurred  to 
Dr.  Ryland,  that  an  itinerating  mission  in- 
to Cornwall  might  be  of  use  to  the  cause 
of  true  religion,  and  that  two  acceptable 
ministers  might  be  induced  to  undertake  it ; 
and  that  if  executed  during  the  vacation  at 
the  Bristol  academy,  two  of  the  students 
might  supply  their  place.  He  communica- 
ted his  thoughts  to  Mr.  Pearce,  who  wrote 
thus  in  answer : 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEA.RCE. 


359 


"May  30,  1796. 
"My  very  dear  Brother, 

"I  thank  you  a  thousand  times  for  your 
last  letter.  Blessed  be  God  who  hath  put 
it  into  your  heart  to  propose  such  a  plan 
for  increasing  the  boundaries  of  Zion.  I 
have  read  your  letter  to  onr  wisest  friends 
here,  and  they  heard  it  with  great  joy. 
The  plan,  the  place,  the  mode,  the  persons, 
all,  all  meet  our  most  affectionate  wishes. 
How  did  such  a  scheme  never  enter  our 
minds  before !  Alas,  we  have  nothing  in 
our  hearts  that  is  worth  having,  save  what 
God  puts  there.  Do  write  to  me  when  at 
Dublin,  and  tell  me  whether  it  be  resolved 
on;  when  they  set  out,  «fec.  I  hope  ere 
long  to  hear,  that  as  many  disciples  are 
employed  in  Great  Britain,  as  the  Saviour 
employed  in  Judea.  When  he  gives  the 
word,  great  will  be  the  company  of  the 
preachers. 

"  Oh,  my  dear  brother,  let  us  go  on  still 
praying,  contriving,  laboring,  defending, 
until  '  the  little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whole 
lump,  and  the  small  stone  from  the  moun- 
tain fill  the  whole  earth.' 

"  What  pleasures  do  those  lose  who  have 
no  interest  in  God's  gracious  and  holy 
cause !  How  thankful  should  we  be,  that 
we  are  not  strangers  to  the  joy  which  the 
friends  of  Zion  feel  when  the  Lord  turneth 
again  Zion's  captivity.  I  am  beyond  ex- 
pression, your  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 

"  S    P  " 

On  May  31,  he  set  off  for  Dublin,  and 
*'  the  Lord  prospered  his  way,  so  that  he 
arrived  at  the  time  appointed ;  and  from 
every  account  it  appears,  that  he  was  not 
only  sent  iii  the  fulness  of  the  blessing  of 
the  gospel  of  peace,  but  that  the  Lord  him- 
self went  with  him.  His  preaching  was 
not  only  highly  acceptable  to  every  class 
of  hearers,  but  the  word  came  from  him 
with  power,  and  there  is  abundant  reason 
to  believe,  that  many  will,  through  eternity, 
praise  God  for  .sending  his  message  to  them 
by  this  dear  ambassador  of  Christ.  His 
memory  lives  in  their  hearts,  and  they  join 
with  the  other  churches  of  Christ  in  deplo- 
ring the  loss  they  have  sustained  by  his 
death. 

"He  was  earnestly  solicited  by  the 
Evangelical  Society  to  renew  his  visit  to 
that  kingdom  in  1798.  Ready  to  embrace 
every  call  of  duty,  he  had  signified  his 
compliance ;  and  the  time  was  fixed :  but 
the  breaking  out  of  the  late  rebelh'on  pre- 
vented him  from  realizing  his  intention. 
This  was  a  painful  disappointment  to  ma 
ny,  who  wished  once  more  to  see  his  face, 
and  to  have  heard  the  glad  tidings  from 
his  lips." 

Such  is  the  brief  account  of  his  visit  to 
Dublin,   given  by  Dr.  Mc  Dowal.      The 


following  letter  was  written  to  Mrs.  Pearce, 
when  he  had  been  there  a  little  more  than 
a  week : 

''  Dublin,  June  31,  1796. 

"  I  long  to  know  how  you  do,  and  you  will 
be  as  much  concerned  to  know  how  I  go  on 
at  this  distance  from  you.  I  haste  to  satisfy 
your  inquiries. 

"  I  am  in  perfect  health :  am  delightfully 
disappointed  with  the  place  and  its  inhabit- 
ants. I  am  very  thankful  that  I  came  over. 
I  have  found  much  more  religion  here  al- 
ready than  I  expected  to  meet  with  during 
the  whole  of  my  stay.  The  prospect  of  use- 
fuLiess  is  flattering.  I  have  already  many 
more  friends  (I  hope  Christian  friends)  than 
I  can  gratify  by  visits.  Many  doors  are 
open  for  preaching  the  gospel  in  the  city  ; 
and  my  country  excursions  will  probably  be 
few.     Thus  much  for  outline. 

"  But  you  will  like  to  know  how  I  spend 
my  time,  &c.     Well  then :    I  am  at  the 

house  of  Mr.  H ,  late  high  sheriff  for 

the  city :  a  gentleman  of  opulence,  respecta- 
bility, and  evangelical  piety.  He  is  by 
profession  a  Calvinistic  Presbyterian ;  an 
elder  of  Dr.  McDowal's  church ;  has  a  most 
amiable  wife,  and  four  children.  I  am  very 
thankful  for  being  placed  here  during  mj'' 
stay.  I  am  quite  at  home,  I  mean  as  to 
ease  and  famiharity  ;  for  as  to  style  of  living 
I  neither  do,  nor  desire  to  equal  it.  Yet  in 
my  present  situation  it  is  convenient.  It 
would  however,  be  sickening  and  dull,  had 
I  not  a  God  to  go  to,  to  converse  with,  to 
enjoy,  and  to  call  my  men.  Oh,  'tis  this, 
His  this,  my  dearest  Sarali,  which  gives  a 
point  to  every  enjoyment,  and  sweetens  all 
the  cup  of  life. 

"  The  Lord's  day  after  I  wrote  to  you  last, 
I  preached  for  Dr.  McDowal  in  the  morning 
at  half-past  eleven  ;  heard  a  Mr.  Kilburne 
at  five ;  and  preached  again  at  Plunket 
street  at  seven.  On  Tuesday  evening  I 
preached  at  an  hospital,  and  on  Thursday 
evening  at  Plunket  street  again.  Yester- 
day, for  the  Baptists  in  the  morning.  Dr. 
McDowal  at  five,  and  at  Plunket  street  at 
seven. 

"  The  hours  of  worship  will  appear  singu- 
lar to  you:  they  depend  on  the  usual  V7eal 
times.  We  breakfast  at  ten  ;  dine  between 
four  and  five,  sometimes  between  five  and 
six  ;  take  tea  from  seven  to  nine ;  and  sup 
I'rom  ten  to  twelve. 

"  I  thank  God  that  I  possess  an  abiding 
determination  to  aim  at  the  consciences  of 
the  people  in  every  discourse.  I  have 
borne  the  most  positive  testimony  against 
the  prevailing  evils  of  professors  here :  as, 
sensuality,  gaiety,  vain  amusements,  ne- 
glect of  the  Sabbath,  &c.,  and  last  night, 
told  an  immense  crowd  of  professors  of  the 
first  rank,  '  that  if  they  made  custom  and 


360 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


1 


fashion  their  plea,  they  were  awfully  delu- 
ding their  souls ;  for  it  had  always  been  the 
fashion  to  insult  God,  to  dissipate  time,  and 
to  pursue  the  broad  road  to  hell ;  but  it 
would  not  lessen  their  torments  there  that 
the  way  to  damnation  was  the  fashion.' 

"  I  expected  my  faitlifulness  would  have 
given  them  offence  ;  but  I  am  persuaded  it 
was  the  way  to  please  the  Lord,  and  those 
whom  I  expected  would  be  enemies,  are  not 
only  at  peace  with  me,  but  even  renounce 
their  sensual  indulgencies  to  attend  on  my 
ministry.  I  do  assuredly  believe  that  God 
hath  sent  me  hither  for  good.  The  five 
o'clock  meetings  are  miserably  attended  in 
general.  In  a  house  that  will  hold  one 
thousand  five  hundred,  or  two  thousand 
people,  you  will  hardly  see  above  fifty ! 
Yesterday  morning  I  preached  on  the  sub- 
ject 0^  public  worship,  from  Psalm  v.  7,  and 
seriously  warned  them  against  preferring 
their  bellies  to  God,  and  their  own  houses 
to  his.  I  was  delighted  and  surprised,  at 
the  live  o'clock  meeting  to  see  the  place 
nearly  full.  Surely  this  is  the  Lord's  doing, 
and  it  is  marvellous  in  my  eyes.  Never, 
never  did  I  more  feel  how  weak  I  am  in 
myself — a  mere  nothing ;  and  how  strong 
I  am  in  the  omnipotence  of  God.  I  feel  a 
superiority  to  all  fear,  and  possess  a  con- 
scious dignity  in  being  the  ambassador  of 
God.  Oh  help  me  to  praise,  for  it  is  he 
alone  who  teacheth  my  hands  to  war,  and 
my  fingers  to  fight ;  and  still  pray  for  me ; 
for  if  he  withdraw  for  a  moment,  I  become 
as  weak  and  unprofitable  as  the  briars  of 
the  wilderness. 

"  You  cannot  think  how  much  I  am  sup- 
ported by  the  assurance  that  I  have  left  a 
foraying  people  at  Birmingham  ;  and  I  be- 
ieve,  that  in  answer  to  their  prayers  I  have 
hitherto  been  wonderfully  assisted  in  my 
public  work,  as  well  as  enjoyed  much  in 
private  devotion. 

"  I  have  formed  a  most  pleasing  acquaint- 
ance with  several  serious  young  men  in  the 
university  here,  and  with  two  of  the  fellows 
of  the  college ;  most  pious  gentlemen  in- 
deed, who  have  undergone  a  world  of  re- 
Eroa(,'h  for  Christ  and  his  gospel,  and  have 
een  forbidden  to  preach  in  the  churches  by 
the  arch-bishop  ;  but  God  has  raised  ano- 
ther house  for  them  here  where  they  preach 
■with  much  success,  and  have  begun  a  meet- 
ing in  the  college,  which  promises  fresh 
prosperity  to  the  cause  of  Jesus." 

The  following  particulars,  in  addition  to 
the  above,  are  taken  partly  from  some  notes 
in  his  own  hand-writing,  and  partly  from 
the  account  given  by  his  friend,  Mr.  Sum- 
mers, who  accompanied  him  during  the  lat- 
ter part  of  his  visits. 

At  his  first,  arrival,  the  congregations 
were  but  thinly  attended,  and  the  Baptist 


congregation  in  particular,  amongst  whom 
he  delivered  several  discourses.  It  much 
affected  him  to  see  the  whole  city  given  to 
sensuality  and  worldly  conformity ;  and  es- 
pecially to  find  those  of  his  own  denomina- 
tion amongst  the  lowest,  and  least  affected 
with  their  condition.  But  the  longer  he 
continued,  the  more  the  congregations  in- 
creased, and  every  opportunity  became  in- 
creasingly interesting,  both  to  him  and 
them.  His  faithful  remonstrances,  and 
earnest  recommendations  of  prayer-meet- 
ings to  his  Baptist  friends,  though  at  first 
apparently  ill  received,  were  well  taken  in 
the  end  ;  and  he  had  the  happiness  to  see  in 
them  some  hopeful  appearances  of  a  return 
to  God.  On  June  the  20th  he  wrote  to  his 
friend,  Mr.  Summers,  as  follows : 

"  My  dear  friend, 

"  If  you  mean  to  abide  by  my  opinion,  I 
say,  come  to  Dublin,  and  come  directly  !  I 
have  been  most  delightfully  disappointed. 
I  expected  darkness  and  behold  light ;  sor- 
row, and  I  have  had  cause  for  abundant  joy. 
I  thank  God  that  I  came  hither,  and  hope  that 
many  as  well  as  myself,  will  have  cause  to 
praise  him.  Never  have  I  been  more  deeply 
taught  my  own  nothingness ;  never  hath 
the  power  of  God  more  evidently  rested 
upon  me.  The  harvest  here  is  great  indeed ; 
and  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  hath  enabled 
me  to  labor  in  it  with  delight 

'"I  praise  him  for  all  that  is  past, 
I  trust  him  for  all  that's  to  come.' 

"  The  Lord  hath  of  late  been  doing  great 
things  for  Dubhn.  Several  of  the  young 
men  in  the  college  have  been  awakened  ; 
and  two  of  the  fellows  are  sweet  evangelical 
preachers.  One  of  them  is  of  a  spirit  serene 
as  the  summer  evening,  and  sweet  as  the 
breath  ofMay.  I  am  already  intimate  with 
them,  and  have  spent  several  mornings  in 
college  with  various  students,  who  bid  fair 
to  be  faithful  watchmen  on  Jerusalem's 
walls.  But  I  hope  you  will  come ;  and 
then  you  will  see  for  yourself.  If  not,  I  will 
give  you  some  pleasant  details  when  we 
meet  in  England.  S.  P." 

Mr.  Summers  complied  with  this  invita- 
tion ;  and  of  the  last  seven  or  eight  days  of 
Mr.  Pearce's  continuance  at  Dublin  he  him- 
self thus  writes : 

"  Monday,  July  4.  At  three  in  the  after- 
noon I  went  with  my  friend,  Mr.  Summers, 

to  Mr.  K 's.     Spent  a  very  agreeable 

day.  Miss  A.  K. remarked  two  won- 
ders in  Dublin ;  a  praying  society  compo- 
sed of  students  at  college,  and  another  of 
la^vyers.  The  family  were  called  together. 
We  sung :  I  read,  and  expoimded  the  xii. 
of  Isaiah,  and  prayed.  At  seven  we  went 
to    a    prayer-meeting  at  Plunket    street : 

very  large  attendance.     Mr.  R and 

Mr.  S prayed,  and  I  spoke  from  Ro- 


MEMOIRS    OP    PEARCE 


361 


mans,  x.  12,  13.  '  There  is  no  difference 
between  the  Jew  and  the  Greek ;  for  the 
same  Lord  over  all  is  rich  unto  all  who  call 
upon  him.  For  whosoever  shall  call  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  shall  be  saved.' 
Many  seemed  affected.  After  I  had  closed 
the  opportunity,  I  told  them  some  of  my  own 
experience,  and  requested,  that  if  any  pres- 
ent wished  for  conversation,  they  would 
come  to  me,  either  that  evening,  or  on 
Thursday  evening  in  the  vestry.  Five  per- 
sons came  in :  one  had  been  long  impress- 
ed with  religion,  but  could  never  summons 
courage  enough  to  open  her  heart  before. 

Another,  a  Miss  W ,  attributed  her 

first  impression,  under  God,  to  my  ministry  ; 
and  told  me  that  her  father  had  regularly 
attended  of  late,  and  that  her  mother  was 
so  much  alarmed  as  to  be  almost  in  despair. 
Poor  girl !  she  seemed  truly  in  earnest 
about  her  own  soul,  and  as  much  concerned 
for  her  parents.  The  next  had  possessed  a 
serious  concern  for  some  time,  and  of  late 
had  been  much  revived.     One  young  lady, 

a  Miss  H ,  staid  in  the  meeting  house, 

exceedingly  affected  indeed.    Mr.  K 

spoke  to  her ;  she  said  she  would  speak 
with  me  on  Thursday. 

"  Tuesday,  5th.  Went  to  Leislip.  At 
seven,  preached  to  a  large  and  affected  au- 
ditory. 

"Wednesday,  6th.      Mr.   H and 

myself  went  to  Mrs.  M'G ,  to  inquire 

about  the  young  lady  who  was  so  much  af- 
fected at  the  meeting.    Mrs.  M'G said 

her  mother  and  sister  were  pious ;  that  she 
had  been  very  giddy ;  but  that  last  Lord's- 
day  she  was  seriously  awakened  to  a  sense 
of  sin ;  had  expressed  her  delight  in  religion, 
and  fled  for  refuge  to  the  blood  of  Jesus. 
Her  sister  was  introduced  to  me  ;  a  sweet- 
ly pious  lady.  I  agreed  to  wait  for  an  in- 
terview with  the  young  lady  at  Mr.  H- 's, 

in  Eccles  street  to-morrow. 

"  Thursday,  7th.  Miss  H ,  her  sis- 
ter,  and  Mrs.  M'G ,  came   to   Eccles 

street.  A  most  delightful  interview.  Sel- 
dom have  I  seen  such  proficiency  in  so  sliorl 
a  time.  That  day  week,  at  Plunket  street, 
she  received  her  first  serious  impressions. 
Her  concern  deepened  at  Mass  Lane,  on 
Lord's-day  morning;  more  so  in  the  even- 
ing at  Plunket-street,  but  most  of  all  on 
Monday  night.  I  exhorted  them  to  begin 
a  prayer  and  experience  meeting ;  and 
they  agreed.  Blessed  be  God !  this 
strengthens  my  hands  greatly.  At  seven 
o'clock,  preached  at  Plunket  street,  from 
Jen  1.  4,  5.  'Going  and  weeping — they 
shall  ask  the  way  to  Zion  Avith  their  faces 
thitherward.'  A  full  house  and  an  impres- 
sive season.  Tarried  after  the  public  ser- 
vices were  ended,  to  converse  on  religion. 
The  most  pleasing  case  was  a  young  man  of 
Mr.  D 's. 

Vol.  3.— Tr. 


"Saturday,  9th.     Went  with  my  friend 

Mr.   S ,  to   call  on  Mies   H . 

Found  her  at  her  mother's ;  we  first  passed 
the  door;  she  ran  out  after  us:  seemed  happy; 
but  agitated.  Ran,  and  called  her  mother ; 
soon  we  saw  the  door  of  the  parlor  open, 
and  a  majestic  lady  appeared ;  who,  as  she 
entered  the  room,  thus  accosted  me  :  '  Who 
art  thou,  oh  blessed  of  the  Lord  ?  Wel- 
come to  the  widow's  house !  Accept  the 
widow's  thanks  lor  coming  after  the  child 
whom  thou  hast  begotten  in  the  gospel !'  I 
was  too  much  overcome  to  do  more  than 
take  by  the  hand  the  aged  saint.  A  solemn 
silence  ensued  for  a  minute  or  two  ;  when 
the  old  lady  recovering,  expressed  the  ful- 
ness of  her  satisfaction  respecting  the  reali- 
ty of  the  change  effected  in  her  daughter, 
and  her  gratitude  for  great  refreshment  of 
her  own  soul,  by  means  of  my  poor  labors. 
She  said,  she  had  known  the  Lord  du- 
ring forty  years,  being  called  under  the 
ministry  of  John  Fisher,  in  the  open  air, 
when  on  a  visit  to  an  officer  who  was  her 
brother-in-law.  She  told  us  much  of  her 
experience,  and  promised  to  encourage  the 
prayer-meeting,  which  I  proposed  to  be  held 
in  her  house  every  Lord's  day  evening. 
They  are  to  begin  to-morrow  after  preach- 
ing. It  was  a  pleasant  meeting  and  we  re- 
turned with  pleasure  to  Eccles  street.  Af- 
ter we  rose  up  to  come  away,  the  old  lady 
afi'ectionately  said,  '  May  the  good  will  of" 
Him  who  dwelt  in  the  bush  attend  you 
wherever  you  go,  for  ever  and  ever  !'  " 

The  young  lady  some  months  after  wrote 

to  Mr.  S ,  and  says  amongst  other" 

things,  "  I  have  great  reason  to  be  thankful 
for  the  many  blessings  the  Lord  has  been 
pleased  to  bestow  upon  me,  and  in  particu- 
lar for  his  sending  Mr.  Pearce  to  this 
city ;  and  through  his  means  I  have  been 
convinced  of  sin.  I  am  happy  to  inform 
you,  that  through  grace  I  am  enabled  to 
walk  in  the  narrow  path.  The  Lord  has 
taken  away  all  desire  for  worldly  company ; 
all  my  desires  now  are  to  attend  on  the 
means  of  grace.  Blessed  be  his  name,  I 
often  find  him  present  in  them.  My  mother 
and  I  often  remember  the  happy  time  we 
spent  in  your  company  at  our  house.  She 
often  speaks  of  it  with  great  pleasure,  and 
lilesses  the  Lord  for  the  change  which 
grace  has  wrought  in  me." 

"Lord's-day, ^10.  (The  last  Sabbath.) 
Preached  in  the  morning  at  Mary's  abbey, 
from  Job  xxxiii.  27,  2S,  '  He  looketh  upon 
men,  and  if  any  say  I  have  sinned,  and 
perverteth  that  which  was  right,  and  it  pro- 
fited me  not ;  he  will  deliver  his  soul  from 
going  into  the  pit,  and  his  life  shall  see  the 
light.'     A  happy  season.     In  the  afternoon, 

having  dined  with  Mr.  W ,  he  took 

me  to  Swift's  alley,  the  Baptist  place  of' 
worship  where  I  gave  an   exhortation  on 


362 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE, 


brotherly  love,  and  administered  the  Lord's 

supper.      At  Mr.   W 's  motion   the 

church  requested  me  to  look  out  a  suitable 
minister  for  them.  In  the  eveninix  I  preach- 
ed at  Plunket  street,  from  2  Tim.  i.  IS, 
'  The  Lord  grant  unto  him  that  he  may  find 
mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that  day !'  A  very 
solemn  season. 

"Monday,  11.  Met  the  dear  Christian 
friends,  for  the  last  time,  at  a  prayer-meet- 
ing in  Plunket  street.  The  Lord  was  there  ! 
Several  friends  spent  the  evening  with  us 
afterwards  at  Mr.  H 's. 

"  Tuesday,  12.  Went  aboard  at  four  ; 
arrived  at  Liverpool  on  Thursday ;  and 
safely  at  home  on  Friday,  July  15,  1796. 


Blessed  be  the  Preserver  of  men,  the  Sa- 
viour of  sinners,  and  the  help  of  his  servants, 
for  evermore,  amen,  amen  !" 

Some  time  after,  writing,  to  his  friend 
who  accompanied  him,  he  says,  "I  have 
received  several  letters  from  Dublin :  two 
from  Master  B.,  one  from  Miss  H — 

one  from  M ,  three  or  four  from  the 

Baptist  friends,  and  some  from  others,  whom 

I   cannot  recollect.      Mr.   K lately 

called  on  me  in  his  way  from  Bath  to  Holy- 
head. We  talked  of  you,  and  of  our  Lord, 
and  did  not  part  till  we  had  presented  our- 
selves before  the  throne." 

During  hia  labors  in  Dublin,  he  was 
strongly  solicited  to  settle  in  a  very  flatter- 
ing situation  in  the  neighborhood  ;*  and  a 
very  liberal  salary  was  offered  him.  On 
his  positively  declining  it,  mention  v/as 
made  ofonly  six  months  of  the  year.  When 
that  was  declined,  three  months  were  propo- 
sed ;  and  when  he  was  about  to  answer  this 
in  the  negative,  the  party  refused  to  receive 
his  answer,  desiring  him  to  take  time  to 
consider  of  it.  He  did  so  ;  and  though  he 
entertained  a  very  grateful  sense  of  the 
kindness  and  generosity  expressed  by  the 

Sroposal,  yet  after  the  maturest  deliberation 
e  thought  it  his  duty  to  decline  it.  Mr. 
Pearce's  modesty  prevented  his  talking  on 
such  a  subject;  but  it  was  known  at  the 
time  by  his  friend  who  accompanied  him, 
and  since  his  deatli,  has  been  frequently 
mentioned  as  an  instance  of  his  disinterest- 
ed spirit. 

His  friends  at  Birmingham  were  ready  to 
think  it  hard  that  he  should  be  so  willing  to 
leave  them  to  go  on  a  mission  among  the 
heathen ;  but  they  could  not  well  complain, 
and  much  less  think  ill  of  him,  when  they 
saw  that  such  a  willingness  was  more  than 
could  be  effected  by  the  most  flattering  pros- 
pects of  a  worldly  nature,  accompanied  too 
with  promising  appearances  of  religious 
usefulness. 


About  a  month  after  his  return  from  Dub- 
lin, Mr.  Pearce  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Carey,  in  which  he  gives  some  farther  ac- 
count of  Ireland,  as  well  as  of  some  other 
interesting  matters : 


*  At  the  Black  Rock,  the  residence  of  some  of  the 
most  gctvteel  families  in  the  vicinity  of  Dublin. 


"  Birmingham,  Aiig.  12.  1796. 

"  Oh  my  dear  brotlier,  did  you  but  know 
with  what  feelings  I  resume  my  pen,  freely 
to  correspond  with  you  after  receiving  your 
very  affectionate  letter  to  myself,  and  peru- 
sing that  which  you  sent  by  the  same  con- 
veyance to  the  society.  I  am  sure  you  would 
persuade  yourself  that  I  have  no  common 
friendship  for  you,  and  that  your  regards 
are  at  least  returned  with  equal  ardor. 

"I  fear  (I  had  almost  said)  that  I  shall 
never  see  your  face  in  the  flesh ;  but  if  any 
thing  can  add  too  the  joy  which  the  pres- 
ence of  Christ,  and  conformity,  perfect  con- 
formity to  him,  will  afford  in  heaven,  surely 
the  certain  prospect  of  meeting  with  my 
dear  brother  Carey  there,  is  oneof(ifnot)</^e 
greatest.  Thrice  happy  should  I  be,  if  the 
providence  of  God  would  open  a  way  for 
my  partaking  of  your  labors,  your  suffer- 
ings, and  your  pleasures  on  this  side,  the 
eternal  world :  but  all  my  brethren  here  are 
of  a  mind,  that  I  shall  be  more  useful  at 
home  than  abroad ;  and  I,  though  reluctant- 
ly, submit.  Yet  I  am  truly  with  you  in 
spirit.  My  heart  is  at  Mudnabatty,  and  at 
times  1  even  hope  to  find  my  body  there  : 
but  with  the  Lord  I  leave  it ;  he  knows  my 
wishes,  my  motives,  my  regret :  he  knows 
all  my  soul ;  and,  depraved  as  it  is,  I  feel 
an  inexpressible  satisfaction  that  he  does 
know  it.  However,  it  is  an  humbhng 
thought  to  me,  that  he  sees  I  am  unfit  for 
such  a  station,  and  unwortliy  such  an  honor 
as  to  bear  his  name  among  the  heathen. 
But  I  must  be  thankful  still,  that  though  he 
appoints  me  not  to  a  post  in  foreign  service, 
he  will  allow  me  to  stand  sentinel  at  home. 
In  this  situation  may  I  have  grace  to  be 
faithful  unto  death  ! 

I  hardly  wonder  at  your  being  pained 
on  account  of  the  effects  produced  on  the 
minds  of  3^our  European  friends,  by  the 
news  of  your  engagement  in  the  Indigo  bu- 
siness, because  I  imagine  you  are  ignorant 
of  the  process  of  that  matter  amongst  us. 
When  I  received  the  news,  I  glorified  God 
in  sincerity,  on  account  of  it,  and  gave  most 
hearty  thanks  to  him  for  his  most  gracious 
appearance  on  your  behalf:  but  at  the  same 
time  I  feared,  lest  through  that  undertaking, 
the  work  of  the  misi=ion  might  in  some  way 
or  other  be  impeded.  The  same  impres- 
sion was  made  on  the  minds  of  many  others : 
yet  no  blame  was  attached,  in  our  view,  to 
you.  Our  minds  were  only  alarmed  for  the 
future  ;  not  disposed  to  censure  for  llae  past. 
Had  you  .seen  a  faithful  ropy  of  the  prayers, 
the  praises,  and  the  conversation  of  the  day 


MEMOIRS     OF    PEARCE. 


363 


in  which  your  letters  were  read,  I  know  you' 
would  not  have  entertained  one  unkind 
thought  of  the  society  towards  you.  Oh  no, 
roy  dear  brother,  far  be  it  from  us  to  lay  an 
atom  upon  your  spirits  of  a  painful  nature. 
Need  I  say,  we  do  love,  we  do  respect  you, 
we  do  confide  too  much  in  you  to  design  the 
•smallest  occasion  of  distress  to  your  heart. 
But  I  close  this  subject.  In  future  we  will 
atone  for  an  expression  that  might  bear  a 
harsh  construction.  We  will  strengthen, 
we  will  support,  we  will  comfort,  we  will 
encourage  you  in  your  arduous  work,  all, 
all  shall  be  love  and  kindness ;  glory  to 
God  and  good  will  to  men.  If  I  have  done 
aught  that  is  wrong,  as  an  individual,  par- 
don me  :  If  we  have  said  aught  amiss,  as  a 
society,  pardon  us.  Let  us  forbear  one 
anotlier  in  love,  forgiving  one  another,  even 
as  God  for  Christ's  sake  hath  forgiven  us. 

"  By  the  time  this  reaches  you,  I  hope 
you  will  have  received  Nos.  I.  and  II.  of 
Periodical  Accounts.  Should  you  find  any 
thing  in  them,  which  you  think  had  better 
be  omitted,  pray  be  free  in  mentioning  it, 
and  in  future  your  instructions  shall  be  fully 
attended  to.  We  have  taken  all  the  pains, 
and  used  all  the  caution  in  our  power  to 
render  them  unexceptionable ;  but  you  can 
better  judge  in  some  respects  than  we.  If 
you  should  not  approve  of  all  (though  we 
are  not  conscious  of  any  thing  that  you  will 
disapprove)  you  will  not  be  offended,  but 
believe  we  have  done  our  best,  and  with 
your  remarks,  hope  to  do  better  still. 

With  pleasure  approaching  to  rapture, 
I  read  the  last  accounts  you  sent  us.  I 
never  expected  immediate  success :  the 
prospect  is  truly  greater  than  my  most  san- 
guine hopes.  '  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
like  to  a  little  leaven  hid  in  three  measures 
of  meal,  till  the  vhole  is  leavened.'  Blessed 
te  God !  the  leaven  is  in  the  meal,  and  its 
influence  is  already  discoverable.  A  great 
God  is  doing  great  things  by  you.  Go  on, 
my  dearest  brother,  go  on :  God  will  do 
greater  things  than  these.  Jesus  is  worthy 
of  a  world  of  praise :  and  shall  Hindostan 
not  praise  him?  Surely  he  shall  see  of  the 
travail  of  his  soul  there,  and  the  sower  and 
the  reaper  shall  rejoice  together.  Already 
the  empire  of  darkness  totters,  and  soon  it 
shall  doubtless  fall.  Blessed  be  the  labor- 
ers in  this  important  work  ;  and  blessed  be 
lie  who  giveth  them  hearts  and  strength  to 
labor,  and  promises  that  they  shall  not  labor 
in  vain ! 

"  Do  not  fear  the  want  of  money.  God  is 
for  us,  and  the  silver  and  the  gold  are  his  ; 
and  so  are  the  hearts  of  those  who  possess 
the  most  of  it.  I  will  travel  from  the  Land's 
end  to  the  Orkney's  but  we  will  get  money 
enough  for  all  the  demands  of  the  mission. 
I  have  never  had  a  fear  on  that  head :  a 
little  exertion  will  do  wonders ;  and  past 


experience  justifies  every  confidence.  Men, 
we  only  want ;  and  God  shall  find  them  for 
us  in  due  time. 

"  Is  brother  Fountain  arrived  1  We  hope 
he  will  be  an  acceptable  remittance,  and, 
viva  voce,  compensate  for  the  lack  of  epis- 
tolary communications. 

"  I  rejoice  in  contemplating  a  church  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  Bengal,  formed  up- 
on his  own  plan.  Why  do  not  the  Hindoo 
converts  join  it  ?  Lord,  help  their  unbelief! 
But  perhaps  the  drop  is  now  withheld,  that 
you  may  by  and  by  have  the  shower,  and 
lift  up  your  eyes,  and  say,  '  These,  whence 
came  they  1  They  fly  as  clouds,  and  as 
doves  to  their  windows.'  For  three  years, 
we  read  of  few  baptized  by  the  first  disci- 
ples of  our  Lord ;  but  on  the  fourth,  three 
thousand,  and  five  thousand  openly  avowed 
him.  The  Lord  send  you  such  another 
Pentecost ! 

"  I  intend  to  write  my  dear  brother  a  long 
letter.  It  will  prove  my  desire  to  gratify 
him,  if  it  do  no  more.  I  wish  that  I  knew 
in  what  communications  your  other  corres- 
pondents will  be  most  deficient:  then  I 
would  try  to  supply  their  omissions. 

"  I  Avill  begin  with  myself:  but  I  have 
nothing  good  to  say.  I  think  I  am  the  most 
vile  ungrateful  servantthat  ever  Jesus  Christ 
employed  in  his  church.  At  some  times, 
I  question  whetlier  I  ever  knew  the  grace 
of  God  in  truth ;  and  at  others,  I  hesitate  on 
the  most  important  points  of  Christian  faith. 
I  have  lately  had  peculiar  struggles  of  this 
kind  with  my  own  heart,  and  have  often 
half  concluded  to  speak  no  more  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  When  I  am  preparing 
for  the  pulpit,  I  fear  I  am  going  to  avow 
fables  for  facts,  and  doctrines  of  men  for  the 
truths  of  God  ?  In  conversation  I  am 
obliged  to  be  silent,  lest  my  tongue  should 
belie  my  heart.  In  prayer  I  know  not  what 
to  say,  and  at  times  think  prayer  altogether 
useless.  Yet  I  cannot  wholly  surrender  my 
hope,  or  my  profession.  Three  things  I 
find,  above  all  others,  tend  to  my  preserva- 
tion: First,  A  recollection  of  a  time,  when, 
at  once,  I  was  brought  to  abandon  the  prac- 
tice of  sins,  which  the  fear  of  damnation 
could  never  bring  me  to  relinquish  before. 
Surely  I  say,  this  must  be  the  finger  of  God, 
according  to  the  scripture  doctrine  of  re- 
generation :  Secondly,  I  feel  such  a  con- 
sciousness of  guilt,  that  nothing  but  the  gos- 
pel scheme  can  satisfy  my  mind  respecting 
the  hope  of  salvation :  and  Thirdly,  I  see 
that  what  true  devotion  does  appear  in  the 
world,  seems  only  to  be  found  among  those 
to  whom  Christ  is  precious. 

"But  I  frequently  find  a  backwardness  to 
secret  prayer,  and  much  deadness  in  it; 
and  it  puzzles  me  to  see  how  this  can  be 
consistent  with  a  life  of  grace.  However, 
I  resolve,  that  let  what  will  become  of  me, 


364 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


I  will  do  all  I  can  for  God  while  I  live,  and 
leave  ihe  rest  to  him ;  and  tliis  I  usually 
experience  to  be  the  best  way  to  be  at 
peace. 

"  I  believe,  that  if  I  were  more  fully  given 
up  to  God,  I  should  be  free  I'roni  these 
distressing  workings  of  mind ;  and  then  I 
long  to  be  a  missionary  where  I  should  have 
temptations  to  nothing  but  to  abound  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  and  lay  myself  entirely 
out  for  him.  In  such  a  situation,  I  think 
pride  would  have  but  little  food,  and  faith 
more  occasion  for  exercise ;  so  that  the 
spiritual  life,  and  inward  religion  would 
thrive  better  than  they  do  now. 

"  At  times,  indeed,  I  do  feel,  I  trust,  genu- 
ine contrition,  and  sincerely  lament  my 
short-comings  before  God.  Oh  tJie  sweets 
that  accompany  true  repentance  !  Yes,  I 
love  to  be  abased  before  God.  '  There  it  is 
I  find  my  blessing.'  May  the  Lord  daily 
and  hourly  bring  me  low,  and  keep  me  so  ! 

"As  to  my  public  work,  I  find,  whilst  en- 
gaged in  it,  little  cause  to  complain  for 
want  either  of  matter  or  words.  My  labors 
are  acceptable,  and  not  altogether  unprofit- 
able, to  the  hearers  ;  but  what  is  this  to  me, 
if  my  own  soul  starves  whilst  others  are 
led  by  me  ?  Oh,  my  brother,  I  need  your 
prayers,  and  I  feel  a  great  satisfaction  in 
the  hope  that  you  do  not  forget  me.  Oh, 
that  I  may  be  kept  faithful  unto  death  ?  In- 
deed, in  the  midst  of  my  strugglings,  a 
gleam  of  hope,  that  I  shall  at  last  awakeinthe 
likeness  of  God,  affords  me  greater  joy  than 
words  can  express.  To  be  with  Christ,  is 
far  better  than  to  continue  sinning  here ; 
but  if  the  Lord  hath  any  thing  to  do  by  me 
his  will  be  done. 

"  I  have  never  so  fully  opened  my  case 
to  any  one  before.  Your  freedom  on  simi- 
lar topics  encourages  me  to  make  my  com- 
plaint to  you,  and  I  think  if  you  were  near 
■me,  I  should  feel  a  great  relief  in  revealing 
to  you  all  my  heart.  But  I  shall  fatigue 
you  with  my  moanings ;  so  I  will  have  done 
on  this  subject. 

"  It  is  not  long  since  I  returned  from  a 
kind  of  mission  to  Ireland.  A  society  is 
estabhshed  in  Dublin  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
viting from  England,  ministers  of  various 
denominations,  to  assist  in  promoting  the  in- 
terest of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  there. 
Some  of  our  Baptist  brethren  had  been 
there  before  me,  as  Rippon,  Langdon,  Fran- 
cis, and  Birt ;  and  I  think  the  plan  is  calcu- 
lated for  usefulness.  I  have,  at  Dr  Rippon's 
request,  sent  him  some  remarks  on  my  visit, 
for  the  Register ;  but  as  it  is  probable  you 
Avill  receive  this  before  that  comes  to  hand, 
I  will  say  something  of  my  excursion  here. 

"  Having  engaged  to  spend  six  Lord's- 
days  in  that  kingdom,  I  arrived  there  the 
day  before  tJie  first  Sabbath  in  June.  I  first 
made  myself  acquainted  with  the  general 


state  of  religion  in  Dublin.  I  found  there 
were  four  Presbyterian  congregations ;  two 
of  these  belong  to  the  southern  presbytery, 
and  are  Arians  or  Socinians ;  the  other  two 
are  cormected  with  the  northern  presbytery, 
and  retain  the  Westminster  confession  of 
fiuth.  One  of  these  latter  congregations  is 
very  small,  and  the  minister,  though  ortho- 
dox, appears  to  have  but  little  success. 
The  other  is  large  and  flourishing:  the 
place  of  worship  ninety  feet  by  seventy, 
and,  in  the  morning,  well  filled.  There 
times  of  public  service  are  at  half  past  elev- 
en, and  five.  In  the  afternoon,  the  usual 
congregations  are  small  indeed ;  lor  five 
o'clock  is  the  dining  hour  in  Dublin,  and 
few  of  the  hearers  would  leave  their  din- 
ners for  the  gospel.  Dr.  Mc  Dowal  is  the 
senior  pastor  of  this  church,  a  very  affec- 
tionate, spiritual  man.  The  junior  is  Mr. 
Horner.  The  doctor  is  a  warm  friend  of  the 
society,  at  whose  request  I  went  over  to 
Ireland. 

"  There  are  one  congregation  of  Burg- 
her Seceders,  and  another  of  Antiburghers. 
The  latter  will  not  hear  any  man  who  is  not 
of  their  o^vn  cast ;  the  former  are  much 
more  liberal.  I  preached  for  them  once, 
and  they  affectionately  solicited  a  repetition 
of  my  services. 

"  Lady  Huntingdon's  connection  has  one 
society  here,  the  only  one  in  tlie  kingdom, 
perhaps,  except  at  Sligo,  where  there  is 
another.  It  is  not  large,  and  I  fear  rather 
declining.  There  is  not  one  independent 
church  in  the  kingdom.  There  were  ten 
Baptist  societies  in  Ireland  :  they  are  now 
reduced  to  six ;  and  are,  I  fear  still  on  the 
decline. 

"  The  inhabitants  of  Dublin  seem  to  be 
chiefly  composed  of  two  classes ;  the  one 
assume  the  appearance  of  opulence ;  the 
other  exhibit  marks  of  the  most  abject  pov- 
erty :  and  as  there  are  no  parishers  in  Ire- 
land which  provide  for  the  poor,  many  die 
every  year  for  the  want  of  the  necessaries 
of  hfe. 

"  Most  of  the  rich  are  by  profession  pro- 
testants  ;  the  poor  are  nearly  all  papists,  and 
strongly  prejudiced  against  the  reformed 
religion.  Their  ignorance  and  superstition 
are  scarcely  inferior  to  your  miserable  Hin- 
doos. On  midsummer  day  I  had  an  eflfect- 
ing  proof  of  the  latter.  On  the  public  road 
about  a  mile  from  Dublin,  is  a  well,  which 
was  once  included  in  the  precincts  of  a  pri- 
ory, dedicated  to  St.  John  of  Jerusalem. 
This  well  is  in  high  repute  for  curing  a 
number  of  bodily  complaints,  and  its  vir- 
tues are  said  to  be  most  efficacious  on  the 
saint's  own  day.  So  from  twelve  o'clock 
at  night,  for  twenty-four  hours,  it  becomes 
the  rendezvous  for  all  the  lame,  blind,  and 
otherwise  diseased  people,  within  a  circuit 
of  twenty  miles.    Here  they  brought  old 


MEMOIRS     OF     PEARCE, 


365 


and  young,  and  applied  the  '  holy  water,' 
both  internally  and  externally;  some  by 
pouring,  some  by  immersion,  and  all  by 
drinking:  whilst,  for  the  good  of  those  who 
could  not  come  in  person,  their  friends  filled 
bottles  with  the  efficacious  water  to  use  at 
home.  Several  I  saw  on  their  knees  before 
the  well,  at  their  devotions  who  were  not 
unfrequently  interrupted  with  a  glass  of 
whiskey.  With  this  they  were  supplied 
from  a  number  of  dealers  in  that  article, 
who  kept  standings  all  around  the  well. 

"  Near  the  spot,  was  a  church-yard,  were 
great  numbers  kneeled  upon  the  tombs  of 
their  deceased  relatives,  and  appeared  ear- 
nestly engaged  in  praying  for  the  repose  of 
their  souls. 

"It  was  truly  a  lamentable  sight.  My 
heart  ached  at  their  delusions,  whilst  I  felt 
gratitude,  I  hope  unfeigned,  for  an  ac- 
quaintance with  the  water  of  life,  of  which 
if  a  man  drink,  he  shall  live  for  ever. 

"  There  are  few,  or  none,  ol"  the  middle 
class  to  connect  the  rich  and  the  poor ;  so 
that  favorable  access  to  them  is  far  more 
difficult  than  to  the  lower  orders  of  the  peo- 
ple in  England ;  and  their  priests  hold 
them  in  such  bondage,  that  if  a  catholic 
servant  only  attend  on  family  worship  in  a 
protestant  house,  penance  must  be  perform- 
ed for  the  offence.  S.  P." 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  his 
having  "  formed  a  pleasing  acquaintance 
with  several  serious  young  gentlemen  of 
the  university  of  Dublin."  The  following 
letter  was  addressed  to  one  of  them,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Matthias,  a  few  months  after  his 
return : 

"Dear  Brother  Matthias, 

"  I  have  been  employed  this  whole  day  in 
writing  letters  to  Dublin ;  and  it  is  the  first 
day  I  have  been  able  to  redeem  for  that 
purpose.  I  will  not  consume  a  page  in 
apology.  Let  it  suffice  to  say,  that  neces- 
sity, not  disinclination,  has  detained  from  my 
Irish  friends,  those  proofs  of  my  gratitude 
and  esteem,  which  in  other  circumstances  I 
ought  to  have  presented  three  months  ago. 
I  thought  this  morning  of  answering  all 
their  demands  before  I  slept:  but  I  have 
written  so  many  sheets,  and  all  full,  that  I 
find  my  eyes  and  my  fingers  both  fail ;  and 
I  believe  this  must  close  my  intercourse 
with  Dublin  this  day.  When  I  shall  be  able 
to  complete  my  purpose,  I  do  not  know. 
To  form  friendships  with  good  men  is  plea- 
sant ;  but  to  maintain  all  that  communion, 
which  friendship  expects,  is  in  some  cases 
very  difficult.  Happy  should  I  be,  could  I 
meet  my  Irish  friends  in  propria  persona, 
instead  of  sitting  in  solitude,  and  maintain- 
ing, by  the  tedious  medium  of  the  pen,  this 
distant  intercourse.    But  'The  Lord,  he 


shall  choose  our  inheritance  for  us.'  Were 
all  the  planets  of  our  system  embodied,  and 
placed  in  close  association,  the  light  would 
be  greater,  and  the  object  grander ;  but 
then,  usefulness  and  systematic  beauty  con- 
sist in  their  dispersion :  and  what  are  we, 
my  brother,  but  so  many  sattellites  to  Jesus 
the  great  sun  of  the  Christian  system  ? 
Some,  indeed,  like  burning  Mercuries,  keep 
nearer  the  luminary,  and  receive  more  of 
its  light  and  heat,  whilst  others,  like  the 
ringed  planet,  or  the  Georgium  Sidus,  pre- 
serve a  greater  distance,  and  reflect  a 
greater  portion  of  his  light :  yet  if,  amidst 
all  this  diversity,  they  belong  to  the  system, 
two  tilings,  may  be  affirmed  of  all ;  all  keep 
true  to  one  centre,  and  borrow  whatever 
hght  they  have  from  one  source.  True  it 
is  ,that  the  further  they  are  from  the  sun,  the 
longer  are  they  in  performing  their  revolu- 
tions :  and  is  not  this  exemplified  in  us  1 
The  closer  we  keep  to  Jesus,  the  more  bril- 
liant are  our  graces,  the  more  cheerful  and 
active  are  our  lives ;  but  alas,  we  are  all 
comets ;  we  all  move  in  eccentric  orbs  :  at 
one  time  glowing  beneath  the  ray  divine,  at 
another  freezing  and  congealing  the  icicles. 
'  Oh  what  a  miracle  to  man  is  man  1' 

"  Little  did  I  think  when  I  began  this 
letter,  that  I  should  have  thus  indulged  my- 
self in  allegory ;  but  true  friendship,  I  be- 
lieve, always  dictates  extempore ;  and  my 
friends  must  never  expect  from  me  a  studied 
epistle.  They  can  meet  with  better 
thoughts,  than  I  can  furnish  them  with,  in 
any  bookseller's  shop.  It  is  not  the  dish, 
however  well  it  may  be  cooked,  that  gives 
the  relish,  but  the  sweet  sauce  of  friendship, 
and  this  I  think  sometimes  makes  even  non- 
sense palitable. 

"  But  I  have  some  questions  to  put  to 
you ;  first,  how  are  all  my  college  friends, 
Messrs.  Walker,  Maturin,  Hamilton,  &c.  ? 
How  is  their  health  ?  But  chiefly,  how  are 
the  interests  of  religion  among  you  ?  Are 
any  praying  students  added  to  your  num- 
ber? Do  all  those  you  thought  well  of, 
continue  to  justify  their  profession  ?  You 
know  what  it  is  that  interests  me.  Pray  tell 
me  all,  whether  it  makes  me  weep  or  re- 
joice. 

"  I  hope  Mr.  H 's  ministry  was  blessed 

in  Dublin.  Do  you  know  any  instances  of  it  ? 
We  must  sow  in  hope,  and  I  trust  that  we 
shall  all  gather  fruit  to  eternal  life,  even 
where  the  buddings  have  never  appeared  to 
us  in  this  world.  How  is  it  with  your  own 
soul  ?  I  thank  God  I  never  I  think,  rejoiced 
habitually  so  much  in  him  as  I  have  done  of 
late.  '  God  is  love.''  That  makes  me  happy. 
I  rejoice  that  God  reigns ;  that  he  reigns 
over  all ;  that  he  reigns  over  me  ;  over  my 
crosses,  my  comforts,  my  famity,  my  friends, 
my  senses,  my  mental  powers,  my  designs, 
my  words,  my  preaching,   my  conduct; 


366 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


tliat  he  is  God  over  all  blessed  for  ever.  I 
am  willing  to  live,  yet  I  long  to  die,  to  be 
freed  from  all  error  and  all  sin.  I  have 
nothing  else  to  trouble  me  ;  no  other  cross 
to  carry.  The  sun  shines  without,  all  day 
long ;  but  I  am  sensible  of  internal  dark- 
ness. Well,  through  grace  it  shall  be  all 
light  by  and  by.  Yes,  you  and  I  shall  be 
angels  of  light,  all  Mercuries  then ;  all  near 
the  sun ;  always  in  motion ;  always  glow- 
ing with  zeal  and  flaming  with  love.  Oh 
for  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  world 
wherein  dwelleth  righteousness. 

"  '  Oh  what  love  and  concord  there 
And  what  sweet  harmony 
Li  heaven  above,  where  happy  souls 

Adore  thy  majesty. 
Oh  how  the  heavenly  choirs  all  sing 
To  him  who  sits  enlhi'on'd  above 

What  admiring! 

And  aspiring ! 

Still  desiring : — 
Oh  how  I  long  to  see  tliis  feast  of  love  !' 

"  Will  you  tell  brother  M that  I 

wait  an  opportunity  to  send  a  parcel  to  him  ? 
In  that  I  will  enclose  a  letter.  My  very  af- 
fectionate respects  to  him,  and  Mr.  H , 

with  all  my  college  friends  as  though  na- 
med. If  you  be  not  weary  of  such  an  ec- 
centric correspondent,  pray  do  not  be  long 
ere  your  write  to  your  unworthy,  but  affec- 
tionate brother  in  Christ,  S.   P." 

Awhile  after  this,  he  thus  writes  to  his 
friend,  Mr.  Summers : 

"December,  1796.  I  rejoice  that  you 
have  been  supported  under,  and  brought 
through  your  late  trials.  I  do  not  wonder 
at  it,  for  it  is  no  more  than  God  has  promis- 
ed ;  and  though  we  may  well  wonder  that 
he  promises  any  thing,  yet  his  performance 
is  no  just  ground  of  surprise ;  and  when 
we  find  ourselves  so  employed,  we  had  bet- 
ter turn  our  wonder  to  our  own  unbelief, 
that  for  one  moment  suspected  God  would 
not  be  as  good  as  his  word. 

"  I  have  been  lately  more  than  ever  de- 
lighted with  the  thought,  that  God  hath  en- 
gaged to  do  any  thing  for  such  worms  as  we. 
I  never  studied  the  deistical  controversy  so 
much,  nor  ever  rejoiced  in  revelation  more. 
Alas  !  what  should  we  loiow,  if  God  had  not 
condescended  to  teach  us.  Paul  very  justly 
remarks,  that  no  one  knoweth  anything  of 
God,  but  the  spirit  of  God,  and  he  to  whom 
the  spirit  rcvealeth  him.  Now  the  .spirit  hath 
revealed  God  in  the  bible,  but  to  an  unbe- 
liever the  bible  is  a  sealed  book.  He  can 
know  nothing  from  a  book  that  he  looks  upon 
as  an  imposture,  and  yet  there  is  no  other 
book  in  which  God  is  revealed  ;  so  that  to  re- 
ject the  bible,  is  to  immerse  ourselves  in  dark- 
ness, and  whilst  professing  to  be  wise,  act 
ually  to  become  a  fool ;  whereas,  no  sooner 
do  we  believe  what  the  spirit  saith,  than 


unto  us  is  God  revealed,  and  '  in  his  light 
do  we  see  light.'  S.  P." 

To  the  above  may  be  added,  a  few  ex- 
tracts of  letters,  which  he  addressed  to  his 
friends  in  1797,  and  1798. 

TO  DR.  RYLAND. 

»  March,  1797. 

"  During  the  last  three  weeks,  I  have,  at 
times,  been  very  poorly,  in  colds,  «&c.  Am 
better  now,  and  have  been  all  along  as- 
sisted in  going  through  my  public  duties. 
Let  us  continue  to  pray  for  each  other,  till 
death  makes  it  a  needless  service.  How 
uncertain  is  life,  and  what  a  blessing  is 
death  to  a  saint !  I  seem  lately  to  feel  a 
kind  of  affection  for  death.  Methinks  if  it 
were  visible,  I  could  embrace  it.  Wel- 
come herald,  that  bids  the  prisoner  be  free ; 
that  announces  the  dawn  of  everlasting  day ; 
that  bids  the  redeemed  come  to  Zion  with 
everlasting  joy,  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of 
an  erroneous  judgment,  and  a  depraved 
heart.  To  believe,  to  feel,  to  speak,  to  act 
exactly  as  God  will  have  me ;  to  be  wholly 
absorbed  and  taken  up  with  him  ;  this,  this, 
nothing  short  of  this  can  make  my  bliss 
complete.  But  all  this  is  mine.  Oh  the 
height,  the  depth,  the  length,  the  breadth 
of  redeeming  love  !  It  conquers  my  heart, 
and  constrains  me  to  yield  myself  a  hving 
sacrifice,  acceptable  to  God  through  Jesus 
Christ. 

"  My  dear  brother,  we  have  had  many 
happy  meetings  upon  earth :  the  best  is  in 
reserve. 

" '  No  heart  upon  earth  can  conceive 
The  bliss  lliat  in  heaven  they  share ; 
Then,  who  this  dark  world  would  not  leave, 
And  cheerfully  die  to  be  there  !' 

"  Oh  how  full  of  love,  and  joy,  and  praise, 
shall  we  be  when  that  happy  state  is  ours ! 
Well,  yet  a  little  while,  and  He  that  shall 
come,  will  come.  Even  so  come,  Lord 
Jesus !  My  dear  brother,  forgive  the  hasty 
effusions  of  a  heart  that  loves  you  in  the 
bowels  of  Jeeus,  and  is  always  happy  in 
testifying  itself  to  be 

"  Affectionately  yours,  S.  P." 

TO  MR.  CAVE. 

"  On  the  falling  away  of  some  who  had  promised  fair  in 
religion. 

« 1797. 

*'  I  thank  you  my  dear  brother,  for  the 
confidence  you  repose  in  me,  the  affection 
you  have  for  me,  and  the  freedom  with 
which  you  write  to  me.  Assure  yourself 
that  I  sincerely  sympathize  in  the  cutting 
events  which  you  have  lately  experienced. 
Trying  indeed !  Your  heart  must  bleed. 
Yet  be  not  discouraged  in  your  work.  The 
more  Satan  op]ioses  CJirist,  the  more  let  its 
oppose  hitiu    He  comes  with  great  vio- 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


367 


lence  because  his  time  is  short.  His  king- 
dom is  on  the  decline  ;  his  strong  holds  are 
besieged,  and  he  knows  they  must  soon  be 
taken.  Whilst  it  lasts,  he  is  making  des- 
perate sallies  on  the  armies  of  the  Lamb. 
It  is  no  great  wonder  that  he  fights  and 
wounds  a  raw  recruit  now  and  then,  who 
strays  from  the  camp,  and  thoughtless  of 
the  danger,  keeps  not  close  by  the  Cap- 
tain's lent.  I  hope  our  glorious  Leader 
will  heal  the  wounded,  and  secure  the  cap- 
tive. He  is  sure  to  make  reprisals.  Christ 
will  have  ten  to  one.  You  will  yet  see  his 
arm  made  bare.  He  shall  go  forth  like  a 
man  of  war.  The  prisoners  shall  be  re- 
deemed, and  the  old  tyrant  shall  be  cast 
into  the  bottomless  pit.  Be  of  good  cheer, 
my  fellow  soldier.  The  cause  is  not  ours, 
but  God's.  Let  us  endure  hardness,  and 
still  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith.  At  last 
we  shall  come  off  conquerors,  through  Him 
who  hath  loved  us. 

"  I  hope  you  have  some  causes  for  joy, 
as  well  as  grief.  I  trust  though  one,  or 
two,  or  three  fall,  the  tens,  and  the  twen- 
ties stand  their  ground.  Oh  do  what  you 
can  to  cheer  them  under  the  common  trial. 
Let  them  not  see  a  faint  heart  in  you. 
Fight  manfully  still.  Tell  them  to  watch 
the  more ;  to  pray  the  harder  ;  to  walk  the 
closer  with  God.  So  out  of  tiie  eater  shall 
come  forth  meat,  and  sweetness  out  of  the 
strong.  S.  P." 

TO  MR.  BATES  AND  MRS.  BARNES, 

Who  had  been  burnt  out  of  their  residence. 

"The  many  expressions  of  Christian 
friendship  which  I  received  from  you,  and 
your  affectionate  families,  during'  my  last 
visit  to  London,  will  often  excite  grateful 
recollection  in  future,  as  they  have  almost 
daily  since  I  parted  from  you  ;  and  though 
I  do  not  write  this  avowedly  as  a  mere 
letter  of  acknowledgement,  yet  I  wish  to 
assure  you,  that  I  am  not  forgetful  of  my 
friends,  nor  unthankful  for  their  kindness. 
May  all  the  favor  you  show  to  the  servants 
of  our  common  Lord  for  his  sake,  be  amply 
recompensed  in  present  peace,  and  future 
felicity,  when  the  promise  of  Him  who  can- 
not lie,  shall  be  fulfilled.  'A  cup  of  cold 
water  given  to  a  disciple,  in  the  name  of  a 
disciple,  shall  not  lose  its  reward.' 

"But,  whilst  you,  my  dear  friends,  live 
'  in  hope  of  the  glory'  that  remains  '  to  be 
revealed,'  I  am  persuaded  that  you  expect 
all  as  the  fruit  of  sovereign  mercy,  which 
first  forms  us  to  the  mind  of  Christ,  then 
accepts,  and  then  rewards.  Truly,  if  sin- 
ners be  rewarded,  it  must  be  'of  grace,  and 
not  of  debt.'  Yet  it  is  a  mercy  of  unspeak- 
able matrnitufle,  that  grace  should  estab- 
lish a  connection,  between  obedience  and 
enjoyment ;  such  a  connection  as  at  once 


insures  joy  to  the  believer,  and  glory  to 
Christ. 

"  O  that  our  thoughts,  our  affections,  our 
desires  may  be  much  in  heaven !  Here, 
you  have  been  taught,  is  '  no  continuing 
city,'  no  certain  place  of  abode  ;  and  though 
you  have  been  taught  it  awfully  in  flames, 
yet  if  you  learn  it  effectually,  the  terror  of^ 
the  means  will  be  conquered  by  the  excel- 
lency and  glory  of  the  consequences.  Yes, 
my  friends,  '  in  heaven  we  have  a  better 
and  enduring  substance :'  the  apartments 
there  are  more  spacious  ;  the  society  more 
sweet ;  the  enjoyments  more  perfect ;  and 
all  to  last  for  ever.  Well  may  Christians 
'  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God  !' 

"  S.  P." 

TO  MR.  AND  MRS.  BOWYER,  PALL 
MALL. 

"  November  17,  1797. 

"  Blessed  be  '  the  Preserver  of  men,'  for 
all  his  goodness  to  dear  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B. 
With  theirs  shall  my  gratitude  also  ascend, 
whilst  separated  from  their  society ;  and 
with  theirs,  shall  it  more  warmly  and  per- 
manently ascend  when  we  meet  to  form  a 
part  of  the  general  assembly,  the  church  of 
the  first  born. 

"  I  do  not  return  to  London  this  autumn, 
but  I  mean  to  visit  Portsmouth.  I  must  be 
indebted  to  you  for  my  directions.  We 
shall  be  very  happy  to  see  you  at  Luke 
street:  but  Wales  I  suppose  will  be  the 
vortex  that  will  swallow  up  much  of  your 
time.  Well,  so  you  are  happy,  we  must  be 
disinterested  enough  to  be  satisfied,  al- 
though we  be  denied  a  personal  participa- 
tion. 

"  Let  us  not  forget  that  we  are  Chris- 
tians ;  and  Christians  profess  a  hope  of  a 
better  country  than  Cambria  contains. 
There^  we  all  belong.  Already  citizens 
by  privilege,  we  shall  be  by  possession 
soon. 

"  '  Roll  swifter  round,  ye  wheels  of  time, 
And  bring  the  welcome  day.' 

"  In  hope  of  greeting  you  both  in  that 
good  land,  I  remain,  most  affectionately 
yours,  S.  P." 

TO  DR.  RYLAND. 

"  November  17,  1797. 
"  I  feel  much  for  you  in  relation  both  to 
the  duties  and  trials  of  your  present  situa- 
tion: at  the  same  time  I  bless  God  who 
fixed  you  in  it,  because  I  am  persuaded 
that  it  will  be  for  his  glory  in  the  churches 
of  Christ.  And  though  none  but  tliose, 
whose  hands  are  full  of  religious  concerns, 
can  gue.ss  at  your  difficulties ;  yet  our 
blessed  Redeemer  knows  them  all.  Oh, 
my  brother,  you  are  tr:^vailing  for  him, 
who  redeemed  you  by  his  blood  ;  who  sym- 
pathizes with  you,  and  who  \\i\\  graciously 


368 


MEMOIRS     OF     PEARCE. 


crown  you  at  last.  Small  as  my  trials  are, 
I  would  turn  smith,  and  work  at  the  anvil 
and  the  forge,  rather  than  bear  them  for 
any  other  master  than  Christ.  Yet  were 
they  ten  thousand  times  as  many  as  they 
are,  the  thought  of  their  being  for  him,  I 
trust,  would  sweeten  them  all. 

"  I  have  reason  to  be  very  thankful  for 
much  pleasure  of  late,  both  as  a  Christian 
and  a  minister.  I  have  never  felt  so  deep- 
ly my  need  of  a  Divine  Redeemer,  and  sel- 
dom possessed  such  solid  confidence  that 
he  is  mine.  I  want  more  and  more  to  be- 
come a  little  child,  to  dwindle  into  nothing 
in  my  own  esteem,  to  renounce  ray  own 
wisdom,  power  and  goodness,  and  simply 
look  to,  and  live  upon  Jesus  for  all.  I  am 
ashamed  that  I  have  so  much  pride,  so 
much  self-will.  Oh  my  Saviour  !  make  me 
'  meek  and  lowly  in  heart ;'  in  this  alone  I 
find  '  rest  to  my  soul.' 

"  I  could  say  much  of  what  Immanuel 
has  done  for  my  soul ;  but  I  fear  lest  even 
this  should  savour  of  vanity.  When  shall 
I  be  like  my  Lord !  Oh  welcome  death, 
when  I  have  nothing  more  to  do  for  Christ ! 
To  him,  till  then,  may  I  live  every  day  and 
every  hour  !  Rather  may  I  be  annihilated 
than  not  live  to  him  ! 

"  You  will  rejoice  with  me  to  hear  that 
we  have  a  pleasing  prospect  as  a  church. 
Several  very  hopeful,  and  some  very  valu- 
able characters  are  about  to  join  us.  Lord, 
carry  on  ihy  work.  S.  P." 

TO  MRS.  PEARCE. 

On  the  dangerous  illness  of  one  of  the  children. 

"  Portsmouth,  January  29,  1798. 

"Ignorant  of  the  circumstances  of  our 
dear  child,  how  shall  I  address  myself  to 
her  dearer  mother !  With  a  fluttering 
heart,  and  a  trembling  hand,  I,  in  this  un- 
certainty, resume  my  pen.  One  consider- 
ation tranquilizes  my  mind ;  I  and  mine  are 
in  the  hands  of  God:  the  wise,  the  good, 
the  indulgent  Parent  of  mankind  !  What- 
ever he  does  is  best.  I  am  prepared  for  all 
his  will,  and  hope  that  I  shall  never  have  a 
feeling,  whose  language  is  not,  '  Thy  will 
be  done.' 

"  I  am  most  kindly  entertained  here  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shoveller:  and,  except  my 
dear  Sarah's  presence,  feel  myself  at  home. 
Tkey  have  had  greater  trials  than  we  can 
at  present  know.  They  have  attended 
seven  children  to  the  gloomy  tomb:  they 
have  been  supported  beneath  tlieir  loss,  by 
Him  who  halh  said,  '  As  thy  days,  so  shail 
thy  strength  be.'  Mrs.  S.  tells  me,  she 
'  blessed  God  for  all.'  May  my  dear  Sa 
rah  be  enabled  to  do  the  same,  whatever 
the  result  may  prove.  To-morrow  I  ex- 
pect another  letter  from  you  ;  yet  lest  you 
should  too  much  feel  my  abscence,  I  will 
not  delay  forwarding  this  a  single  post.     O 


that  it  nvay  prove  in  some  degree  a  mes^ 
senger  of  consolation ! 

"  Yesterday  I  preached  three  times  ;  God 
was  very  good.  I  received  your  letter  be- 
fore the  first  service  :  you  may  be  assured 
that  I  bore  you  on  my  heart  in  the  pres- 
ence of  my  Lord  and  yours ;  nor  shall  I 
pray  in  vain.  He  will  either  restore  the 
child,  or  support  you  under  the  loss  of  it. 
I  dare  not  pray  with  importunity  for  any 
earthly  good ;  for  '  who  knoweth  what  is 
good  for  man  in  this  life,  all  the  days  of  hia 
vain  life  which  he  spendeth  as  a  shadow  ?' 
But  strength  to  bear  the  loss  of  earthly 
comforts,  he  has  promised  ;  for  that  I  im- 
portune ;  and  that,  I  doubt  not,  will  be 
granted. 

"  In  a  house  directly  opposite  to  the  win- 
dow before  which  I  now  write,  a  wife,  a 
mother,  is  just  departed.  Why  am  I  not  a 
bereaved  husband  ?  Why  not  my  child- 
ren motherless  ?  When  we  compare  our 
condition  with  our  wishes,  we  often  com- 
plain :  but  if  we  compare  it  with  that  of 
many  around  us,  our  complaints  would  be 
exchanged  for  gratitude  and  praise. 

"  S.  P." 

TO  R.  BOWYER,  ESa 

"  February  14,  1798. 

"  Not  a  day  has  hurried  by,  since  I  part- 
ed with  my  dear  friends  in  Pall  Mall,  but 
they  have  been  in  my  affectionate  remem- 
brance ;  but  not  being  able  1o  speak  with 
any  satisfaction  respecting  our  dear  child, 
I  have  withheld  myself  from  imparting  new 
anxieties  to  bosoms  already  alive  to  pain- 
ful sensibility. 

"  At  length,  however,  a  gracious  God 
puts  it  in  my  power  to  say  that  there  is 
hope.  Alter  languishing  between  life  and 
death  for  many  days  she  now  seems  to 
amend.  We  flatter  ourselves  that  she  has 
passed  the  crisis,  and  will  yet  be  restored 
to  our  arms :  but  parental  fears  forbid  too 
strong  a  confidence.  It  may  be  that  our 
most  merciful  God  saw  that  the  shock  of  a 
sudden  removal  would  be  too  strong  for  the 
tender  feelings  of  a  mother  ;  and  so  by  de- 
grees, prepares  for  the  stroke  which  must 
fall  at  last.  However,  she  is  in  the  best 
hands,  and  we  are,  I  hope,  preparing  for 
submission  to  whatever  may  be  the  blessed 
will  of  God, 

"  I  was  brought  home  in  safety,  and  feel 
myself  in  much  better  health  in  conse- 
quence of  my  journey.  Oh  that  it  all  may 
be  concentrated  to  my  Redeemer's  praise  ! 

"  Happy  should  I  be,  if  I  could  oftener 
enjoy  your  friendly  society ;  but  we  must 
wait  fur  the  full  accomplishment  of  our  so- 
cial wishes,  till  we  come  to  that  better 
world,  for  which  divine  grace  is  preparing 
us.  There  our  best,  our  brightest  hopes, 
and  there  our  warmest  aflections  must  be 


MEMOIRS    OP    PEARCE. 


369 


found.  Could  we  have  all  we  want  below. 
we  should  be  reluctant  to  ascend,  when 
Jesus  calls  us  home.  No,  this  is  not  our 
rest;  it  is  polluted  with  sin,  and  dashed 
with  sorrow :  but  though  our  pains  in  them- 
eelves  are  evil,  yet  our  God  turns  the  curse 
into  a  blessing,  and  makes  all  that  we  meet 
with  accomplish  our  good. 

"What  better  can  I  wish,  my  friends, 
than  the  humble  place  of  Mary,  or  the  hap- 
py rest  of  John  !  Faith  can  enjoy  them 
both,  till  actually  we  fall  at  the  Saviour's 
feet,  and  lean  upon  his  bosom,  when  we  see 
him  as  he  is. 

•' '  Oh  the  delights,  the  heav'niy  joys, 
The  glories  of  the  place, 
Where  Jesus  sheds  the  brightest  beams 
Of  his  o'erflowing  grace.' 

"  S.  P.» 


CHAPTER    IV. 

An  Account  of  his  last  Affliction,  and  the 
holy  and  happy  Exercises  of  his  Mind 
under  it. 

Eahly  in  October,  1798,  Mr.  Pearce  at- 
tended at  the  Kettering  minister's  meeting, 
and  preached  from  Psalm  xc.  16, 17.  "  Let 
thy  work  appear  unto  thy  servants,  and 
thy  glory  unto  their  children.  And  let  the 
beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God  be  upon  us; 
and  establish  thou  the  work  of  our  hands 
upon  us  ;  yea  the  work  of  our  hands  es- 
tablish thou  it."  He  was  observed  to  be 
singularly  solemn  and  affectionate  in  that 
discourse.  If  he  had  known  it  to  b3  the 
last  time  that  he  should  address  his  breth- 
ren in  that  part  of  the  country,  he  could 
scarcely  have  felt  or  spoken  in  a  more  in- 
teresting manner.  It  was  a  discourse  full 
of  instruction,  full  of  holy  unction,  and  that 
seemed  to  breathe  an  apostolical  ardor. 
On  his  return,  he  preached  at  Market  Har- 
borough;  and  riding  home  the  next  day  in 
company  with  his  friend,  Mr.  Summers,  of 
London,  they  were  overtaken  with  rain. 
Mr.  Pearce  was  wet  through  his  clothes, 
and  towards  evening  complained  of  a  chill- 
ness.  A  slight  hoarseness  followed.  He 
preached  several  times  after  this,  which 
brought  on  an  inflamation,  and  issued  in  a 
consumption.  It  is  probable  that  if  his  con- 
stitution had  not  been  previously  impaired, 
such  ert'ects  might  not  have  followed  in  this 
instance.  His  own  ideas  on  this  subject, 
are  expressed  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Ryland, 
dated  December  4,  1793,  and  in  another  to 
Mr.  King,  dated  from  Bristol,  on  his  way 
to  Plymouth,  March  30,  1799.  In  the  for- 
mer, he  says:  "  Ever  since  my  Christmas 
journey  last  year  to  Sheepshead,  Noting- 
ham,  and  Liecester,  on  the  mission  busi- 
ness, I  have  found  my  constitution  greatly 

Vol.  3.— Uu. 


debilitated,  in  consequence  of  a  cold  caught 
after  the  unusual  exertions  which  circum- 
stances then  demanded ;  so  that  from  a 
frame  that  could  endure  any  weather,  I 
have  since  been  too  tender  to  encounter  a 
single  shower  without  danger ;  and  the 
duties  of  the  Lord's-day,  which  as  far  as 
bodily  strength  went,  I  could  perform  with 
little  fatigue,  have  since  frequently  over- 
come me.  But  the  severe  cold  I  caught  in 
my  return  from  the  last  Kettering  minis- 
ter's meeting,  has  affected  me  so  much, 
that  I  have  sometimes  concluded  I  must 
give  up  preaching  entirely  ;  for  though  my 
head  and  spirits  are  better  than  for  two 
years  past,  yet  my  stomach  is  so  very  weak, 
that  I  cannot  pray  in  my  family  without 
frequent  pauses  for  breath ;  and  in  the  pul- 
pit it  is  labor  and  agony,  which  must  be 
felt  to  be  conceived  of.  I  have,  howeverj 
made  shift  to  preach  sometimes  thrice,  but 
mostly  only  twice  on  a  Lord's-day,  till  the 
last,  when  the  morning  sermon  only,  though 
I  delivered  it  with  great  pleasure  of  mind, 
and  with  as  much  caution  as  to  my  voice 
as  possible,  yet  cost  me  so  much  labor  as 
threw  me  into  a  fever  till  the  next  day,  and 
prevented  my  sleeping  all  night."  In  the 
letter  he  writes  thus:  "Should  mj' life  be 
spared,  I  and  my  family,  and  all  my  con- 
nections will  stand  indebted,  under  God,  to 
you.  Unsuspecting  of  danger  myself,  I 
believe  I  should  have  gone  on  wiih  my  ex- 
ertions, till  the  grave  had  received  me. 
Your  attention  sent  Mr.  B.  (the  apothecary) 
to  me,  and  then  first  I  learned  what  I  have 
since  been  increasingly  convinced  of:  that 
I  was  rapidly  destroying  the  vital  principle. 
And  the  kind  interest  you  have  taken  in 
my  welfare  ever  since,  fias  often  drawn  the 
grateful  tear  from  my  eye.  May  the  God 
of  heaven  and  earih  reward  your  kindness 
to  his  unworthy  servant,  and  save  you 
from  all  the  evils  from  which  your  distin- 
guished friendship  would  have  saved  me." 

Such  were  his  ideas.  His  labors  were 
certainly  abundant;  perhaps  too  great  for 
his  constitution :  but  it  is  probable  that 
nothing  was  more  injurious  to  his  health, 
than  a  frequent  exposure  to  night  air,  and 
an  inattention  to  the  necessity  of  changing 
damp  clothes. 

Hitherto  we  have  seen  in  Mr.  Pearce, 
the  active,  assiduous,  and  laborious  servant 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  but  now  we  see  him  laid 
aside  from  his  work,  wasting  away  by  slow 
degrees,  patiently  enduring  the  will  of  God, 
and  cheerfully  waiting  for  his  dissolution. 
And  as  here  is  but  little  to  narrate,  I  shall 
content  myself  with  copying  his  letters,  or 
extracts  from  them,  to  his  friends,  in  the 
order  of  time  in  which  they  were  written, 
only  now  and  then  dropping  a  few  hints  to 
furnish  the  reader  with  the  occasions  of 
some  of  them. 


370 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE, 


TO  DR.  RYLAND. 

"Birmingham,  Octobers,  1798. 

"  Oh !  my  dear  brother,  your  letter  of 
the  5th  which  I  received  this  morning,  has 
made  me  thankful  for  all  my  pulpit  agonies, 
as  they  enable  me  to  weep  with  a  weeping 
brother.  They  have  been  of  use  to  me  in 
other  respects;  particularly,  in  teaching 
me  the  importance  of  attaining  and  main- 
taining that  spirituality  and  pious  ardor,  in 
which  I  have  found  the  most  effectual  re- 
lief; so  that,  on  the  whole,  1  must  try  to 
'  glory  in  tribulations  also.'  I  trust  I  often 
can  when  the  conflict  is  past ;  but  to  glory 
'in'  them,  especially  in  mental  distress — 
hie  labor,  hoc  opjis  est. 

"  But  how  often  has  it  been  found,  that 
when  ministers  have  felt  themselves  most 
embarrassed,  the  most  effectual  good  has 
been  done  to  the  people.  Oh  for  hearts 
entirely  resigned  to  the  will  of  God. 

"  How  happy  should  I  be,  could  I  always 
enjoy  the  sympathies  of  a  brother,  who  is 
tried  in  these  points,  as  I  of  late  have  been. 

"S.  P." 

TO  MR.  FULLER. 

"  Birmingham,  October,  29,  1798. 
"I  caught  a  violent  cold  in  returning 
from  our  last  committee  meeting,  from 
which  I  have  not  yet  recovered.  A  little 
thing  now  affects  my  constitution,  which  I 
once  judg'ed  would  be  weather  and  labor 
proof  for  at  least  thirty  years,  if  I  lived  so 
long.  I  thank  God  that  I  am  not  debilita- 
ted by  iniquity.  I  have  lately  met  with  an 
occurrence,  which  occasioned  me  much 
pain  and  perplexity.  *****  Trials  soften 
our  hearts,  and  make  us  more  fully  prize 
the  dear  few,  into  whose  faithful  sympathi- 
zing bosoms  we  can  with  confidence  pour 
our  sorrows.  I  think  I  should  bless  God 
for  my  afflictions,  if  they  produced  no  other 
fruits  than  these,  the  tenderness  they  inspire, 
and  the  friendships  they  enjoy.  Pray,  my 
dear  brother,  for  yours  affectionately, 

"S.  P." 

To  a  young  man  who  had  applied  to  him  for  advice,  how 
he  should  best  improve  his  time,  previous  to  his  going 
to  the  Bristol  academy. 

"  Birmingham,  Noveraber  13,  1798. 

"  My  dear  M , 

"I  can  only  confess  my  regret  at  not  re- 
plying to  yours  at  a  much  earlier  period, 
and  assure  you  that  the  delay  has  been 
accidental,  and  not  designed.  I  feel  the 
importance  of  your  request  for  advice.  I 
was  sensible  it  deserved  some  considera- 
tion before  it  was  answered.  I  was  full  of 
business  at  the  moment  I  put  it  by,  and 
it  was  forgotten;  and  now  it  is  too  late. 
The  time  of  your  going  to  Bristol  draws 
nigh.     If  instead  of  an  opinion  respecting 


the  best  way  of  occupying  your  time  be- 
fore you  go,  you  will  accept  a  little  counsel 
during  your  continuance  there,  I  shall  be 
happy  at  any  time  to  contribute  such  a 
mite  as  my  experience  and  observation 
have  put  in  my  power. 

"  At  present,  the  following  rules  appear 
of  so  much  moment,  that  were  I  to  resume 
a  place  in  any  literary  establishment,  I 
would  religiously  adopt  them  as  the  stand- 
ard of  my  conduct:  First,  I  would  cultivate 
a  spirit  of  habitual  devotion.  Warm  piety 
connected  with  my  studies,  and  especially 
at  my  entrance  upon  them,  would  not  only 
assist  me  in  forming  a  judgment  on  their 
respective  importance,  and  secure  the  bles- 
sing of  God  upon  them;  but  would  so  ce- 
ment the  religious  feeling  with  the  literary 
pursuit,  as  might  abide  with  me  for  hte. 
The  habit  of  uniting  these,  being  once  for- 
med, would,  I  hope,  be  never  lost;  and  I 
am  sure  that  without  this,  I  shall  both  pur- 
sue trivial  and  unworthy  objects,  and  those 
that  are  worthy  I  shall  pursue  for  a  wrong 
end.  Secondly,  I  would  determine  on  a 
uniform  submission  to  the  instructions  of 
my  preceptor,  and  study  those  things  which 
would  give  him  pleasure.  If  he  be  not 
wiser  than  I  am,  for  what  purpose  do  I 
come  under  his  care  ?  I  accepted  the  pe- 
cuniary help  of  the  society  on  condition  of 
conformity  to  its  will ;  and  it  is  the  society's 
will  that  my  tutor  should  govern  me.  My 
example  will  have  influence ;  let  me  not, 
by  a  single  act  of  disobedience,  or  by  a 
word  that  implicates  dissatisfaction,  sov/ 
the  seeds  of  discord  in  the  bosoms  of  my 
companions.  Thirdly,  I  would  pray  and 
strive  for  the  power  of  self-government,  to 
form  no  plan,  to  utter  not  a  word;  to  take 
no  step  under  the  mere  influence  of  pas- 
sion. Let  my  judgment  be  often  asked, 
and  let  me  always  give  it  time  to  answer. 
Let  me  always  guard  against  a  light  or 
trifling  spirit;  and  particularly  as  1  shall 
be  amongst  a  number  of  youths,  whose 
years  will  incline  them  all  to  the  same 
irailty.  Fourthly,  I  would  in  all  my  weekly 
and  daily  pursuits  observe  the  strictest 
order.  Always  let  me  act  by  a  plan.  Let 
every  hour  have  its  proper  pursuit;  from 
which  let  nothing  but  a  settled  conviction 
that  I  can  employ  it  to  better  advantage, 
ever  cause  me  to  deviate.  Let  me  have  fix- 
ed time  for  prayer,  meditation,  reading  lan- 
guages, correspondence,  recreation,  sleep, 
&c.  Fifthly,  I  would  not  only  assign  to 
every  hour  its  proper  pursuit,  but  what  I 
(lid,  I  would  try  to  do  it  with  all  my  might. 
The  hours  at  such  a  place  are  precious  be- 
yond conception,  till  the  student  enters  on 
life's  busy  scenes.  Let  me  set  the  best  of 
my  class  ever  before  me,  and  strive  to  be 
belter  than  tliey.     In   humility  and  diU- 


MEMOIRS    OP    PEARCE, 


371 


gence,  let  me  aim  to  be  the  first.  Sixthly, 
I  would  particularly  avoid  a  versatile  habit. 
In  all  things  I  would  persevere.  Without 
this,  I  may  be  a  gaudy  butterfly,  but  never, 
like  the  bee,  will  my  hive  bear  examining. 
Whatever  I  take  in  hand,  let  me  first  be 
eure  I  understand  it,  then  duly  consider  it, 
and  if  it  be  good,  let  me  adopt  and  use  it. 

"  To  these,  my  dear  brother,  let  me  add 
three  or  four  things  more  minute,  but  which 
I  am  persuaded  will  help  you  much :  Guard 
against  a  large  acquaintance  while  you 
are  a  student.  Bristol  friendship,  while 
you  sustain  that  character,  will  prove  a 
vile  thief,  and  rob  you  of  many  an  invalu- 
able hour.  Get  two  or  three  of  the  studeiits, 
whose  piety  you  most  approve,  to  meet  for 
one  hour  in  a  loeek  for  experimental  con- 
versation and  'mutual  prayer.  I  found  this 
highly  beneficial,  though  strange  to  tell,  by 
some  we  were  persecuted  for  our  practice  ! 
Keep  a  diary.  Once  a  week  at  farthest, 
call  yourself  to  an  account :  What  advan- 
ces you  have  made  in  your  studies ;  in  di- 
vinity, history,  languages,  natural  philoso- 
phy, style,  arrangement;  and  amidst  all, 
do  not  forget  to  inquire  :  Am  I  more  fit  to 
serve  and  to  enjoy  God  than  I  was  last 
week?  S.  P." 

On  Decem.ber  2,  1798,  he  delivered  his 
last  sermon.  The  subject  was  taken  from 
Dan.  X.  19.  "Oh  man,  greatly  beloved, 
fear  not,  peace  be  unto  thee,  be  strong, 
yea,  be  strong.  And  when  he  had  spoken 
unto  me,  I  was  strengthened,  and  said,  Let 
my  Lord  speak ;  for  thou  hast  strengthened 
me."  "Amongst  all  the  Old  Testament 
saints,"  said  he,  in  his  introduction  to  that 
discourse,  "there  is  not  one  whose  virtues 
were  more,  and  whose  imperfections  were 
fewer,  than  those  of  Daniel.  By  the  histo- 
ry given  of  him  in  this  book,  which  yet 
seems  not  to  be  complete,  he  appears  to  have 
excelled  among  the  excellent."  Doubtless 
no  one  was  farther  from  his  thoughts  than 
himself;  several  of  his  friends,  however, 
could  not  help  applying  it  to  him,  and  that 
with  a  painful  apprehension  of  what  fol- 
lowed soon  after. 

TO  MR.  CAVE,  LEICESTER. 

"  Birmingham,  December  4,  1798. 

" Blessed  be  God,  my  mind  is  calm  ; 

and  though  my  body  be  weakness  itself, 
my  spirits  are  good,  and  I  can  write  as 
well  as  ever,  though  I  can  hardly  speak 
two  sentences  without  a  pause.  All  is  well, 
brother !  all  is  well,  for  time  and  eternity. 
My  soul  rejoices  in  the  everlasting  cove- 
nant, ordered  in  all  things  and  sure.  Peace 
from  our  dear  Lord  Jesus  be  with  your 
spirit,  as  it  is  (yea,  more  also)  with  your 
affectionate  brother,  S.  P." 


TO  DR.  RYLAND. 

"  Birmingham.,  December  9,  179S. 
"My  dear  Brother, 

"  After  a  Sabbath  (such  an  one  I  never 
knew  before)  spent  in  an  entire  seclusion 
from  the  house  and  ordinances  of  my  God, 
I  seek  Christian  converse  with  you,  in  a 
way  in  which  I  am  yet  permitted  to  have 
intercourse  with  my  brethren.  The  day 
after  I  wrote  to  you  last,  my  medical  at- 
tendant laid  me  under  the  strictest  injunc- 
tions not  to  speak  again  in  public  for  one 
month  at  least.  He  says  my  stomach  has 
become  so  irritable,  through  repeated  infla- 
mations,  that  conversation,  unless  managed 
with  great  caution,  would  be  dangerous ; 
that  he  does  not  think  my  present  condition 
alarming,  provided  I  take  rest ;  but  without 
that,  he  intimated  my  life  was  in  great  dan- 
ger. He  forbids  my  exposing  myself  to 
the  evening  air,  on  any  account,  and  going 
out  of  doors,  or  to  the  door,  unless  when 
the  air  is  dry  and  clear ;  so  that  I  am,  du- 
ring the  weather  we  now  have  in  Birming- 
ham, (very  foggy,)  a  complete  prisoner ; 
and  the  repeated  cautions  from  my  dear 
and  aflfectionate  friends,  whose  solicitude,  I 
conceive,  far  exceeds  the  danger,  compel 
me  to  a  rigid  observance  of  the  doctor's 
rules. 

"  This  morning  brother  Pope  took  my 
place;  and  in  the  afternoon  Mr.  Brewer, 
who  has  discovered  uncommon  tenderness 
and  respect  for  me  and  the  people,  since 
he  knew  my  state,  preached  a  very  affec- 
tionate sermon  from  1  Samuel  iii.  18.  '  It 
is  the  Lord,  let  him  do  what  seemeth  him 
good.'  By  what  I  hear,  his  sympathizing 
observations,  in  relation  to  the  event  which 
occasioned  his  being  then  in  the  pulpit, 
drew  more  tears  from  the  people's  eyes, 
than  a  dozen  such  poor  creatures  as  their 
pastor  could  deserve.  But  I  have,  blessed 
be  God !  long  had  the  satisfaction  of  find- 
ing myself  embosomed  in  friendship — the 
friendship  of  the  people  of  my  charge : 
though  I  lament  that  their  love  should  oc- 
casion them  a  pang — but  thus  it  is — our 
heavenly  Father  sees  that,  for  our  mixed 
characters,  a  mixed  state  is  best. 

"  I  anticipated  a  day  of  gloom,  but  I  had 
unexpected  reason  to  rejoice  that  the  shad- 
ow of  death  was  turned  into  the  joy  of  the 
morning ;  and  though  I  said,  with  perhaps 
before  unequalled  feeling,  '  How  amiable 
are  thy  tabernacles !'  yet  I  found  the  God 
of  Zion  does  not  neglect  the  dwellings  of 
Jacob.  My  poor  wife  was  very  much  af- 
fected at  so  novel  a  thing  as  leaving  me 
behind  her,  and  so  it  was  a  dewy  morning; 
but  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  soon  arose, 
and  shed  such  ineffable  delight  throughout 
my  soul,  that  I  could  say,  '  It  is  good  to  be 
here.''    Motive  to  resignation  and  gratitude 


372 


MEMOIRS     OF     PEARCE, 


also,  crowded  upon  motive,  till  my  judg- 
ment was  convinced,  that  I  ought  to  rejoice 
in  the  Lord  exceedingly,  and  so  my  whole 
eoul  took  its  fill  of  joy.  May  I,  if  it  be  my 
Saviour's  will,  feel  as  happy  when  I  come 
to  die  !  When  my  poor  Sarah  lay  at  the 
point  of  death,  for  some  days  after  her  first 
lying-in,  towards  the  latter  days,  I  enjoyed 
such  support,  and  felt  my  will  so  entirely 
bowed  down  to  that  of  God,  that  I  said  in 
my  heart,  '  I  shall  never  fear  another  trial  : 
he  that  sustained  me  amidst  this  flame,  will 
defend  me  from  every  spark  !'  and  this  con- 
fidence I  long  enjoyed.  But  that  was  near 
six  years  ago,  and  I  had  almost  forgotten 
the  land  of  the  Hermonites,  and  the  hill 
Mizar.  But  the  Lord  has  prepared  me  to 
receive  a  fresh  display  of  his  fatherly  care, 
and  his  (shall  I  call  it?)  punctilious  veraci- 
ty. If  I  should  be  raised  up  again,  I  shall 
be  able  to  preach  on  the  faithfulness  of 
God  more  experimentally  than  ever.  Per- 
haps some  trial  is  coming  on,  and  I  am  to 
be  instrumental  in  preparing  them  for  it : 
Or  if  not,  if  I  am  to  depart  hence  to  be  no 
more  seen,  I  know  the  Lord  can  carry  on 
his  work  as  well  without  me  as  with  me. 
He  who  redeemed  the  sheep  with  his  blood, 
will  never  suffer  them  to  perish  for  want  of 
shepherding,  especially  since  he  himself  is 
the  chief  Shepherd  of  souls.  But  my  fam- 
ily !  Ah,  there  I  find  my  faith  but  still  im- 
perfect. However,  I  do  not  think  the  Lord 
will  ever  take  me  away,  till  he  helps  me  to 
leave  my  fatherless  children  in  his  hands, 
and  trust  my  widow  also  with  him.  'His 
love  in  times  past,'  and  I  may  add  in  times 
present  too,  'forbids  me  to  think  he  will 
leave  me  at  last^  in  trouble  to  sink.' 

"Whilst  my  weakness  was  gaining  ground, 
I  used  to  ask  myself,  how  I  could  like  to  be 
laid  by  ?  I  have  dreamed  that  this  was  the 
case,  and  both  awake  and  asleep,  I  felt  as 
though  it  were  an  evil  that  could  not  be 
borne :  but  now,  I  find  the  Lord  can  fit  the 
back  to  the  burden,  and  though  I  think  I 
love  the  thought  of  serving  Christ  at  this 
moment  better  than  ever,  yet  he  has  made 

me  willing  to  be nothing,  if  he  please 

to  have  it  so ;  and  now  my  happy  heart 
'could  sing  itself  away  to  everlasting  bliss.' 
"  O  what  a  mercy  that  I  have  not  brought 
on  my  affliction  by  serving  the  devil.  What 
a  mercy  that  I  have  so  many  dear  sympa- 
thizing friends !  What  a  mercy  that  I  have 
80  much  dear  domestic  comfort !  What.a 
mercy  that  I  am  in  no  violent  bodily  pain ! 
What  a  mercy  that  I  can  read  and  write, 
without  doing  my-sclf  an  injury !  What  a 
mercy  that  my  animal  spirits  have  all  the 
time  this  has  been  coming  on,  (ever  since 
the  last  Kettering  meeting  of  ministers.) 
been  vigorou.s — free  from  dejection  !  And 
which  1  reckon  among  the  greatest  of  this 
day's  privileges,  what  a  mercy  that  I  have 


been  able  to  employ  myself  for  Christ  and 
his  dear  cause  to-day,  as  I  have  been  almost 
wholly  occupied  in  the  concerns  of  the  (I 
hope)  reviving  church  at  Bromsgrove ;  and 
the  infant  church  at  Cradley !  O  my  dear 
brother,  it  is  all  mercy,  is  it  not?  O  help 
me  then  in  his  praise,  for  he  is  good,  for  his 
mercy  endureth  for  ever. 

"  Ought  I  to  apologize  for  this  experi- 
mental chat  with  you,  who  have  concerns 
to  transact  of  so  much  more  importance, 
than  any  that  are  confined  to  an  individual? 
Forgive  me  if  I  have  intruded  too  much  on 
your  time,  but  do  not  forget  to  praise  on 
my  behalf  a  faithful  God.  I  shall  now 
leave  room  against  I  have  some  business 
to  write  about — till  then,  adieu — but  let  us 
not  forget,  that  this  God.,  is  our  God  for 
ever  and  ever,  and  will  be  our  gidde  even 
until  death.  Amen.  Amen.  We  shall 
soon  meet  in  heaven.  S.  P." 

December  9,  1798,  he  was  detained  from 
public  worship,  as  appears  by  the  prece- 
ding letter  to  Dr.  Ryland,  written  on  that 
day.  The  following  lines  seem  to  have 
been  composed  on  the  same  occasion : 

"  On  being  prevented  by  sickness  from  attending  on  puit- 
lie  irorsliip. 

Tlie  fabric  of  nature  is  fair. 
But  fairc-r  the  temple  of  grace  ; 
To  saints  'tis  the  joy  of  the  earth— 
Oh  glorious,  beautilul  place ! 

To  this  temple  I  once  did  resort, 
With  crowds  of  tlie  people  of  God; 
Enraplnr'd  we  entered  its  courts, 
And  iiail'd  the  Redeemer's  abode. 

The  Father  of  nature  we  prais'd, 
And  prostrated  low  at  his  tlirone  ; 
The  Saviour  we  lov'd  and  ador'd. 
Who  lov'd  us  and  made  us  his  own. 

Full  oft  to  the  message  of  peace, 
To  sinners  address'd  from  the  sky, 
We  listen'd,  extolling  that  grace, 
Which  set  us,  once  rebels,  on  high. 

Faith  clave  to  the  cnicified  Lamb  ;- 
Hope,  smiling  exalted  its  head  ; 
Love  warni'd  at  the  Saviour's  dear  namei 
And  vow'd  to  observe  what  he  said. 

What  pleasure  appcar'd  in  the  looks 
Of  brethren  and  sisters  around  : 
With  transports  all  seem'd  to  reflect 
On  the  blessings  in  Jesus  they'd  found. 

Sweet  moments !    If  aught  upon  earth 
Resemble  the  joys  of  the  skies, 
'T  is  thus  when  the  hearts  of  the  flock 
Conjoin'd  to  the  Shepherd  arise. 

But  ah  !  these  sweet  moments  are  fled, 
Pale  sickness  compels  mc  to  stay 
Where  no  voice  of  the  turtle  is  heard, 
As  the  moments  are  hasting  away. 

My  God  !  thou  art  holy  and  good, 
Thy  plans  are  all  righteous  and  wise  ; 
Oh  help  me  submissive  to  wait, 
Till  thou  hiddest  thy  servant  arise. 

If  to  follow  thee  here  in  thy  courts, 
May  it  be  with  all  ardor  and  zeal, 
With  success  and  increasing  delight 
Performing  the  whole  of  thy  will.  -  • 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


373 


Or  should  thou  in  bondage  detain, 
To  visit  thy  temples  no  more, 
Prepare  me  for  mansions  above 
Where  nothing  exists  to  deplore: 

Where  Jesus,  the  Sun  of  the  place 

Refulgent  incessantly  shines, 
Eternally  blessing  his  saints, 
And  pouring  delight  on  their  minds. 

Tliere — there  are  no  prisons  to  hold 
The  captive  from  tasting  delight ; 
There — there  the  day  never  is  clos'd 
With  shadows,  or  darkness,  or  night. 

There  myriads  and  myriads  shall  meet 
In  our  Saviour's  liigli  praises  to  join  ; 
Whilst  transported  vpe  fall  at  his  feet. 
And  extol  his  redemption  divine. 

Enough  then  !  my  heart  shall  no  more 
Of  its  present  bereavements  complain 
Since,  ere  long,  I  to  glory  shall  soar. 
And  ceaseless  enjoyments  attain !" 

TO  MR.  NICHOLS,  NOTTINGHAM. 

"  Birmingham,  December  10,  1798. 
"  I  am  now  quite  laid  by  from  preaching, 
and  am  so  reduced  in  my  internal  strength, 
that  I  can  hardly  converse  with  a  friend 
for  five  minutes  without  losing  my  breath. 
Indeed  I  have  been  so  ill,  that  I  thought 
the  next  ascent  would  be,  not  to  a  pulpit, 
but  to  a  throne,  to  the  throne  of  glory. 
Yes,  indeed,  my  friend,  the  religion  of  Je- 
sus will  support  when  flesh  and  heart  fail : 
and  in  my  worst  state  of  body,  my  soul 
was  filled  with  joy.  I  am  now  getting  a 
little  better,  though  but  very  slowly.  But 
fast  or  slow,  or  as  it  may,  the  Lord  doth  all 
things  well.  S.  P." 

TO  R.  BOWYER,  ESa. 
"  — —  I  have  overdone  myself  in  preach- 
ing. I  am  now  ordered  to  lie  by,  and  not 
even  to  converse,  without  great  care ;  nor 
indeed,  till  to-day,  have  I  for  some  time 
been  able  to  utter  a  sentence,  without  a 
painful  effort.  Bles.=ed  be  God!  I  have 
been  filled  all  through  my  affliction  with 
peace  and  joy  in  believing;  and  at  one 
time,  when  I  thought  1  was  entering  the 
valley  of  death,  the  prospect  beyond  was 
60  full  of  glory,  that  but  for  the  sorrow  it 
would  have  occasioned  to  some  who  would 
be  left  behind,  I  should  have  longed  that 
moment  to  have  mounted  to  the  skies.  Oh 
my  friend,  what  a  mercy  that  I  am  not  re- 
ceiving the  wages  of  sin ;  that  my  health 
has  not  been  impaired  by  vice ;  but  that, 
on  the  contrary,  I  am  bearivg  in  my  body 
the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  To  him  be 
all  the  praise  !  Truly  I  have  proved  that 
God  is  faithful :  and  most  cheerfully  would 
I  take  double  the  affliction  for  one  half  of 
the  joy  and  sweetness  which  have  attended 
it.  Accept  a  sermon  which  Js  this  day 
published.*  '      S.  p." 


•The  last  but  one  he  ever  preached,  entitled,  Motives 
to  Gralitude.  It  was  delivered  on  a  day  of  national 
ihanksgivmg,  and  printed  at  the  request  of  his  own 
congregation. 


TO  MR.  BATES  AND  MRS.  BARNES, 
MINORIES. 

^^  Birmingham,  December  14,  179S. 

" I  could  tell  you  much  of  the  Lord's 

goodness  during  my  affliction.  Truly,  'his 
right  hand  hath  been  under  my  head,  and 
his  left  embraced  me.'  And  when  I  was 
at  the  worst,  especially,  and  expected  ere 
long  to  have  done  with  time,  even  then, 
such  holy  joy,  such  ineffable  sweetness  fill- 
ed my  soul,  that  I  would  not  have  exchan- 
ged that  situation  for  any  besides  heaven 
itself. 

"Oh,  my  dear  friends,  let  us  hve  to 
ChiHst,  and  lay  ourselves  wholly  out  for 
him  whilst  we  live;  and  then,  when  health 
and  life  forsake  us,  he  will  be  the  strength 
of  our  heart,  and  our  portion  for  ever. 

"S.  P." 

About  this  time,  the  congregation  at 
Cannon  street  was  supplied  for  several 
months  by  Mr.  Ward,  who  is  since  gone  as 
a  missionary  to  India:  here  that  amiable 
young  man  became  intimately  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Pearce,  and  conceived  a  most  af- 
fectionate esteem  for  him.  In  a  letter  to  a 
friend,  dated  January  5,  1799,  he  writes  as 
follows : 

"  I  am  happy  in  the  company  of  dear 
brother  Pearce.  I  have  seen  more  of  God 
in  him,  than  in  any  other  person  I  ever  knew. 
Oh  how  happy  should  I  be  to  live  and  die 
with  him  !  When  well,  he  preaches  three 
times  on  a  Lord's-day,  and  two  or  three 
times  in  the  week  besides.  He  instructs 
the  young  people  in  the  principles  of  reli- 
gion, natural  philosophy,  astronomy,  &c. 
They  have  a  Benevolent  Society,  from  the 
funds  of  which  they  distribute  forty  or  fifty 
pounds  a  year  to  the  poor  of  the  congrega- 
tion. They  have  a  Sick  Society  for  visit- 
ing the  afflicted  in  general :  a  Book  Socie- 
ty at  chapel :  a  Lord's-day  School,  at  which 
betwixt  two  and  three  hundred  children  are 
instructed.  Add  to  this,  missionary  busi- 
ness, visiting  the  people,  an  extensive  cor- 
re.spondence,  two  volumes  of  mission  histo- 
ry preparing  for  the  press,  &c.,  and  then 
you  will  see  something  of  the  soul  of  Pearce. 
He  is  every  where  venerated,  though  but 
a  young  man;  and  all  the  kind,  tender, 
gentle  affections,  make  him  as  a  little  child 
at  the  feet  of  his  Saviour.  W.  W." 

In  February,  he  rode  to  the  opening  of  a 
Baptist  meeting-house  at  Bedworth;  but 
did  not  engage  in  any  of  the  services.  Here 
several  of  his  brethren  saw  him  for  the  last 
time.  Soon  afterwards,  writing  to  the  com- 
piler of  these  Memoirs,  he  says,  "  The 
Lord's-day  after  I  came  home,  I  tried  to 
speak  a  little  after  sermon.  It  inflamed  my 
lungs  afresh,  and  produced  phlegm,  cough- 
ing, and  spitting  of  blood.    Perhaps  I  may 


374 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


never  preach  more.  Well,  the  Lord's  will 
be  done.  I  thank  him  that  ever  he  took  me 
into  his  service  ;  and  now,  if  he  see  fit  to 
give  me  a  discharge,  I  submit." 

During  the  above  meeting,  a  word  was 
dropped  by  one  of  his  brethren  which  he 
took  as  a  reflection,  though  nothing  was  far- 
ther from  the  intention  of  the  speaker.  It 
wrought  upon  his  mind,  and  in  a  few  days 
after,  he  wrote  as  follows  :  "  Do  you  remem- 
ber what  passed  at  B.  ?  Had  I  not  been 
accustomed  to  receive  plain,  friendly  re- 
marks from  you,  I  should  have  thought  that 
you  meant  to  insinuate  a  reproof  If  you  did, 
tell  me  plainly.  If  you  did  not,  it  is  all  at  an 
end.  You  will  not  take  my  naming  it  unkind, 
although  I  should  be  mistaken,since  affection- 
ate explanations  are  necessary  when  suspi- 
cions arise,  to  the  preservation  of  friendship ; 
and  I  need  not  say  that  I  hold  the  preserva- 
tion of  your  friendship  in  no  small  account." 

The  above  is  copied,  not  only  to  set  forth 
the  spirit  and  conduct  of  Mr.  Pearce  in  a 
case  wherein  he  felt  himself  aggrieved,  but 
to  show  in  how  easy  and  amiable  a  manner 
thousands  of  mistakes  might  be  rectified, 
and  differences  prevented,  by  a  frank  and 
timely  explanation. 

TO    MR.   COMFIELD,  NORTHAMP- 
TON. 

"  Birmingham.,  March  4,  1799. 

"  I  could  wish  my  sympathies  to  be  as 
extensive  as  human — I  was  going  to  say — 
(and  why  not?)  as  animal  misery.  The 
very  limited  comprehension  of  the  human 
intelligence  forbids  this  indeed,  and  whilst 
I  am  attempting  lo  participate  as  far  as  the 
news  of  affliction  reaches  me,  I  find  the 
same  events  do  not  often  produce  equal 
feelings.  We  measure  our  sympathies,  not 
by  the  causes  of  sorrow,  but  by  the  sensi- 
bilities of  the  sorrowful ;  hence  I  abound  in 
feeling  on  your  account.  The  situation  of 
your  family  must  have  given  distress  to  a 
president  of  any  character ;  but  in  you  il 
must  have  produced  agonies.  I  know  the 
tenderness  of  your  heart:  your  feelings  are 
delicately  strong.  You  must  feel  much,  or 
nothing ;  and  he  that  knows  you,  and  does 
not  feel  much  when  you  feel  must  be  a 
brute. 

"  May  the  fountain  of  mercy  supply  you 
with  the  cheering  stream  !  May  your  sor- 
row be  turned  into  joy ! 

"  I  am  sure  that  I  ought  to  value  more 
than  ever  your  friendship  for  me.  You 
have  remembered  me,  not  merely  in  my 
affliction,  but  in  your  own.  Our  friendship, 
our  benevolence  must  never  be  compared 
with  that  of.Tesus;  but  it  is  truly  delightful 
to  see  the  disciple  treading,  though  at  an 
humble  distance,  in  the  footsteps  of  a  Mas- 
ter, who.  amidst  the  tortures  of  crucifixion, 
exercised  forgiveness  to  his  murderers,  and 


the  tenderness  of  filial  piety  to  a  disconso- 
late mother !  When  we  realize  the  scene, 
how  much  do  our  imaginations  embrace — 
the  persons,  the  circumstances,  the  words : 
•  Woman,  behold  thy  son  ;  John,  behold  thy 
mother !'  S.  P." 

By  the  above  letter,  the  reader  will  per- 
ceive, that  while  deeply  afflicted  himself  he 
felt  in  the  tenderest  manner  lor  the  afflic- 
tions of  others. 

TO  MR.  FULLER. 

"  March  23,  1799. 
He  was  now  setting  out  for  Plymouth ; 
and  after  observing  the  great  danger  he 
was  supposed  to  be  in,  with  respect  to  a 
consumption,  he  adds:  "But  thanks  be  to 
God  who  giveth  my  heart  the  victory,  let 
my  poor  body  be  consumed,  or  preserved. 
In  the  thought  o?  leaving,  I  feel  a  momenta- 
ry gloom ;  but  in  the  thought  of  going,  a 
heavenly  triumph. 

'' '  Oh  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor !' 

"  Praise  God  with  me,  and  for  me,  my 
dear  brother,  and  let  us  not  mind  dying  any 
more  than  sleeping.  No,  no !  let  every 
Christian  sing  the  loudest,  as  he  gets  the 
nearest  to  the  presence  of  his  God.  Eternal- 
ly yours  in  Him,  who  hath  washed  us  both 
in  his  blood.  S.  P." 

TO  MR.  MEDLEY,  LONDON. 
Under  the  same  date  he  says:  "My  af- 
fliction has  been  rendered  sweet,  by  the 
supports  and  smiles  of  Him  whom  I  have 
served  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son.  He  hath 
delivered,  he  doth  deliver,  and  I  trust  that 
he  will  yet  deliver.  Living  or  dying,  all  is 
well  for  ever.  Oh  what  shall  I  render  lo 
the  Lord !" 

ft  seems,  that  in  order  to  avoid  wounding 
Mrs.  P's  feelings,  he  deferred  the  settle- 
ment of  his  affairs  till  he  arrived  at  Bristol ; 
from  whence  he  Avrote  to  his  friend,  Mr. 
King,  requesting  him  to  become  an  execu- 
tor. Receiving  a  favorable  answer,  he  re- 
plied as  follows : 

'•'  Bristol  April  6,  1799. 
"Your  letter,  just  received,  affected  me 
loo  much,  with  feelings  both  of  sympathy 
and  gratitude,  to  remain  unanswered  a 
single  post.  Most  heartily  do  I  thank  you 
for  accepting  a  service,  which  friendship 
alone  can  render  agreeable  in  the  most 
simple  cases.  Should  that  service  demand 
your  activities  at  an  early  period,  may  no 
unforeseen  occurrence  increase  the  necessa- 
ry care  !  Bui  may  the  Father  of  the  father- 
less, and  Judge  of  the  widows,  send  you  a 
recompense  into  your  own  bosom,  equal  to 
all  that  friendship,  to  which,  under  God,  I 
have  been  so  much  indebted  in  life,  and  re- 


MEMOIRS    OP    PEARCE, 


375 


posing  on  whose  bosom,  even  death  itself 
loses  part  of  its  gloom.  In  you,  my  child- 
ren will  find  another  father ;  in  you,  my 
wife  another  husband.  Your  tenderness 
will  sympathize  with  the  one,  under  the 
most  distressing  sensibilities ;  and  your  pru- 
dent counsels  be  a  guide  to  the  others, 
through  the  unknown  mazes  of  inexperi- 
enced youth.  Enough — blessed  God!  My 
soul  prostrates,  and  adores  thee  for  such  a 
friend.  S.  P." 

TO  MR.  FULLER. 

"  Plymouth,  April  18,  1799. 

"  The  last  time  that  I  wrote  to  you  was 
at  the  close  of  a  letter  sent  to  you  by  bro- 
ther Ryland.  I  did  not  like  that  prescript 
form ;  it  looked  so  cardlike  as  to  make  me 
fear  that  you  would  deem  it  unbrolherly. 
After  all,  perhaps  you  thought  nothing 
about  it ;  and  my  anxieties  might  arise  only 
from  my  weakness,  which  seems  to  be  con- 
stantly increasing  my  sensibilities.  If  ever 
I  felt  love  in  its  tenderness  for  my  friends, 
it  has  been  since  my  affliction.  This,  in 
great  measure,  is  no  more  than  the  love  of 
'publicans  and  harlots,  who  love  those  that 
love  them.'  I  never  conceived  myself  by  a 
hundred  degrees  so  interested  in  the  regards 
of  my  friends,  as  this  season  of  affliction  has 
manifested  I  was ;  and  therefore,  so  far 
from  claiming  any  '  reward'  for  loving  them 
in  return,  I  should  account  myself  a  mon- 
ster of  ingratitude,  were  it  otherwise.  Yet 
there  is  something  in  affliction  itself,  which, 
by  increasing  the  delicacy  of  our  feehngs, 
and  detaching  our  thoughts  from  the  usual 
round  of  objects  which  present  themselves 
to  the  mind  when  in  a  state  of  health,  may 
be  easily  conceived  to  make  us  susceptible 
of  stronger  and  more  permanent  impres- 
sions of  an  affectionate  nature. 

"  I  heard  at  Bristol,  that  you  and  your 
friends  had  remembered  me  in  your  pray- 
ers, at  Kettering.  Whether  the  Lord  whom 
we  serve  may  see  fit  to  answer  your  peti- 
tions on  my  account  or  not,  may  they  at 
least  be  returned  into  your  own  bosoms. 

"  For  the  sake  of  others.  I  should  be  hap- 
py could  I  assure  you  that  my  health  was 
improving.  As  to  myself,  I  thank  God  that 
I  am  not  without  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to 
be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better.  I  find 
that  neither  in  sickness,  nor  in  health,  I  can 
be  so  much  as  I  wish  like  him  whom 
I  love.  '  To  die  is  gain  :'  Oh  to  gain  that 
state,  those  feelings,  that  character,  which 
perfectly  accord  witli  the  mind  of  Christ, 
and  are  attended  with  the  full  persuasion 
of  his  complete  and  everlasting  approba- 
tion !  I  want  no  heaven  but  this ;  and  to 
gain  this  most  gladly  would  I  this  moment 
expire.  But  if  to  abide  in  the  flesh  be  more 
needful  for  an  individual,  of  my  fclIow-men, 
Lord,  let  thy  will  be  done  ;  only  let  Christ 


be   magnified  by  me,  whether  in  lii'e  or 
death. 

"  The  weather  has  been  so  wet  and  win- 
dy since  I  have  been  at  Plymouth,  that  I 
could  not  reasonably  expect  lo  be  much 
better;  and  I  cannot  say  that  I  am  much 
worse.  All  the  future  is  uncertain.  Pro- 
fessional men  encourage  me  ;  but  frequent 
returns  appear,  and  occasional  discharges 
of  blood  check  my  expectations.  If  I  speak 
but  for  two  minutes,  my  breast  feels  as  sore 
as  though  it  were  scraped  with  a  rough- 
edged  razor ;  so  that  I  am  mute  all  the  day 
long,  and  have  actually  learned  to  converse 
with  my  sister  by  means  of  our  fingers. 

"  I  thank  you  for  yours  of  April  4th, 
which  I  did  not  receive  till  the  12th,  the  day 
that  I  arrived  at  Plymouth.  On  the  16th 
a  copy  of  yours  to  brother  Ryland  came  to 
hand,  to  which  I  should  have  replied  yes- 
terday, but  had  not  leisure.  I  am  happy 
and  thankful  for  your  success.  May  the 
Lord  himself  pilot  the  Criterion  safely  to 
Calcutta  river ! 

"  Unless  the  Lord  work  a  miracle  for  me, 
I  am  sure  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  attend 
the  Olney  meeting.  It  is  to  my  feelings  a 
severe  anticipation;  but  how  can  I  be  a 
Christian,  and  not  submit  to  God  ? 

"  S.  P." 
TO  MR.  W.  WARD. 

"  Plymouth,  April  22,  1799. 

"  Most  affectionately  do  I  thank  you  for 
your  letter,  so  full  of'^  information  and  of 
friendship.  To  our  common  Friend,  who  is 
gone  into  heaven  where  he  ever  sitteth  at  the 
right  hand  of  God  for  us,  I  commend  you. 
Whether  I  die,  or  live,  God  will  take  care  of 
you  till  he  has  ripened  you  for  the  common 
salvation.  Then  shall  I  meet  my  dear  broth- 
er Ward  again ;  and  who  can  tell  how  much 
more  interesting  our  intercourse  in  heaven 
will  be  made  by  tlie  scenes  that  most  dis- 
tress our  poor  spirits  here.  Oh,  had  I  none 
to  live  for,  I  had  rather  die  than  live,  that  I 
may  be  at  once  like  Him  whom  t  love. 
But  while  he  insures  me  grace,  why  should 
I  regret  the  delay  of  glory  ?  No :  I  will  wait 
his  will,  who  performeth  all  things  lor  me. 

"My  dear  brother,  had  I  strength,  I 
should  rejoice  to  acquaint  you  with  the 
wrestlings  and  the  victories,  the  hopes  and 
the  fears,  the  pleasures  and  the  pangs, 
which  I  have  lately  experienced.  But  I 
must  forbear.  All  I  can  now  say  is,  that 
God  hath  done  me  much  good  by  all,  and 
made  me  very  thankful  for  all  he  has  done. 
Alas !  I  shall  see  you  no  more.  I  cannot 
be  at  Olney  on  the  7th  of  May.  The 
journey  would  be  my  death  ;  but  the  Lord 
whom  you  serve  will  be  with  you  then,  and 
for  ever.  My  love  to  all  the  dear  assembled 
saints,  who  will  give  you  their  benedictions 
at  that  solemn  season.     Ever  yours, 

"S.  P." 


376 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


TO  MR.  KING. 

«  Plymouth,  April  23,  1799. 
"My  very  dear  friend  and  brother, 

"  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  inform  you, 
that  at  length  my  complaint  appears  to  be 
removed,  and  that  I  am,  by  degrees,  re- 
turning to  my  usual  diet,  by  which,  with 
the  divine  blessing,  I  hope  to  be  again 
strengthened  for  the  discharge  of  the  du- 
ties, and  the  enjoyment  of  the  pleasures, 
which  await  me  among  the  dear  people  of 
my  charge. 

"  I  am  indeed  informed  by  my  medical 
attendant  here,  that  1  shall  never  be  equal 
to  the  labors  of  my  past  years,  and  that  my 
return  to  moderate  efforts  must  be  made  by 
slow  degrees.  As  the  path  of  duty,  I  de- 
sire to  submit;  but  after  so  long  a  suspen- 
sion from  serving  the  Redeemer  in  his 
church,  my  soul  pants  for  usefulness  more 
extensive  than  ever,  and  I  long  to  become 
an  apostle  to  the  world.  I  do  not  think  1 
ever  prized  the  ministerial  work  so  much 
as  I  now  do.  Two  questions  have  been 
long  before  me.  The  first  was,  shall  I  live 
or  die?  The  second,  if  I  live,  how  will 
my  life  be  spent?  With  regard  to  the  for- 
mer, my  heart  answered,  '  It  is  no  matter — 
all  is  well — for  my  own  sake,  I  need  not  be 
taught  that  it  is  best  to  be  with  Christ;  but 
for  the  sake  of  others,  it  may  be  best  to 
abide  in  the  body — I  am  in  the  Lord's 
hands,  let  him  do  by  me  as  seemcth  him 
best  for  me  and  mine,  and  for  his  cause  and 
honor  in  the  world.  But  as  to  the  second 
question,  I  could  hardly  reconcile  myself  to 
the  thoughts  of  living,  unless  it  were  to 
promote  the  interest  of  my  Lord ;  and  if 
my  disorder  should  so  far  weaken  me,  as 
to  render  me  incapable  of  the  ministry, 
nothing  then  appeared  before  me  but  gloom 
and  darkness.  However,  I  will  hope  in  the 
Lord,  that  though  he  hath  cliasiened  me 
sorely,  yet,  since  he  hath  not  given  me  over 
unto  death,  sparing  mercy  will  be  followed 
with  strength,  that  I  may  show  forth  his 
praise  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

"I  am  still  exceedingly  weak;  more  so 
tlian  at  any  period  before  I  left  home,  ex- 
cept the  first  week  of  my  lying  by ;  but  I 
am  getting  strength,  though  slowly.  It  is 
impossible  at  present  to  fix  any  time  for 
my  return.  It  grieves  me  that  the  patience 
of  the  dear  people  should  be  so  long  tried, 
but  the  trial  is  as  great  on  my  part  as  it 
can  be  on  theirs,  and  we  must  pity  arid 
pray  for  one  another.  It  is  now  a  task  for 
me  to  write  at  all,  or  this  should  have  been 
longer.  S.  P.' 

TO  DR.  RYLAND. 

"  Plymouth,  April  24,  1799 
"  Very  dear  Brother, 

"  My  health  is  in  much  the  same  state  as 
when  I  wrote  last,  excepting  tiiat  my  mus 


cular  strength  rather  increases,  and  my 
powers  of  speaking  seem  less  and  less 
every  week.  I  have  for  the  most  part, 
spoken  only  in  whispers  for  several  days 
past;  and  even  these  seem  too  much  for 
my  irritable  lungs.  My  father  asked  me  a 
question  to-day;  he  did  not  understand  me 
when  I  whispered  ;  so  I  was  obliged  to  ut- 
ter one  word,  and  one  word  only,  a  little 
louder,  and  that  brought  on  a  soreness, 
which  I  expect  to  feel  till  bed  time. 

"  I  am  still  looking  out  lor  fine  weather : 
all  here  is  cold  and  rainy.  We  have  had 
but  two  or  three  fair  and  warm  days  since 
I  have  been  here  ;  then  I  felt  better.  I  am 
perfectly  at  a  loss  even  to  guess  what  the 
Lord  means  to  do  with  me ;  but  I  desire  to 
commit  my  ways  to  him,  and  be  at  peace. 
I  am  going  to-day  about  five  miles  into  the 
country  (to  Tamerton,)  where  I  shall  await 
the  will  of  God  concerning  me. 

"  I  knew  not  of  any  Committee-meeting 
of  our  society  to  be  held  respecting  Mr- 
Marshman  and  his  wife.  I  have  therefore 
sent  no  vote,  and  indeed  it  is  my  happiness 
that  I  have  full  confidence  in  my  bretliren, 
at  this  important  crisis,  since  close  thinking 
or  much  writing  always  increases  my  fever, 
and  promotes  my  complaint. 

"  My  dear  brother,  I  hope  you  wll  cor- 
respond much  with  Kettering.  I  used  to 
be  a  medium,  but  God  has  put  me  out  of 
the  way,  I  could  weep  that  I  can  serve 
him  no  more :  and  yet  I  fear  some  would 
be  tears  of  pride.  Oh  for  perfect  likeness 
to  my  humble  Lord !  S,  P," 

TO  MR,  KING, 

"  Tamerton,  May  2,  1799. 
'• Give  my  love  fo  all  the  dear  peo- 
ple at  Cannon  street.  Oh  pray  that  He 
who  afflicts,  would  give  me  patience  to  en- 
dure. Indeed,  the  state  of  suspense  in  which 
I  have  been  kept  so  long,  requires  much  of 
it ;  and  I  often  exclaim,  ere  I  am  aware, 
'  Oh  my  dear  people  !  Oh  my  dear  family ! 
When  shall  I  be  restored  to  you  again ! ' 
The  Lord  forgive  all  the  sin  of  my  desires ! 
At  times  I  feel  a  sweet  and  perfect  calm, 
and  wish  ever  to  live  under  the  influence 
of  a  belief  in  the  goodness  of  God,  and  of 
all  his  plans,  and  all  his  works.      S.  P." 

The  reader  has  seen  how  much  he  re- 
gretted being  absent  from  the  solemn  de- 
signations of  the  missionaries  at  OIney, 
He  however  addressed  the  following  lines 
to  Mr.  Fuller,  which  were  read  at  the  close 
of  that  meeting,  to  the  dissolving  of  nearly 
the  whole  assembly  in  tears : 

"  Tamerton,  May  2,  1799, 

" Oh  that  the  Lord,  who  is  unconfi- 

ned  by  place  or  condition,  may  copiously 
pour  out  upon  you  all  the  ricli  efTusions  of 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


377 


his  Holy  Spirit  on  the  approaching  day ! 
My  most  hearty  love  to  each  missionary, 
who  may  then  encircle  the  throne  of  grace. 
Happy  men  !  happy  women !  your  are  go- 
ing to  be  fellow-laborers  with  Christ  him- 
self! I  congratulate,  I  almost  envy  you ; 
yet  I  love  yoU;  and  can  scarcely  now  for- 
bear dropping  a  tear  of  love  as  each  of 
your  names  passes  across  my  mind.  Oh 
what  promises  are  yours ;  and  what  re- 
ward !  Surely  heaven  is  filled  with  double 
joy,  and  resounds  with  unusual  acclama- 
tions at  the  arrival  of  each  missionary 
there.  Oh  be  faithful,  my  dear  brethren, 
my  dear  sisters,  be  faithful  unto  death,  and 
all  this  joy  is  yours !  Long  as  I  live,  my 
imagination  will  be  hovering  over  you  in 
Bengal ;  and  should  I  die,  if  separate  spir- 
its be  allowed  a  visit  to  the  world  they 
have  left,  methinks  mine  would  soon  be  at 
Mudnabatty,  watching  your  labors,  your 
conflicts,  and  your  pleasures,  whilst  you 
are  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord.  S.  P." 

TO  DR.  RYLAND. 

"  Plymouth,  May  14,  1799. 
"Mv  DEAR  Brother, 

"Yours  of  the  11th  instant  I  have  just 
received,  and  thank  you  for  your  continued 
concern  for  your  poor  unworthy  brother. 

"I  have  suffered  much  in  my  health 
since  I  wrote  to  you  last  by  the  increase  of 
my  feverish  complaint,  which  filled  me  with 
heat  and  horror  all  night,  and  in  the  day 
sometimes  ahnost  suffocated  me  with  tlie 
violence  of  its  paroxysms.  I  am  extreme- 
ly weak,  and  now  that  warm  weather  which 
I  came  into  Devon  to  seek,  I  dread  us  much 
as  the  cold,  because  it  excites  the  fever.  I 
am  happy,  however,  in  the  Lord.  I  have 
not  a  wish  to  live  or  die,  but  as  he  please^s. 
I  truly  enjoy  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  would  not  be  without  his  divine 
atonement,  wherein  to  rest  my  soul,  for  ten 
thousand  worlds.  I  feel  quite  weaned  from 
earth,  and  all  things  in  it.  Death  has  lost 
its  sting;  the  grave  its  horrors;  and  the  at- 
tractions of  heaven,  I  had  almost  said,  are 
sometimes  violent. 

"  '  Oh  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor  ! ' 

"  But  I  am  wearied.  May  all  grace 
abound  towards  ray  dear'  brother,  and  his 
affectionate.  S.  P." 

TO  MR.  POPE. 

"  Plymouth,  May  24,  1799, 
"  I  cannot  write  much — this  I  believe  is 
the  only  letter  that  I  have  written  (except 
to  my  wife)  since  I  wrote  to  yo\i  last.  My 
complaint  has  issued  in  a  confirmed,  slow, 
nervous  fever,  which  has  wasted  my  spirit? 
and  strength,  and  taken  a  great  part  of  the 
little  flesh  I  had  when  in  health  from  mc. 
Vol.  3. — Vv. 


The  symptoms  have  been  very  threatening^ 
and  I  have  repeatedly  thought  that  let  the 
physician  do  what  he  will,  he  cannot  keep 
me  long  from  those  heavenly  joys,  for  which, 
blessed  be  God,  I  have  lately  been  much 
longing ;  and  were  it  not  for  my  dear  'peo- 
ple and  family,  I  should  have  earnestly 
prayed  for  leave  to  depart  and  be  with 
Christ,  which  is  so  much  better  than  to 
abide  in  this  vain,  suffering,  sinning  world. 
"  The  doctors,  however,  now  pronounce 
my  case  very  hopeful — say  there  is  little  or 
no  danger — but  that  all  these  complaints 
require  a  great  deal  of  time  to  get  rid  of. 
I  still  feel  myself  on  precarious  ground,  but 
quite  resigned  to  the  will  of  Him,  who,  un- 
worthy as  I  am,  continues  daily  tcf  '  fill  my 
soul  with  joy  and  peace  in  believing.'  Yes, 
my  dear  friend  !  noio  my  soul  feels  the  val- 
ue of  a  free,  full,  and  everlasting  salvation ; 
and  what  is  more,  I  do  enjoy  that  salvation, 
while  I  rest  all  my  hope  on  the  Son  of  God 
in  human  nature,  dying  on  the  cross  for 
me.  To  me  now,  health  or  sickness,  pain 
or  ease,  life  or  death  are  things  indifferent. 
I  feel  so  happy  in  being  in  the  hands  of 
Infinite  Love,  that  when  the  severest  strokes 
are  laid  upon  me,  I  receive  them  with  pleas- 
ure, because  they  come  from  my  heavenly 
Father's  hand  1  '  O  !  to  grace  how  great 
a  debtor,'  &c.  S.  P." 

TO  THE  CHURCH  IN  CANNON 
STREET. 
«  Plymouth,  May  31,  1799. 
•'  To  the  dear  people  of  my  charge,  the 
flock  of  Christ,  assembling  in  Cannon  street, 
Birmingham — their  afflicted  but  affection- 
ate pastor  presents  his  love  in  Christ  Jesus, 
the  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep. 

"My  dearest  Friends  and  Brethren, 

"  Separated  as  I  have  been  a  long  time 
from  you,  and  during  that  time  of  separa- 
tion, having  suffered  much  both  in  body 
and  mind,  yet  my  heart  has  still  been  with 
you,  participating  in  your  sorrows,  uniting 
in  your  prayers,  and  rejoicing  with  you  in 
the  hope  of  that  glory,  to  which  divine 
faithfulness  has  engaged  to  bring  us,  and 
for  which  our  heavenly  Father,  by  all  his 
providences,  and  by  every  operation  of  his 
Holy  Spirit,  is  daily  preparing  us. 

"  Never,  my  dear  brethren,  did  I  so  much 
rejoice  in  our  being  made  '  partakers  of  the 
heavenly  calling,'  as  during  rtiy  late  afflic- 
tions. The  sweet  thoughts  of  glory,  where 
I  shall  meet  my  dear  Lord  Jesus,  with  all 
his  redeemed  ones,  perfectly  freed  from  all 
that  sin  which  now  burdens  us,  and  n)akes 
us  groan  from  day  to  day — this  transports 
my  soul,  whilst  out  of  weakness  I  am  made 
strong,  and  at  times  am  enabled  to  glor}' 
even  in  my  bodily  infirmities,  that  the  pow- 
er of  Christ,  in  supporting  v.-hen  flesh  and 


378 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


heart  fail,  may  the  more  evidently  rest  up- 
on me.  Oh,  my  dear  brethren  and  sisters  I 
let  me,  aa  one  alive  almost  from  the  dead, 
let  me  exhort  you  to  stand  fast  in  tJiat  bles- 
sed gospel,  which  for  ten  years  I  have  now 
preached  among  you :  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God  ;  the  gospel  of  free,  full,  ever- 
lasting salvation,  founded  on  the  sufferings 
and  death  of  God,  manifest  in  the  flesh.  Look 
much  at  this  all-amazing  scene  ! 

" '  Behold  !  a  God  descends  and  dies, 
To  save  my  soul  from  gaping  hell ;' 

And  then  say  whether  any  poor  broken- 
hearted sinner  need  be  afraid  to  venture  his 
hopes  of  salvation  on  such  a  sacrifice ;  es- 
pecially, since  He  who  is  thus  '  mighty  to 
save,'  hath  said,  that  'whosoever  cometh to 
him  he  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.'  You,  be- 
loved, who  have  found  the  peace-speaking 
virtue  of  this  blood  of  atonement,  must  not 
be  satisfied  with  what  you  have  already 
loiown  or  enjoyed.  The  only  way  to  be 
constantly  happy,  and  constantly  prepared 
for  the  most  awful  changes,  which  we  must 
all  experience,  is  to  be  constantly  looking 
and  coming  to  a  dying  Saviour;  renoun- 
cing all  our  own  worthiness;  cleaving  to 
the  loving  Jesus  as  our  all  in  all ;  giving 
up  every  thing,  however  valuable  to  our 
worldly  interests,  that  clashes  with  our  fi- 
delity to  Christ ;  begging  that  of  his  fulness 
we  may  receive  '  grace  upon  grace,'  whilst 
our  faith  actually  relies  on  his  power  and 
faithfulness,  for  the  full  accomplishment  of 
every  promise  in  his  word  that  we  plead 
with  him,  and  guarding  against  every  thing 
that  might  for  a  moment  bring  distance  and 
darkness  between  your  souls,  and  your  pre- 
cious Lord.  If  you  thus  live,  (and  oh  that 
you  may  daily  receive  fresh  life  from  Christ 
BO  to  do !)  '  the  peace  of  God  will  keep 
your  hearts  and  minds,'  and  you  will  be 
filled  with  'joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glo- 

"  As  a  Church,  you  cannot  conceive  what 
pleasure  I  have  enjoyed  in  hearing  that 
you  are  in  peace ;  that  you  attend  prayer- 
meetings  ;  that  you  seem  to  be  stirred  up 
of  late  for  the  honor  and  prosperity  of  reli- 
gion. Go  on  in  these  good  ways,  my  be- 
loved friends,  and  assuredly  the  God  of 
peace  will  be  with  you.  Yea,  if  after  all  I 
should  be  taken  entirely  from  you,  yet  God 
will  surely  visit  you,  and  never  leave  you, 
nor  forsake  you. 

"  As  to  my  health,  I  seem  on  the  whole 
to  be  still  mending,  though  but  very  slowly. 
The  fever  troubles  me  often  both  by  day 
and  night;  but  my  strength  increases.  I 
long  to  see  your  faces  in  the  flesh ;  yea, 
when  I  thought  myself  near  the  gates  of  the 
grave,  I  wished,  if  it  were  the  Lord's  will, 
to  depart  among  those  whom  I  so  much 
loved.  But  I  am  in  good  hands,  and  all 
must  be  right. 


"  I  thank  both  you  and  the  congregation 
most  affectionately,  for  all  the  kindness  you 
have  shown  respecting  me  and  my  family, 
during  my  absence.  The  Lord  return  it  a 
thousand  fold !  My  love  to  every  one,  both 
old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  as  though 
named.  The  Lord  bless  to  your  edification 
the  occasional  ministry  which  you  enjoy. 
I  hope  you  regularly  attend  upon  it,  and 
keep  together,  as  '  the  horses  in  Pharaoh's 
chariot.'  I  pray  much  for  you :  pray,  still 
pray  for  your  very  affectionate,  though  un- 
worthy, pastor,  S.  P." 

In  a  postscript  to  Mr.  King,  he  says,  "  I 
have  made  an  effort  to  write  this  letter;  my 
afiections  would  take  no  denial ;  but  it  has 
brought  on  the  fever." 

It  seems  to  have  been  about  this  time 
that  he  wrote  the  following  lines,  which 
have  appeared  in  several  periodical  publi- 
cations, but  with  many  inaccuracies : 

HYMN  IN  A  STORM. 

"  In  the  floods  of  tribulation, 

While  the  billows  o'er  ine  roll, 
Jesus  whispers  consolation, 

And  supports  my  fainting  soul: 
Thus  the  lion  yields  me  honey, 

From  the  eater  food  is  given  ; 
Strengihen'd  thus,  I  still  press  forward^ 

Singing  as  I  wade  to  lieaven, — 
Sweei  alfliclion  !  sweet  affliction, 

That  brings  Jesus  to  my  soul ! 

'Mid  the  gloom  the  vivid  lightnings 

With  increased  brightness  play  ; 
'Mid  tlie  Ihornbrakp,  beauteous  flow'rets 

Look  more  beautiful  and  gay  ; 
So,  in  darkest  dispensations. 

Doth  my  faithful  Lord  appear, 
With  his  richest  consolations, 

To  re-aniinate  and  cheer. 
Sweet  affliction  !  sweet  affliction, 

Thus  to  bringmy  Saviour  near ! 

Floods  of  tribulation  heighten, 

Billows  still  around  me  roar  ; 
Those  that  know  not  Christ — ye  frighten, 

But  my  soul  defies  your  pow'r. 
In  the  sacred  page  recorded, 

Thus  his  word  securely  stands, — 
'Fear  not,  I'm  in  trouble  near  thee, 

Nought  shall  pluck  thee  from  my  hands.' 
Sweet  affliction  !  sweet  affliction. 

That  to  such  sweet  words  lays  claim ! 

AH  I  meet  I  find  assists  me 

In  my  path  to  heavenly  joy, 
Where,  though  trials  now  attend  nic, 

Trials  never  more  aimoy  : 
Wearing  there  a  weight  of  glory 

.Slill  the  path  I'll  ne'er  forget; 
But,  reflecting  how  it  led  me 

To  my  blessed  Saviour's  seat, 
Cry,  'affliction  !  sweet  affliction  ! 

Haste !  bring  more  to  Jesus'  feet !'  " 

Towards  the  latter  end  of  May,  when 
Mr.  Ward,  and  his  companions,  were  just 
ready  to  set  sail,  a  consultation  concerning 
Mr.  Pearce  was  held  on  board  the  Crite- 
j'ion,  in  which  all  the  missionaries,  and 
some  of  the  members  of  the  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Society  were  present.  It  was  well 
known  that  he  had  for  several  years  been 
engaged  in  preparing  materials  for  a  His- 
tory of  Missiom,  to  be  comprised  in  two 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE, 


379 


volumes  octavo :  and  as  the  sending  of  the 
gospel  among  the  heathens  had  so  deeply 
occupied  his  heart,  considerable  expecta- 
tions had  been  formed  by  religious  people, 
of  his  producing  an  interesting  work  on  the 
subject.  The  question  now  was,  could  not 
this  performance  be  fininshed  by  other 
hands,  and  the  profits  of  it  be  appropriated 
to  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Peace's  family?  It 
was  admitted  by  all,  that  this  work  would, 
partly  from  its  own  merits,  and  partly  from 
the  great  interest  which  the  author  justly 
possessed  in  the  public  esteem,  be  very  pro- 
ductive ;  and  that  it  would  be  a  delicate 
and  proper  method  of  enabling  the  religious 
public,  by  subscribing  liberally  to  it,  to  af- 
ford substantial  assistance  to  the  family  of 
this  excellent  man.  The  result  was,  that 
one  of  the  members  of  the  society  address- 
ed a  letter  to  Mr.  Pearce's  relations,  at  Ply- 
mouth, requesting  them  to  consult  him  as 
he  should  be  able  to  bear  it,  respecting  the 
state  of  his  manuscipts ;  and  to  inquire 
■whether  they  were  in  a  condition  to  admit 
of  being  finished  by  another  hand ;  desi- 
ring them  also  to  assure  him,  for  his  pres- 
ent relief  concerning  his  dear  family,  that 
whatever  the  hand  of  friendship  could  ef- 
fect on  their  behalf,  should  be  accomplish- 
ed. The  answer,  though  it  left  no  manner 
of  hope  as  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  ob- 
ject, yet  is  so  expressive  of  the  reigning 
dispositions  of  the  writers  heart,  as  an  af- 
fectionate husband,  a  tender  father,  a  grate- 
ful friend,  and  a  sincere  Christian,  that  it 
cannot  be  uninteresting  to  the  reader: 

"  Tamerton,  June  24,  1799. 
"  To  use  the  common  introduction  of 
'  dear  brother,'  would  fall  so  far  short  of  my 
feelings  towards  a  friend,  whose  uniform 
conduct  has  ever  laid  so  great  a  claim  to 
my  affection  and  gratitude ;  but  whose  recent 
kindness;  kindness  in  adversity;  kindness 
to  my  wife ;  kindness  to  my  children  ;  kind- 
ness that  would  go  far  to  '  smooth  the  bed 
of  death,'  has  overwhelmed  my  whole  soul 
in  tender  thankfulness,  and  engaged  my 
everlasting  esteem.  I  know  not  how  to  be- 
gin .  .  .  .  '  Thought  is  poor,  and  poor  ex- 
pression.' The  only  thing  that  lay  heavy 
on  my  heart,  when  in  the  nearest  prospect 
of  eternity,  was  the  future  situation  of  my 
family.  I  had  but  a  comparatively  small 
portion  to  leave  behind  me,  and  yet  that 
little  was  the  all  that  an  amiable  woman, 
delicately  brought  up,  and,  through  mercy, 
for  the  most  part  comfortably  provided  for 
since  she  entered  on  domestic  life:  with 
five  babes  to  feed,  clothe,  and  educate,  had 
to  subsist  on.  Ah,  what  a  prospect?  Hard 
and  long  I  strove  to  realize  the  promises 
made  to  the  widows  and  the  fatherless ; 
but  these  alone  I  could  not  fully  rest  on  and 
enjoy.    For  my  own  part,  God  was  indeed 


very  gracious.  I  was  willing,  I  hope,  to 
linger  in  suffering,  if  I  might  thereby  most 
glorify  him,  and  death  was  an  angel  whom 
I  longed  to  come  and  embrace  me,  '  cold' 
as  his  embraces  are.  But  how  could  I  leave 
those  who  were  dearest  to  my  heart  in  the 
midst  of  a  world,  in  which,  although  thou- 
sands now  professed  friendship  for  me,  and 
on  my  account,  for  mine ;  yet  after  my  de- 
cease, would,  with  few  exceptions,  soon 
forget  my  widow  and  my  children  among 
the  crowds  of  the  needy  and  distressed.  It 
was  at  this  moment  of  painful  sensibility 
that  ijour  heart  meditated  apian  to  remove 
my  anxieties ;  a  plan  too  that  would  in- 
volve much  personal  labor  before  it  could 
be  accomplished.  'Blessed  be  God,  who 
put  it  into  thy  heart,  and  blessed  be  thou.' 
May  the  blessing  of  the  widow  and  the 
fatherless  rest  on  you  and  yours  for  ever. 
Amen,  and  Amen ! 

"  You  will  regret  perhaps  that  I  have  ta- 
ken up  so  much  room  respecting  yourself, 
but  I  have  scarcely  gratified  the  shadow 
of  my  wishes.  Excuse  then  on  the  one 
hand,  that  I  have  said  so  much,  and  accept 
on  the  other,  what  remains  unexpressed. 

"  My  affections  and  desires  are  among 
my  dear  people  at  Birmingham  ;  and  un- 
less I  find  my  strength  increase  here,  I  pur- 
pose to  set  out  for  that  place  in  the  course 
of  a  fortnight,  or  at  most  a  month.  The 
journey,  performed  by  short  stages  may  do 
me  good :  if  not,  I  expect  when  the  winter 
comes,  to  sleep  in  peace  :  and  it  will  de- 
light my  soul  to  see  them  once  more  before 
I  die.  Besides,  I  have  many  little  arrange- 
ments to  make  among  my  books  and  pa- 
pers, to  prevent  confusion  after  my  de- 
cease. Indeed,  till  I  get  home,  I  cannot 
fully  answer  your  kind  letter ;  but  I  fear 
that  my  materials  consist  so  much  in  ref- 
erences, which  none  but  myself  would  un- 
derstand, that  a  second  person  could  not 
take  it  up,  and  prosecute  it.  I  am  still 
equally  indebted  to  you  for  a  proposal  so 
laborious. 

"  Rejoice  with  me  that  the  blessed  gos- 
pel still  '  bears  my  spirits  up.'  I  am  be- 
come familiar  with  the  thoughts  of  dying. 
I  have  taken  my  leave  often  with  the  world  ; 
and  thanks  be  to  God,  I  do  it  ahcays  with 
tranquility^  and  often  with  rapture.  Oh, 
what  grace,  what  grace,  it  was,  that  ever 
called  me  to  be  a  Christian  !  What  would 
have  been  my  present  feelings,  if  I  were 
going  to  meet  my  God  with  all  the  filth  and 
load  of  my  sin  about  me  !  But  God  in  my 
nature  hath  put  my  sin  away,  taught  me 
to  love  him,  and  long  for  his  appearing. 
Oh,  my  dear  brother,  how  consonant  is  ev- 
erlastvig  praise  with  such  a  great  salva- 
tion !  S.  P.» 

After  this  another  letter  was  addressed 


380 


MEMOIRS     OF     PEARCE. 


to  Mr.  Pearce,  informing  him  more  partic- 
ularly that  the  above  proposal  did  not  ori- 
ginate with  an  individual,  but  with  several 
of  tJie  brethren  who  dearly  loved  him,  and 
had  consulted  on  the  business  ;  and  that  it 
was  no  more  than  an  act  of  justice  to  one 
who  had  spent  his  hfe  in  serving  the  pub- 
lic ;  also  requesting  him  to  give  directions 
by  which  his  manuscripts  might  be  found 
and  examined,  lest  he  should  be  taken  away 
before  his  arrival  at  Birmingham.  To  this 
he  answered  as  follows : 

'•  Plymouth,  July  6,  1799. 

"  I  need  not  repeat  the  growing  sense  I 
have  of  your  kindness,  and  yet  I  know  not 
how  to  forbear. 

"  I  cannot  direct  Mr.  K to  all  my 

papers,  as  many  of  them  are  in  books  from 
■which  I  was  making  extracts  ;  and  if  I  could, 
I  am  persuaded  that  they  are  in  a  state  too 
confused,  incorrect,  and  unfinished,  to  suffer 
you  or  any  other  friend  to  realize  your  kind 
intentions. 

"  I  have  possessed  a  tenacious  memory. 
I  have  begun  one  part  of  the  history ;  read 
the  necessary  books ;  reflected  ;  arranged  ; 
written,  perhaps,  the  introduction ;  and 
then,  trusting  to  my  recollection,  with  the 
revisal  of  the  books  as  I  should  want  them, 
have  employed  myself  in  getting  materi- 
als for  another  part,  &c.  Thus,  till  my  ill- 
ness, the  volumes  existed  in  my  head ;  my 
books  were  at  hand,  and  I  was  on  the  eve 
of  writing  them  out,  when  it  pleased  God 
to  make  me  pause :  and,  as  close  thinking 
has  been  strongly  forbidden  me,  I  dare  say, 
that  were  I  again  restored  to  health,  I 
should  find  it  necessary  to  go  over  much 
of  my  former  reading  to  refresh  memory 

"  It  is  now  Saturday.  On  Monday  next 
we  propose  setting  out  on  our  return.  May 
the  Lord  prosper  our  way !  Accept  the 
sincere  affection,  and  the  ten  thousand 
thanks,  of  your  brother  in  the  Lord, 

"  S.  P." 

As  the  manuscripts  were  found  to  be  in 
such  a  state,  that  no  person,  except  the  au 
thor  himself,  could  finish  them,  the  design 
was  necessarily  dropped.  The  public 
mind  however,  was  deeply  impressed  with 
Mr.  Pearce's  worth,  and  that,  which  the 
friendship  of  a  few  could  not  effect,  has 
since  been  amply  accomplished  by  the  lib 
eral  exertions  of  many. 

TO  DR.  RYLAND. 

"  Birmingham,  July  20,  1799. 

"MV  VERY  DEAR  BROTHER, 

"  Your  friendly  anxieties  on  my  behalf 
demand  the  earliest  satisfaction.     We  had 
a  pleasant  ride  to  Newport  on  the  after- 
noon we  left  you,  and  the  next  day  with 
out  much  fatigue  reached  Tewksbury ;  but 


the  road  was  so  rough  from  Tewksbury  to 
Evesham,  that  it  wearied  and  injured  me 
more  than  all  the  jolting  we  had  had  before 
put  together.  However,  we  reached  Al- 
cester  on  Wednesday  evening,  stopped 
there  a  day  to  rest,  and  last  night  (Friday) 
were  brought  safely  hither,  blessed  be 
God! 

"  I  find  myself  getting  weaker  and  weak- 
er, and  so  my  Lord  instructs  me  in  hia 
pleasure  to  remove  me  soon.  You  say  well, 
my  dear  brother,  that  at  such  a  prospect, 
I  'cannot  complain.''  No,  blessed  be  His 
dear  name,  who  shed  his  blood  for  me,  he 
helps  me  to  rejoice,  at  times  with  joy  un- 
speakable. Now  I  see  the  value  of  the  re- 
ligion of  the  cross.  It  is  a  religion  for  a 
dying  sinner.  It  is  all  the  most  guilty,  the 
most  wretched  can  desire.  Yes,  I  taste  its 
sweetness,  and  enjoj'  its  fulness,  with  all 
the  gloom  of  a  dying  bed  before  me.  And 
far  rather  would  I  be  the  poor  emaciated, 
and  emaciating  creature  that  I  am,  than  be 
an  Emperor,  with  every  earthly  good  about 
hira  ....  but  without  a  God  ! 

"  I  was  delighted  the  other  day,  in  re- 
perusing  the  Pilgrim's  Progress,  to  observe 
that  when  Christian  came  to  the  top  of  the 
hill  Difficulty,  he  was  put  to  sleep  in  a 
chamber  called  Peace.  Why,  how  good  ia 
the  Lord  of  the  way  to  me  !  said  I ;  I  have 
not  reached  the  summit  of  the  hill  yet,  but 
notwithstanding  he  puts  me  to  sleep  in  the 
chamber  of  Peace  every  night.  True,  it  is 
often  a  chamber  of  pain;  but  let  pain  be 
as  formidable  as  it  may,  it  has  never  yet 
been  able  to  expel  that  peace,  which  the 
great  Guardian  of  Israel  has  appointed  to 
keep  my  heart  and  mind  through  Christ 
Jesus. 

"  I  have  been  laboring  lately  to  exercise 
most  love  to  God  when  I  have  been  suffer- 
ing most  severely  :  but,  what  shall  I  say  ? 
Alas !  too  often  the  sense  of  pain  absorbs 
every  other  thought.  Yet  there  have  been 
seasons  when  I  have  been  affected  with 
such  a  delightful  sense  of  the  loveliness  of 
God  as  to  ravish  my  soul,  and  give  pre- 
dominance to  the  sacred  passion.  It  was 
never  till  to-day  that  I  got  any  personal  in- 
struction from  our  Lord's  telling  Peter  by 
what  death  he  should  glorify  God.  O  what 
a  satisfying  thought  is  it,  that  God  appoints 
those  means  of  dissolution  whereby  he  gets 
most  glory  to  himself  It  was  the  very 
thing  I  needed ;  for  of  all  the  ways  of  dy- 
ing, that  which  I  most  dreaded  was  by  a 
consumption ;  (in  which  it  is  now  highly 
probable  my  disorder  will  issue.)  But,  O 
my  dear  Lord,  if  by  this  death  I  can  most 
glorify  thee,  I  prefer  it  to  all  others,  and 
thank  thee  that  by  this  means  thou  art  has- 
tening my  fuller  enjoyment  of  thee  in  a 
purer  world. 
"  A  sinless  state  !     '  O  'tis  a    heaven 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


381 


worth  dying  for !'  I  cannot  realize  any 
thing  about  heaven,  but  the  presence  of 
Christ  and  his  people,  and  a  perfect  deliv- 
erance from  sin,  and  I  want  no  more  ;  I  am 
sick  of  sinning  ;  soon  I  shall  be  beyond  its 
power.  '  O  joyful  hour  !  O  blessed  abode  ! 
I  shall  be  near  and  like  my  God  !'  I  only 
thought  of  filling  one  side  ;  and  now  have 
not  left  room  to  thank  you  and  dear  Mrs. 
Ryland  for  the  minute,  affectionate,  and 
constant  attentions  you  paid  us  in  Bristol. 
May  the  Lord  reward  you.  Our  hearty 
love  to  all  around,  till  we  meet  in  heaven. 
«  Eternally  yours  in  Christ,        S.  P." 

TO  MR.  BIRT. 

"  Birmingham^  July  26,  1799. 

"  It  is  not  with  common  feelings  that  I 
begin  a  letter  to  you.  Your  name  brings 
so  many  interesting  circumstances  of  my 
life  before  me,  in  which  your  friendship  has 
been  so  uniformly  and  eminently  displayed, 
that  now,  amidst  the  imbecilities  of  sick 
ness,  and  the  serious  prospect  of  another 
world,  my  heart  is  overwhelmed  with  grat- 
itude, whilst  it  glows  with  affection ;  an  af- 
fection which  eternity  shall  not  annihilate, 
but  improve. 

"  We  reached  Bristol  on  the  Friday  af- 
ter we  parted  from  you,  having  suited  our 
progress  to  my  strength  and  spirits.  We 
staid  with  Bristol  friends,  till  Monday,  when 
we  pursued  our  journey,  and  went  comfort- 
ably on,  till  the  uncommonly  rough  road 
from  Tewksbury  to  Evesham  quite  jaded 
me  ;  and  I  have  not  yet  recovered  from  the 
excessive  fatigue  of  that  miserable  ride. 
At  Alcester  we  rested  a  day  and  a  half,  and, 
through  the  abundant  goodness  of  God  we 
safely  arrived  at  Birmingham  on  Friday 
evening,  the  19th  of  July. 

"I  feel  an  undisturbed  tranquility  of 
soul,  and  am  cheerfully  waiting  the  will 
of  God.  My  voice  is  gone,  so  that  I  can- 
not whisper  without  pain ;  and  this  circum- 
stance I  am  at  times  most  ready  to  com- 
plain. For,  to  see  my  dear  and  amiable 
Sarah  look  at  me,  and  then  at  the  child- 
ren, and  at  length  bathe  her  face  in  tears, 
without  my  being  able  to  say  one  word  of 

comfort ;  Oh  ! ! Yet  the  Lord  sup 

ports  me  under  this  also ;  and  I  trust  will 
support  me  lo  the  end.  S.  P." 


leased  from  this  world  of  sin,  and  put  in 
possession  of  the  pleasures  enjoyed  by  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  I  once 
more  address  my  dear  fellow  heirs  of  that 
glory  which  ere  long  shall  be  revealed  to 
us  all. 

''  We  returned  from  Devon  last  Friday 
week.  I  was  exceedingly  weak,  and  for 
several  days  afterwards  got  rapidly  worse. 
My  friends  compelled  me  to  try  another 
physician.  I  am  still  told  that  1  shall  re- 
cover. Be  that  as  it  may,  I  wish  to  have 
my  own  will  annihilated,  that  the  will  of 
the  Lord  may  be  done.  Through  his 
abundant  grace,  I  have  been,  and  still  am 
happy  in  my  soul ;  and  I  trust  my  prevail- 
ing desire  is,  that  living  or  dying  I  may  be 


the  Lord's. 


S.  P." 


TO  MR.  ROCK. 

''July  28,  1799. 
appearance 


I  am    now  to   all 


within  a  few  steps  of  eternity.  In  Christ 
I  am  safe.  In  him  I  am  happy.  I  trust  we 
shall  meet  in  heaven.  S.  P." 

TO  R.  BOWYER,  ESQ. 

"  Birmingham,  August  1,  1799. 
"  Much  disappointed  that  I  am  not  re- 


TO  DR.  RYLAND. 

"  Birmingham,  Aug.  4,  1799. 
"My  very  dear  Brother, 

"  Still,  I  trust,  hastening  to  the  land 
'  where  there  shall  be  no  more  curse,'  I 
take  this  opportunity  of  talking  a  little  with 
you  on  the  road,  for  we  are  fellow-travel- 
ers, and  a  little  conversation  by  the  way 
will  not  lose  me  the  privilege  of  getting 
first  to  the  end  of  my  journey. 

"It  is  seventeen  years  within  about  a 
week  since  I  first  actually  set  out  on  my  pil- 
grimage ;  and  when  I  review  the  many 
dangers  to  which,  during  that  time,  I  have 
been  exposed,  I  am  filled  with  conviction 
that  I  have  all  along  been  the  care  of  Om- 
nipotent Love.  Ah  how  many  Pliables, 
and  Timorouses,  and  Talkatives  have  I 
seen,  while  my  quivering  heart  said,  '  Alas ! 
I  shall  soon  follow  these  sons  of  apostasy, 
prove  a  disgrace  to  religion,  and  have  my 
portion  with  hypocrites  at  last.' 

"  These  fears  may  have  had  their  uses ; 
may  have  made  me  more  cautious,  more 
distrustful  of  myself,  and  kept  me  more  de- 
pendant on  the  Lord.     Thus 

"  '  All  that  I've  met  has  work'd  for  my  good.' 

"  With  what  intricacy,  to  our  view,  and 
yet  with  what  actual  skill  and  goodness, 
does  the  Lord  draw  his  plans,  and  mark 
out  our  path!  Here  we  wonder  and  com- 
plain. Soon  we  shall  all  agree  that  it  was 
a  right  path  to  the  city  of  habitation  ;  and 
what  we  now  most  deeply  regret,  shall  be- 
come the  subject  of  our  warmest  praises. 

"  I  am  afraid  to  come  back  again  to  life. 

0  how  many  dangers  await  me  !     Perhaps 

1  may  be  overcome  of  some  fleshly  lust; 
perhaps  I  may  get  proud  and  indolent,  and 
be  more  of  the  priest  than  of  the  evangelist, 
surely  I  rejoice  in  feeling  my  outward  man 
decay,  and  having  the  sentence  of  death  in 
myself.  O  what  prospects  are  before  me 
in  the  blessed  world  whither  I  am  going ! 
To  be  holy  as  God  is  holy ;  to  have  nothing 


382 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


but  holiness  in  my  nature,  to  be  assured 
without  a  doubt,  and  eternally  to  carry 
about  this  assurance  with  me,  that  the  pure 
God  looks  on  me  with  constant  complacen- 
cy, for  ever  blesses  me,  and  says,  as  at  the 
first  creation,  '  It  is  very  good.'  I  am  hap- 
py now  in  hoping  in  the  divine  purposes 
towards  me ;  but  I  know,  and  the  thought 
is  my  constant  burden,  that  the  Being  I 
love  best,  always  sees  something  in  me 
which  he  infinitely  hates.  '  O  wretched, 
wretched  man  that  I  am !'  The  thought 
even  now  makes  me  weep,  and  who  can 
help  it,  that  seriously  reflects,  he  never 
comes  to  God  to  pray  or  praise,  but  he 
brings  what  his  God  detests  along  with 
him ;  carries  it  with  him  wherever  he  goes, 
and  can  never  get  rid  of  it  as  long  as  he 
lives  1  Come,  my  dear  brother  !  will  you 
not  share  my  joy,  and  help  my  praise,  that 
soon  I  shall  leave  this  body  of  sin  and 
death  behind,  to  enter  on  the  perfection  of 
my  spiritual  nature  ;  and  patiently  to  wait 
till  this  natural  body  shall  become  a  spirit- 
ual body,  and  so  be  a  fit  vehicle  for  my  im- 
mortal and  happy  spirit  ? 

"  But  I  must  forbear  ;  I  have  been  very 
unwell  all  day ;  but  this  evening  God  has 
kindly  given  me  a  respite ;  my  fever  is  low 
and  my  spirits  are  cheerful,  so  I  have  in- 
dulged myself  in  unbosoming  my  feelings 
to  my  dear  friend.  S.  P." 

TO  R.  BOWYER,  ESa 

On  his  having;  sent  hir.i  a  print  of  Mr.  Shwartz,  the  mis- 
sionary on  the  Malabar  coast. 

"  Birmingham,  August  16,  1799. 
"  On  three  accounts  was  your  last  par- 
cel highly  acceptable.  It  represented  a 
man,  whom  I  have  long  been  in  the  habit 
of  loving  and  revering ;  and  whose  char- 
acter and  labors  I  intended,  if  the  Lord  had 
not  laid  his  hand  upon  me  by  my  present 
illness,  to  have  presented  to  the  public  in 
Europe,  as  he  himself  presented  them  to 
the  millions  of  Asia.  The  execution  bear- 
ing so  strong  a  likeness  to  the  original, 
heightened  its  value.  And  then,  the  hand 
from  whence  it  came,  and  the  friendship  it 
was  intended  to  express,  add  to  its  worth. 

"  S.  P." 

TO  MR.  FULLER. 

"  Birminghaw,,  August  19,  1799. 

"  The  doctor  has  been  making  me  worse 
and  weaker  for  three  weeks.  In  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  week  he  spoke  confidently  of 
my  recovery  ;  but  to-day  he  has  seen  fit  to 
alter  his  plans  ;  and  if  I  do  not  find  a  spee- 
dy alteration  for  the  better,  I  must  have 
done  with  all  physicians,  but  him,  who 
'  healeth  the  broken  in  heart.' 

"  For  some  time  after  I  came  home,  I  was 
led  to  believe  my  case  to  be  consumptive, 
and  then  thinking  myself  of  a  certainty  near 


the  kingdom  of  heaven,  I  rejoiced  hourly 

in  the  delightful  prospect. 

"  Since  then,  I  have  been  told  that  I  am 
not  in  a  dangerous  way  ;  and  though  I  give 
very  little  credit  to  such  assertions  in  this 
case,  yet  I  have  found  my  mind  so  taken 
up  with  earth  again,  that  I  seem  as  though 
I  had  another  soul.  My  spiritual  pleasures 
are  greatly  interrupted,  and  some  of  the 
most  plaintive  parts  of  the  most  plaintive 
Psalms  seem  the  only  true  language  of  my 
heart.  Yet,  '  Thy  will  be  done,'  1  trust 
prevails ;  and  if  it  be  the  Lord's  will  that  I 
linger  long,  and  suffer  much,  O  let  him  give 
me  the  patience  of  hope,  and  still  his  will 
be  done.  I  can  write  no  more.  This  is  a 
whole  day's  work  :  for  it  is  only  after  tea 
that  for  a  ?ew  minutes  I  can  sit  up,  and  at- 
tend to  any  thing.  S.  P." 

From  the  latter  end  of  August,  and  all 
through  the  month  of  September,  to  the 
tenth  of  October,  the  day  omchich  he  died, 
he  seems  to  have  been  unable  to  write. 
He  did  not,  however,  lose  the  exercise  of 
his  mental  powers ;  and  though  in  the  last 
of  the  above  letters  he  complains  of  dark- 
ness, it  appears  that  he  soon  recovered  that 
peace  and  joy  in  God,  by  which  his  afflic- 
tion, and  even  his  life  were  distinguished. 

A  little  before  he  died,  he  was  visited  by 
Mr.  Medley,  of  London,  with  whom  he  had 
been  particularly  intimate  on  his  first  com- 
ing to  Birmingham.  Mr.  Pearce  was  much 
affected  at  the  sight  of  his  friend  ;  and  con- 
tinued silently  weeping  for  nearly  ten  min- 
utes, holding  and  pressing  his  hand.  After 
this  he  spoke,  or  rather,  whispered  as  fol- 
lows :  "  This  sick  bed  is  a  Bethel  to  me ; 
it  is  none  other  than  the  house  of  God,  and 
the  gate  of  heaven.  I  can  scarcely  express 
the  pleasures  that;  I  have  enjoyed  in  this  af- 
fliction. The  nearer  I  draw  to  my  dissolu- 
tion, the  happier  I  am.  It  scarcely  can  be 
called  an  affliction,  it  is  so  counterbalanced 
with  joy.  You  have  lost  your  pious  father ; 
tell  me  how  it  was."  Here  Mr.  Medley  in- 
formed him  of  particulars.  He  wept  much 
at  the  recital,  and  especially  at  hearing  of 
his  last  words,  '  Home,  Home  !'  Mr.  Med- 
ley telling  him  of  some  temptations  he  had 
lately  met  with,  he  charged  him  to  keep 
near  to  God.  "  Keep  close  to  God,"  said 
he,  "  and  nothing  will  hurt  you." 

The  following  detached  sentences  were  taken  down  oc- 
casidnally  by  Mrs.  Pearce,  within  four  or  five  weelis 
of  Mr.  Pearce's  death. 

He  once  said,  "I  have  been  in  darkness 
two  or  three  days,  crying,  O  when  wilt 
thou  comfort  me!  but  last  night  the  mist 
was  taken  from  me,  and  the  Lord  shone  in 
upon  my  soul.  O  that  I  could  but  speak,  I 
would  tell  a  world  to  trust  a  faithful  God. 
Sweet  affliction,  now  it  worketh  glory,  glo- 
ry P' 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE, 


383 


Mrs.  P.  having  told  him  the  various  ex- 
ercises of  her  mind,  he  replied,  "  O  trust 
the  Lord,  if  he  lifts  up  the  light  of  his  coun- 
tenance upon  you,  as  he  has  done  upon  me 
this  day,  all  your  mountains  will  become 
mole-hills.  I  feel  your  situation,  I  feel  your 
sorrows ;  but  he  who  takes  care  of  spar- 
rows, will  care  for  you  and  my  dear  child- 
ren." 

When  scorching  with  burning  fever,  he 
said,  "  Hot  and  happy."  One  Lord's-day 
morning  he  said,  "  Cheer  up,  my  dear, 
think  how  much  will  be  said  to-day  of  the 
fathfulness  of  God.  Though  we  are  called 
to  separate,  he  will  never  separate  from 
you.  I  wish  I  could  tell  the  world  what  a 
good  and  gracious  God  he  is.  Never  need 
they,  who  trust  in  him,  be  afraid  of  trials. 
He  has  promised  to  give  strength  for  the 
day ;  that  is  his  promise.  O  what  a  lovely 
God  !  and  he  is  my  God  and  yours.  He 
will  never  leave  us  nor  forsake  us,  no,  nev- 
er !  I  have  been  thinking  that  this  and  that 
medicine  will  do  me  good,  but  what  have 
I  to  do  with  it  1  It  is  in  my  Jesus'  hands 
he  will  do  it  all,  and  there  I  leave  it.  What 
a  mercy  is  it,  I  have  a  good  bed  to  lie  up- 
on ;  you,  my  dear  Sarah,  to  wait  upon  me  ; 
and  friends  to  pray  for  me  I  O  how  thank 
ful  should  I  be  for  all  my  pains  !  I  want  for 
nothing :   all  my  wishes   are   anticipated. 

0  I  have  felt  the  force  of  those  words  of 
David,  '  Unless  thy  law,  (my  gracious 
God!)  had  been  my  delight,  I  should  have 
perished  in  mine  affliction.'  Though  I  am 
too  weak  to  read  it,  or  hear  it,  I  can  think 
upon  it,  and  O  how  good  it  is !  I  am  in  the 
best  hands  I  could  be  in,  in  the  hands  of 
my  dear  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  he  will  do 
all  things  well.  Yes,  yes,  he  cannot  do 
wrong." 

One  morning  Mrs.  P.  asked  him  how  he 
felt?  "Very  ill,  but  unspeakably  happy 
in  the  Lord  and  my  dear  Lord  Jesus." 
Once  beholding  her  grieving,  he  said,  "  O 
my  dear  Sarah,  do  not  be  so  anxious,  but 
leave  me  entirely  in  the  hands  of  .lesus,  and 
think,  if  you  were  as  wise  as  he,  you  would 
do  the  same  by  me.  If  he  takes  me,  I  shall 
not  be  lost,  I  shall  only  go  a  little  before 
we  shall  meet  again,  never  to  part." 

After  a  violent  fit  of  coughing  he  said, 
"  It  is  all  well ;  O  what  a  good  God  is  he  ! 
It  is  done  by  him,  and  it  must  be  well ;  If 

1  ever  recover,  I  shall  pity  the  sick  more 
than  ever,  and  if  I  do  not,  I  shall  go  to 
sing  delivering  love  ;  so  you  see  it  will  be 
all  well.  O  for  more  patience  !  Well,  my 
God  is  the  God  of  patience,  and  he  will 
give  me  all  I  need.  I  rejoice  it  is  my  Je- 
sus' hands  to  communicate,  and  it  cannot 
be  in  better.  It  is  my  God  who  gives  me 
patience  to  bear  all  his  will." 

When  after  a  restless  night,  Mrs.  P.  ask- 
ed him,   what  she    should  do    for  him? 


'  You  can  do  nothing  but  pray  for  me,  that 
I  may  have  patience  to  bear  all  my  Lord's 
will."  After  taking  a  medicine  he  said,  "  If 
it  be  the  Lord's  will  to  bless  it,  for  your 
sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  dear  children  ; 
but  the  Lord's  will  be  done.  O  I  fear  I  sin, 
I  dishonor  God  by  impatience  ;  but  I  would 
not  for  a  thousand  worlds  sin  in  a  thought 
if  I  could  avoid  it."  Mrs.  P.  replied,  she 
trusted  the  Lord  would  still  keep  him  ;  see- 
ing he  had  brought  him  thus  far,  he  would 
not  desert  him  at  last.  "No,  no,"  he  said, 
"  I  hope  he  will  not.  As  a  father  pitieth 
his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that 
fear  him.  Why  do  I  complain?  My  dear 
Jesus'  sufferings  were  much  sorer  and  more 
bitter  than  mine :  And  did  he  thus  suffer, 
and  shall  I  repine  !  No,  I  will  cheerfully 
suffer  my  Father's  will." 

One  morning  after  being  asked  how  he 
felt,  he  replied,  "  I  have  but  one  severe  pain 
about  me  !  What  a  mercy !  O  how  good 
a  GqA.  to  afford  some  intervals  amidst  so 
much  pain  !  He  is  altogether  good.  Jesus 
lives,  my  dear,  and  that  must  be  our  con- 
solation." After  taking  a  medicine  which 
operated  very  powerfully,  he  said,  "  This 
will  make  me  so  much  lower ;  well,  let  it  be. 
Multiply  my  pains,  thou  good  God  ;  so  thou 
art  but  glorified,  I  care  not  what  I  suffer ; 
all  is  right." 

Being  asked  how  he  felt  after  a  restless 
night,  he  replied,  "  I  have  so  much  weak- 
ness and  pain,  I  have  not  had  much  enjoy- 
ment ;  but  I  have  a  full  persuasion  that  the 
Lord  is  doing  all  these  well.  If  it  were 
not  for  strong  confidence  in  a  lovely  God,  I 
must  sink  ;  but  all  is  well.  O  blessed  God, 
I  would  not  love  thee  less ;  O  support  a 
sinking  worm  !  O  what  a  mercy  to  be  as- 
sured that  all  things  are  working  together 
for  good." 

Mrs.  P.  saying.  If  we  must  part,  I  trust 
the  separation  will  not  be  for  ever ;  "  O 
no,"  he  replied,  "  we  sorrow  not  as  those 
who  have  no  hope."  She  said.  Then  you 
can  leave  me  and  your  dear  children  with 
resignation,  can  you  ?  He  answered,  "My 
heart  was  pierced  through  with  many  sor- 
rows, before  I  could  give  you  and  the  dear 
children  up ;  but  the  Lord  has  heard  me 
say.  Thy  will  be  done  ;  and  I  now  can  say 
blessed  be  his  dear  name,  I  have  none  of 
my  own." 

His  last  day,  Oct.  10  was  very  happy; 
Mrs.  P.  repeated  this  verse, 

Since  all  that  I  meet  shall  work  for  mvgood, 
The  bitter  is  sweet,  the  med'cine  is  food, 
Though  painful  at  present,  'twill  cease  before  long. 
And  then,  O  how  pleasant  the  conqueror's  song. 

He  repeated  with  an  inexpressible  smile, 
the  last  line  "  The  conqueror^s  song." 

He  said  once,  "  O  my  dear  !  what  shall  I 
do  ?    But  why  do  I  complain  ?    He  makes 


384 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE, 


all  my  bed  in  my  sickness."     She  then  re- 
peated those  lines, 

"  Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 
Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are." 

"  Yes,"  he  replied,  "  he  can ;  he  does  ;  I 
feel  it." 


CHAPTER    V. 

General  Outlines  of  his  Charater. 

To  develope  the  character  of  any  person, 
it  is  necessary  to  determine  what  was  his 
governing  principle.  If  this  can  be  clear- 
ly ascertained,  we  will  easily  account  for 
the  tenor  of  his  conduct. 

The  governing  principle  in  Mr.  Pearce, 
beyond  all  doubt,  was  holy  love. 

To  mention  this  is  sufficient  to  prove  it  to 
all  who  knew  him.  His  friends  have  often 
compared  him  to  that  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved.  His  religion  was  that  of  the  heart. 
Almost  every  thing  he  saw,  or  heard,  or 
read,  or  studied,  was  converted  to  the  feed- 
ing of  tliis  divine  flame.  Every  subject 
that  passed  through  his  hands  seemed  to 
have  been  cast  into  this  mould.  Things, 
that  to  a  merely  speculative  mind  would 
have  furnished  matter  only  for  curiosity,  to 
him  afforded  materials  for  devotion.  His 
sermons  were  generally  the  eff'usions  of  his 
heart,  and  invariably  aimed  at  the  hearts 
of  his  hearers. 

For  the  justness  of  the  above  remarks,  I 
might  appeal  not  only  to  the  letters  which 
he  addressed  to  his  friends,  but  to  those 
which  his  friends  addressed  to  him.  It  is 
worthy  of  notice  how  much  we  are  influen 
ced  in  our  correspondence  by  the  turn  of 
mind  of  the  person  we  address.  If  we 
write  to  a  humorous  character,  we  shall 
generally  find  that  what  we  write,  perhaps 
without  being  conscious  of  it,  will  be  inter- 
spersed with  pleasantries :  or  if  to  one  of  a 
very  serious  cast,  our  letters  will  be  more 
serious  than  usual.  On  this  principle,  it 
has  been  thought,  we  may  form  some  judg- 
ment of  our  own  spirit  by  the  spirit  in  which 
our  friends  address  us.  These  remarks 
will  apply  with  singular  propriety  to  the 
correspondence  of  Mr.  Pearce.  In  looking 
over  the  first  volume  of  Periodical  accounts 
of  the  liaplisl  iMission,  the  reader  will  easi- 
ly perceive  the  most  affectionate  letters 
from  the  missionaries  are  those  which  are 
addressed  to  him. 

It  is  not  enough  to  say  of  this  affection- 
ate spirit,  that  it  formed  a  prominent  fea- 
ture in  his  character,  it  was  rather  the  life 
blood  that  animated  tlie  whole  system. 
He  see  lied,  as  one  of  his  friends  observed 
to  be  baptized  in  it.  It  was  holy  love  that 
gave  the  tone  to  his  general  deportment 
as  a  son,  a  subject,  a  neighbor,  a  Christian. 


a  minister,  a  pastor,  a  friend,  a  husband, 
and  a  father,  he  was  manifestly  governed 
by  this  principle ;  and  this  it  was  that  pro- 
duced in  him  that  lovely  uniformity  of  char- 
acter, which  constitutes  the  true  beauty  of 
holiness. 

By  the  grace  of  God  he  was  what  he 
was ;  and  to  the  honor  of  grace,  and  not 
for  the  glory  of  a  sinful  worm,  be  it  record- 
ed. Like  all  other  men,  he  was  the  subject 
of  a  depraved  nature.  He  felt  it,  and  la- 
mented it,  and  longed  to  depart,  that  he 
might  be  freed  from  it:  but  certainly  we 
have  seldom  seen  a  character,  taking  him 
altogether,  "  whose  excellencies  were  so 
many,  and  so  uniform,  and  whose  imper- 
fections were  so  few."  We  have  seen  men 
rise  high  in  contemplation,  who  have 
abounded  but  little  in  action.  We  have 
seen  zeal  mingled  wiih  bitterness,  andean- 
dor  degenerate  into  indifference ;  experi- 
mental religion  mixed  with  a  large  portion 
of  enthusiasm,  and  what  is  called  rational 
religion  void  of  every  thing  that  interests 
the  heart  of  man.  We  have  seen  splendid 
talents  tarnished  with  insufferable  pride, 
seriousness  and  melancholy,  cheerfulness 
with  levity,  and  great  attainments  in  reli- 
gion with  uncharitable  censoriousness  to- 
wards men  of  low  degree :  but  we  have 
not  seen  these  things  in  our  brother  Pearce. 

There  have  been  few  men  in  whom  has 
been  united  a  greater  portion  of  the  con- 
templative and  the  active ;  holy  zeal  and 
genuine  candor  ;  spirituality  and  rationali- 
ty; talents  that  attracted  almost  universal 
applause,  and  the  most  unaffected  modesty : 
faithfulness  in  bearing  testimony  against 
evil,  with  the  tenderest  compassion  to  the 
soul  of  the  evil  doer;  fortitude  that  would 
encounter  any  difficulty  in  the  way  of  duty, 
without  any  thing  boisterous,  noisy,  or 
overbearing ;  deep  seriousness,  with  habit- 
ual cheerfulness  ;  and  a  constant  aim  to 
promote  the  highest  degrees  of  piety  in 
himself  and  others,  with  a  readiness  to 
hope  the  best  of  the  lowest;  not  breaking 
the  bruised  reed,  nor  quenching  the  smoking 
flax. 

He  loved  the  Divine  character  as  reveal- 
ed in  the  scriptures.  To  adore  God,  to  con- 
template his  glorious  perfections,  to  enjoy 
his  favor,  and  to  submit  to  his  disposal, 
were  his  highest  delight.  "  I  felt,"  says  he, 
when  contemplating  the  hardships  of  a  mis- 
sionary life,  ''  that  were  the  universe  de- 
stroyed, and  I  the  only  being  in  it  besides 
God,  HE  is  fully  adequate  to  my  complete 
happiness ;  and  had  I  been  in  an  African 
wood,  surrounded  with  venomous  serpents, 
devouring  beasts,  and  savage  men,  in  such 
a  frame,  I  should  be  the  subject  of  perfect 
peace  and  exalted  joy.  Yes,  O  my  God  ! 
thou  hast  taught  mo  that  tJiou,  alone  art 
worthy  of  my  confidence ;  and  with  this 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


385 


sentiment  fixed  in  my  heart,  I  am  freed 
from  ciU  solicitude  about  my  temporal  con- 
cerns. If  thy  presence  be  enjoyed,  poverty 
shall  be  riches,  darkness  light,  affliction 
prosperity,  reproach  my  honor,  and  fatigue 
my  rest  !'" 

He  loved  the  Gospel.  The  truths  which 
he  beHeved  and  taught,  dwelt  richly  in  him, 
in  all  wisdom  and  spiritual  understanding. 
The  reader  will  recollect  how  he  went 
over  the  great  principles  of  Christianity, 
examining  the  grounds  on  which  he  rested. 
in  the  first  of  those  days  which  he  devoted 
to  solemn  fasting  and  prayer  in  reference 
to  his  becoming  a  missionary ;  and  with 
what  ardent  affection  he  set  his  seal  anew 
to  every  part  of  divine  truth  as  he  went 
along. 

If  salvation  had  been  of  works,  few 
men,  according  to  our  way  of  estimating 
characters,  had  a  fairer  claim ;  but,  as,  he 
himself  has  related,  he  could  not  meet  ihe 
king  of  terrors  in  this  armour.  So  far 
was  he  from  placing  any  dependence  on 
his  own  works,  that  the  more  he  did  for 
God,  the  less  he  thought  of  it  in  such  a  way. 
"  All  the  satisfaction  I  wish  for  here,"  says 
he,  "is  to  be  doing  my  heavenly  Father's 
will.  I  hope  I  have  found  it  my  meat  and 
drink  to  do  his  work;  and  can  set  to  my 
seal,  that  the  purest  pleasures  of  human 
life  spring  from  the  humble  obedience  of 
faith.  It  is  a  good  saying,  '  We  cannot  do 
too  much  for  God,  nor  trust  in  what  we  do 
too  little.'  I  find  a  growing  conviction  of 
the  necessity  of  a  free  salvation.  The 
more  I  do  for  God,  the  less  I  think  of  it ; 
and  am  progressively  ashamed  that  I  do  no 
more." 

Christ  crucified  was  his  darling  theme, 
from  first  to  last.  This  was  the  subject  on 
which  he  dwelt  at  the  outset  of  his  minis 
try  among  the  Coldford  colliers,  when  "  He 
could  scarcely  speak  for  weeping,  nor  they 
hear  for  interrupting  sighs  and  sobs  ;"  this 
was  the  burden  of  the  song  when  address- 
ing the  more  polished  and  crowded  audien- 
ces at  Birmingham,  London  and  Dublin; 
this  was  the  grand  motive  exhibited  in  ser- 
mons lor  the  promotion  of  public  charities  ; 
and  this  was  the  rock  on  which  he  rested 
all  his  hopes,  in  the  prospect  of  death.  It 
is  true  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  shaken  for 
a  time  by  the  writings  of  a  IVhitby  and  of 
a  Priestly;  but  this  transient  hesitation, 
by  the  overruling  grace  of  God,  tended  on- 
ly to  establish  him  more  firmly  in  the  end. 
"  Blessed  be  his  dear  name,"  says  he,  under 
his  last  affliction,  "  who  shed  his  blood  for 
me.  He  helps  me  to  rejoice  at  times  with 
joy  unspeakable.  Now  I  see  the  value  of 
the  religion  of  the  cross.  It  is  a  religion 
for  a  dying  sinner.  It  is  all  the  most  guilty 
and  the  most  wretched  can  desire.  Yes  I 
taste  its  sweetness  and  enjov  its  fulness, 
Vol.  3.— Wv,'. 


with  all  the  gloom  of  a  dying  bed  for  me ; 
and  far  rather  would  I  be  the  poor  emaci- 
ated and  emaciating  creature  that  I  am, 
than  be  an  emperor  with  every  earthly 
good  about  him,  but  without  a  God." 

Notwithstanding  this,  however,  there 
were  those  in  Birmingham,  and  other  pla- 
ces, who  could  not  allow  that  he  preached 
the  gospel.  And  if  by  the  gospel  were 
meant  the  doctrine  taught  by  Mr.  Hunting- 
ton, Mr  Bradford  and  others  who  follow 
hard  after  them,  it  must  be  granted  he  did 
not.  If  the  fall  and  depravity  of  man  ope- 
rate to  destroy  his  accountableness  to  his 
Creator ;  if  his  inability  to  obey  the  law, 
or  comply  with  the  gospel,  be  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  excuse  him  in  the  neglect  of 
either  ;  or  if  not,  yet,  if  Christ's  coming  un- 
der the  law  frees  believers  from  all  obliga- 
tion to  obey  its  precepts  ;  if  gospel  invita- 
tions are  addressed  only  to  the  regener- 
ate ;  if  the  illuminating  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  consist  in  revealing  to  us  the 
secret  purposes  of  God  concerning  us,  or 
impressing  us  with  the  idea  that  we  are  the 
favorites  of  Heaven  ;  if  believing  such  im- 
pressions be  Christian  faith,  and  doubting 
of  their  validity  unbelief;  if  there  be  no 
such  thing  as  progressive  sanctification, 
nor  any  sanctification  inherent,  except  that 
of  the  illumination  before  described  ;  if 
wicked  men  are  not  obliged  to  do  any  thing 
beyond  what  they  can  find  in  their  hearts 
to  do,  nor  good  men  to  be  holy  beyond 
what  they  actually  are  ;  and  if  these  things 
constitute  the  gospel,  Mr.  Pearce  certainly 
did  not  preach  it.  But  if  man,  whatever 
be  his  depravity,  be  necessarily  a  free  agent, 
and  accountable  for  all  his  dispositions 
and  actions  ;  if  gospel  invitations  be  ad- 
dressed to  men  not  as  elect,  nor  as  non-elect, 
but  as  sinners  exposed  to  the  righteous 
displeasure  of  God ;  if  Christ's  obedience 
and  death  rather  increase  than  diminish 
our  obligations  to  love  God  and  one  anoth- 
er ;  if  faith  in  Christ  be  a  falling  in  with 
God's  way  of  salvation,  and  unbelief  a  fall- 
ing out  with  it;  if  sanctification  be  a  pro- 
gressive work,  and  so  essential  a  branch  of 
our  salvation,  as  that  without  it  no  man  shall 
see  the  Lord  ;  if  the  Holy  Spirit  instruct  us 
in  nothing  by  his  illuminating  influences  but 
what  was  already  revealed  in  the  scrip- 
tures, and  which  we  should  have  perceived 
but  for  that  we  loved  darkness  rather  than 
ligiit;  and  if  he  inclines  us  to  nothing  but 
what  was  antecedently  right,  or  to  such  a 
spirit  as  every  intelligent  creature  ouglit  at 
all  limes  to  have  possessed,  then  Mr.  Pearce 
did.  preach  the  gospel ;  and  that  which  hia 
accusers  call  by  this  name  is  another  gos- 
pel, and  not  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Moreover  if  the  doctrine  taught  by  Mr, 
Pearce  be  not  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and 
that  which  is  taught  by  the  above  writers 


386 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


and  their  adherents  be,  it  may  be  expected 
that  the  effects  produced  will  in  some  de- 
gree correspond  with  this  representation : 
and,  is  it  evident  to  all  men  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  both,  and  who  judge  impar- 
tially, that  the  doctrine  taught  by  Mr. 
Pearce  is  productive  of  haired,  variance, 
emulations,  wrath,  strife,  railings,  evil  sur- 
misi7igs,  and  perverse  disputvigs;  that  it  ren- 
ders those  who  embrace  it  lovers  of  their  own 
selves,  covetous,  boasters,  prorid,  false  accu- 
sers, fierce,  despisers  of  those  that  are  good  ; 
while  that  of  his  adversaries  promotes  love, 
joy,  peace,  long  suffering,  gentleness,  good- 
ness, faith,  meekness  and  temperance  7  \Miy 
even  of  yourselves  judge  ye  not  what  is 
right  7     Ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits  7 

Mr  Pearce's  ideas  of  preaching  human 
obligation  may  be  seen  in  the  following  ex- 
tract from  a  letter  addressed  to  a  young 
minister  who  was  sent  out  of  the  church  of 
which  he  was  pastor.  "  You  request  my 
thoughts  how  a  minister  should  preach  hu- 
inan  obligation.  I  would  reply,  do  it  exten- 
sively, do  it  constantly;  but  withal,  do  it 
affectionately  and  evangelically.  I  think, 
considering  the  general  character  of  our 
hearers,  and  the  state  of  their  mental  im- 
provement, it  would  be  time  lost  to  argue 
much  from  the  data  of  natural  religion. 
The  best  way  is,  perhaps,  to  express  duties 
in  scripture  language,  and  enforce  them  by 
evangelical  motives ;  as,  the  example  of 
Christ — the  ends  of  his  suffering  and  death, 
the  consciousness  of  his  approbation — the 
assistance  he  has  promised — the  influence 
of  a  holy  conversation  on  God's  people, 
and  on  the  people  of  the  world — the  small 
returns  we  at  best  can  make  for  the  love  of 
Jesus — and  the  hope  of  eternal  holiness. 
These  form  a  body  of  arguments,  which  the 
most  simple  may  understand,  and  the  most 
dull  may  feel.  Yet  I  would  not  neglect  on 
some  occasions  to  show  the  obligations  of 
man  to  love  his  Creator — the  reasonable- 
ness of  the  divine  law — and  the  natural 
tendency  of  its  commands  to  promote  our 
own  comfort,  the  good  of  society,  and  the 
glory  of  God.  These  will  serve  to  illumi- 
nate, but,  after  all,  it  is  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God  that  will  most  effectually  an- 
imate and  impel  to  action." 

Mr.  Pearce's  affection  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  cross  was  not  merely  nor  principally  on 
account  of  its  being  a  system  which  secu- 
red his  own  safety.  Had  this  been  the  case: 
he  might,  like  others,  whose  religion  ori- 
ginates and  terminates  in  self-love,  have 
been  delighted  with  the  idea  of  the  grace 
of  the  Son,  but  it  would  have  been  at  the 
expense  of  all  complacency  in  the  right- 
eous government  of  the  Father.  He  might 
have  admired  something  which  he  accoun- 
ted the  gospel,  as  saving  him  from  misery ; 
but  he  could  have  discerned  no  loveliness 


in  the  divine  law  as  being  holy,  just  and 
good,  nor  in  the  mediation  of  Christ  as  do- 
ing honor  to  it.  That  which  in  his  view 
constituted  the  glory  of  the  gospel  was, 
that  God  is  therein  revealed  as  the  just  God 
and  the  Saviour— just  and  the  justifier  of 
him  that  believeth  in  Jesus. 

He  was  a  lover  of  good  men.  He  was 
never  more  in  his  element  than  when  join- 
ing with  them  in  spiritual  conversation, 
prayer  and  praise.  His  heart  was  tenderly 
attached  to  the  people  of  his  charge  ;  and  it 
was  one  of  the  bitterest  ingredients  in  his 
cup  during  his  long  affliction,  to  be  cut  off 
from  their  society.  When  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Plymouth,  he  thus  writes  to  Mr. 
King,  one  of  the  deacons — "Give  my  love  to 
all  the  dear  people.  O  pray  that  he  who 
afflicts  would  give  me  patience  to  endure. 
Indeed,  the  state  of  suspense  in  which  1 
have  been  kept  so  long,  requires  much 
of  it ;  and  I  often  exclaim,  ere  I  am  aware, 
O  my  dear  people !  O  my  dear  family, 
when  shall  I  return  to  you  again !"  He  con- 
scientiously dissented  from  the  Church  of 
England,  and  from  every  other  national  es- 
tablishment of  religion,  as  inconsistent 
with  what  he  judged  the  scriptural  account 
of  the  nature  of  Christ's  kingdom ;  nor 
was  he  less  conscientious  in  his  rejection  of 
infant  baptism,  considering  it  as  having  no 
foundation  in  the  holy  scriptures,  and  as 
tending  to  confound  the  church  and  the 
world  ;  yet  he  embraced  with  brotherly  af- 
fection great  numbers  of  godly  men  both  in 
and  out  of  the  establishment.  His  spirit 
was  truly  catholic :  he  loved  all  who  loved 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.  "  Let 
us  pray,"  said  he  in  a  letter  to  a  friend, 
"  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem :  they  shall 
prosper  who  love — not  this  part,  or  the  oth- 
er, but  who  love —  her — that  is,  the  whole 
body  of  Christ." 

He  bare  good  will  to  all  mankind.  It 
was  from  this  principle  that  he  so  ardently 
desired  to  go  and  preach  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen.  And  even  under  his  long  afflic- 
tion, when  at  times  he  entertained  hopes  of 
recovery,  he  would  say,  "  My  soul  pants  for 
usefulness  more  extensive  than  ever :  1  long 
to  become  an  apostle  to  the  world  !"  The 
errors  and  sins  of  men  wrought  much  in 
him  in  a  way  of  pity.  He  knew  that  they 
were  culpable  in  the  sight  of  God  :  but  he 
knew  also  that  he  himself  was  a  sinner,  and 
felt  that  they  were  entitled  to  his  compas- 
sion. His  zeal  for  the  divinity  and  atone- 
ment of  his  Saviour,  never  appeared  to 
have  operated  in  a  way  of  unchristian  bit- 
terness against  those  who  rejected  these  im- 
portant doctrines ;  and  though  he  was 
shamefully  traduced  by  professors  of  anoth- 
er description  as  a  mere  legal  preacher,  and 
his  ministry  lu^ld  up  as  affording  no  food  for 
the  souls  of  believers,  and  could  not  but  feel) 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEA.RCE, 


387 


the  injury  of  such  misrepresentations ;  yet 
he  does  not  appear  to  have  cherished  un- 
christian resentment ;  but  would  at  any  time 
have  laid  himself  out  for  the  good  of  his 
worst  enemies.  It  was  his  constant  endeav- 
or to  promote  as  good  an  understanding 
between  the  different  congregations  in  the 
town  as  the  nature  of  their  different  reli- 
gious sentiments  would  admit.  The  cruel 
bitterness  of  many  people  against  Dr.  Priest- 
ley and  his  friends,  at  and  after  the  Bir- 
mingham riots,  was  affecting  to  his  mind. 
Such  methods  of  opposing  error  he  abhor- 
red. His  regard  to  mankind  made  him  la- 
ment the  consequences  of  war :  but  while 
he  wished  and  prayed  for  peace  to  the  na- 
tions, and  especially  to  his  native  country, 
he  had  no  idea  of  turbulently  contending  for 
it.  Though  friendly  to  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  he  stood  aloof  from  the  fire  of  po- 
litical contention.  In  an  excellent  circular 
letter  to  the  churches  of  the  Midland  associa- 
tion in  1794,  of  which  he  was  the  writer,  he 
thus  expresses  himself:  "  Have  as  little  as 
possible  to  do  with  the  world.  Meddle  not 
with  political  controversies.  An  inordinate 
pursuit  of  these,  we  are  sorry  to  observe, 
has  been  as  a  canker-worm  at  the  root  of" 
vital  piety ;  and  caused  the  love  of  many, 
formerly  zealous  professors,  to  wax  cold. 
The  Lord  reigneth,  it  is  our  place  to  rejoice 
in  his  government,  and  quietly  wait  for  the 
salvation  of  God.  The  establishment  of  his 
kingdom  will  be  the  ultimate  end  of  all 
those  national  commotions  which  terrify  the 
earth.  The  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  him, 
and  the  remainder  of  wrath  he  will  re- 
strain." If  he  could  write  in  this  manner 
in  1794,  his  seeing  a  hopeful  undertaking, 
in  which  he  Jiad  taken  a  more  than  common 
interest,  blasted  by  this  species  of  folly  in 
1796,  would  not  lessen  his  aversion  to  it. 
From  this  time  more  than  ever  he  turned 
his  whole  attention  to  the  promoting  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  cherishing  and  recom- 
mending a  spirit  of  contentment  and  grati- 
tude for  the  civil  and  religious  advantages 
that  we  enjoyed.  Such  were  the  senti- 
ments inculcated  in  the  last  sermon  that  he 
printed,  and  the  last  but  one  that  he  preach- 
ed. (See  Note  at  page  373.)  His  dear 
young  friends  who  are  gone  to  India  will 
never  forget  how  earnestly  he  charged  them 
by  letter,  when  confined  at  Plymouth,  to 
conduct  themselves  in  all  civil  matters  as 
peaceable  and  obedient  subjects  to  the 
government  under  which  they  lived,  in 
whatever  country  it  might  be  their  lot  to 
reside. 

It  V)as  love  that  tempered  his  faithfulness 
with  so  large  aportion  of  tender  concern  for 
the  good  of  those  whose  condiict  he  was 
obliged  to  censure.  He  could  not  bear  tliem 
that  were  evil,  but  would  set  himself  against 
diem  with  the  greatest  firmness  ;  yet  it  was 


easy  to  discover  the  pain  of  mind  with  which 
this  necessary  part  of  duty  was  discharged. 
It  is  well  remembered  how  he  conducted 
himself  towards  certain  preachers,  in  the 
neighborhood,  who,  wandering  from  place 
to  place,  corrupted  and  em.broiled  the 
churches ;  whose  conduct  he  knew  to  be  as 
dishonorable  as  their  principles  were  loose 
and  unscriptural :  and  when  requested  to 
recite  particulars  in  his  own  defence,  his 
fear  and  tenderness  for  character,  his  mo- 
dest reluctance  to  accuse  persons  older  than 
himself;  and  his  deep  concern  that  men  en- 
gaged in  the  Christian  ministry,  should  ren- 
der such  accusations  necessary,  were  each 
conspicuous,  and  proved  to  all  present,  that 
the  work  of  an  accuser  was  to  him  a  strange 
work. 

It  was  love  that  expanded  his  heart,  and 
prompted  him.  to  labor  in  season  and  out 
of  season  for  the  salvation  of  sinners.  This 
was  the  spring  of  that  constant  stream  of 
activity  by  which  his  life  was  distinguished- 
His  conscience  would  not  sufier  him  to  de- 
cline what  appeared  to  be  right.  "  I  dare 
not  refuse,"  he  would  say,  '■  lest  I  should 
shrink  from  duty.  Unjustifiable  ease  is 
worse  than  the  most  difficult  labors  to  which 
duty  calls."  To  persons  who  never  enter- 
ed into  his  views  and  feelings,  some  parts 
of  his  conduct,  especially  those  which  relate 
to  his  desire  of  quitting  his  country  that  he 
might  preach  the  gospel  to  the  heathen, 
Avill  appear  extravagant:  but  no  man  could 
with  greater  propriety  have  adopted  the 
language  of  the  apostle.  Whether  we  be  be- 
side ourselves,  it  is  to  God  ;  or  whether  we 
be  sober  it  is  for  your  cause  ;  for  the  love 
of  Christ  constraineth  us. 

He  was  frequently  told  that  his  exercises 
were  too  great  for  his  strength  ;  but  such 
was  the  ardor  of  his  heart,  "  He  could  not 
die  in  a  better  work."  When  he  went  up 
into  the  pulpit  to  deliver  his  last  sermon,  he 
thought  he  should  not  have  been  able  to 
get  through,  but  wlien  he  got  a  little  warm, 
he  felt  relieved,  and  forgot  his  indisposition, 
preaching  with  equal  fervor  and  freedom  as 
when  in  perfect  health.  While  he  was  laid 
aside,  he  could  not  forbear  hoping  that  he 
should  some  time  resume  his  delightful 
work ;  and  knowing  the  strength  of  his  feel- 
ings to  be  such  that  it  would  be  unsafe  to 
trust  himself,  he  proposed  for  a  time  to  write 
his  discourses,  that  his  mind  might  not  be 
at  liberty  to  overdo  his  debilitated  frame. 

All  his  counsels,  cautions,  and  reproofs, 
appear  to  have  been  the  effect  of  love.  It 
was  a  rule  dictated  by  his  heart,  no  less 
than  by  his  judgment,  to  discourage  ali 
evil  speaking :  nor  would  he  approve  of  just 
censure  unless  some  good  and  necessary 
end  were  to  be  answered  by  it.  Two  of 
his  distant  friends  being  at  his  house  to- 
gether, one  of  them,  during  the  absence  of 


388 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


the  other,  suggested  something  to  his  dis 
advantage.  He  put  a  stop  to  the  conversa 
tion  by  answering.  "  He  is  here,  take  him 
aside  and  tell  him  of  it  by  himself:  you  may 
do  him  good." 

If  he  perceived  any  of  his  acquaintance 
bewildered  in  fruitless  speculations,  he 
would  in  an  affectionate  manner  endeavor 
to  draw  off  their  attention  from  these  mazes 
of  confusion  to  the  simple  doctrine  of  the 
cross.  A  specimen  of  this  kind  of  treatment 
will  be  seen  in  the  letter,  No.  I.  towards  the 
close  of  this  chapter. 

He  was  affectionate  to  all,  but  especially 
towards  the  rising  generation.  The  youth 
of  his  own  congregation,  of  London  and  of 
Dublin,  have  not  tbrgotten  his  melting  dis- 
courses which  were  particularly  addressed 
to  them.  He  took  much  delight  in  speak- 
ing to  the  children,  and  would  adapt  him- 
self to  their  capacities,  and  expostulate  with 
them  on  the  things  which  belonged  to  their 
everlasting  peace.  While  at  Plymouth  he 
wrote  thus  to  one  of  his  friends,  "  O  how 
should  I  rejoice  were  there  a  speedy  pros- 
pect of  my  returning  to  my  great  and  little 
congregations."  Nor  was  it  by  preaching 
only  that  he  sought  their  eternal  welfare : 
several  of  his  letters  are  addressed  to  young 
persons. — See  Nos.  II.  and  III.  towards  the 
close  of  this  chapter. 

With  what  joy  did  he  congratulate  one 
cf  his  most  intimate  friends,  on  hearing  that 
three  of  the  younger  branches  of  his  family 
had  apparently  been  brought  to  take  the 
Redeemer's  yoke  upon  them.  "  Thanks, 
thanks,  thanks  be  to  God,"  said  he,  "for  the 
enrapturing  prospects  betbre  you  as  a  fa- 
ther, as  a  Christian  father  especially. 
What,  three  of  a  family  !  and  these  three  at 
once !  O  the  heights,  and  depths,  and 
lengths,  and  breadths,  of  his  unfathomable 
grace.  My  soul  feels  joy  unspeakable  at 
the  blessed  news.  Three  immortal  souls 
secured  for  eternal  life !  Three  rational 
spirits  preparing  to  grace  Immanuel's  tri- 
umphs, and  sing  his  praise !  Three  ex- 
amples of  virtue  and  goodness ;  exhibiting 
the  genuine  influences  of  the  true  religion 
cf  Jesus  before  the  Avorld — Perhaps  three 
mothers  training  up  to  lead  three  future 
families  in  the  way  to  heaven.  O  what  a 
train  of  blessings  do  I  see  in  this  event! 
Most  sincerely  do  I  participate  with  my 
dear  friend,  in  his  pleasures  and  in  his  grati- 
tude." 

Towards  the  close  of  life,  writing  to  the 
same  friend,  he  thus  concludes  his  letter: 
"Present  our  love  to  dear  Mrs.  S.  and  the 
family,  especially  those  whose  hearts  are  en- 
gaged to  seek  the  Lord  and  his  goodnes^s. 
O  tell  them  they  will  find  him  good  all  ihoir 
lives,  supremely  good  on  dying  beds,  but 
best  of  all  in  glory." 


•  In  his  visits  to  the  sick  he  was  singularly 
useful.  His  sympathetic  conversation,  af- 
fectionate prayers,  and  endearing  manner 
of  recommending  to  them  a  compassionate 
Saviour,  frequently  operated  as  a  cordial  to 
their  troubled  hearts.  A  young  man  of  his 
congregation  was  dangerously  ill.  His  fa- 
ther, living  at  a  distance,  was  anxious  to 
hear  from  him  ;  and  Mr.  Pearce,  in  a  h-tter 
to  the  minister  on  whose  preaching  the  fa- 
ther attended,  wrote  as  follows:  "I  feel  for 
the  anxiety  of  Mr.  V.  and  am  happy  in  be- 
ing at  this  time  a  Barnabas  to  him.  I  was 
not  seriously  alarmed  for  his  son  till  last 
Tuesday,  when  I  expected  from  every 
symptom,  and  the  language  of  his  apothe- 
cary, that  he  was  nigh  unto  death.  I3ut  to 
our  astonishment  and  joy,  a  surprising 
change  has  since  taken  place.  1  saw  hira 
yesterday  apparently  in  a  fair  way  for  re- 
covery. His  mind  for  the  first  part  of  his 
illness,  was  sometimes  joyful,  and  almost 
constantly  calm ;  but  when  at  the  worst, 
suspicions  crowded  his  mind  ;  he  feared  he 
had  been  a  hypocrite.  I  talked,  and  pray- 
ed, and  wept  with  him.  One  scene  was 
very  affecting  both  he  and  his  wife  appear- 
ed like  persons  newly  awakened.  They 
never  felt  so  strongly  the  importance  of  re- 
ligion before.  He  conversed  about  the  ten- 
derness of  Jesus  to  broken-hearted  sinners  ; 
and  whilst  we  spoke,  it  seemed  as  though 
he  came  and  began  to  heal  the  wound.  It  did 
me  good,  and  I  trust  was  not  unavailing  to 
them.  They  have  since  been  for  the  most 
part  happy ;  and  a  very  pleasant  interview 
I  had  with  them  on  the  past  day." 

Every  man  must  have  hia  seasons  of  re- 
laxation. In  his  earlier  years  he  would 
take  strong  bodily  exercise.  Of  late,  he  oc- 
casionally employed  himself  with  the  micro- 
scope and  in  making  a  few  philosophical  ex- 
periments. "  We  will  amuse  ourselves  with 
philosophy,"  said  he  to  a  philosophical  friend 
"but  Jesusshallbe  our  teacher."  In  ail  these 
exercises  he  seems  never  to  have  lost  sight  of 
God  ;  but  would  be  discovering  something 
in  his  works  that  should  furnish  matter  for 
praise  and  admiration.  His  mind  did  not 
appear  to  have  been  unfitted,  but  rather  as- 
sisted, by  such  pursuits  for  the  discharge  of 
the  more  spiritual  exercises,  into  which  he 
would  f;\ll  at  a  proper  season,  as  into  his 
native  element.  If  in  company  with  friends, 
and  the  conversation  turned  upon  the  works 
of  nature,  or  art,  or  any  other  .subject  of 
.science,  he  would  cheerfully  take  a  part  in 
it,  and  when  occasion  required,  by  some 
easy  and  pleasant  transition,  direct  it  into 
another  channel.  An  ingenious  friend 
once  showed  him  a  model  of  a  machine 
which  he  thought  of  constructing,  and  by 
which  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  produce  a 
perpetual  motion.    Mr.  Pearce  having  pa- 


MEMOIRS    OP    PEARCE, 


389 


tiently  inspected  it,  discovered  where  the 
operation  would  stop,  and  pointed  it  out. 
His  friend  was  convinced,  and  felt,  as  may 
be  supposed,  rather  unpleasant  at  his  dis- 
appointment. He  consoled  him ;  and  a 
prayer-meeting  being  at  hand,  said  to  this 
effect,  "  We  may  learn  from  hence  our 
own  insufficiency,  and  the  glory  of  that 
Being,  who  is  wonderful  in  counsel^  and  ex- 
cellent in  working :  let  us  go  and  worship 
him." 

His  mild  and  gentle  disposition,  not  apt 
to  give  or  take  offence,  often  won  upon  per- 
sons in  matters  wherein  at  first  they  have 
shown  themselves  averse.  When  collecting 
for  the  Baptist  mission,  a  gentleman  who 
had  no  knowledge  of  him,  or  of  the  con- 
ductors of  that  undertaking,  made  some  ob- 
jections, on  the  ground  that  the  Baptists 
had  little  or  nothing  to  say  to  the  uncon- 
verted. This  objection  Mr.  Pearce  attempt- 
ed to  remove,  by  alleging  that  the  parties 
concerned  in  this  business  were  entirely  of 
another  mind.  I  am  glad  to  hear  it,  said 
the  gentleman,  but  I  have  my  fears.  Then 
pray,  sir,  said  Mr.  Pearce,  do  not  give  till 
you  are  satisfied.  Why,  I  assure  you,  re- 
plied the  other,  I  think  the  Methodists  more 
likely  to  succeed  than  you  ;  and  should  feel 
more  pleasure  in  giving  them  ten  guineas 
than  you  one.  If  you  give  them  twenty 
guineas,  sir,  said  Mr.  Pearce  we  shall  rejoice 
in  their  success  ;  and  if  you  give  us  one,  I 
hope  it  will  not  be  misapplied.  The  gentle- 
man smiled,  and  gave  him  four. 

His  figure  to  a  superficial  observer  would 
at  first  sight  convey  nothing  very  interest- 
ing; but  on  close  inspection,  his  counte- 
nance would  be  acknowledged  lo  be  a  faith- 
ful index  to  his  soul.  Calm,  placid,  and 
when  in  the  pulpit  especially,  full  of  anima- 
tion, his  appearance  was  not  a  little  expres- 
sive of  the  interest  he  felt  in  the  eternal 
welfare  of  his  audience  ;  his  eyes  beaming 
benignity,  and  speaking  in  the  most  impres- 
eive  language  his  Avillingness  to  impart,  not 
only  ike  gospel  of  God,  bzU  his  oicn  soul 
also. 

His  imagination  was  vivid,  and  his  judg- 
ment clear ;  he  relished  the  elegancies  of 
science,  and  felt  alive  to  the  most  delicate 
and  refined  sentiments ;  yet  these  were 
thmgs  on  account  of  which  he  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  valued  himself  They  were 
rather  his  amusements  than  his  employ- 
ment. 

His  address  was  easy  and  insinuating; 
his  voice  pleasant,  but  sometimes  overstrain- 
ed in  the  course  of  his  sermon ;  his  lan- 
guage chaste,  flowing,  and  inclining  to  the 
florid :  this  last,  however,  abated  as  his 
judgment  ripened.  His  delivery  Avas  rather 
slow  than  rapid  ;  his  attitude  graceful,  and 
his  countenance  in  almost  all  his  discourses 


approaching  to  an  affectionate  smile.  He 
never  appears,  however,  to  have  studied 
what  are  called  the  graces  of  pulpit  action  ; 
or,  whatever  he  had  read  concerning  them, 
it  was  manifest  that  he  thought  nothing  of 
them,  or  of  any  other  of  the  ornaments  of 
speech,  at  the  time.  Both  his  action  and 
language  were  the  genuine  expressions  of 
an  ardent  mind,  affected,  and  sometimes 
deeply,  Avith  his  subject.  Being  rather  be- 
low the  common  stature,  and  disregarding, 
or  rather,  I  might  say,  disapproving  every 
thing  pompous  in  his  appearance,  he  has  on 
some  occasions  been  prejudged  to  his  dis- 
advantage :  but  the  song  of  the  nightin- 
gale is  not  the  less  melodious  for  his  not 
appearing  in  a  gaudy  plumage.  His  man- 
ner of  preparing  for  the  pulpit  may  be  seen 

in  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  C ,  of 

L ,  who  was  sent  out  of  his  church: 

and  which  may  be  of  use  to  others  in  a  simi- 
lar situation.  See  No.  IV.  towards  the 
close  of  this  chapter. 

His  ministry  was  highly  acceptable  to 
persons  of  education :  liut  he  appears  to 
have  been  most  in  his  element  when  preach- 
ing to  the  poor.  The  feelings  which  he 
himself  expresses  when  instructing  the  col- 
liers, appear  to  have  continued  with  him 
through  life.  It  was  his  delight  to  carry  the 
glad  tidings  of  salvation  into  the  villages 
wherever  he  could  find  access  and  opportu- 
nity. And  as  he  sought  the  good  of  their 
souls,  so  he  both  labored  and  suffered  to  re- 
lieve their  temporal  wants ;  living  himself 
in  a  style  of  frugality  and  self-denial,  that 
he  might  have  whereof  to  give  to  them  that 
needed. 

Finally,  he  possessed  a  large  portion  of 
real  happiness.  There  are  few  characters 
whose  enjoyments,  both  natural  and  spiritu- 
al, have  risen  to  so  great  a  height.  He 
dwelt  in  love :  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love, 
dwelleth  in  God.,  and  God  in  him.  Such  a 
life  must  needs  be  happy.  If  his  religion 
had  originated  and  terminated  in  self-love, 
as  some  contend  the  whole  of  religion  does, 
his  joys  had  been  not  only  of  a  different  na- 
ture, but  far  less  extensive  than  they  were. 
His  interest  was  bound  up  with  that  of  his 
Lord  and  Saviour.  Its  afflictions  were  his 
affliciion,  and  its  joys  his  joy.  The  grand 
object  of  his  desire  was,  to  see  the  good  of 
God^s  chosen,  to  rejoice  in  the  gladness  of 
his  nation,  and  to  glory  with  his  inheritance. 
"  What  pleasures  do  those  lose,"  says  he, 
"  who  have  no  interest  in  God's  gracious 
and  holy  cause  !"* 

If  an  object  of  joy  presented  itself  to  his 
mind,  he  would  delight  in  multiplying  it  by 
its  probable  or  possible  consequences. 
Thus  it  was,  as  we  have  seen,  in  his  con- 


See  ihe  Letter  to  Dr.  Ry  land,  May  30, 1796,  p.  359. 


390 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE, 


gratulating  his  friend  on  the  conversion  of 
three  of  his  children ;  and  thus  it  was  when 
speaking  of  a  people  who  divided  into  two 
congregations,  not  from  discord,  but  from 
an  increase  of  numbers ;  and  who  generous- 
ly united  in  erecting  a  new  and  additional 
place  of  worship.  "  These  liberal  souls 
are  subscribing,''  said  he,  '"in  order  to  sup- 
port a  religion,  which,  as  far  as  it  truly  pre- 
vails, will  render  others  as  liberal  as  them- 
selves." 

His  heai't  was  so  much  formed  for  social 
enjoyment  that  he  seems  to  have  contem- 
plated the  heavenly  state  under  this  idea 
with  peculiar  advantage.  This  was  the 
leading  theme  of  a  discourse  from  Rev.  v. 
9 — 12,  which  he  delivered  at  a  meeting  of 
ministers  at  Arnsby,  April  IS,  1797  ;  and  of 
which  his  brethren  retain  a  lively  remem- 
brance. On  this  pleasing  subject  he  dwells 
also  in  a  letter  to  his  dear  friend  Birt.  "  I 
had  much  pleasure  a  few  days  since,  in 
meditating  on  the  affectionate  language  of 
our  Lord  to  his  sorrowful  disciples ;  I  go  to 
prepare  a  place  for  you.  What  a  plenti- 
tude  of  consolation  do  these  words  contain ; 
what  a  sweet  view  of  heaven  as  a  place  of 
society.  It  is  one  place  for  us  all :  that 
place  where  his  glorified  body  is,  there  all 
his  followers  shall  assemble,  to  part  no  more. 
Where  he  is,  there  we  shall  be  also.  Oh 
blessed  anticipation  !  There  shall  be  Abel, 
and  all  the  martyrs ;  Abraham,  and  all  the 
patriarchs ;  Isaiah  and  all  the  prophets ; 
Paul,  and  all  the  apostles  ;  Gabriel,  and  all 
the  angels ;  and  above  all,  Jesus,  and  all 
his  ransomed  people  !  Oh  to  be  amongst 
the  number !  My  dear  brother,  let  us  be 
strong  in  the  Lord.  Let  us  realize  the  bliss 
before  us.  Let  our  faith  bring  heaven  it- 
self near,  and  feast,  and  live  upon  the  scene 
Oh  what  a  commanding  influence  would  it 
have  upon  our  thoughts,  passions,  comforts, 
sorrows,  words,  ministry,  prayers,  praises, 
and  conduct.  What  manner  of  persons 
should  we  be  in  all  holy  conversation  and 
godliness  !" 

In  many  persons,  the  pleasures  imparted 
by  religion  are  counteracted  by  a  gloomy 
constitution :  but  it  was  not  so  in  him.  In 
his  disposition  they  met  with  a  friendly  soil. 
Cheerfulness  was  as  natural  to  him  as 
breathing ;  and  this  spirit,  sanctified  by  the 
grace  of  God,  gave  a  tincture  to  all  his 
thoughts,  conversation,  and  preaching.  He 
was  seldom  heard  without  tears  ;  l)ut  they 
were  frequently  tears  of  pleasure.  No  levi- 
ty, no  attempts  at  wit,  no  aiming  to  excite 
the  risibility  of  an  audience,  ever  disgraced 
his  sermons.  Religion  in  him  was  habitual 
seriousness,  mingled  with  sacred  pleasure, 
frequently  rising  into  sublime  delight,  and 
occasionally  overflowing  with  transporting 
joy. 


LETTERS  REFERRED  TO  IN  THIS 
CHAPTER. 


To  a  young  man  whose  mind  he  perceived  was  bewild- 
ered with  fruitless  speculations. 

"  The  conversation  we  had  on  our  way 
to ,  so  far  interested  me  in  your  reli- 
gious feelings,  that  I  find  it  impossible  to 
satisfy  my  mind,  till  I  have  expressed  my 
ardent  wishes  for  the  happy  termination  of 
your  late  exercises,  and  contributed  my 
mite  to  the  promotion  of  your  joy  in  the 
Lord.  A  disposition  more  or  less  to  "  skep- 
ticism" I  believe  is  common  to  our  nature, 
in  proportion  as  opposite  systems,  and  jar- 
ring opinions,  each  supported  by  a  plausi- 
bility of  argument,  are  presented  to  our 
minds ;  and  with  some  qualification  I  admit 
Robinson's  remark,  "that  he  who  never 
doubted,  never  believed."  While  examin- 
ing the  grounds  of  persuasion,  it  is  right 
for  the  mind  to  hesitate.  Opinions  ought 
not  to  be  prejudged  any  more  than  crimi- 
nals. Every  objection  ought  to  have  its 
weight ;  and  the  more  numerous  and  for- 
cible objections  are,  the  more  cause  shall 
we  finally  have  for  the  triumph :  '  Manga 
est  Veritas  et  prevalebit ;  but  there  are  two 
or  three  considerations,  which  have  no  small 
weight  with  me  in  relation  to  religious  con- 
troversies. 

"  The  first  is,  the  importance  of  truth. 
It  would  be  endless  to  write  on  truth  in 
general.  I  confine  my  views  to  what  I 
deem  the  leading  truth  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment :  The  atonement  made  on  behalf  of 
sinners  by  the  Son  of  God  ;  the  doctrine  of 
the  cross  ;  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified. 
It  surely  cannot  be  a  m.atter  of  small  con- 
cern whether  the  Creator  of  all  things,  out 
of  mere  love  to  rebellious  men,  exchanged 
a  throne  for  a  cross,  and  thereby  recon- 
ciled a  ruined  world  to  God,  If  this  be  not 
true,  how  can  we  respect  the  bible  as  an 
inspired  book,  which  so  plainly  attributes 
our  salvation  to  the  grace  of  God,  through 
the  redemption  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  ? 
And  if  we  discard  the  bible,  what  can  we 
do  with  prophecies,  miracles,  and  all  the 
power  of  evidence,  on  which,  as  on  ada- 
mantine pillars,  its  authority  abides  !  Sure- 
ly the  infidel  has  more  to  reject  than  the 
believer  to  embrace.  That  book,  then, 
which  we  receive,  not  as  the  word  of  man, 
but  as  the  word  of  God,  not  as  the  religion  of 
our  ancestors,  but  on  the  invincible  convic- 
tion which  attends  an  impartial  investiga- 
tion of  its  evidences ;  that  book  reveals  a 
truth  of  the  highest  importance  to  man, 
consonant  to  the  opinions  of  the  earliest 
ages,  and  the  most  enlightened  nations, 
perfectly  consistent  with  the  Jewish  econo- 
my, as  to  its  spirit  and  design,  altogether 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


391 


adapted  to  unite  the  equitable  and  merciful 
perfections  of  the  Deity  in  the  sinner's  sal- 
vation, and  above  all  things  calculated  to 
beget  the  most  established  peace,  to  inspire 
with  the  liveliest  hope,  and  to  engage  the 
heart  and  life  in  habitual  devotedness  to 
the  interest  of  morality  and  piety.  Such 
a  doctrine  I  cannot  but  venerate ;  and  to 
the  Autlior  of  such  a  doctrine,  my  whole 
soul  labors  to  exhaust  itself  in  praise. 

" '  Oh  the  sweet  wonders  of  the  cross, 
Where  God  my  Saviour,  lov'd  and  died !' 

Forgive,  my  friend,  forgive  the  transport 
of  a  soul  compelled  to  feel  where  it  attempts 
only  to  explore.  I  cannot  on  this  subject 
control  my  passions  by  the  laws  of  logic. 
God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the 
cross  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord. 

"  Secondly,  I  consider  man  as  a  depra- 
ved creature ;  so  depraved,  that  his  judg- 
ment is  as  dark  as  his  appetites  are  sensu- 
al :  wholly  dependent  therelbre  on  God  for 
religious  light,  as  well  as  true  devotion  ; 
yet  such  a  dupe  to  pride,  as  to  reject  every 
thing,  which  the  narrow  limits  of  his  com- 
prehension cannot  embrace ;  and  such  a 
slave  to  his  passions  as  to  admit  no  law  but 
self-interest  for  his  government.  With 
these  views  of  human  nature,  I  am  persua- 
ded we  ought  to  suspect  our  own  decisions 
whenever  they  oppose  truths  too  sublime 
for  our  understandings,  or  too  pure  for  our 
lusts.  '  To  err'  on  this  side,  indeed,  'is  hu- 
man ;'  wherefore  the  wise  man  saith,  '  He 
that  trusteth  to  his  own  heart  is  a  fool.' 
Should,  therefore,  the  evidence  be  only 
equal  on  the  one  side  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  I  should  think,  with  this  allowance, 
we  should  do  well  to  admit  it. 

"  Thirdly,  if  the  gospel  of  Christ  be  true, 
it  should  be  heartily  embraced.  We  should 
yield  ourselves  to  its  influence  without  re- 
serve. We  must  come  to  a  point,  and  re- 
solve to  be  either  infidels  or  Christians. 
To  know  the  power  of  the  sun,  we  should 
expose  ourselves  to  his  rays  ;  to  know  the 
sweetness  of  honey,  we  must  bring  it  to  our 
palates.  Speculations  will  not  do  in  either 
of  these  cases  ;  much  less  will  it  in  matters 
of  religion.  My  son,  saith  God,  give  me 
thine  heart. 

"  Fourthly,  an  humble  admission  of  the 
light  we  already  have,  is  the  most  efl'ectual 
way  to  a  full  conviction  of  the  truth  of  the 
doctrine  of  Christ.  If  any  man  will  do  his 
will,  he  shall  know  of  his  doctrine  whether 
it  be  of  God.  If  we  honor  God  as  far  as 
we  know  his  will,  he  will  honor  us  with 
further  discoveries  of  it.  Thus  shall  we 
know,  if  we  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord  ; 
thus,  thus  shall  you,  my  dear  friend,  be- 
come assured  that  there  is  salvation  in  no 
other  name  than  that  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and 
thus  from  an  inward  experience  of  the 
quickening  influences  of  his   Holy   Spirit, 


you  will  join  the  admiring  church,  and  say 
of  Jesus,  '  This  is  my  beloved,  this  is  my 
friend  ;  he  is  the  chiefest  among  ten  thou- 
sand, he  is  altogether  lovely.'  Yes,  I  yet 
hope,  I  expect  to  see  you  rejoicing  in  Christ 
Jesus ;  and  appearing  as  a  living  witness 
that  he  is  faithful  who  hath  said,  '  Seek  and 
ye  shall  find ;  ask  and  receive,  that  your 
joy  may  be  full.'  S.  P." 

In  another  letter  to  the  same  correspon- 
dent, after  congratulating  himself  that  he 
had  discovered  such  a  mode  of  killing  nox- 
ious insects  as  should  put  them  to  the  least 
pain,  and  which  was  characteristic  of  the 
tenderness  of  his  heart,  he  proceeds  as  fol- 
lows: "But  enough  of  nature  :  how  is  my 
brother  as  a  Christian?  We  have  had 
some  interesting  moments  in  conversation 
on  the  methods  of  grace,  that  grace  whose 
influence  reaches  to  the  day  of  adversity, 
and  the  hour  of  death ;  seasons  when,  of 
every  thing  beside  it  may  be  said,  Misera- 
ble comforters  are  they  all !  My  dear 
friend,  we  will  amuse  ourselves  with  phi- 
losophy, but  Christ  shall  be  our  teacher ; 
Christ  shall  be  our  glory ;  Christ  shall  be 
our  portion.  Oh  that  we  may  be  enabled 
'  to  comprehend  the  heights,  and  depths, 
andlengths,  and  breadths,  and  to  know  the 
love  of  Christ  which  passeth  knowledge  !' 

"  Affectionately  yours,  S.  P." 

NO.    II. 

To  a  young  gentleman  of  his  acquaintance,  who  was 
then  studying  physic  at  Edinburgh. 

"  Did  my  dear  friend  P- 


-  know  with 
what  sincere  affection,  and  serious  concern, 
I  almost  daily  think  of  him,  he  would  need 
no  other  evidence  of  the  effect  which  his 
last  visit,  and  his  subsequent  letters  have 
produced.  Indeed  there  is  not  a  young 
man  in  the  world,  in  earlier  life  than  my- 
self, for  whose  universal  prosperity  I  am  so 
deeply  interested.  Many  circumstances  I 
can  trace,  on  a  review  of  the  past  fourteen 
years,  which  have  contributed  to  beget  and 
augment  affection  and  esteem :  and  I  can 
assure  you  that  every  interview,  and  every 
letter,  still  tend  to  consolidate  my  regard. 

"  Happy  should  I  be,  if  my  abihty  to 
serve  you  at  this  important  crisis  of  human 
life  were  equal  to  your  wishes  or  my  own. 
Your  situation  demands  all  the  aid,  which 
the  wisdom  and  prudence  of  your  friends 
can  afford,  that  you  may  be  directed  not 
only  to  the  most  worthy  objects  of  pursuit, 
but  also  to  the  most  effectual  means  for  ob- 
taining them.  In  your  professional  char- 
acter it  is  impossible  for  me  to  give  you  any 
assistance.  If  any  general  observations  I 
can  make  should  prove  at  all  useful,  I  shall 
be  richly  rewarded  for  the  time  I  employ 
in  their  communicaLion. 

"  I  thank  you  sincere!}'  for  the  freedom 


392 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


wherewith  you  have  disclosed  the  peculi- 
arities of  your  situation,  and  the  views  and 
resolutions  wherewith  they  have  inspired 
you.  I  can  recommend  nothing  better,  my 
dear  friend,  than  a  determined  adherence 
to  the  purposes  you  have  already  ibrmed, 
respecting  the  intimacies  you  contract,  and 
the  societies  you  choose.  In  such  a  place 
as  Edinburgh,  it  may  be  supposed,  no  de- 
scription of  persons  will  be  wanting.  Some 
so  notoriously  vicious,  that  their  atrocity  of 
character  will  have  no  small  tendency  to 
confirm  your  morals,  from  the  odious  con- 
trast which  their  practices  present  to  your 
view.  Against  these,  therefore,  I  need  not 
caution  you.  You  will  flee  them  as  so  many 
serpents,  in  whose  breath  is  venom  and  de- 
struction. More  danger  may  be  appre- 
hended from  those  mixed  characters,  who 
blend  the  profession  of  philosophical  re- 
finement with  the  secret  indulgence  of  those 
sensual  gratifications,  which  at  once  ex- 
haust the  pocket,  destroy  the  health,  and 
debase  the  character. 

"  That  morality  is  friendly  to  individual 
happiness,  and  to  social  order,  no  man,  who 
respects  his  own  conscience  or  character, 
will  have  the  effrontery  to  deny.  Its  avenues 
cannot,  therefore,  be  too  sacredly  guarded, 
nor  those  principles  which  support  a  virtu- 
ous practice  be  too  seriously  maintained. 
But  morality  derives,  it  is  true,  its  best,  its 
only  support,  from  the  principles  of  religion. 
'  The  fear  of  the  Lord  (said  the  wise  man) 
is  to  hate  evil.'  He,  therefore,  who  endea- 
vors to  weaken  the  sanctions  of  religion,  to 
induce  a  skeptical  habit,  to  detach  my 
thoughts  from  axi  ever  present  God,,  and  my 
hopes  from  a  futurity  of  holy  enjoyment, 
HE  is  a  worse  enemy  than  the  man  that 
meets  me  with  a  pistol  and  the  dagger. 
Should  my  dear  friend,  then,  fall  into  the 
company  ol' those,  whose  friendship  cannot 
be  purchased  but  by  the  sacrifice  of  Reve- 
lation, I  hope  he  will  ever  think  such  a 
price  too  great  for  the  good  opinion  of  men 
who  blaspheme  pieiy,  and  dishonor  God. 
Deism  is  indeed  the  fashion  of  the  day; 
and  to  be  in  the  mode,  you  must  quit  the 
good  old  path  of  devotion  as  too  antiquated 
for  any  but  monks  and  hermits  ;  so  as  you 
laugh  at  religion,  that  is  enough  to  secure 
to  you  the  company,  and  the  applause  of 
the  sons  of  politeness.  Oh  that  God  may 
be  a  buckler  and  a  shield  to  defend  you 
from  their  assaults  !  Let  but  their  priva'te 
morals  !)e  incjnired  into,  and  it"  they  may 
have  a  hearioL',  I  dare  engage  they  will  not 
bear  a  favorable  testimony  to  (he  good  ten- 
dency of  skepticism  ;  and  it  may  be  re- 
garded as  an  indisputable  axiom.  That  what 
is  unfriendly  to  virtue  is  unfriendly  to  man. 

"  Were  I  to  argue  a  posteriori  in  favor 
of  trutli,  I  should  contend  that  those  prin- 
ciples must  be  true,  which  (first)  corres- 


ponded with  general  observation  ;  (second- 
ly) tended  to  general  happiness;  (thirdly) 
preserved  a  uniform  connection  between 
cause  and  ellect,  evil  and  remedy,  in  all  sit- 
uations. 

"  I  would  then  apply  these  data  to  the 
principles  held,  on  the  one  side,  by  the  de- 
ists ;  and  on  the  other  by  the  believers  in 
revelation.  In  the  application  of  the  first, 
I  would  refer  to  the  state  of  human  nature. 
The  deist  contends  for  its  purity  and  pow- 
ers. Revelation  declares  its  depravity  and 
weakness.  I  compare  these  opposite  dec- 
larations with  the  facts  that  fall  under  con- 
stant observation.  Do  I  not  see  that  there 
is  a  larger  portion  of  vice  in  the  world,  than 
of  virtue  :  that  no  man  needs  solicitation  to 
evil,  but  every  man  a  guard  against  it ;  and. 
that  thousands  bewail  their  subjection  to 
lusts,  which  they  have  not  power  to  subdue, 
whilst  they  live  in  moral  slavery,  and  can- 
not burst  the  chain  ?  Which  principle  then 
shall  I  admit?  Will  observation  counte- 
nance the  deistical  7  I  am  convinced  to  the 
contrary,  and  must  say  I  cannot  be  a  deist 
without  becoming  a  fool ;  and  to  exalt  my 
reason,  I  must  deny  my  senses. 

''  I  take  the  second  datum,  and  inquire, 
which  tends  most  to  general  happiness  ? 
To  secure  happiness,  three  things  are  ne- 
cessary: object,  means,  and  moit'yes.  The 
question  is,  Which  points  out  the  true 
so!«rce  of  happiness ;  which  directs  to  the 
best  means  for  attaining  it;  and  which  fur- 
nishes me  with  the  most  powerful  motives 
to  induce  my  pursuit  of  it?  If  I  take  a  de- 
ist for  my  tutor,  he  tells  me  that  fame  is 
the  object;  universal  accommodation  of 
manners  to  interest,  the  means ;  and  self- 
love  the  spring  of  action.  Sordid  teacher ! 
From  him  I  iwrnio  Jesus.  His  better  voice 
informs  me,  that  the  source  of  ielicity  is  the 
friendsJiip  of  my  God;  that  love  to  my  Ma- 
ker, and  love  to  man,  expressed  in  all  the 
noble  and  amiable  effusions  of  devotion  and 
benevolence,  are  the  means;  and  that  the 
glory  of  God,  and  the  happiness  of  the  imi- 
verse,  must  be  my  motives.  Blessed  In- 
siructer,  thy  dictates  approve  themselves 
to  every  illuminated  conscience,  to  every 
pious  heart !  Do  they  not,  my  dear 
P — ,  approve  themselves  to  yours  ? 

"  Bui  I  will  not  tire  your  patience  by  pur- 
suing these  remarks.  "  Little  did  I  think  of 
such  amplification  when  I  first  took  up  my 
pen.  Oh  that  I  may  have  the  joy  of  find- 
ing that  these  (at  least  well  meant)  endea- 
vors to  establish  your  piety  have  not  been 
ungraciously  received,  nor  wholly  unprofi- 
table to  your  mind  !..  I  am  encouraged  to 
these  effusions  of  friendship  by  that  amia- 
ble self-distrust,  which  your  letter  expres- 
ses ;  a  temper  not  only  becoming  the  ear- 
lier stages  of  life,  but  graceful  in  all  its  ad- 
vancing periods. 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE, 


393 


"  Unspeakable  satisfaction  does  it  afford 
me  to  find  that  you  are  conscious  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  '  first'  seeking  assistance  from 
Heaven.  Retain,  my  dear  friend,  this  hon- 
orable, this  equitable  sentiment.  In  all  thy 
ways  acknowledge  God,  and  he  shall  di- 
rect thy  paths.' 

"  I  hope  you  will  still  be  cautious  in  your 
intimacies.  You  will  gain  more  by  a  half- 
hour's  intercourse  with  God,  than  the 
friendship  of  the  whole  college  can  impart. 
Too  much  acquaintance  would  be  follow- 
ed with  a  waste  of  that  precious  time,  on 
the  present  improvement  of  which,  your 
future  usefulness  and  respectability  in  your 
profession  depend.  Like  the  bee,  you  may 
do  best  by  sipping  the  sweets  of  every 
flower ;  but  remember,  the  sweetest  blos- 
som is  not  the  hive. 

"  Yours  very  affectionately,        S.  P." 

"  P.  S.  So  many  books  have  been  pub 
lished  on  the  same  subject  as  the  manu 
script  you  helped  me  to  copy,  that  I  have 
not  sent  it  to  the  press.*" 


To  a  yr)ung  lady  at  school  Miss  A.  H.  a  daughter  of  one 
ol  Ihe  members  of  his  church. 

"  I  cannot  deny  myself  the  pleasure  which 
this  opportunity  affords  me,  of  expressing 
the  concern  I  feel  for  your  happiness,  ari- 
sing from  the  sincerest  friendship  ;  a  friend- 
ship, which  the  many  amiable  qualities  you 
possess  together  with  the  innumerable  op- 
portunities 1  have  had  of  seeing  them  dis- 
played, have  taught  me  to  ibrm  and  perpet- 
uate. 

"  It  affords  me  inexpressible  pleasure  to 
hear,  that  you  are  so  happy  in  your  pres- 
ent situation :  a  situation  in  which  I  rejoice 
to  see  you  placed,  because  it  is  not  merely 
calculated  to  embellish  the  manners,  but  to 
profit  the  soul.  I  hope  that  my  dear  Ann, 
amidst  the  various  pursuits  of  an  ornament- 
al or  scientific  nature,  which  she  may  adopt, 
will  not  omit  that  first,  that  great  concern, 
the  dedication  of  her  heart  to  God.  To 
this,  my  dear  girl,  every  thing  invites  you 
that  is  worthy  of  your  attention.  The  dig- 
nity of  a  rational  and  immortal  soul,  the 
condition  of  human  nature,  the  gracious 
truths  and  promises  of  God,  the  sweetness 
and  usefulness  of  religion,  the  comfort  it 
yields  in  afiiiction,  the  security  it  affords  in 
lemptation,  the  supports  it  gives  in  death, 
and  the  prospects  it  opens  of  life  everlast- 
ing ;  all  these  considerations,  backed  with 
the  uncertainty  of  life,    the  solemnity  of 

The  Conipiler  beheves  this  was  an  answer  to  Mr 
Peter  Edwards'  Candid  Reasons,  &c.  He  knows  Jlr. 
Pearce  did  write  an  answer  to  that  performance.  By 
the  eflTronlery  of  the  writer  he  lias  acknowledged  lie  was 
at  first  a  Uttle  stunned ;  but  upon  examining  his  argu- 1 
iiients,  found  it  no  very  difficult  undertaking  to  point  ou!  I 
their  fallacy.  | 

Vol.  2.— Xx. 


judgment,  the  terrors  of  hell,  and  the  calls 
of  conscience  and  of  God,  all  demand  youf 
heart  for  the  blessed  Jehovah.  This,  and 
nothing  short  of  this,  is  true  religion.  You 
have  often  heard,  and  often  loritten  on  re- 
ligion :  it  is  time  you  should  feel  it  now. 
Oh  what  a  blessedness  will  attend  your 
hearty  surrender  of  yourself  to  the  God 
and  Father  of  men !  Meihinks  I  see  all  the 
angels  of  God  rejoicing  at  the  sight,  all  the 
saints  in  heaven  partaking  of  their  joy ;  Je- 
sus himself,  who  died  for  sinners,  gazing  on 
you  with  delight ;  your  own  heart  filled 
with  peace  and  joy  in  beheving ;  and  a 
thousand  streams  of  goodness  flowing  from 
your  renovated  soul  to  refresh  the  aged 
saint,  and  to  encourage  your  fellow  youth 
to  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and 
press  on  to  God.  But  Oh,  should  I  be  mis- 
taken I  Alas,  alas,  I  cannot  bear  the 
thought.  Oh  thou  Saviour  of  sinners,  and 
God  of  love !  take  captive  the  heart  of  my 
dear  young  friend,  and  make  her  truly  wil- 
ling to  be  wholly  thine ! 

"  If  you  can  find  freedom,  do  oblige  me 
with  a  letter  on  the  state  of  religion  in  your 
own  soul,  and  be  assured  of  every  sympa- 
thy or  advice  that  I  am  capable  of  feeling 
or  giving.    Aifectionately  yours,    S.  P." 


-,  of  L- 


,  on  prepara- 


To  a  young  Minister,  Mr.  C- 
tion  for  the  pulpit. 

"My  dear  Brother, 

"  Your  first  letter  gave  me  much  pleas- 
ure. I  hoped  you  would  learn  some  use- 
ful lesson  from  the  first  Sabbath's  disap- 
pointment. Every  thing  is  good  that  leads 
us  to  depend  more  simply  on  the  Lord. 
Could  I  choose  my  frames,  I  would  say  re- 
specting industry  in  preparation  for  public 
work,  as  is  frequently  said  respecting  Chris- 
tian obedience ;  I  would  apply  as  close  as 
though  I  expected  no  help  from  the  Lord, 
whilst  I  would  depend  on  the  Lord  for  as- 
sistance, as  thouga  I  had  never  made  any 
preparation  at  all. 

"  I  rejoice  much  in  every  thing  that  af- 
fords you  ground  for  solid  pleasure.  The 
account  of  the  affection  borne  you  by  tlxe 
people  of  God,  was  therefore  a  matter  of 
joy  to  my  heart,  especially  as  I  learnt  from 
the  person  who  brought  your  letter,  that 
the  friendship  seemed  pretty  general. 

•'Your  last  has  occasioned  me  some  pain 
on  your  account,  because  it  informs  me  that 
you  have  been  '  exceeding  tried  in  the  pul- 
pit :'  but  I  receive  satisfaction  again  from 
considering,  that  the  gloom  of  midnight 
precedes  the  rising  day,  not  only  in  the 
natural  world,  but  frequently  also  in  the 
Christian  minister's  experience.  Do  not 
be  discouraged,  my  dear  brother :  those 
whose  labors  God  has  been  pleased  most 
eminently  to  bless,  have  generally  had  their 


394 


MEMOIRS     OF    PEARCE, 


days  of  prosperity  ushered  in  with  clouds 
and  storms.  You  are  in  the  sieve  ;  but  the 
sieve  is  in  our  Saviour's  hands ;  and  he 
will  not  suffer  any  thing  but  the  chaff  to 
fall  through,  let  him  winnow  us  as  often  as 
he  may.  No  one  at  times,  I  think  I  may 
say,  has  been  worse  tried  than  myself,  in 
the  same  manner  as  you  express  ;  though 
I  must  be  thankful  it  has  not  been  often. 

"  You  ask  direction  of  me,  my  dear 
brother.  lam  too  inexperienced  myself  to 
be  capable  of  directing  others  ;  yet  if  the 
little  time  I  have  been  employed  for  God 
has  furnished  with  me  any  thing  worthy  of 
communication,  it  will  be  imparted  to  no 
one  with  more  readiness  than  to  you. 

"  I  should  advise  you  when  you  have 
been  distressed  by  hesitation,  to  reflect 
whether  it  arose  from  an  inability  to  recol- 
lect your  ideas,  or  to  obtain  words  suited  to 
convey  them.  If  the  former,  I  think  these 
two  directions  may  be  serviceable  ;  First, 
Endeavor  to  think  in  a  train.  Let  one  idea 
depend  upon  another  in  your  discourses, 
as  one  link  does  upon  another  in  a  chain. 
For  this  end  I  have  found  it  necessary  to 
arrange  my  subjects  in  the  order  of  time. 
Thus,  for  instance, — If  speaking  of  the 
promises,  I  would  begin  with  those  which 
were  suited  to  the  earliest  inquiries  of  a 
convinced  soul ;  as,  pardon,  assistance  in 
prayer,  wisdom,  &c. ;  then  go  to  those  parts 
of  Christian  experience  which  are  usually 
subsequent  to  the  former  ;  as,  promises  of 
support  in  afflictions,  deliverance  from 
temptations,  and  perseverance  in  grace ; 
closing  with  a  review  of  those  which  speak 
of  support  in  death,  and  final  glory.  Then 
all  the  varieties  of  description  respecting 
the  glory  of  heaven  will  follow  in  natural 
order;  as,  the  enlargement  of  the  under- 
standing, purification  of  the  affections,  in- 
tercourse with  saints,  angels  and  Christ 
himself,  which  will  be  eternal;  thus  begin- 
ning with  the  lowest  marks  of  grace,  and 
ascending  step  by  step,  you  at  last  arrive 
in  the  fruition  of  faith.  This  mode  is  most 
natural,  and  most  pleasing  to  the  hearers, 
as  well  as  assisting  to  the  preacher :  for 
one  idea  gives  birth  to  another,  and  he  can 
hardly  help  going  forward  regularly  and 
easily. 

"  Secondly,  Labor  to  render  your  ideas 
transparent  to  yourself.  Never  off'er  to  in- 
troduce a  thought,  which  you  cannot  see 
through  before  you  enter  the  pulpit.  You 
have  read  in  Claude,  that  the  best  prepa- 
rative to  preach  from  a  subject,  is  to  un- 
derstand it :  and  I  think  bishop  Burnet  says, 
'No  man  properly  understands  any  thing, 
who  cannot  at  any  time  represent  it  to  oth- 
ers.' 

"  If  your  hesitation  proceeds  from  a  want 
of  words,  I  should  advise  you,  1.  To  read 
good  and  easy  authors;  Dr.  Watts  especi- 


ally. 2.  To  write  a  great  part  of  your  ser- 
mons, and  lor  a  while  get  at  least  the  lead- 
ing ideas  of  every  head  of  discourse  by 
heart,  enlarging  only  at  the  close  of  every 
thought.  3.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  end  of 
sermons,  or  when  you  preach  in  villages, 
start  off"  in  preaching  beyond  all  you  have 
premeditated.  Fasten  on  some  leading 
ideas ;  as  the  solemnity  of  death,  the  aw- 
fulness  of  judgment,  the  necessity  of  a 
change  of  heart,  the  willingness  of  Christ 
to  save,  &c.  Never  mind  how  far  you  ram- 
ble from  the  point,  so  as  you  do  not  lose 
sight  of  it ;  and  if  your  heart  be  any  way 
warm,  you  will  find  some  expressions  then 
fall  from  your  lips,  which  your  imagination 
could  not  produce  in  an  age  of  studious  ap- 
plication. 4.  Divest  yourself  of  all  fear. 
If  you  should  break  the  rules  of  grammar, 
or  put  in,  or  leave  out  a  word,  and  recol- 
lect at  the  end  of  the  sentence  the  impro- 
priety ;  unless  it  makes  nonsense,  or  bad 
divinity,  never  try  to  mend  it,  but  let  it  pass. 
If  so  perhaps,  only  a  few  would  notice  it ; 
but  if  you  stammer  in  trying  to  mend  it, 
you  will  expose  yourself  to  all  the  congre- 
gation. 

"In  addition  to  all  I  have  said,  you  know 
where  to  look,  and  from  whom  to  seek  that 
wisdom  and  strength  which  only  God  can 
give.  To  him  I  recommend  you,  my  dear 
brother,  assuring  you  of  my  real  esteem  for 
you,  and  requesting  you  will  not  fail  to  pray 
for  the  least  of  saints,  but  yours  affection- 
ately, S.  P." 


CONCLUDING  REFLECTIONS. 

The  great  ends  of  christian  Biography 
are  instruction  and  example,  by  faithfully 
describing  the  lives  of  men  eminent  for 
goodness,  we  not  only  embalm  their  mem- 
ory, but  furnish  ourselves  with  fresh  ma- 
terials and  motives  for  a  holy  life.  It  is 
abundantly  more  impressive  to  view  the  re- 
ligion of  Jesus  as  operating  in  a  living  char- 
acter, then  to  contemplate  it  abstractedly^ 
For  this  reason,  we  may  suppose  the  Lord 
the  Spirit  has  condescended  to  exhibit  it 
first  and  principally  the  life  of  Christ;  and 
after  his,  that  of  many  of  his  eminent  fol- 
lowers. And  for  this  reason,  he  by  his  ho- 
ly influences  still  furnishes  the  church 
with  now  and  then  a  singular  example  of 
godliness,  which  it  is  our  duty  to  notice  and 
record.  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt 
that  the  life  of  Mr.  Pearce  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered as  one  of  these  examples.  May  that, 
same  divine  Spirit  who  had  manifestly  so 
great  a  hand  in  forming  his  character, 
teach  us  to  derive  from  it  both  instruction 
and  edification  ! 

First :  In  him  we  may  see  the  holy  efjicacy 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE, 


395 


and  by  consequence^  the  truth  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion. — It  was  long  since  asked- 
Who  is  he  that  overcomefh  the  world.,  but  he, 
wlw  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God  ? 
This  question  contained  a  challenge  to  men 
of  all  religions,  who  were  then  upon  the 
earth.  Idolatry  had  a  great  diversity  of 
species:  every  nation  worshipping  its  own 
gods,  and  in  modes  peculiar  to  themselves : 
philosophers  also  were  divided  into  numer- 
ous sects,  each  flattering  itself  that  it  had 
found  the  truth :  even  the  Jews  had  their 
divisions ;  their  Pharisees,  Sadusees,  and 
Essenes :  but  great  as  many  of  them  were 
in  deeds  of  divers  kinds,  an  apostle  could 
look  them  all  in  the  face,  and  ask,  Who  is 
he  that  overcometh  the  world  7  The  same 
question  might  be  safely  asked  in  every 
succeeding  age.  The  various  kinds  of  re- 
ligion that  still  prevail ;  the  pagan,  maho- 
metan,  Jewish,  papal,  or  prolestant  may 
form  the  exteriors  of  man  according  to  their 
respective  models ;  but  where  is  the  man 
amongst  them,  save  the  true  believer  in 
Jesus,  that  overcometh  the  world?  Men 
may  cease  from  particular  evils,  and  as- 
sume a  very  diflerent  character  ;  may  lay 
aside  their  drunkenness,  blasphemies,  or 
debaucheries,  and  take  up  with  a  kind  of 
monkish  austerity,  and  yet  all  amount  to 
nothing  more  than  an  exchange  of  vices. 
The  lusts  of  the  flesh  will  on  many  occa- 
sions give  place  to  those  of  the  mind  ;  but 
to  overcome  the  world  is  another  thing.  By 
embracing  the  doctrines  of  the  cross ;  to 
feel  not  merely  a  dread  of  the  consequen- 
ces of  sin,  but  a  holy  abhorrence  of  its  na- 
ture ;  and  by  conversing  with  invisible  re- 
alities, to  become  regardless  of  the  best, 
and  fearless  of  the  worst,  that  this  world 
has  to  dispense ;  this  is  the  eflect  of  genu- 
ine Christianity,  and  this  a  standing  proof 
of  its  divine  original.  Let  the  most  invet- 
erate enemy  of  revelation  have  witnessed  the 
disinterested  benevolence  of  a  Paul,  a  Pe- 
ter, or  a  John,  and  whether  he  would  own 
it  or  not,  his  conscience  must  have  borne 
testimony  that  this  is  true  religion.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  Samuel  Pearce : 
whether  the  doctrine  he  preached  found  a 
place  in  the  hearts  of  his  hearers  or  not, 
his  spirit  and  life  must  have  approved  itself 
to  their  consciences. 

Secondly  :  In  him  we  see  how  much  may 
be  done  for  God  in  a  little  time.  If  his 
death  had  been  foreknown  by  his  friends, 
some  might  have  hesitated  whether  it  was 
worth  while  for  him  to  engage  in  the  work 
of  the  ministry  for  so  short  a  period :  yet, 
if  we  take  a  view  of  his  labors,  perhaps 
there  are  few  lives  productive  of  a  greater 
portion  of  good.  That  life  is  not  always 
the  longest  which  is  spun  out  to  the  great- 
est extent  of  days.     The  first  of  all  lives 


amounted  but  to  thirty-three  years ;  and 
the  most  important  works  pertaining  to  that 
were  wrought  in  the  last  three.  There  is 
undoubtedly  away  of  rendering  a  short  life 
a  long  one,  and  a  long  life  a  short  one,  by 
filling  or  not  filling  it  with  proper  materi- 
als. That  time  which  is  squandered  away 
in  sloth,  or  trifling  pursuits,  forms  a  kind  of 
blank  in  human  life :  in  looking  it  over 
there  is  nothing  for  the  mind  to  rest  upon  ; 
and  a  whole  life  so  spent,  whatever  num- 
ber of  years  it  may  contain,  must  appear 
upon  reflection  short  and  vacant,  in  com- 
parison of  one  filled  up  with  valuable  ac- 
quisitions, and  holy  actions.  It  is  like  the 
space  between  us  and  the  sun,  which, 
though  immensely  greater  than  that  which 
is  traversed  in  a  profitable  journey,  yet  be- 
ing all  empty  space,  the  mind  goes  over  it 
in  much  less  time,  and  without  any  satis- 
faction. If  "  that  life  be  long  which  an- 
swers life's  great  end,"  Mr.  Pearce  may  as- 
suredly be  said  to  have  come  to  his  grave 
in  a  good  old  age.  And  might  we  not  all 
do  much  more  than  we  do,  if  our  hearts 
were  more  in  our  work?  Where  this  is 
wanting,  or  operates  but  in  a  small  degree, 
difficulties  are  magnified  into  impossibili- 
ties ;  a  lion  is  in  the  way  of  extraordinary 
exertion  ;  or  if  we  be  induced  to  engage  in 
something  of  this  kind,  it  will  be  at  the  ex- 
pense of  a  uniform  attention  to  ordinary  du- 
ties. But  some  will  ask.  How  are  our  hearts 
to  be  in  our  work?  Mr.  Pearce's  heart 
was  habitually  in  his  ;  and  that  which  kept 
alive  the  sacred  flame  in  him  appears  to 
have  been.  The  constant  habit  of  convers- 
ing with  divine  truth,  and  walking  with 
God  in  private. 

Thirdly:  In  him  we  see  in  clear  and 
strong  colors,  to  what  a  degree  of  solid 
peace  and  joy,  trice  religion  will  raise  ics, 
even  in  the  present  world.  A  little  religion, 
it  has  been  justly  said,  will  make  us  miser- 
able ;  but  a  great  deal  will  make  us  happy. 
The  one  Avill  do  Httle  more  than  keep  the 
conscience  alive,  while  our  numerous  de- 
fects and  inconsistencies  are  perpetually 
furnishing  it  with  materials  to  scourge  us  ; 
the  other  keeps  the  heart  alive,  and  leads 
us  to  drink  deep  at  the  fountain  of  joy. 
Hence  it  is,  in  a  great  degree,  that  so  much 
of  the  spirit  of  bondage,  and  so  little  of  the 
spirit  of  adoption  prevails  among  Christians. 
Religious  enjoyments  with  us  are  ra- 
ther occasional,  than  habitual ;  or  if  in 
some  instances  it  be  otherwise,  we  are  rea- 
dy to  suspect  that  it  is  supported  in  part  by 
the  strange  fire  of  enthusiasm,  and  not  by 
the  pure  flame  of  scriptural  devotion.  But, 
in  Mr.  Pearce  we  saw  a  devotion  ardent, 
steady,  pure,  and  persevering  ;  kindled,  as 
we  may  say,  at  the  altar  of  God,  like  the 
fire  of  the  temple,  it  went  not  out  by  night 


396 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


nor  by  day.  He  seemed  to  have  learned 
that  heavenly  art,  so  conspicuous  among 
the  primitive  Christians,  ofconverting  every 
thing  he  met  with  into  materials  for  love 
and  joy,  and  praise.  Hence  he  "labored," 
as  he  expresses  it,  "  to  exercise  most  love  to 
God  when  suffering  most  severely ;"  and 
hence  he  so  a,ffectingly  encountered  the  bil- 
lows that  overwhelmed  hie  feeble  frame, 
frying, 

"Sweet  afflirtion,  sweet  affliction, 
Singinf;  as  I  wade  to  heaven." 

The  constant  happiness  that  he  enjoyed 
in  God  was  apparent  in  the  effects  of  his 
sermons  upon  others.  Whatever  we  feel 
ourselves  we  shall  ordinarily  communicate 
to  our  hearers :  and  it  has  been  already  no- 
ticed that  one  of  the  most  distinguishing 
properties  of  his  discourses  was,  that  they 
inspired  the  serious  mind  with  the  liveliest 
sensations  of  happiness.  They  descended 
upon  the  audience,  not  indeed  like  a  trans- 
porting flood,  but  like  a  shower  of  dew : 
gently  insinuating  itself  into  the  heart,  in- 
sensibly dissipating  its  gloom,  and  gradual- 
ly drawing  forth  the  graces  of  faith,  hope, 
love,  and  joy :  while  the  countenance  was 
brightened  almost  into  a  smile,  tears  of 
pleasure  would  rise,  and  glisten,  and  fall 
from  the  admiring  eye. 

What  a  practical  confutation  did  his  life 
afford  of  the  slander  so  generally  cast  upon 
the  religion  of  Jesus,  that  it  fills  the  mind 
with  gloom  and  misery  !  No  :  leaving  fu- 
turity out  of  the  question,  the  whole  world 
of  unbelievers  might  be  challenged  to  pro- 
duce a  character  from  among  them  who 
possessed  half  his  enjoyments. 

Fourthly :  From  his  example  we  are  fur- 
nished with  the  greatest  encouragement, 
while  pursuing  the 'path  of  duty,  to  place  our 
trust  in  God.  The  situation  in  which  he 
left  his  family,  we  have  seen  already,  was 
not  owing  to  an  indifference  to  their  inter- 
est, or  an  improvident  disposition,  or  the 
want  of  opportunity  to  have  provided  for 
them ;  but  to  a  steady  and  determined  obe- 
dience to  do  what  he  accounted  the  will  of 
God.  He  felt  deeply  for  them,  and  we  all 
felt  with  him.  and  longed  to  be  able  to  as- 
sure him  before  his  departure,  that  they 
would  be  amply  provided  for  ;  but  owing  to 
circumstances  Avhich  have  already  been 
mentioned,  this  was  more  than  we  could  do. 
This  was  a  point  in  which  he  was  called  to 
die  in  faith;  and  indeed  so  he  did.  He 
appears  to  have  had  no  idea  of  that  flood  of 
kindness,  which,  immediately  after  his  de- 
cease, flowed  from  the  religious  public  ;  but 
he  believed  in  God,  and  cheerfully  left  all 
with  him.  "  Oh  that  I  could  speak."  said  he 
to  Mrs.  Pearce  a  little  before  his  death.  "  I 
would  tell  a  world  to  trust  a  faithful  God. 
Bweet  affliction ;  now  it  worketh  glory,  glo- 


ry !"  And  when  she  told  him  the  workings 
of  her  mind,  he  answered,  "O  trust  the  Lord! 
If  he  lift  up  the  light  of  his  countenance  upon 
you,  as  he  has  done  upon  me  this  day,  all 
your  mountains  will  become  mole-hills.  I 
feel  your  situation  :  I  feel  your  sorrows :  but 
he  who  takes  care  of  sparrows,  will  care  for 
you  and  my  dear  children." 

The  liberal  contributions  which  have 
since  been  made,  though  they  do  not  war- 
rant ministers  in  general  to  expect  the  same, 
and  much  less  to  neglect  providing  for  their 
own  families  on  such  a  presumption ;  yet 
they  must  needs  be  considered  as  a  singu- 
lar encouragement,  when  we  are  satisfied 
that  we  are  in  the  path  of  duly,  to  be  inor- 
dinately "  careful  for  nothing,  but  in  every 
thing,  by  prayer  and  supplication,  with 
thanksgiving,  to  let  our  requests  be  made 
known  unto  God." 

Finally :  In  him  we  see  that  the  way  to 
true  excellence  is  not  to  affect  eccentricity, 
nor  to  aspire  after  the  performnnce  of  a  few 
splendid  actions  ;  hut  to  Jill  up  our  lives  with 
a  sober,  modest,  sincere,  affectionate,  assidu- 
ous, and  uniform  conduct.  Real  greatness 
attaches  to  character :  and  character  arises 
from  a  course  of  action.  Solid  reputation 
as  a  merchant  arises  not  from  a  man's  hav- 
ing made  his  fortune  by  a  few  successful  ad- 
ventures; but  from  a  course  of  wise  economy 
and  honorable  industry,  which  gradually  ac- 
cumulating, advances  by  pence  to  shillings, 
and  by  shillings  to  pounds.  The  most  ex- 
cellent philosophers  are  not  those  who  have 
dealt  chiefly  in  splendid  speculations,  and 
looked  down  upon  the  ordinary  concerns 
of  men  as  things  beneath  their  notice,  but 
those  who  have  felt  their  interests  united 
with  the  interests  of  mankind,  and  bent 
their  principal  attention  to  things  of  real  and 
public  utility.  It  is  much  the  same  in  reli- 
gion. We  do  not  esteem  a  man  for  one,  or 
two,  or  three  good  deeds,  anyfarther  than  as 
these  deeds  are  indications  of  the  real  state  of 
his  mind.  We  do  not  estimate  the  charac- 
ter of  Christ  himself  so  much  from  his  hav- 
ing given  sight  to  the  blind,  or  restored 
Lazarus  from  the  grave,  as  from  his  going 
about  continually  doing  good. 

These  single  attempts  at  great  things  are 
frequently  the  efforts  of  a  vain  mind,  which 
pants  for  fame,  and  has  not  patience  to  wait 
for  it  nor  discernment  to  know  the  way  in 
which  it  is  obtained.  One  pursues  the 
shade,  and  it  flies  from  him  ;  while  another 
turns  his  back  upon  it,  and  it  follows  him. 
The  one  aims  at  once  to  climb  the  rock,  but 
falls  ere  he  reaches  the  summit :  the  other 
walking  round  it,  in  pursuit  of  another  ob- 
ject, gradually  and  insensibly  ascends  till  he 
reaches  it :  seeking  the  approbation  of  hia 
God,  he  finds  with  it  that  of  his  fellow-Chris- 
tians. 


MEMOIRS    OF    PEARCE. 


397 


"THE 


GARDENER    AND 

TREE." 


ROSE- 


"  Affectionately  addressed  to  Mrs.  J.  H ,  on  the 

death  of  her  child,  by  her  truly  sympathising  friend. 
''March  12,  17^8.  S.  P." 

"  In  a  sweet  spot  which  Wisdom  chose, 

Grew  an  unique  and  lovely  Rose  ; 

A  flow'r  so  fair  was  seldom  borne — 

A  Rose  almost  without  a  thorn. 

Each  passing  stranger  stop'd  to  view 

A  plant  possessing  charms  so  new : 

"  Sweet  Floic'r .'"  each  lip  was  heard  to  say. 

Nor  less  the  Owner  pleased  than  they  ; 

Rear'd  by  his  hand  with  constant  care, 

And  planted  in  his  choice  parterre, 

Of  all  his  garden  this  the  pride. 

No  flower  so  much  admired  beside. 

Nor  did  the  rose  unconscious  bloom , 
Nor  feel  ungrateful  for  the  boon, 
Oft  as  her  guardian  came  that  way, 
Whether  at  dawn  or  eve  of  day, 
Expanded  wide — her  form  unveil'd. 
She  double  fragrance  then  exhal'd. 

As  months  rolled  on,  the  spring  appear'd 
Its  genial  rays  the  Rose  matur'd 
Forth  from  its  root  a  shoot  extends — 
The  parent  Rose-tree  downward  bends, 
And  with  a  joy  unknown  before, 
Contemplates  the  yet  embryo  flow'r. 

'  Offspring  most  dear  (she  fondly  said,) 
Part  of  myself!  beneath  my  shade, 
Safe  shalt  thou  rise,  whilst  happy  I, 
Transported  with  maternal  joy. 
Shall  see  thy  little  buds  appear, 
Unfold  and  bloom  in  beauty  here. 
What  though  the  Lily,  or  .Jonquil, 
Or  Hyacinth  no  longer  fill 
The  space  around  me — All  shall  be 
Abundantly  made  up  in  thee. 

'What  though  my  present  charms  decay, 
And  passing  strangers  no  more  say 
Of  me,  '"Sweet  flower  !'  "  yet  thou  shalt  raise 
Thy  blooming  head,  and  gain  the  praise ; 
And  this  reverberated  pleasure 
Shall  be  to  me  a  world  of  treasure. 
Cheerful  I  part  with  former  merit. 
That  it  my  darling  may  inherit. 
Haste  then  the  hours  which  bid  thee  bloom, 
And  fill  the  zephyrs  with  perfume !' 

Thus  had  the  Rose-tree  scacely  spoken, 
Ere  the  sweet  cup  of  bliss  was  broken ; 
The  Gard'ner  came,  and  with  one  stroke 
He  from  the  root  the  offspring  took; 
Took  from  the  soil  wherein  it  grew, 
And  hid  it  from  the  parent's  view. 

Judge  ye  who  know  a  mother's  cares 
For  the  dear  tender  babe  she  bears, 
The  parents  anguish,  ye  alone 
Such  sad  vicissitudes  have  known. 

Deep  was  the  wound ;  nor  slight  the  pain 
Which  made  the  Rose-tree  thus  complain ; 


'  Dear  little  darling !  art  thou  gone— 
Thy  charms  scarce  to  thy  mother  known ! 
Rcmov'd  so  soon  !     So  suddenly, 
Snalch'd  from  my  fond  maternal  eye  ! 
What  hast  thou  done  1  dear  offspring !  say, 
So  early  to  be  snatch'd  away  ! 
What !  gone  forever !  seen  no  more ! 
For  ever  1  thy  loss  deplore. 
Ye  dews  descend,  with  tears  supply 
My  now  forever  tearful  eye  ; 
Or  rather  come  some  northern  blast. 
Dislodge  my  yielding  roots  in  haste. 
Whirlwinds  arise — my  branches  tear, 
And  to  some  distant  regions  bear 
Far  from  this  spot,  a  wretched  mother, 
Whose  fruit  and  joys  are  gone  together.' 

As  thus  the  anguish'd  Rose-tree  cry'd. 
Her  owner  near  her  she  espy'd ; 
Who  in  these  gentle  terms  reprov'd 
A  plant,  though  murm'ring,  still  belov'd  : 

'  Cease  beauteous  flow'r  these  useless  cries, 
And  let  my  lessons  make  thee  wise. 
Art  thou  not  mine  t    Did  not  my  hand 
Transplant  thee  from  the  barren  sand 
Where  once  a  mean  unsightly,plant, 
Expos'd  to  injury  and  want, 
Unknown,  and  unadmir'd,  I  found. 
And  brought  thee  to  this  fertile  ground ; 
With  studious  art  improv'd  thy  form, 
Secur'd  thee  from  the  inclement  storm. 
And  through  the  seasons  of  the  year. 
Made  thee  my  unabating  carel 
Hast  thou  not  blest  thy  happy  lot. 
In  such  an  owner — such  a  spot? 
But  now  because  thy  shoot  I've  taken, 
Thy  best  of  friends  must  be  forsaken. 
Know  flow'r  belov'd,  e'en  this  atHiction 
Shall  prove  to  thee  a  benediction  : 
Had  I  not  the  young  plant  remov'd 
(So  fondly  by  thy  heart  belov'd) 
Of  me  thy  heart  would  scarce  have  thought^ 
With  gratitude  no  more  be  fraught : 
— Yea — thy  own  beauty  be  at  stake 
Surrender'd  for  thy  offspring's  sake. 
Nor  think,  that,  hidden  from  thine  eyes, 
The  infant  plant  neglected  hes — 
No — I've  another  garden  where 
In  richer  soil  and  purer  air 
It's  now  transplanted,  there  to  shine, 
In  beauties  fairer  far  than  thine. 

'  Nor  shalt  thou  always  be  apart 
From  the  dear  darling  of  thy  heart ; 
For  'tis  my  purpose  thee  to  bear 
In  future  time,  and  plant  thee  there, 
Where  thy  now  absent  offset  grows, 
And  blossoms  a  celestial  Rose. 
Be  patient,  then,  till  that  set  hour  shall  come, 
When  thou  and  thine  shall  in  newbeauties  bloom. 
No  more  its  absence  shalt  thou  then  deplore, 
Together  grow,  and  ne'er  be  parted  more.' 

These  words  to  silence  hush'd  the  plaintive 
Rose, 
With  deeper  blushes  redd'ning  now  she  glows, 
Submissive  bow'd  herunrepining  head. 
Again  her  wonted,  grateful  fragrance  shed — 
Cry'd,  'Thou  hast  taken  only  what's  thine  own. 
Therefore,  thy  will,  my  Lord,  not  mine,  be 
done.' " 


THE   END. 


THE 


COVENANT   OF   CIRCUMCISION, 


JUST   PLEA 


INFANT  BAPTISM. 


By  W.  T.  BRANTLY. 


Is  there  in  the  word  of  God  any  requisi- 
tion upon  Christians,  to  attempt  the  intro- 
duction of  their  infant  offspring  into  the  visi- 
ble church  ?  Is  the  rite  of  baptism  to  be 
administered  to  them  witli  this  view  ?  And 
though  they  cannot  answer  for  themselves, 
nor  exercise  faith  and  repentance,  are  they 
to  be  baptized  upon  the  alleged  faith  of 
their  parents  ?  To  these  questions  all  Bap- 
tists reply,  no.  They  thus  place  them- 
selves in  opposition  to  the  prevalent  belief 
and  practice  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Chris- 
tian world.  Nor  is  it  only  the  current  belief 
and  practice  of  the  Christian  world  to  which 
they  stand  opposed,  but  to  the  opinions  and 
customs  of  past  ages.  The  position  which 
they  assume  is  in  bold  and  open  contradic- 
tion to  the  authority  and  learning  of  very 
many  names,  venerable  for  piety  and  use- 
fulness, both  in  ancient  and  modern  times. 
For  it  cannot  be  dissembled,  that  the  au- 
thorities for  Infant  Baptism,  date  as  far 
back  as  the  close  of  the  second  century,  and 
the  beginning  of  the  third,*  so  that  it  has  at 
least  the  sanction  of  antiquity.  And  were 
it  not  that  New  Testament  authority  is 
wanting  to  it,  that  the  sacred  scriptures, 
neither  implicitly,  nor  explicitly  teach  it, 
and  that  reason  dissuades  it.  Baptists  might 
be  justly  alarmed  at  the  singularity  of  their 
attitude,  and  urged  to  compliance  with  a 
custom  so  ancient  and  respectable.  They 
persuade  themselves  that  they  love  their 
infants  as  much  as  others,  that  they  as  ear^ 
nestly  desire  their  salvation,  and  that  they 
are  as  ready  as  others,  to  promote  and  fa- 


*  The  first  ptihlic  recojnition  of  infant  baptism  was  A. 
p.  250.  It  may  be  supposed  to  liave  existed  anterior  to 
that  period,  and  to  have  been  [gradually  working  its  way 
into  the  church  along  with  other  corruptions.  Hut  the 
grand  error  under  the  sanction  of  which  it  obtained  ])re- 
valence,  was  that  baptism  and  reijeneration  were  one 
and  the  same  thine.  So  soon  as  that  came  to  be  a 
peneral  belief,  it  was  deemed  necessai-y  in  order  to  en- 
sure the  spiritual  illumination  of  infants,  to  have  tliem 
baptized-— See  Neandir's  History  of  ihs  Christian  Rt!i- 
gion,  p.  3$1. 


cilitate  by  every  lawful  means,  their  conver- 
sion to  God ;  but  they  cannot  be  persuaded 
to  adopt  as  a  religious  rite,  any  tradition 
how  ancient  soever ;  nor  to  conform  to  a 
custom  which,  in  its  very  institution,  pre- 
supposes a  defect  in  the  Divine  Law  and 
Testimony.  They  conceive  the  inspired 
code  of  the  Lord  to  be  too  perfect,  to 
leave  space  for  any  supplementary  acts  on 
their  part,  and  therefore  feel  it  solemnly 
binding  on  them,  to  abjure  the  presumption 
of  practising  uncommanded  ordinances. 

It  has  been  assumed  that  the  connection 
subsisting  betwixt  beheving  parents  and 
their  children,  under  the  gospel  dispensa- 
tion, is  precisely  similar  to  that  which  pre- 
viously intervened  betwixt  parents  and  their 
offspring  under  the  covenant  of  circumci- 
sion. Or,  to  express  the  matter  more  defi- 
nitely, it  is  asserted  by  the  advocates  of  in- 
fant baptism,  that  among  all  those  embra- 
ced in  the  covenant  of  circumcision  there 
was,  between  parents  and  children,  a  cer- 
tain connection,  by  virtue  of  which  the  chil- 
dren were  circumcised,  and  admitted  to  all 
the  blessings  of  the  said  covenant.  This 
being  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  circumci- 
sion the  seal  of  it;  and  the  covenant  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  being  also  the  covenant 
of  grace,  and  baptism  being  the  seal  of  it, 
therefore,  they  allege,  that  the  infants  of 
those  tinder  the  gospel  covenant  should  be 
brought  Avithin  the  pale  of  the  visible 
church  by  the  ordinance  of  baptism. 

To  show  that  I  do  not  misstate  their  views 
I  shall  here  adduce  the  language  of  a  few 
of  their  most  judicious  writers.  "  The  per- 
petuity of  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  and  of 
consequence  the  identity  of  the  church  un- 
der both  dispensations,  is  so  plainly  taught 
in  scripture,  and  follows  so  unavoidably 
from  the  radical  scriptural  principles  con- 
cerning the  church  of  God,  that  it  is  indeed 
wonderful  how  any  believer  in  the  bible  can 
call  in  question  the  fact.     Every  thins  ea- 


THE    COVENANT    OF    CIRCUMCISION. 


399 


sential  to  ecclessiastical  identity  is  evidently 
found  here.  The  same  Divine  Head,  the 
same  precious  covenant,  the  same  great 
spiritual  design,  the  same  atoning  blood,  the 
same  sanctifying  Spirit,  in  which  we  rejoice 
as  the  life  and  glory  of  the  New  Testament 
church  were  also  the  life  and  the  glory  of  the 
church  before  the  coming  of  the  Messiah.  It 
is  not  more  certain  that  a  man  arrived  at  a 
mature  age,  is  the  same  individual  that  he  was 
when  an  infant  on  his  mother's  lap,  than  it  is 
that  the  chvirch,  in  tiie  plenitude  of  her  light 
and  privileges,  after  the  coming  of  Christ,  is 
the  same  church,  which  many  centuries  be- 
fore, though  with  a  much  smaller  amount  of 
light  and  privilege,  yet  as  we  are  expressly 
told  in  theNew  Testament,  Acts  vii.  38,  enjoy- 
ed the  presence  and  guidance  of  her  divine 
head  in  the  wilderness."*  "  The  point  of 
primary  importance  in  the  present  argu- 
ment is,  the  connection  established  under  the 
former  economy  between  parents  and  their 
infant  offspring.  By  virtue  of  that  connec- 
tion infants  were  circumcised,  and  if  that 
connection  has  never  been  by  divine  ap- 
pointment dissolved  or  diminished,  then  by 
virtue  of  that  connection  infants  should  be 
baptized.  It  is  a  connection  in  the  cove- 
nant of  grace,  the  covenant  of  redemption, 
the  everlasting  covenant,  embracing  all  that 
man  can  desire,  and  all  that  Jehovah  can 
impart."t  "  Abraham  was  admitted  to  the 
rite  of  circumcision  which  was  a  testimony 
of  his  dependence  upon  the  covenant  of 
grace,  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the  faith 
which  he  had,  yet  being  uncircumcised." 
Rom.  iv.  11.  That  ordinance  is  now  abol- 
ished. But  we  celebrate  another  which 
has  succeeded  it,  and  which  is  the  standing 
means  of  admission  into  the  Christian 
church.J  "  The  covenant  with  Abraham 
being  in  reality  the  gospel  covenant,  set 
Ibrth  in  types  and  figures  according  to  the 
manner  of  ancient  times,  may  we  not  from 
the  use  and  efficacy  of  circumcision,  believe 
that  baptism  the  rite  of  initiation  into  the 
Christian  church,  is  like  it,  a  seal  of  the  gos- 
pel covenant,  and  a  declaration  on  the  part 
of  God,  that  he  will  count  the  faith  of  the 
baptized  person  for  righteousness  ?  and  that 
like  circumcision  it  may  be  administered  to 
infants,  to  assure  their  parents  that  tlieir 
future  faith  shall  be  accounted,  and  reward- 
ed as  righteousness,  or  if  they  die  in  infan- 
cy, that  they  shall  be  raised  to  eternal  life  ? 
In  this  view  the  baptizing  of  infants  is  a 
reasonable  rite,  and  must  afford  the  great- 
est consolation  to  all  pious  parents."^' 

The  production  of  authorities  to  prove  the 
reliance  of  ptedobaptists  upon  the  Abraham- 
ic  covenant  for  the  justification  of  infant 
baptism,  might  be  carried  to  an  indefinite 
extent ;  all  their  writers,  so  far  as  I  know. 


'  S.  MilliT  orPrincfrnii. 

t  H.F.  Bunifi-of  En-lan.1. 

X  Robinson's  Scripture  Characters. 

§  Macknight  on  Rom.  iv.  11. 


make  this  the  main  hinge  of  the  whole  ar- 
gument. If  there  be  any  material  disagree- 
ment among  them,  I  am  not  aware  of  it. 
Their  comments  upon  the  rite  of  circumci- 
sion from  very  ancient  times,  as  may  be 
seen  both  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  writers, 
unite  generally  in  assigning  to  it  an  import 
typical  of  baptism.  The  ancients  in  this 
particular  have  been  followed  by  the  mod- 
erns, and  as  often  as  the  vindication  of  in- 
fant baptism  has  been  attempted,  so  often 
the  old  Abrahamic  seal  has  been  re-pro- 
claimed as  an  unanswei^ble  argument. 
This  has  been  pointed  to  as  a  standing  monu- 
ment whose  inscription  was  to  be  known 
and  read  of  all  men,  whose  meaning  was  to 
admit  of  no  doubt,  and  whose  expressive 
evidence  was  to  silence  all  disputation. 
Baptists  and  those  of  similar  opinions,  have 
often  examined,  and  re-examined  this  Abra- 
hamic monument,  with  a  view  to  ascertain 
its  import ;  and  after  the  most  impartial  in- 
vestigation, and  sober  inquiry,  and  wakeful 
scrutiny,  have  brought  back  the  solemn  re- 
port, that  it  points  to  nothing  bearing  even 
the  semblance  of  baptism. 

We  have  reached  and  established,  at 
least  in  our  own  minds,  this  conclusion,  by 
a  careful  discussion  of  the  grounds  and  po- 
sitions assumed  and  methodised  by  our  op- 
ponents into  what  they  consider,  one  irrefra- 
gable argument.  The  argument  as  we  un- 
derstand it  is  this.  "Under  the  former 
economy  there  existed  betwixt  parents  and 
their  infant  offspring,  a  certain  connection 
or  relation,  by  virtue  of  which  infants  re- 
ceived circumcision,  the  then  apparent  sign 
or  seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  hence- 
forth became  entitled  to  all  the  benefits  of 
that  covenant.  That  connection  or  relation 
has  not  been  dissolved  under  the  gospel  dis- 
pensation, the  church  of  the  former,  being 
dentical  with  the  church  of  the  latter,  and 
differing  from  it  only,  as  an  infant  on  its 
mother's  lap,  differs  from  the  adult  man. 
Therefore  infants  under  the  gospel  dispen- 
sation are  entitled  to  receive  baptism — the 
seal  of  the  new  covenant  and,  consequent- 
ly, it  is  the  duty  of  their  parents  to  have  it 
administered  to  them." 

The  foregoing  paragraph  contains  as 
fair  a  reduction  of  the  several  propositions 
as  can  be  made,  under  the  circumstances 
of  the  case.  It  is  a  faithful  abstract  of  the 
authorities  referred  to,  and  in  my  judgment, 
of  all  other  reasonings  and  comments  insti- 
tuted with  the  view  of  substantiating  the 
same  propositions.  Let  the  reader  now  re- 
vert to  the  three  members  of  the  formula, 
and  keep  them  steadily  in  view  while  the 
discussion  is  proceeding. 

The  first  member  of  the  argument  asserts, 
That  under  the  former  economy  there  ex- 
isted between  parents  and  their  infant  off- 
spring, a  certain  connection  or  relation,  by 
virtue  of  which  infants  received  circumci- 


400 


THE    COVENANT    OF    CIRCUMCISION 


sion,  the  then  visible  sign  or  seal  of  the 
covenant  of  grace,  and  henceforth  became 
entitled  to  all  the  benefits  of  that  covenant. 
To  the  truth  and  justness  of  this  proposition 
several  exceptions  occur,  which  must  be  fa- 
tal to  it.  Let  them  emerge  from  obscurity 
and  the  whole  argument  is  lost. 

1.  It  is  assumed  that  the  covenant  of 
circumcision  is  mainly  and  primarily  the 
covenant  of  grace.  But,  had  not  the  cove- 
nant of  grace  existed  long  before  Abraham? 
And  had  it  not  been  imparting  its  blessings, 
to  those  who  lived  and  died  in  faitli  long 
before  that  patriarch '?  By  what  covenant 
was  it,  that  righteous  Abel  was  accepted 
and  justified  ;  that  Enoch  was  raised  to  the 
dignity  and  privilege  of  walking  with  God ; 
that  Noah,  impelled  by  faith  in  God's  reve- 
lations, prepared  an  Ark  to  the  saving  of 
of  himself  and  family,  and  became  a  preach- 
er of  righteousness  ;  and  that  the  Spirit  of 
God  when  once  his  long  sutfering  waited  in 
the  days  of  Noah,  sustained  the  litigation, 
the  strife,  in  human  hearts,  against  human 
depravity  ?  Surely  it  were  an  impossible 
presumption  that  faith,  and  repentance,  and 
all  godly  afl'ections  were  produced  and  nur- 
tured under  a  covenant  of  works.  The 
promise  of  Jehovah  to  Abraham,  that  he 
should  be  the  honored  progenitor  of  the 
Messiah ;  and  the  consequent  extension  of 
blessings  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
through  him,  did  but  define  and  ratify  the 
gracious  promise  according  to  which  he  had 
been  already  justified  whilst  in  uncircumci- 
sion,  Rom.  iv.  11.  The  former  part  of  He- 
brews xi.  shows  that  the  whole  plan  and 
process  of  justification  by  faith,  was  in  ope- 
ration for  nearly  two  thousand  years  before 
circumcision  was  known. 

2.  The  position  to  which  we  are  now 
attempting  to  apply  the  test  of  truth,  affirms 
that  the  infant  offspring  of  parents  under 
the  Abrahamic  covenant,  had  a  title  to  all 
the  benefits  and  blessings  of  that  covenant 
and  by  consequence  to  the  covenant  of 
grace.  From  this  we  are  left  to  infer  most 
inevitably,  that  the  infant  offspring  of  all  be- 
lievers anterior  to  Abraham,  had  not  this 
title  ;  and  therefore,  if  they  participated  at 
all  in  the  provisions  of  the  covenant  of  grace, 
it  must  have  been  a  sort  of  unauthorized  in- 
trusion upon  a  province  to  which  they  had 
no  claim.  At  this  rate  the  children  of  the 
righteous  men  who  were  the  very  contempo^ 
raries  of  Abraham,  such  as  Job  and  Melchise- 
dec,  would  have  been  lawfully  excluded  from 
the  consolations  of  that  religion  which  had 
cheered  and  supported  their  parents  in  this 
life,  and  had  fixed  tlieir  hopes  upon  a  glori- 
ous future.  The  truth,  however,  is,  that 
Jehovah  has  never  been,  and  never  will  be, 
a  respecter  of  persons;  but  in  every  nation 
he  that  fears  God,  is  accepted  of  him,  irre- 
spectively of  all  external  distinctions  and 
privileges.     Circumcision  then,  could  have 


brought  the  descendants  of  Abraham  no 
nearer  to  grace,  than  uncircumcision,  which 
latter  was  no  bar  to  grace. 

3.  We  are  now  prepared  to  deny  the  as- 
sumption, that  the  covenant  of  circumcision 
was  mainly,  or  primarily,  the  covenant  of 
grace.  That  it  was  collaterally  and  infer- 
entially  so  is  admitted.  But  if  it  were  prima- 
rily and  mainly  so,  the  exclusion  from  grace, 
of  all  mankind  not  embraced  within  the  seal, 
must  tbllow  as  a  necessary  consequence. 
And  this  consequence  has  been  not  only  ad- 
mitted, but  strenuously  urged  by  a  large  ma- 
jority of  those  who  have  maintained  the  no- 
tion of  the  identity  of  the  Abrahamic  dispensa- 
tion with  that  of  the  Evangelical.  According 
to  them,  infant  baptism  has  been  held  as  a, 
rite,  without  the  due  administration  of  which, 
there  was  no  obvious  possibility  of  salva- 
tion to  infants.  They  are  at  least  consist- 
ent with  themselves.  If  I  could  believe  that 
baptism  has  come  in  lieu  of  circumcision, 
and  that  the  latter  rite  was  necessary  to  se- 
cure an  interest  in  the  covenant  of  grace 
under  the  former  economy,  then  should  I 
most  assuredly  believe,  that  baptism  is  ne- 
cessary to  the  salvation  of  the  infants  of  all 
believing  parents. 

If  it  be  asked,  what  was  then  the  Abra- 
hamic covenant,  of  which  circumcision  was 
the  seal,  if  it  were  not  tlie  one,  true,  and 
only  covenant  of  grace  ?  I  reply.  It  did 
embrace  prospectively  the  blessings  of  the 
Messiah's  Kingdom,  and  these  blessings 
were  to  be  irrespective  of  ceremonial  marks, 
or  limitation — and  it  did  actually  embrace 
the  temporal  provision  of  good  things  for 
those  descendants  of  Abraham,  who  should 
bear  the  impress  of  the  seal.  The  seal  then 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  spiritual  and 
gracious  import  of  the  covenant,  but  only 
with  its  political  and  temporal  bearing. 
The  learned  Photius,  patriarch  of  Constan- 
tinople about  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century, 
though  admitting  circumcision  in  a  second- 
ary sense  to  be  a  type  of  baptism,  yet  main- 
tains its  primary  meaning  to  be  political. 
He  says,  "  Circumcision  appears  to  me  to 
intend  three  things.  The  Jirst  without 
doubt,  is,  that  as  a  sign  or  seal  it  might 
separate,  and  distinguish  from  other  nations, 
the  posterity  of  Abraham."*  Chrysostom 
39th  Homily  on  Genesis,  assigns  the  same 
reason  for  it.  "  The  sign  of  circumcision," 
he  says,  "  separated  the  Jews  from  the  other 
nations."t  Theodoretus  writes  to  the  same 
eflect.  "  The  Jews  in  Canaan  were  about 
to  be  in  the  immediate  proximity  of  nations 


*  H  TcpiTOftt]  Tpia  Tiva  TrpayftaTevoSai  fioi  SoKti, 
cv  fitv,  oiovti  artficicj  Tivi  Kai  aippayiii  rui  exyovui 
'ASpaapi  acjiopi^yaa,  xai  r<<}v  Xoiir&ji;  diaftWovaa 
cOviov, — Phoiii  epist.  ccv.  p.  302,  as  quoted  by 
Stiicer 

\  loD^aiowj    TO     ircpLTOfirjs    (ntjiciov    £^Q)pifs     ro)/ 


NO    JUST    PLEA    FOR    INFANT     BAPTISM. 


401 


differing  from  them,  wherefore,  they  requi- 
red of  necessity  a  certain  sign  or  mark  to 
distinguish  them  from  other  nations."* 
Many  other  quotations  might  be  presented, 
clearly  indicative  of  the  opinions  of  the 
most  learned  Greek  fatliers  on  the  design 
of  circumcision.     But  these  may  suffice. 

The  only  portion  of  scripture  which  will 
be  thought  to  oppose  the  foregoing  opinion, 
is  Rom.  iv.  11,  to  which  allusion  has  been 
already  made.  "  And  he,  Abraham,  receiv- 
ed the  sign  of  circumcision,  a  seal  of  the 
righteousness  of  the  faith  which  he  had,  yet 
being  uncircumcised."  This  scripture  in 
no  wise  opposes  the  ground  now  taken.  To 
Abraham  as  an  individual,  as  one  believing 
and  acting  for  himself,  and  for  no  body  else, 
circumcision  was  the  seal  of  his  justification 
by  faith.  It  was  to  him  the  remembrancer 
of  God's  unmerited  grace  in  his  election  to 
salvation  through  laith  and  that  not  of  him- 
self, but  the  gift  of  God.  But  when  this 
seal  came  to  be  applied  to  male  infants  of 
the  children  and  posterity  of  Abraham,  did 
it  speak  to  them  the  same  language  that 
it  did  to  him  ?  In  that  case,  many  thou- 
sands of  confirmed  reprobates  must  have 
had,  all  the  time  of  their  profligacy  and  un- 
godliness, the  seal  of  their  justification  by 
faith. 

4.  A  certain  connection  or  relation  be- 
twixt believing  parents  and  their  offspring, 
is  made  a  plea  for  infant  baptism.  To  be 
sure,  there  is  a  certain  connection  or  rela- 
tion betwixt  all  parents  and  their  infant  off- 
spring. This  cannot  be  denied.  But  is 
this  any  thing  more  than  a  physical  rela- 
tionship ?  Does  any  one  imagine  that  gra- 
cious dispositions  are  Iransmissable  by  con- 
sanguinity ?  It  is  Avithout  doubt,  a  great 
mercy  to  be  descended  of  pious  parents,  a 
privilege  by  no  means  to  be  despised  ;  but 
it  is  a  privilege  dependent  wholly  upon  ex- 
ternal circumstances.  The  child  of  the 
greatest  saint  on  earth,  is  naturally  no 
nearer  to  God,  than  that  of  the  greatest 
reprobate. 

5.  The  argument  of  our  Psedobaptist 
brethren  takes  for  granted  that  baptism  is 
the  seal  of  New  Testament  blessings,  and 
therefore  to  be  applied  to  infants.  Against 
this  position  we  must  likewise  raise  the 
strong  voice  of  protestation.  We  have 
only  to  deny  their  assumption,  and  it  in- 
stantly ceases  to  avail  any  thing — for  in  the 
absence  of  proof,  we  may  boldly  deny  any 
principle,  or  any  inference,  unless  it  be  self 
evident.  But  in  the  whole  New  Testament 
history  of  baptism  there  is  not  the  remotest 
intimation  of  such  an  idea.  It  appears  not 
to  have  entered  into  tlie  mind  of  our  Lord, 
nor  of  his  disciples,  nor  immediate  succes- 

\apiv  avayKaiMi  rrii  a<ppayt6os  cScovto,  &c. 

Vol.  3.— Y y. 


sors,  ever  once  to  drop  a  hint  which,  even 
by  allusion,  can  be  so  interpreted.  Still  the 
sacred  word  is  not  silent  respecting  the  seal. 
Believers  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  Re- 
demption, and  they  are  sealed  with  that 
Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  and  hence  derive 
a  permanent,  indehble  character,  which  is 
true  circumcision  of  the  heart  in  putting  off 
the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh.  This  is 
the  only  act  of  obsignation  which  can  be 
reasonable  and  proper ;  that  which  it  is 
supposed  baptism  constitutes  is  preposter- 
ous, for  if  it  can  be  called  a  seal,  it  is  a  seal 
for  the  ratification  of  a  nonentity — nothing 
is  sealed. 

On  this  head  there  is  some  diversity  of 
opinion  among  Psedobaptists.  A  large 
class  of  them  hold  and  delend  the  idea,  that 
the  obsignatory  act  of  baptism,  as  they  term 
it,  does  seal  something ;  that  some  grace  is 
imparted  to  the  recipient,  and  a  new  char- 
acter impressed  upon  him.  The  baptismal 
service  in  the  liturgy  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  requires  the  return  of  thanks  to 
God,  for  the  presumed  regeneration  of  the 
child,  by  the  act  of  baptism.  This  class 
ofPfedobaptists  are  much  opposed  by  their 
brethren,  who  on  the  other  hand,  deny  the 
communication  of  any  spiritual  or  moral 
qualifications  in  the  baptismal  administra- 
tion to  infants.  In  my  opinion  the  baptismal- 
regeneration  class,  are  more  consistent  at 
least  with  the  principle  assumed  by  both, 
and  that  is :  thai  baptism  is  the  seal  of  char- 
acter and  the  evidence  of  title  to  privileges. 
Those  advocates  for  infant  baptism,  who 
admit  that  no  spiritual  or  inward  grace  is 
conveyed  thereby  to  the  soul  of  the  recipi- 
ent, seem  to  me  to  be  inconsistent  with 
themselves  when  they  contend  that  baptism 
is  a  sealing  ordinance.  To  call  it  the  out- 
ward sign  of  an  invisible  grace,  is  truly  a 
misnomer,  since  no  grace  is  thereby  impart- 
ed. Should  it  be  said  that  the  grace  de- 
rived from  their  pious  parents,  is  that  on 
which  the  seal  is  impressed,  in  the  baptism 
of  infants,  the  matter  is  still  more  inexpli- 
cable. The  taint  of  original  sin  appears  to 
run  in  the  blood  from  father  to  son ;  and 
has  assumed  this  order  of  propagation, 
from  Adam  down  to  the  present  time. 
But  if  the  word  of  God  makes  a  true  repre- 
sentation, there  is  no  channel  except  that 
of  regeneration,  through  which  can  flow 
those  sanctifying  virtues  that  go  to  correct 
this  taint,  and  cleanse  the  soul  from  its  in- 
herent pollution. 

6.  But  if  all  the  intents  and  purposes  of 
circumcision  be  responded  to,  and  verified 
by  baptism,  how  are  we  to  account  for  the 
remarkable  declarations  in  Paul's  Epistle 
to  the  Galatians  touching  the  subject  of  cir- 
cumcision? In  chapter  the  fifth  he  strongly 
deprecates  the  imputation  of  preaching  cir- 
cumcision, and  clears  himself  of  the  charge 


402 


THE    COVENANT    OF    CIRCUMCISION 


by  repeated  denials.  In  declining  to  preach 
it  he  had  suffered  persecution ;  had  in  a 
manner  expatriated  himself  from  his  nation, 
and  become  the  demolisher  of  that  which 
he  once  built  up.  His  Jewish  brethren  con- 
verted to  the  Christian  foith,  and  others 
who  thought  that  the  covenant  of  circum- 
cision should  be  still  observed,  is  the  party 
with  which  he  is  contesting  the  important 
point.  Had  it  been  a  fact  that  baptism  had 
taken  the  place  of  circumcision,  it  is  won- 
derful that  Paul  refrained,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, from  its  assertion.  As  the 
party  which  he  labored  to  convince,  attach- 
ed so  much  importance  to  circumcision,  and 
were  therefore  almost  pertinacious  in  their 
purpose  of  retaining  it,  to  satisfy  their  scru- 
ples, he  could  have  said,  and  in  my  judg- 
ment should  have  said,  "  It  is  true  that  cir- 
cumcision was  the  seal  of  the  Abrahamic 
covenant,  that  all  the  male  descendants  of 
that  patriarch,  received  this  seal,  and  were 
thereby  admitted  to  the  blessings  and  priv- 
ileges of  the  covenant ;  but  now,  a  new  seal 
is  introduced,  a  new  ordinance,  more  befit- 
ting the  diffusive  nature  of  gospel  bles- 
sings, and  more  reasonable  in  point  of  sig- 
nification ;  that  ordinance  is  baptism,  which 
is  applied  not  only  to  the  male  but  to  the 
female  off'spring  of  all  believers  who  be- 
come in  consequence  the  spiritual  seed  of 
Abraham."  There  is,  however,  no  such 
intimation  in  any  thing  which  the  apostle 
utters.  Wherever  he  mentions  circumcis- 
ion as  having  a  typical  sense,  it  is  invaria- 
bly referred  to  the  work  of  moral  renova- 
tion by  the  spirit  of  God.  "  He  is  a  Jew 
who  is  one  inwardly,  and  circumcision  is 
that  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit  and  not  in 
the  letter,  whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but 
of  God."  Rom.  ii.  29.  "  In  Avhom  also  ye 
are  circumcised  with  the  circumcision  made 
without  hands,  in  putting  oft"  the  body  of 
the  sins  of  the  flesh  by  the  circumcision  of 
Christ,"  Col.  ii.  11.  "For  we  are  the  cir- 
cumcision which  worship  God  in  the  Spirit, 
and  rejoice  in  Ciirist  Jesus,  and  have  no 
confidence  in  the  flesh."  Phil.  iii.  3.  This 
transfer  of  the  literal  and  external  idea  of 
the  rite,  to  the  characteristics  of  the  spirit- 
ual and  internal  grace,  is  most  forcible  and 
apposite.  As  an  illustration  it  is  replete 
with  a  meaning  that  must  reach  every 
heart.  But  the  same  idea  transferred  to 
baptism  whetlier  of  infants,  or  of  adults, 
falls  vapid  and  insignificant  upon  the  under- 
standing of  every  one. 

7.  In  the  baptismal  controversy,  much 
reliance  has  been  placed  upon  the  assumed 
identity  of  the  Jewish,  and  the  Christian 
church.  It  is  urged,  that  they  differ  in  no 
other  respect,  than  that  in  wliich  the  peri- 
ods of  infancy,  and  mature  age  differ,  in 
the  same  indivitiual.  The  cliurrh  of  God, 
it  is  said,  was  in  its  minority  under  the  for- 
mer dispensation,  and  in  the  latter,  it  is  the 


same  church  having  attained  the  manly  age 
and  freedom.  From  this  identity  it  is  ar- 
gued, that  the  infant  offspring  of  those 
within  the  gospel  church,  have  a  sort  of  a 
birth-right  privilege,  founded  upon  their  de- 
scent. To  exhibit  the  utter  futility  of  this 
argument,  we  have  only  to  suppose  a  case. 
A  preacher  of  the  gospel  stands  for  the  first 
time  before  a  congregation  of  unconverted 
persons,  of  whom  one  half  are  the  children 
of  pious  parents,  who  took  early  care  to 
draw  over  them  the  veil  of  the  covenant, 
as  they  thought,  by  applying  to  them,  the 
substitute  for  circumcision,  namely  bap- 
tism. The  other  half  are  the  children  of 
parents  who  adopted  no  euch  precautions. 
The  preacher  opens  and  expounds  the  terms 
of  his  commission,  to  this  whole  company. 
He  informs  them  that,  "  He  that  believeth 
and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved  ;  that  God 
now  commands  all  men  every  where  to  re- 
pent," that  a  free  and  full  salvation  is  now 
proclaimed  without  distinction  of  men  or 
nation,  to  all  the  human  family ;  and  adds 
with  full  and  gracious  emphasis,  "  Whoso- 
ever will,  let  him  come,  and  take  the  water 
of  life  freely."  I  ask,  does  the  preacher 
furnish  a  just  view  of  the  gospel  commis- 
sion 1  If  he  does,  he  places  the  whole  con- 
gregation upon  one  footing,  and  offers  for  the 
conversionof  thepriviIegedportion.no  facil- 
ities or  encouragements,  more  than  to  that 
which  stands  upon  uncovenanted  ground. 
But  the  moment  he  draws  a  line  of  dis- 
tinction betwixt  this  ungodly  assemblage, 
and  represents  a  part  of  them  as  being 
more  welcome  to  the  Saviour  than  the  rest, 
he  compromises  his  commission,  and  also  the 
Truth  itself  Where  then,  I  ask,  are  the  cov- 
enanted privileges  of  infant  baptism.  Infant 
Baptism  must  either  accomplish  something, 
or  nothing.  If  no  object  be  attained  by  it, 
then  it  is  a  perfect  nullity,  if  not  worse.  If 
some  end,  some  good  purpose,  some  benev- 
olent intention  be  ensured  by  it,  what  is 
that  end,  that  purpose,  that  design?  Does  it 
introduce  the  infantinto  the  visible  church? 
Does  it  more  certainly  procure  for  it  the  privi- 
legesof  the  covenantof  grace?  Does  it  sup- 
ply motives  and  circumstances  by  which 
gracious  predispositions  to  godliness  and 
piety  are  excited  within  it,  or  else  thrown 
about  it?  If  it  accomplish  all  this,  or  even 
any  part  of  it,  then  baptized  infants  are 
not  the  same  strangers  from  God,  and  al- 
iens from  the  covenant  of  promise,  as  otiiers, 
they  are  not  sinners  in  the  same  sense  as 
others,  they  need  not  repentance  in  the  same 
sense  as  others,  their  calling  and  election, 
require  not  the  same  efficiency  of  grace  for 
their  certification ;  and  they  accordingly 
need  a  less  effort  of  grace,  for  their  justifi- 
cation and  dclivrirance  fromtheeffectsof  sin. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  proceed  in  develop- 
ing the  consequences  which  must  unavoid- 
ably result  from  the  assumptions  of  those 


NO    JUST    PLEA    FOR    INFANT     BAPTISM. 


403 


who  defend  infant  baptism.  Such  conse-l 
quences  are  as  abhorrent  from  the  deduc- 
tions of  sound  reason,  as  they  are  from  the 
genius  of  the  gospel.  For,  in  real,  sober, 
unaffected  truth,  the  baptism  of  infants 
leaves  them,  just  where  it  found  them.  It 
is  not  possible  in  the  nature  of  things,  nor 
according  to  the  constitution  of  the  gospel 
economy,  that  it  should  modify,  either  their 
state,  or  moral  character.  We  have  for 
many  centuries,  as  a  denomination,  borne 
our  strong,  and  decided  testimony  against 
it.  Our  opinions  are  gaining  ground,  and 
the  doctrines  held  by  our  psdobaptist  breth- 
ren are  surely  receding  from  the  bold  stand 
Avhich  they  once  occupied.  There  is  scarce- 
ly a  Pgedobaptist  church,  ehher  in  England 
or  America,  without  some  anti-pssdobap- 
tists.  They  are  to  be  found  where  they 
are,  from  causes  and  circumstances  wholly 
disconnected  with  Psedobaptist  predilec- 
tions. They  are  permitted  to  remain  there 
in  the  open  neglect  of  an  alleged  duty ; 
and  even  whilst  their  opinions  and  senti- 
ments are  known  to  be  opposed  to  that  al- 
leged duty.  But  is  there  a  Baptist  church 
in  existence,  which  admits  to  fellowship  in 
the  privileges  of  the  Lord's  house,  those 
who  neglect  conformity  to  the  requisition 
of  Christ,  in  regard  to  baptism,  and  who 
justify  themselves  in  that  neglect  ?  Should 
it  be  said,  that  this  is  because  we  are  less 
liberal  than  others,  we  reply ;  Let  us  be 
lor  ever  delivered  from  that  liberality 
which  prostrates  the  authority  of  Christ. 

In  the  remarks  lor  which  the  limits  of  this 
Work  allow  further  space,  I  shall  prove  to 
(he  satisfaction  at  least  of  the  unprejudiced, 
that  there  can  be  no  proper  and  rational 
connection  or  similitude  between  circumcis- 
ion and  baptism.  This  I  shall  attempt  by 
comparing  the  nature,  uses,  and  ends  of 
both.  1.  Circumcision  had  no  necessary 
connection  with  the  covenant  of  grace,  for 
if  it  had,  then  it  should  have  been  admin- 
istered to  all  the  saints  prior,  and  subse- 
quent to  Abraham.  It  is  altogether  admis- 
sible, nay  it  is  manifest  that  the  church  as 
it  existed  in  spiritual  relation  to  Jehovah, 
and  to  its  own  members  ;  was  the  same  be- 
fore and  after  Abraham?  Faith  in  God, 
was  the  common  bond  of  union,  and  the 
basis  of  identity.  In  this  respect  Abraham 
and  his  pious  descendants  were  in  exact 
agreement  and  similarhy  with  Abel,  and 
Seth,  and  Enoch,  and  Noah,  and  Lot,  and 
Melchisedec,  and  Job,  and  all  the  members 
of  the  antediluvian,  as  well  as  the  post- 
diluvian church,  Avho  knew  nothing  about 
circumcision.  The  rite  in  question,  there- 
fore, was  not  essential  to  an  interest  in  the 
covenant  of  grace.  But  it  was  indispensa- 
bly necessary  to  an  interest  in  the  national 
blessings  promised  to  Abraham  and  his 
posterity,  under  the  seal  of  circumcision. 
A  linial  descendant  of  Abraham  if  uncir- 


cumcised,  was  excluded,  by  the  express 
command  of  God,  from  citizenship  in  the 
Jewish  nation,  and  from  all  its  attendant 
privileges. 

From  all  this  it  follows  incontestably,  that 
circumcision  was  the  mark  of  nationality, 
that  it  belonged  to  a  temporal  policy,  and 
was  not  the  necessary  obsignation  of  moral 
character.  Baptism  on  the  other  hand, 
though  not  essential  to  salvation,  yet  pre- 
cedes it  by  an  order  of  events  which  no 
man  dares  to  change.  "  He  that  believeth 
and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved."  The  first 
duty  after  faith  is  baptism.  This  is  the 
law  of  the  evangelical  economy,  and  so 
universally  binding  is  it,  that  its  wilful  neg- 
lect and  violation  must  be  always  attended 
with  sin,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  Ma- 
ny, it  is  true,  may  be  admitted  to  a  partici- 
pation in  the  benefits  of  salvation,  without 
baptism.  Their  sin  of  omission  may  be 
excused  and  forgiven,  on  various  grounds  ; 
but  neither  its  excusableness,  nor  its  for- 
giveness, can  in  any  wise  invalidate  the  or- 
der of  scripture.  The  succession  of  sal- 
vation to  faith  and  baptism,  stands  as  the 
permanent,  and  unalterable  gradation  of 
events  in  the  gospel  plan.  The  great  au- 
thor and  finisher  of  our  faith,  has  not  in- 
formed us  how  this  gradation  may  be  dis- 
turbed without  destroying  the  hope  of  sal- 
vation ;  but  he  has  plainly  intimated  to  us, 
that  the  servant  who  knows  his  Lord's  will, 
and  doeth  it  not,  may  expect  no  very  favor- 
able reception  of  his  Lord,  but  may  rather 
look  for  the  infliction  of  stripes. 

2.  Whatever  circumcision  might  have 
been,  it  did  not  distinguish  the  righteous 
from  the  wicked.  It  did  distinguish  one 
family  from  all  other  families,  and  nations. 
It  was  a  discriminating  mark,  by  which  that 
one  family  should  be  kept  within  the  line 
of  its  own  proper  descent,  from  one  genera- 
tion to  another.  But  amid  the  most  open, 
and  grievous  apostacies  of  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple, fheir  national  seal  continued  to  be  im- 
pressed upon  all  their  male  offspring,  as 
strictly  as  in  the  most  prosperous  times  of 
piety ;  nor  was  it  ever  a  doctrine  among 
them,  that  impiety  of  conduct  subsequent 
to  the  reception  of  the  seal,  in  any  manner 
annulled  their  claim  to  the  privileges  of 
which  it  was  the  sign.  As  an  ordinance 
enjoined  in  the  terms  of  the  new  covenant, 
baptism  is  a  rite  designed  to  distinguish 
betwixt  the  godly  and  the  ungodly.  In  it 
believers  are  buried,  and  risen  with  Christ ; 
it  is  the  signal  of  their  crucifixion  and  res- 
urrection with  their  Lord  and  Saviour,  and 
the  remembrancer  of  their  entire  consecra- 
tion to  his  service.  Deliberate  and  contin- 
ual wickedness  after  baptism,  manifestly 
excludes  the  delinquent  party  from  all  the 
privileges  of  the  visible  church,  and  places 
him  in  no  better  relation  to  that  church  than 
a  Iieathen  may  possess. 


404 


THE    COVENANT    OF    CIRCUMCISION 


3.  The  covenant  of  grace  had  its  accom- 
plishment in  the  person,  offices,  sufferings, 
and  crucifixion  of  Christ.     He  undertook 
to  fulfil  its  stipulations,  and  did  actually, 
and  truly  conduct  it  to  the  glorious  height 
of  a  full  consummation.     Thus  completed, 
thus    secured   against   all    possibility    of 
cliange  or  retraction,  it  is  in  due  course  of 
administration   under    the   plans   and   ar- 
rangements  of   the   gospel    dispensation. 
This  is  Messiah's  kingdom,  a  kingdom  not 
of  this  world,  but  of  the  spiritual,  invisible 
world.     It  stands  open  for  the  reception  of 
people  of  all  nations,  and   kindreds,  and 
tongues.     It  creates  a  holy  unity  among  all 
those  embraced  within  its  influence,  by  the 
infusion  of  a  gracious  spirit  into  their  hearts, 
and  by  imparting  to  them  the  cementing 
charities  of  regeneration.     They  have  be- 
come '•  A  chosen  generation,  an  holy  nation, 
a  peculiar  people,  that  they  may  show  ibrth 
the  praises  of  him  who  hath  called  them 
out  of  darkness,  into  his  marvellous  light." 
There   is   henceforth   "  Neither  Jew,   nor 
Greek,  neither  bond  nor  free,  neither  male 
nor  female,"  but  all  are  one  in  Christ.    The 
extension  of  blessings  to  all  mankind,  and 
the  wide  diffusion  of  hght  and  mercy  in  the 
joyful   sound   of  salvation,   are    the   well 
known  characteristics  of  the  New  Testa 
ment  dispensation.     Does  any  rite  or  or 
dinance,  commemorative  of  the  restrictive 
and  circumscribed  economy  of  an  obsolete 
ceremonial,  comport  with  the  expansive  be 
nevolence  and  grace  of  the  gospel?     To 
our  Paedobaptist  brethren  we  must  speak  on 
this  topic  with  great  frankness  and  affec- 
tion.    When  your  children,  on  whom  you 
have  procured  the  administration  of  bap- 
tism, ask  you,  "  What  mean  ye  by  this  ser- 
vice?" what  reply,  which  shall  not  perplex 
and   mystify  the  word  of  God,   can  you 
make  ?     Will  you  tell  them  that  baptism  is 
a  substitute  for  circumcision  ;  that  they  are 
now  under  the   seal   of  the   covenant  of 
grace,  and  entitled  to  all  its  privileges;  and 
that  they  are  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs 
according  to  the   promise?     And  if  they 
ask  you  again,  what  mean  ye,  by  the  word 
seal?    You  must  surely  tell  them,  if  con- 
sistent with  yourselves,  that  it  is  the  exter- 
nal sign  of  an  infernal  grace.     But  if  you 
inform  them  that  it  is  a  sign  that  signifies 
nothing,  tliat  it  is  merely  the  shadow  of^  a 
shade  ;  they  will  surely  think  that  an  illu- 
Bive  mockery  has  been  practised  upon  them. 
And  if  you  persuade  them  that  baptism  is 
regeneration,  and  they  are  induced  to  be- 
lieve what  you  say  ;  as  a  matter  of  course, 
they  will  seek  no  other  regeneration ;  and 
will  rest  in  the  groundless  confidence  that 
they  are  already  secure  of  all  the  provis- 
ions of  the  gracious  covenant. 

4.  Circumcision  preceded  all  knowledge 
and  consciousness  on  the  part  of  the  male 
infants  upon  whom  it  was  inflicted.    Ac- 


cording, however,  to  the  very  Institution  of 
baptism,  it  succeeds  knowledge,  faith,  and 
the  conscious  persuasions  of  the  mind.  So 
often  as  baptism  is  mentioned  in  the  entire 
New  Testament,  so  often  is  it  preceded  by 
the  mental  and  moral  actions  of  its  recipi- 
ents. John  baptized  only  upon  a  profes- 
sion of  repentance  ;  the  Saviour  command- 
ed baptism  only  as  consequent  upon  faith. 
The  apostles  and  primitive  disciples,  so  far 
as  we  know,  baptized  none  except  upon 
profession  of  faith  in  Christ.  The  baptism 
of  infants  breaks  the  sacred  order  of  succes- 
sion in  the  gospel  plan,  and  inverts  the  scale 
of  duty.  For  duty  proceeds  from  convic- 
tion and  faith,  whilst  Pcedobaplism  places 
action  even  before  rational  consciousness  of 
any  sort.  Surely  we  do  not  misname  it,  when 
we  say  it  is  preposterous.  It  places  the 
consequent  where  the  antecedent  should 
be,  and  thus  disturbs  the  settled  harmony 
of  truth  and  obedience. 

Can  it  therefore  be  imagined,  that  cir- 
cumcision which  was  applied  to  passive  and 
unconscious  subjects,  was  intended  to  typi- 
fy baptism,  which  was  never  applied,  ac- 
cording to  New  Testament  authority,  to 
any  but  intelligent,  conscious,  and  respon- 
sible agents  ? 

5.  Baptism  affects  the  whole  body,  being 
its  thorough  immersion  into  water,  in  the 
name  of  the  adorable  Trinity.  Of  this  fact, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  left  to  any  reader 
of  the  New  Testament,  in  any  language. 
Had  we  been  present  at  the  administra- 
tions of  this  ordinance,  which  took  place  in 
the  days  of  our  Saviour  and  his  apostles  ; 
and  were  now  about  to  render  in  our  testi- 
mony, as  to  the  mode  which  was  then  adop- 
ted, we  might  of  course  speak  with  irresis- 
tible confidence  and  certainty.  As  eye 
witnesses,  if  our  credibility  in  other  respects 
were  not  impeachable,  we  should  be  enti- 
tled to  the  most  implicit  belief  But,  nei- 
ther have  we  been  eye  witnesses,  nor  has 
one  come  from  the  dead  to  certify  to  us  the 
rectitude  of  our  views  and  practice.  The 
ground  of  our  confidence,  however,  in  their 
exact  accordance  with  the  views  and  prac- 
tices of  the  apostolic  age,  are  as  strong 
and  undeniable,  as  if  they  were  vouched 
for  by  eye-witnesses,  or  by  those  who  arose 
from  the  dead.  The  strong,  repeated,  and 
unambiguous  terms,  in  which  the  form  of 
baptism  is  made  known  to  us,  allow  very 
little  room  even  tor  captiousness  to  exert 
itself  It  must  be  a  mind  addicted  to  quib- 
bling, and  exceedingly  unhinged  by  the 
oscillations  of  doubt,  which  can  find  uncer- 
tainty in  the  meaning  of  the  word  baptism. 
It  is  a  word  of  full  and  definite  import.  It 
is  expressive  of  an  action,  with  accompany- 
ing facts  and  circumstances,  which  cannot 
be  misunderstood.  Water  sufficient  tor  im- 
mersion is,  in  the  New  Testament,  often 
placed  in  direct  connection  with  baptism, 


FORMATION    OF    THE    A.    &    F.    BIB.    SOCIETY.405 


and  is  always  necessarily  presupposed. 
The  word  in  English  most  nearly  equiva- 
lent to  it,  is  immersion,  and  though  every 
immersion  is  not  baptism,  yet  every  bap- 
tism is  immersion.  That  the  baptism  of 
the  Saviour  himself,  was  the  immersion  of 
his  body  under  the  waves  of  Jordan's  stream, 
by  John,  cannot  be  well  and  fairly  doubted, 
because  it  is  expressly  said,  He  emerged* 
which  he  could  not  have  done  unless  he 
had  been  first  immerged.  And  that  the 
Saviour  commanded  in  the  great  commis- 

Avt/Sr]  cvdvi  avo  rov  viaro;. 


sion,  the  administration  of  baptism  in  the 
same  sense,  in  which  he  himself  liad  re- 
ceived it,  cannot  be  consistently  questioned. 
Is  there  any  expressiveness  in  circumcision 
consonant  with  this  just  and  scriptural  view 
of  baptism?  Can  any  possible  analogy 
be  traced  betwixt  the  two  rites? 

In  conclusion,  Let  us  rejoice  that  Christ 
has  made  us  free  from  the  covenant  of  cir- 
cumcision, that  the  old  Mosaic  yoke  is  bro- 
ken, that  we  are  the  subjects  of  a  dispensa- 
tion in  which  God  deals  with  all  men  alike, 
and  is  graciously  willing  to  accept  all  who 
come  to  him  through  Christ  Jesus. 


REASONS  FOR  THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  AND  FOREIGN  BIBLE  SOCIETY. 


A  DISCOURSE, 

DELIVERED   AT   THE    ORGANIZATION    OF   THE 

BIBLE    SOCIETY  FOR  ALBANY  COUNTY  AND  ITS  VICINITY, 

IN   THE 

MEETING-HOUSE  OF  THE  FIRST  BAPTIST  CHURCH 
IN     WESTERLO, 

AUGUST  31,  1836. 


By  a.  L.  COVELL, 

pastor  or  the  first  baptist  church  in  the  city  of  albany. 


Acts  XV.  29.  "  And  the  contention  was  so  sharp  between 
them,  that  they  departed  asunder  one  from  the  oth- 
er." 

The  parties  to  this  contention  were  Paul 
and  Barnabas,  ministers  and  missionaries 
of  the  church  in  Antioch.  This  was  the 
first  church  gathered  among  the  Gentiles. 
It  was  emphatically  a  missionary  church. 
"  As  they  ministered  to  the  Lord  and  fast- 
ed, the  Holy  Ghost  said,  Separate  me  Bar- 
nabas and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I 
have  called  them.  And  when  they  had 
fasted  and  prayed,  they  laid  their  hands  on 
them  and  sent  them  away." 

A  nobler  example  than  this,  of  the  true 
missionary  spirit,  is  not  on  record.  How 
ardently  must  that  church  have  been  at- 
tached to  Barnabas  and  Paul !  How  high- 
ly must  they  have  valued  their  ministry ! 
Though  there  were  other  ministers  in  the 
church,  yet  they  seemed  to  have  been  less 
active  and  useful.    They  were  called,  there- 


fore, to  send  their  best  and  most  beloved 
men  on  missionary  service.  It  must  have 
been  a  great  trial  to  their  faith,  yet  they 
seem  most  cheerfully  and  unanimously  to 
have  complied  with  this  divine  appoint- 
ment. They  immediately  sent  forth  their 
beloved  teachers,  with  fasting  and  pray- 
er, that  the  divine  protection  and  blessing 
might  attend  them.  In  this  labor  of  love, 
they  received  a  rich  reward.  After  an  ab- 
sence of  two  or  three  years,  their  mission- 
aries returned  with  the  thrilling  report  of 
converts  multiplied,  of  numerous  churches 
gathered,  and  of  the  wide  diti'usion  of  the 
gospel  in  different  countries. 

Alter  this,  having  remained  several  years 
with  the  church  in  Antioch,  Paul  proposed 
to  Barnabas  to  revisit  the  churches  they 
had  gathered,  and  assist  them  in  whatever 
might  be  requisite  to  their  prosperity.  To 
this  proposal,  Barnabas  readily  assented, 
and  it  doubtless  received  the  approbation 


406   REASONS  FOR  THE  FORMATION  OF  THE 


of  the  whole  church,  Barnabas  determin- 
ed to  take  with  them  Marlt,  who  had  ac- 
companied them  through  apart  of  their  for- 
mer mission,  but  returned  before  their  woriv 
was  finished.  Paul  was  unwilling  to  place 
any  dependance  upon  him  again,  and  de- 
clined his  company  on  the  new  mission. 
On  this  point  "  the  contention  was  so  sharp 
between  them,  that  they  departed  asunder 
one  from  the  other."  Barnabas  and  Mark 
sailed  to  Cyprus;  while  Paul,  choosing 
Silas  for  his  companion,  "  went  through 
Syria  and  Cilicia, confirming  the  churches." 

This  difficulty  between  these  first  two 
missionaries  to  the  Gentiles,  was,  no  doubt, 
regarded  at  the  time  as  a  great  evil.  Both 
might  have  been  actuated  by  improper 
feeling.  Mark  was  nephew  to  Barnabas, 
who  might  have  been  too  partial  to  him  ; 
and  a  man  who  had  once  forsaken  his  work 
without  a  good  reason  for  it,  was  not  likely 
to  find  much  favor  with  Paul,  who  seems 
never  to  have  learjied  how  to  abandon  a 
good  work  till  it  was  accomplished. 

It  might  have  appeared  to  many  very 
unwise  in  these  brethren,  to  "  depart  asun- 
der from  each  other,"  even  if  they  could  not 
agree  about  taking  Mark  with  them.  Such 
a  separation,  for  so  slight  a  cause,  might 
have  been  considered  a.  very  bad  precedent 
for  those  missionaries  to  give  the  churches. 
Its  influence  upon  all  future  laborers  might 
have  been  most  unhappj^ ;  while  their  ene- 
mies might  have  taken  occasion  from  it  to 
blaspheme  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and  de- 
spise its  promoters.  But  "  how  can  two 
walk  together,  except  they  be  agreed  ?" 
And  what  is  the  benefit  of  "keeping  up  the 
appearance  of  union,  when  the  reality  of  it 
does  not  exist  ?  These  apostles  would  not. 
could  not  act  on  this  principle.  If  they 
could  not  go  out  amicably  together,  they 
would  separate.  The  field  was  wide 
enough  for  both,  and  each  would  choose 
his  companion,  prosecute  his  labor,  and 
trust  in  God  for  the  results  ;  and  it  is  easy 
now  to  see,  that  great  good  resulted  from 
their  decision.  At  first,  only  one  mission 
had  been  contemplated,  and  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas were  to  have  been  the  only  labor- 
ers ;  but  by  their  separation,  two  missions 
were  undertaken  by  four  laborers  at  the 
Bame  time,  so  that  the  whole  affair  "  turned 
out  for  the  furtherance  of  the  gospel." 

This  narrative  was  certainly  written  for 
our  instruction.  It  shows  us,  that  even  good 
men  cannot  always  agree  in  the  choice  of 
means  for  the  conversion  of  the  world  ;  that 
if  they  cannot  agree,  they  had  better  sepa- 
rate ;  and  that  much  greater  good  can  be 
effected  by  an  honorable  separation,  than 
by  an  endeavor  to  act  in  concert  in  things 
concerning  which  there  exists  a  real  disun- 
ion. 

I  shall  not,  on  tliis  occasion,  remark  on 
cither  of  those  points,  important  as  they 


are  to  all  who  pray  and  labor  for  the  world'a 
conversion  ;  but  I  will  take  occasion  from 
(hem  to  remark  on  another  and  quite  re- 
cent occurrence,  connected  with  the  same 
great  cause,  attended  by  circumstances 
which  all  deplore,  but  which  will,  I  doubt 
not,  be  overruled  in  the  good  providence 
of  God,  for  the  far  more  vigorous  promo- 
tion of  the  cause  of  missions,  and  will  result 
in  the  conversion  of  more  souls  to  God.  I 
allude  to  events  which  have  transpired  in 
the  American  Bible  Society  within  the  past 
year ;  events  which  have  sundered  from 
that  society  the  largest  Christian  denomi- 
nation in  America,  and  which  have  led  to 
the  formation  of  the  American  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society.  Most  persons  in  this  com- 
munity are  aware  that  such  a  separation 
has  occurred,  and  that  the  last  named  so- 
ciety has  been  organized ;  but  with  the 
causes  which  led  to  it,  and  with  the  circum- 
stances attending  it,  many  are  not  yet  fa- 
miliar. As  the  aid  of  our  churches,  and  of 
the  friends  of  truth  who  act  with  us,  will 
hereafter  be  solicited  in  favor  of  the  A.  & 
F.  B.  S.,  and  not  as  heretofore  for  the  A. 
B.  S.,  they  have  a  right  to  expect  from  us 
the  reasons  for  this  new  measure.  In  al- 
most all  our  congregations,  the  frequent 
inquiry  is,  "  Why  have  you  formed  a  new 
bible  society?  What  do  you  intend  to  ac- 
complish by  it?  Are  you  not  Avilling  to 
unite  with  all  Christians  in  giving  the  bible 
to  mankind,  without  note  or  comment?" 
These  inquiries  ought  to  receive  a  direct 
and  satisfactory  answer.  I  do  not  wish  any 
man  to  feel  the  least  sympathy  for  the  new 
society ;  I  do  not  desire  him  to  offer  one 
prayer  for  its  prosperity,  or  to  contribute  a 
farthing  for  its  promotion,  unless  there  is 
good  reason  to  believe  it  is  approved  of 
God.  If  it  be  not  of  God,  let  it  fall !  But  if 
it  be  of  God,  let  us  sustain  it  by  our  prayers, 
and  by  our  liberality,  in  a  manner  worthy 

of  its  RIGHTEOUS  ORIGIN,  and  of  its  NOBLE 
AIMS. 

The  object  to  be  accomplished  by  the  A. 
&  F.  B.  "S.  is  stated  in  its  Constitution. 
The  first  article  declares,  that  its  "  single 
object  shall  be  to  promote  a  wider  circula- 
tion of  the  holy  scriptures,  in  the  most 
FAITHFUL  versions  that  can  be  procured." 
The  second  article  requires,  that  "  the  So- 
ciety shall  add  its  efforts  to  those  employed 
•by  other  Societies,  in  circulating  the  scrip- 
tures according  to  its  ability,  in  all  lands, 
whether  Christian,  Mahomedan  or  Pagan." 
Its  object  all  will  approve :  It  is  simply  to 
give  the  Pure  Word  of  God  to  all  our  fel- 
low men  who  do  not  possess  it. 

Our  present  inquiry,  then,  is  this:  Why 
is  it  thai  the  Baptist  denomination  cannot 
continue  united  with  the  A.  B.  S.  in  trans- 
lating and  circulating  the  bible  in  foreign 
languages,  as  they  have  done  for  years 
past? 


AMERICAN    AND    FOREIGN    BIBLE    SOCIETY.    407 


Some  of  the  principal  facts  and  Circum- 
stances which  have  imposed  upon  us  the 
necessity  of  withdrawing  from  the  A.  B. 
S.,  so  far  as  the  translation  and  distribution 
of  the  bible  in  foreign  languages  are  con- 
cerned, will  now  be  given.  They  are  such, 
I  think,  as  will  appear  sufficient  to  justify 
the  formation  of  a  new  bible  society,  and  to 
give  it  a  very  high  claim  upon  the  prayers 
and  munificence  of  an  enlightened  chris- 
tian public. 

In  1832,  Mr.  William  Yates,  Baptist  mis- 
sionary in  Calcutta,  published  "J.  Revised 
and  Improved  Edition  of  the  Bengalee 
New  Testament?''  It  was  first  translated 
by  Dr.  Cary,  andpubhshed  byhim  in  1800. 
"  During  the  life  of  Dr.  C.  it  passed  through 
seven  or  eight  editions,  each  of  which  had 
the  advantage  of  his  critical  supervision." 

"Mr.  Yates  went  to  Calcutta  in  1814, 
made  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  Bengalee  language,  and  preached  ma- 
ny years  with  much  acceptance  and  suc- 
cess to  the  natives  of  Bengal.  He  is  ac- 
knowledged by  competent  judges  in  Eu- 
rope, as  well  as  in  Asia,  to  be  one  of  the 
best  Oriental  scholars  now  alive ;  and  his 
Bengalee  New  Testament  has  received 
from  learned  pundits  and  teachers  of  Cal- 
cutta the  most  unqualified  commendation." 
For  assistance  in  publishing  this  edition  of 
the  New  Testament,  Mr.  Yates  applied  to 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 
His  application  was  referred  to  the  Calcut- 
ta Bible  Society,  Auxiliary  to  the  British 
and  Foreign.  This  society,  in  1831,  refus- 
ed to  encourage  any  version  in  which  the 
word  baptizo  was  translated  to  immerse ; 
and  this  was  followed  by  a  similar  step  on 
the  part  of  the  parent  society  in  1833.  The 
history  of  these  transactions  is  given  by  the 
missionaries  themselves,  in  a  letter  dated 
the  twenty-fifth  of  May,  1832.  "Some 
years  since,"  they  say,  "  three  of  the  Pse- 
dobaptist  brethren,  unknown  to  us,  though 
on  the  most  friendly  terms  with  us,  wrote 
to  the  Bible  Society  in  England,  request- 
ing them  not  to  give  assistance  to  any  In- 
dian version,  in  which  the  word  baptizo 
was  translated  to  immerse.  None  of  these 
lived  to  see  the  reply  to  their  communica- 
tion, and  nothing  further  of  a  positive  na- 
ture was  done  till  last  year.  When  you 
applied  to  the  Bible  Society  in  England 
for  assistance  to  our  version,  the  secretary 
of  the  parent  institution  wrote  to  the  Bible 
Society  in  Calcutta,  stating,  Avithout  any 
reference  to  baptism,  tliat  if  the  version  was 
considered  a  good  one,  it  was  their  wish  to 
afford  assistance.  The  resolution  they  for- 
warded, was  as  follows  :  "  That  the  above 
application  respecting  an  edition  of  the 
Bengalee  New  Testament,  be  referred  to 
the  committee  of  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary 
Society,  with  authority  to  contribute  to- 
wards the  expense  of  an  edition,  should 


they  be  of  opinion  that  it  ought  to  be  en- 
couraged by  this  Society."  After  seeing 
this  resolution,  we  inquired  privately 
whether  they  intended  to  give  us  aid,  but 
could  obtain  no  answer.  A  short  time  af- 
terwards, in  their  annual  report,  they  came 
forward  and  boldly  declared  their  senti- 
ments, intimating,  too  plainly  to  be  misun- 
derstood, that  they  should  encourage  no 
version  of  the  scriptures,  how  well  soever  it 
might  be  executed,  in  which  the  word  bap- 
tizo was  translated  to  immerse. 

Here,  then,  the  die  was  cast,  so  far  as 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  and 
its  auxiharies,  were  concerned.  It  was  im- 
possible to  receive  assistance  from  them, 
unless  the  translation  was  altered.  This 
the  translators  could  not  do,  and  preserve  a 
good  conscience.  They  therefore  deter- 
mined to  apply  for  assistance  to  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society. 

Their  letter  making  this  application,  was 
received  by  the  board  of  managers  of  the 
Americen  Bible  Society,  on  the  sixth  of 
August  of  last  year.  It  was  referred  to  the 
committee  on  distribution.  After  long  de- 
liberation and  discussion,  a  majority  of  the 
committee  reported  to  the  board,  against 
the  application  of  Mr.  Yates.  A  minority 
of  the  committee  presented  a  counter  re- 
port, and  in  favor  of  the  application.  This 
was  followed  by  a  long  discussion  in  the 
public  meetings  of  the  board.  The  result 
of  it  was,  that  no  assistance  should  be  ren- 
dered to  the  publication  of  the  Bengalee 
New  Testament,  because  it  translated  bap- 
tizo^ and  its  kindred  terms,  by  words  which 
in  Bengalee  signify  to  immerse. 

But  this  was  not  all.  They  did  not  con- 
fine their  decision  to  the  single  case  of  Mr. 
Yates,  but  adopted  a  rule  by  which  they 
would  be  governed  in  all  cases  hereafter. 
The  rule  is  this  :  "  As  the  managers  are  now 
called  upon  to  aid  extensively  in  circulating 
the  sacred  scriptures  in  languages  other  than 
the  English,  they  deem  it  their  duty,  in 
conformity  to  the  obvious  spirit  of  their 
compact,  to  adopt  the  following  resolution 
as  the  rule  of  their  conduct  in  making  ap- 
propriations for  the  circulation  of  the  scri]>- 
tures  in  all  foreign  tongues :  Resolved,  That 
in  appropriating  money  for  translating,  print- 
ing, and  distributing  of  the  sacred  scrip- 
leres  in  foreign  languages,  the  managers 
feel  at  liberty  to  encourage  only  such  ver- 
sions as  conform  in  the  principles  of  their 
translation  to  the  common  English  version, 
at  least  so  far  as  that  all  religious  denomi- 
nations connected  with  this  society  can  con- 
sistently use  and  circulate  said  versions  in 
their  several  schools  and  communities." 

By  the  adoption  of  this  resolution,  three 
points  of  very  great  moment  were  decided : 
First,  tlie  "  Re\ased  and  Improved  Edition 
of  the  Bengalee  Nev/  Testament,"  perhaps 
the  most  faithful  and  perfect  version  ever 


408      REASONS    FOR    THE    FORMATION    OF    THE 


made  in  any  oriental  tongue,  was  rejected 
as  unworthy  the  patronage  oi"  American 
Christians  !  Though  thirty  milhons  of  our 
fellow  men  were  speaking  the  language  of 
Bengal,  and  though  the  New  Testament  in 
question  was  the  only  medium  through 
which  they  could  have  access  to  the  reve 
lation  of  their  Maker's  will,  yet  it  was  re- 
jected, and  the  rejection- plainly  imphed  that 
they  had  better  have  no  bible  in  "  their 
schools  and  communities"  than  such  an  one 
They  had  better  grope  on  still  in  their 
darkness,  than  read  a  New  Testament 
which  should  tell  them,  as  plainly  as  Paul 
did  the  Romans  and  Colossians,  that  they 
were  "  buried  with  Christ  in  baptism." 

Another  point  decided  by  this  resolution, 
is  that  any  translation  of  the  holy  scriptures 
into  any  language,  which  shall  render  bap- 
tizo  and  its  cognates  by  terms  which  signi- 
fy immerse,  should  receive  no  encourage- 
ment from  the  A.  B.  S.  This  was  a  virtual 
declaration,  that  all  aid  should  hereafter  be 
Avithheld  from  every  translation  or  the  scrip- 
tures which  had  been  made,  or  was  now  in 
progress,  by  our  denomination.  This  was 
speaking  once  for  all,  and  in  a  manner  too 
plain  and  peremptory  to  be  misunderstood. 

A  third  point  necessarily  implied  in  this 
resolution,  is,  that  every  translation  of  the 
scriptures  made  by  our  denomination  into 
any  language,  is  considered  and  treated  as 
sectarian,  and  as  unworthy  to  be  "circula- 
ted in  schools  and  communities."  This 
was  certainly  speaking  very  loudly  to  us, 
and  required  some  action  on  our  part,  that 
would  be  public,  decided,  and  final.  The 
two  largest  bible  societies  in  the  world  had 
wholly  and  forever  refused  all  aid,  and  all 
co-operation  with  us  in  giving  the  bible  to 
the  heathen,  unless  we  changed  the  princi- 
ple on  which  our  translations  had  ever  been 
made. 

Under  these  circumstances,  only  two 
things  v.'ere  possible.  One  was  to  succomb 
to  the  dictation  of  the  British  and  American 
societies  ;  throw  away  the  toils,  and  tears 
and  prayers  of  Cary,  Marshman,  Judson  and 
Yates.  We  should  then  have  only  to  say 
to  our  future  translators,  "  When  you  come 
to  baptisma  or  baplizo,  do  not  pray  to  God 
to  enable  you  to  translate  those  words  faith- 
fully. Do  not,  by  '  diligent  study  endeavor 
to  ascertain  their  exact  meaning:'  that's 
a  sectarian  proceeding.  You  are  not  to 
search  the  language  into  which  you  trans- 
late, for  Avords  corresponding  to  them  in 
meaning,  by  which  you  may  give  their  ex- 
act import  to  those  for  whom  you  are  trans- 
lating: that  will  be  considered  an  attempt 
to  make  the  heathen  all  Baptists.  It  Avill 
be  denominated,  both  in  England  and 
America,  '  a  scheme  of  proselytisni.'  This 
we  can  never  endure.  Therefore,  when 
you  come  to  these  troublesome  words,  read 
over  carefully  the  instructions  given  to  the 


authors  of  the  '  Common  English  Version,' 
and  proceed  accordingly."  This  was  one 
course  of  action,  open  for  us  to  pursue. 
Another  was,  to  form  a  bible  society  of  our 
own,  appoint  our  own  translators,  instruct 
them  to  make  the  "  most  faithful"  versions 
possible  in  all  languages  into  which  they 
should  translate  the  scriptures,  and  then 
submit  those  translations  to  the  supreme 
control  of  Almighty  God,  and  to  the  enlight- 
ened judgment  of  the  Christian  world. 
This  last  alternative  we  have  adopted ;  and 
on  the  thirteenth  of  May  last,  organized,  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  the  American  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society. 

We  have  now  in  our  country  two  national 
bible  societies.  The  point  on  which  they 
differ  is  easily  understood,  and  should  be 
carefully  considered.  It  is  this:  The  A. 
B.  S.  requires  that  all  translations  of  the 
Bible  into  foreign  languages,  must,  on  the 
subject  of  baptism,  be  made  on  the  same 
principle  with  the  "  Common  English  Ver- 
sion." 

The  A.  &  F.  B.  S.  requires  that  the 
words  relating  to  baptism,  shall  be  transla- 
ted by  the  same  rule  that  other  words  are ; 
that  they  shall  be  faithfully  rendered  by 
words  of  the  same  meaning  in  the  langua- 
ges into  which  translations  are  made. 

This  is  the  only  practical  point  that  di- 
vides the  two  societies.  Let  us,  ibr  a  mo- 
ment, fix  our  attention  upon  tliis  point.  It 
is  well  known  that  our  present  English  Bi- 
ble was  translated  by  order  of  King  James 
of  England,  and  first  published  in  1611.  By 
order  of  the  King,  baptizo  and  its  kindred 
terms  were  not  translated,  but  transferred 
into  the  language.  This  was  introducing 
a  new  word  into  the  language,  a  word 
which  no  one  would  understand  unless  they 
were  acquainted  with  Greek,  and  whose 
meaning  they  could  not  ascertain  except  by 
inquiring  of  their  teachers,  or  from  diction- 
aries and  lexicons.  These  words  having 
now  been  used  in  our  language  more  than 
two  hundred  j-ears,  have  become  familiar  to 
English  readers,  though  at  first  they  would 
have  conveyed  to  them  no  meaning  what- 
ever. So  far  as  the  translation  was  con- 
cerned, therefore,  the  ordinance  of  baptism 
was  left  entirely  in  the  dark.  No  one,  with- 
out some  knowledge  of  Greek,  could  learn 
from  these  words  in  the  English  bible,  what 
was  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  in  this  great 
duty. 

Now,  the  question  to  be  determined  is, 
Was  the  principle  of  translation  a  good  one  ? 
Why  not  translate  what  God  has  enjoined 
in  the  ordinance  of  baptism,  as  well  as  what 
he  has  enjoined  in  any  other  duty  ?  Had 
the  Holy  Ghost  revealed  in  Greek,  what  it 
would  be  unsafe  to  publish  in  "plain  Eng- 
lish ?"  what  the  American  Bible  Society 
cannot  "consistently  circulate  in  schools 
and  communities?" 


AMERICAN    AND    FOREIGN    BIBLE!    SOCIETY.      409 


We  have  also  another  question  to  deter- 
mine. How  ought  Christian  missionaries 
now  to  be  governed  in  translating  the  bible 
into  the  languages  of  the  heathen  ?  Ought 
they  to  be  bound  by  the  command  of  a 
bigoted  king,  now  two  hundred  years  in  his 
grave ;  or  ought  tliey  to  rendef  every  word 
of  the  holy  bible  as  faithfully  as  possible  ? 

In  April,  1833,  the  Baptist  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions,  convened  in  Salem,  Mass. 
instructed  their  missionaries  engaged  in  the 
translation  of  the  scriptures,  "  to  endeavor, 
by  earnest  prayer  and  diligent  study,  to  as- 
certain the  precise  meaning  of  the  original 
text,  and  to  express  that  meaning  as  exact- 
ly as  the  nature  of  the  languages  into  which 
they  shall  translate  the  bible  will  permit, 
and  to  transfer  no  words  which  are  capable 
of  being  translated."  Such  is  the  rule  by 
which  our  missionaries  are  to  be  governed. 
Mark  its  simplicity  and  its  justice.  First,  they 
are  to  pray  for  divine  help :  That  certainly 
is  right.  Then  they  are  to  "  ascertain  the 
precise  meaning  of  the  original  text :" 
Who  can  object  to  that  7  Then  they  are 
to  "  express  that  meaning  as  exactly  as  the 
nature  of  the  languages  into  which  they 
translate  will  permit:"  Is  that  objection- 
able ?  Then  they  are  directed  to  "  transfer 
no  word  which  is  capable  of  being  transla- 
ted:" And  why  should  they?  Can  the 
heathen  understand  a  Greek  word  intro- 
duced into  their  language,  better  than  a 
word  of  their  own  with  which  they  have 
always  been  familiar  ?  What  possible  ob- 
jections to  this  rule  of  translation  can  be 
made  by  any  intelligent,  unprejudiced  Chris- 
tian? And  yet  for  literally  following  this 
rule,  in  his  revision  of  the  Bengalee  New 
Testament,  Mr.  Yates,  one  of  the  most 
learned  and  pious  missionaries  on  earth,  has 
been  refused  any  encouragement  from  the 
A.  B.  S.  in  its  publication.  Is  this  charita- 
ble ?  But  this  is  not  all.  For  adhering  to 
this  rule  in  the  translation  of  the  scriptures, 
they  have  refused  all  co-operation  with  the 
most  numerous  denomination  of  Christians 
connected  with  them,  of  whose  money  they 
have  now  thousands  in  their  treasury.  Has 
that  been  done  with  an  enlarged  spirit  of 
Christian  liberality  ?  Have  the  men  who 
have  done  this,  above  all  others,  been  wash- 
ed white  of  sectarianism?  Judge  of  their 
principle  of  translation  by  ihe  Saviour's  gol- 
den rule,  "As  ye  would  that  men  should  do 
to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them."  Suppose 
you  had  no  bible,  and  an  able,  faithful 
translator  was  about  to  provide  it  for  you  : 
Would  you  want  him  to  translate  "  faithful- 
ly" every  part  of  it,  so  that  you  could  easily 
read  and  understand  it  all  in  your  own 
tongue  ?  Would  you  be  willing  he  should 
give  you  what  relates  to  baptism,  in  woi-ds 
you  never  saw  or  heard  of  before  ?  words 
whose  meaning  you  would  have  to  learn  by 

Vol,  3.— Zz. 


repeated  inquiry  of  your  teacher,  and  about 
which  one  teacher  would  tell  you  one  thing, 
and  another,  another  ?  Could  you  consent 
to  have  him  leave  you  thus  in  the  dark  in 
this  matter  ?  Well,  if  you  would  not  like 
to  be  treated  in  this  manner  yourself,  then, 
by  our  Saviour's  rule,  you  ought  not  to  be 
willing  any  fellow  creature  should  be  treat- 
ed in  the  same  manner.  And  yet  this  ie 
exactly  the  manner  in  which  the  American 
Bible  Society  requires  all  translations  to  be 
made,  which  share  its  patronage.  Let  any 
missionary  on  earth,  however  learned  or 
pious,  translate  the  bible  into  any  foreign 
language,  by  earnest  prayer  to  God,  by 
ascertaining  the  precise  meaning  of  the 
original  text,  and  by  expressing  that  mean- 
ing exactly  in  the  language  into  which  he 
translates,  transferring  no  word,  but  trans- 
lating all,  and  the  American  Bible  Society 
will  refuse  him  all  assistance  in  its  publica- 
tion !  and  have  besides  a  standing  resolu- 
tion, which  recognizes  such  a  translation  as 
sectarian,  and  unworthy  to  be  "circulated  in 
schools  and  communities !"  With  such  a 
rule  of  action,  American  Baptists  never  can 
agree ;  in  such  treatment  of  the  heathen 
world,  they  cannot  participate;  to  such 
concealment  of  the  word  of  life,  they  cannot 
be  accessory.  On  this  point  the  contention 
between  the  two  bible  societies  has  been 
"  sharp,"  and  they  are  "  parted  asunder  the 
one  from  the  other." 

There  were  other  circumstances,  also, 
which  contributed  to  bring  about  this  result. 
Translations  like  those  which  are  now  re- 
jected, had  been  patronized  by  the  British 
and  American  societies,  up  to  the  time  when 
these  difficulties  arose.  The  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  had  patronized  trans- 
lations of  the  scriptures  in  various  eastern 
languages,  made  by  Dr.  Carey,  and  in 
which  the  words  in  dispute  were  rendered 
exactly  as  Yates  and  Judson  now  translate 
them.  It  was  not  till  the  year  1833,  that 
their  aid  in  printing  and  circulating  these 
versions  was  withheld  ;  and  the  American 
Bible  Society  had  patronized  versions  of  the 
same  kind,  until  1835.  Now,  when  the 
course  of  these  societies  was  so  suddenly 
changed,  and  they  refused  to  patronize  ver- 
sions which /or  7/ears  had  received  their  aid, 
it  was  evident  that  new  motives  and  prin- 
ciples were  controlling  their  operations,  and 
that  the  denomination  whose  translations 
they  had  entirely  and  forever  rejected  could 
no  longer  co-operate  with  them. 

The  case  was  rendered  still  more  aggra- 
vating, by  the  fact,  that  while  they  had 
patronized  versions  which  render  baptize 
and  its  cognates  by  terms  signifying  im- 
7nersion,  other  versions  had  been  as  freely 
patronized  which  render  the  same  words  by 
terms  which  signify  to  sprinkle,  to  moisten, 
to  wash,  ''-to  throw  water  at  any  one,''  &c< 


410  REASONS  FOR  THE  FORMATION  OF  THE 


Rev.  J.  S.  Harris,  missionary  to  the  Seneca 
Indians,  translated  ihe  Gospel  by  Luke  into 
their  language  in  1830.  Mr.  Wright,  his 
successor,  says  the  meaning  of"  the  word 
most  frequently  used  for  baptize^  is  to  tlirow 
water  at  one,  to  sprinkle,  or  spatter  as  chil- 
dren do  at  play,  or  in  anger ;  or  to  drench, 
as  parents  among  the  Indians  ol'ten  do  in 
disciplining  their  children ;  or  "  to  pour  a 
stream  of  water  on  one."  Other  transla^ 
tions  had  been  made  by  PaedobaptLst  mis- 
sionaries, no  more  to  the  purpose  than  this. 
Such  versions  had  been  "  encouraged"  by 
the  American  Bible  Society,  as  well  as 
those  made  by  Baptists.  Of  this  we  nev- 
er complained.  Our  money  and  theirs  was 
paid  into  a  common  treasury,  and  we  con- 
sidered it  no  more  than  common  justice  that 
the  translations  of  all  should  be  supported. 
The  different  denominations,  and  mission- 
aries who  raade  the  translatioiis,  would,  as 
we  supposed,  be  responsible  to  God  and  to 
mankind  for  them.  On  this  principle,  we 
would  have  gladly  co-operated  with  the 
American  Bible  Society  until  all  nations 
should  have  read  in  "  their  own  tongues  the 
wonderful  works  of  God."  But  when  the 
ground  was  boldly  taken,  that  the  bible, 
when  it  speaks  of  a  solemn  Christian  ordi- 
nance, should  not  be  translated ;  that  the 
millions  of  our  race  who  have  not  the  bible, 
should  read  nothing  of  baptism,  or  be  com- 
pelled to  read  it  in  Greek,  we  could  go  no 
ftirther.  We  here  feel  it  our  duty  to  "  con- 
tend earnestly  for  the  faith,"  though  the 
contention  should  become  so  sharp  as  to 
part  us  from  those  we  love  in  this  blessed 
work. 

But  the  American  Bible  Society  has  pa- 
tronized versions,  different  from  those  men- 
tioned, and  objectionable  on  other  grounds. 
The  Russian  Bible,  e.  g.  does  not  translate 
baptizo,  but  substitutes  for  it  a  word  which 
signifies  to  cross;  so  that  it  would  read 
"Jesus  made  and  crossed  more  disciples 
than  John."  "  They  that  received  his  word 
gladly  were  crossed."  "  They  went  down 
into  the  water,  both  Philip  and  the  eunuch, 
and  he  crossed  him."  This  could  be  circu- 
lated in  Russian  "  schools  and  communi- 
ties. But  should  another  version  read, 
that  "  they  who  received  his  word  gladly 
were  immersed  ;"  that  "  they  went  down 
into  the  water,  both  Philip  and  the  eunuch, 
and  he  immersed  him  ;"  the  managers  "  do 
not  feel  at  liberty  to  encourage  it !"  Of 
course,  then,  we  who  had  rather  be  immers- 
ed than  crossed,  must  support  our  own 
translations.* 

I  have  frequently,  of  late,  been  reminded 
of  one  great  objection  to  the  formation  of  a 
new  bible  society.  It  is  said  that  "  it  will 
interrupt  the  harmony  of  Christian.s,  and 

See  Judd's  Review  of  Stewart,  Appendix,  p.  175. 


tend  more  than  any  thing  else  to  perpetu- 
ate a  needless  controversy  about  baptism. 
It  can  hardly  be  possible  that  a  candid 
man  would  seriously  urge  this  objection, 
after  he  had  carefully  considered  it.  Il'the 
words  in  question  are  not  to  be  translated  ; 
if  they  are  to  be  transferred  into  all  the  lan- 
guages of  the  heathen,  they  will  become  the 
subject  of  everlasting  dispute,  just  as  they 
have  been  in  our  language.  Converts  will 
ask  their  teachers  what  these  words  mean  ? 
Baptists  will  tell  them  they  mean  immer- 
sion :  Pfedobaptists  will  tell  them  they  mean 
to  wet,  to  wo.sh,  to  sprinkle,  or  to  throw  wa- 
ter at  them.  Here  they  will  be  involved  in 
Hat  contradiction  of  each  other.  The  very 
Bible  itself,  for  want  of  being  properly 
translated,  will  be  the  cause  of  perpetual 
controversy  among  three-fourths  of  the  hu- 
man race,  who  have  not  yet  received  it. 
Who  can  be  willing  to  throw  this  "  apple 
of  discord"  among  the  millions  of  Asia? 
The  way  to  stop  controversy  about  baptism, 
is  to  let  the  bible  speak  for  itself,  and  to  let 
all  men  read  and  obey  it.  To  endeavor  to 
stop  this,  or  any  other  controversy,  by  ob- 
scuring, concealing,  or  witholding  the  truth, 
is  popery.  The  great  sin  of  Martin  Lu- 
ther against  "  His  Holiness,"  was,  that  he 
translated  the  bible  into  the  common  lan- 
guage of  his  country,  and  was  for  having 
every  body  read  it.  The  Pope  opposed 
this.  He  would  have  men  pray  in  Latin, 
and  read  no  bible  at  all.  Here  the  "  conten- 
tion became  so  sharp  between  them,"  that 
they  parted  forever. 

The  Baptists  are  now  committing,  on  a 
large  scale,  the  same  sin  that  Martin  Lu- 
ther did.  They  are  translating  and  prin- 
ting the  Bible  in  the  different  languages  of 
mankind,  and  are  anxious  that  all  the  world 
should  read  it.  This  they  believe  to  be  the 
most  effectual  means  to  promote  truth,  sup- 
press error,  and  "  stop  controversy."  To 
suppress  any  part  of  truth,  to  obscure  it,  or 
in  any  way  withhold  it  from  the  knowledge 
of  mankind,  they  believe  to  be  the  direct 
way  to  promote  error  and  perpetuate  con- 
tention. Let  those  brethren  who  introduce 
among  the  milhons  of  the  East  the  same 
cause  of  controversy  which  for  centuries  has 
distressed  and  divided  the  British  and  Amer- 
ican churches,  beware  of  arrogating  to 
themselves  exclu.sively  the  title  of  "peace- 
makers." Let  them  not  "  heal  the  hurt  of 
God's  people  slightly ;  crying  peace,  peace, 
when  there  is  no  peace,"  and  but  faint  pros- 
pects of  it. 

Another  great  objection  to  our  society,  is, 
tliat  if  the  bible  is  translated  as  we  would 
have  it,  all  who  read  it  will  of  course  be- 
come Baptists.  On  this  account,  it  is  urged 
that  we  ought  not  to  insist  upon  such  a 
translation  ;  that  some  how,  in  a  spirit  of 
generous  compromise,  this  point  should  be 


AMERICAN    AND    FOREIGN    BIBLE    SOCIETY.      411 


yielded,  and  men  left  free  to  practice  im- 
mersion or  sprinkling  as  they  please. 

Let  us  look  at  this  objection.  Let  it  be 
admitted,  that  if  the  scriptures  were  trans- 
lated as  we  contend  they  ought  to  be,  all 
converted  heathen  would  read  and  be  im- 
mersed. Wlmt  then;  Would  they  have 
done  wrong?  The  very  men  who  make 
tJiis  objection,  confess  that  immersion  is  val- 
id baptism,  "  good  and  acceptable  to  God." 
What  harm  would  be  done,  then,  if  all  the 
heatlien  should  believe  and  be  immersed  ? 
No  error  would  be  taught  or  practised ; 
nothing  wrong  believed  or  done.  What 
then  are  the  dreadful  evils  tliat  would  re- 
sult from  the  universal  practice  of  immer- 
sion ?  Does  it  make  a  man  less  prayerful 
to  immerse  him  tlian  it  does  to  sprinkle 
him?  Does  it  make  him  less  spiritually 
minded,  less  active,  less  liberal  in  the  cause 
of  God?  The  men  who  make  the  objec- 
tion, do  not  pretend  this.  If  the  believing 
heathen  were  all  sprinkled,  they  do  not  pre- 
tend that  they  would  be  any  more  holy  or 
useful  than  if  they  were  immersed.  Or  if 
part  were  sprinkled,  others  poured,  and 
others  immersed,  it  would  be  no  better  than 
if  all  were  immersed.  Let  the  objection 
stand  then,  in  all  its  force.  Let  it  be  ad- 
mitted that  if  all  men  should  read  the  Bible 
ftiithfully  translated,  it  would  make  "im- 
mersion the  only  baptism."  All  then  would 
be  right,  our  opponents  being  the  judges. 
For  though  they  contend  that  something 
else  "  will  do  as  well,"  they  have  nothing  to 
propose  that  will  do  better. 

Take  another  view  of  this  objection.  It 
is  now  admitted  on  all  sides  that  immersion 
was  the  practice  of  John,  of  Christ,  of  the 
Apostles,  and  of  their  successors  for  sever- 
al hundred  years.     Immersion  was  then  the 

UNIVERSAL     PRACTICE     OF    THE     CHRISTIAN 

CHURCH.  Suppose  then  that  our  transla- 
tions should  make  this  the  universal  prac- 
tice of  the  Christian  Church  again.  The 
church  would  then  be,  on  this  point,  just 
what  she  was  in  her  best  and  purest  days. 
Every  body  would  be  satisfied  with  their 
baptism.  Controversy  would  cease.  The 
churches  "  would  then  have  rest"  from 
strife  and  division;  and  "walking  in  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  comfort  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  they  would  be  multiplied." 
Should  our  translations  effect  all  this,  would 
they  do  the  world  an  injury  ?  And  are  they 
to  be  rejected  because  they  have  this  ten- 
dency? Will  they  make  the  church  too 
apostolic  ?  too  much  like  Christ. 

I  will  here  waive  any  further  considera- 
tion of  the  subject  in  this  point  of  view.  I 
hope  and  pray,  that  as  we  feel  justified  be- 
fore God  and  mankind,  in  the  organization 
of  the  American  and  Foreign  Bible  Socie- 
ty, we  shall  be  united  and  liberal  in  its  sup- 
port. By  the  blessing  of  God,  our  mission- 
aries   have    already  translated   the   Holy 


scriptures  into  languages  spoken  by  more 
than  half  the  population  of  the  globe. 
They  are  still  prayerfully  and  zealously  en- 
gaged in  this  responsible,  yet  blessed  work. 
We  intend  never  to  rest  in  this  great  en- 
terprise, till  the  "  Lamp  of  Life"  shines 
upon  the  pathway  of  every  dweller  upon 
earth. 

Under  existing  circumstances,  what 
ought  to  be  the  spirit  by  whicJi  the  half 
million  of  American  Baptists  should  be  ani- 
mated ?  God  in  his  holy  providence,  has, 
by  the  labors  of  holy  men,  mir  own  breth- 
ren, furnished  these  pure  translations  of  the 
word  of  life  to  our  hands.  He  lias  put 
them  into  our  hands  in  this  eventful  age, 
and  just  as  the  way  is  opening  for  the  dif- 
fusion of  the  gospel  among  all  nations. 
What  can  be  his  design  in  this,  unless  it  is 
that  we  should,  without  delay,  give  to 
mankind  a  pure,  unaltered,  unobscured  bi- 
ble. As  the  angel  having  the  everlasting 
gospel  to  preach  to  them  who  dwell  on  the 
earth,  is  now  taking  his  flight  in  the  midst 
of  heaven,  let  us  fill  his  hands  with  these 
"most  faithful"  versions  of  the  blessed 
word,  and  bid  him  scatter  them  over  the 
whole  earth ! 

I  rejoice  that  the  board  of  the  A.  &-  F. 
B.  S.  "have  recently  appropriated  ^2500  to- 
wards the  publication  of  the  Revised  Edi- 
tion of  the  Bengalee  New  Testament,  by 
Mr.  Yates.  So  that  the  labors  of  that  de- 
voted missionary  are  not  to  be  lost,  nor  the 
precious  word  denied  to  thirty-two  millions 
of  our  fellow  men  who  are  ready  to  receive 
it.  This,  however,  is  only  the  starting 
point.  These  waters  of  life  which  are  be- 
ginning to  flow,  must  roll  on  in  a  deeper, 
broader  channel,  till  like  the  waters  of 
Noah,  they  shall  cover  the  whole  earth — 
not  to  destroy,  but  to  save. 

Could  either  of  you  present  any  thing 
to  a  fellow  creature  in  heathen  darkness,  it 
would  be  the  bible.  This  would  be  your 
first,  best  gift  for  him.  There  are  many 
hundreds  of  your  fellow  men  begging  of 
your  missionaries  for  bibles,  and  begging 
in  vain,  because  they  have  none  to  give 
them.  Would  you  not  like  to  put  a  few 
more  bibles  into  the  hands  of  your  mission- 
aries, and  let  them  give  them  to  tlie  anx- 
ious heathen,  who  wait  all  night  at  tlie 
missionary's  doos,  that  they  may  be  in  sea- 
son to  ask  for  the  precious  boon  in  the 
morning  ? 

A  happy  convert  who  loved  his  bible 
said  to  his  teacher,  "  How  could  you  chris- 
tians, in  your  country,  keep  this  sweet  hon- 
ey so  long  among  yourselves,  and  not  send 
any  of  it  to  us  ?"  The  teacher  made  the 
best  apology  he  could.  "  But,"  continued 
his  shrewd  disciple,  "  it  was  not  right  for 
you  Christians  to  be  saying  SO  LONG  to 
each  otiicr,  how  good  this  honey  is  !  how 
SWEET  this  honey  is  1     Why  did  you  not 


412 


TERMS    OP    COMMUNION, 


break  off  a  piece  of  the  sweet  comb,  and 
Bend  it  to  us  ?" 

Ye  friends  of  the  Bible  and  of  mankind, 
when  in  your  prayers  to  Almighty  God, 
you  say,  "  How  precious  is  thy  word  unto 
jne  !  sweeter  also  than  honey  or  the  honey- 


comb ?"  will  you  think  to  break  off"  a 
piece  of  the  "  sweet  comb,"  and  send  it  to 
your  perishing  fellow  men  ?  "  As  ye  would 
that  men  should  do  unto  you,  DO  YE 
EVEN  SO  TO  THEM." 


TERMS   OF   COMMUNION. 

(CIRCULAR  LETTER  OF  THE  HUDSON  RIVER  ASSOCIATION,) 


By  S.  H.  CONE,  D.  D. 


Dearly  beloved  brethren: — In  ac- 
cordance with  a  resolution  passed  at  our 
last  annual  meeting,  "  the  terms  of  commu- 
nion^'''' will  claim  your  attention,  as  the  sub- 
ject of  our  present  circular  address.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  the  signs  of  the  times 
should  ever  indicate  the  expediency  of  pre- 
senting this  subject  to  your  consideration, 
in  a  controversial  shape ;  but  since  necessi- 
ty is  laid  upon  us,  we  desire  to  enter  upon 
its  investigation  with  all  that  alacrity  which 
the  love  of  revealed  truth,  and  supreme  re- 
gard for  Zion's  King,  and  unyielding  attach- 
ment to  the  order  of  his  house,  are  calcula- 
ted to  inspire. 

The  phrase  "communion,"  or  "fellow- 
ship," is  used  in  diHerent  senses  in  the  sa- 
cred writings.  It  frequently  denotes  that 
holy  enjoyment  of  the  divine  presence,  and 
that  soul  comforting  participation  of  the  Re- 
deemer's fulness,  which  it  is  the  privilege  of 
believers  to  realize.  The  saints  are  joined 
to  the  Lord  by  one  Spirit ;  they  draw  water 
out  of  the  wells  of  salvation  ;  God  is  their 
dwelling-place  in  all  generations  ;  and  it  is 
therefore  said,  Truly  their  fellowship  is  with 
the  Father,  and  with  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ. 
This  fellowship  does  not  necessarily  stand 
connected  with  church  government  or  rela- 
tionship ;  it  is  neither  confined  to  time  nor 
place,  nor  does  it  bend  to  the  control  of 
earthly  circumstances.  It  is  felt  by  Jacob 
with  a  stone  for  his  pillow  ;  it  drives  away 
the  fears  and  pains  of  the  thief  upon  the 
cross  ;  it  cheers  the  hearts  of  Paul  and  Silas, 
though  beaten  with  many  stripes  and  thrust 
into  the  inner  prison ;  and  it  converts  the 
desolate  isle  of  Patmos  into  a  paradise  of 
heavenly  rapture.  The  terms  of  this  com- 
munion, all  centre  in  the  rich  and  distin- 
guishing grace  of  God. 

The  expression  is  sometimes  used  in  a 
large  and  comprehensive  sense,  to  describe 
that  fraternal  affection  and  spiritual  inter- 


course, which  all  those  who  love  our  Lord 
Jesus  in  sincerity  and  truth  may  righteously 
maintain  with  each  other.  Individuals  at- 
tached to  the  different  denominations  of 
Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Roman  Cath- 
olics, (iuakers,  &c.  may  have  g-ood  reason  to 
entertain  a  favorable  opinion  of  each  other's 
Christian  exercises ;  they  may  unite  their 
efforts  to  multiply  and  distribute  copies  of 
the  Bible,  and  send  the  gospel  of  salvation 
to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth ;  they 
may  take  sweet  counsel  together,  and  be 
mutual  helpers  of  each  others'  joy;  and 
their  communion  will  be  proportioned  to  the 
evidence  which  the  parties  furnish,  of  main- 
taining a  close  walk  with  God.  If  we  walk 
in  the  light,  as  he  is  in  the  light,  we  have 
fellowship  one  with  another.  But  as  this 
fellowship  in  the  gospel  is  enjoyed  by  indi- 
vidual believers  who  never  unite  with  a 
particular  church ;  as  it  exists  in  different 
degrees,  according  to  the  strength  of  their 
confidence  that  God  has  begim  a  good  work 
in  the  heart,  without  any  reference  to  the 
ordinances  or  regulations  of  his  house,  it  is 
an  entirely  different  thing  from  church  fel- 
lowship, and  is  by  no  means  to  be  confound- 
ed therewith. 

In  modern  phraseology  the  word  "  com- 
munion," is  employed,  by  common  consent, 
as  expressive  of  that  fellowship  which  ex- 
perimental Christians  have  with  the  Sa- 
viour of  sinners,  and  with  one  another,  in 
the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  supper ;  and 
this  use  of  the  phrase  seems  to  be  justified 
by  the  apostle's  language,  1  Cor.  x.  16, 
•'  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless,  is  it 
not  the  communion  of  the  blood  of  Christ  1 
The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not  the 
communion  of  the  body  of  Christ?"  The 
single  point,  therefore,  which  we  have  now 
before  us  is,  to  answer  the  inquiry,  What 
are  the  indispensable  terms  of  this  comtnu- 
nion  ?  or,  in  other  words,  what  prerequisites 


TERMS    OP    COMMUNION. 


413 


of  admission  to  the  Lord's  supper  are  mark, 
ed  out,  in  the  New  Testament,  for  the  ob- 
servance of  the  churches  of  Christ  to  the 
end  of  the  world  1  To  this  inquiry  we  re- 
ply, regeneration^  baptism,  and  a  conversa- 
tion such  as  becometh  the  gospel  of  Christ  ; 
and  in  proof  of  the  correctness  of  this  reply, 
we  appeal  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony. 
The  children  of  God  are  bound  to  give 
thanks  always  to  their  heavenly  Father,  be- 
cause he  hath  from  the  beginning  chosen 
them  to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of 
the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth,  whereun- 
to  they  are  called  by  the  gospel ;  and  then, 
as  lively  stones,  are  built  up  a  spiritual  house, 
a  holy  priesthood,  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacri- 
fices acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  to  manifest  their  attachment  to  the 
laws,  doctrines  and  ordinances,  once  deli- 
vered to  the  saints.  The  primitive  church- 
es, constituted  under  the  immediate  direc- 
tion of  the  inspired  apostles,  were  compo- 
sed of  self-condemned  sinners,  who  were  by 
nature  children  of  wrath  even  as  others ; 
but  being  pricked  in  their  hearts  and  quick- 
ened by  the  Spirit  of  God,  fled  for  refuge  to 
the  hope  set  before  them  in  the  Gospel. 
They  believed  the  testimony  given  of  God's 
dear  Son,  and  having  gladly  received  the 
truth,  were  baptized  both  men  and  icomen. 
To  the  first  gospel  church  in  Jerusalem  it  is 
said,  "  The  Lord  added  daily  such  as  should 
be  saved,  and  they  continued  steadfastly 
in  the  apostles'  doctrine  and  fellowship,  and 
in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers."  The 
church  at  Corinth  consisted  oi'  those  who 
were  "  sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus,  called  to 
be  saints,  and  who  called  upon  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  The  members  of 
the  church  at  Colosse,  had  "  put  ofi'  the  old 
man  with  his  deeds,  and  put  on  the  new 
man,  which  is  renewed  in  knowledge  after 
the  image  of  him  that  created  him :"  and 
the  bretliren  at  Rome,  were  "  the  called  of 
Jesus  Christ,  beloved  of  God,  called  to  be 
sainis."  Now  if  these  apostolic  churches 
were  erected  upon  correct  principles,  (and 
who  so  contumacious  or  schismatic  as  to  de- 
ny it?)  they  are  certainly  to  us  infallible 
guides,  and  present  us  with  a  perfect  pat 
tern.  If  they  received  only  such  as  profes- 
sed to  be  born  of  God,  and  gave  evidence 
that  they  were  begotten  again  to  a  lively 
hope,  by  the  ressurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  dead,  we  should  imitate  their  ex- 
ample ;  "  and  if  there  come  any  unto  us  and 
bring  not  this  doctrine,"  we  are  commanded 
"  not  to  receive  him  into  our  house,  neither 
bid  him  God  speed ;"  for  he  that  biddeth 
him  God  speed  ;  that  is,  he  that  welcometh 
to  the  privileges  of  the  church,  "  him  that 
abideth  not  in  the  doctrine  Christ,  is  parta- 
ker of  his  evil  deeds."  It  is  therefore  an 
estabhshed  principle  in  Baptist  churches  to 
require  of  all  candidates  for  admission,  a 
declaration  of  what  God  hath  done  for  their 


souls ;  and  when  satisfactory  evidence  of  a 
"  change  of  heart"  is  exhibited,  the  first 
scriptural  term  of  communion,  is  elicited  by 
the  church.  Should  this  fundamental  prin- 
ciple ever  be  abandoned,  we  hesitate  not  to 
say,  the  fine  gold  will  become  dim,  the  glory 
will  depart  from  us,  and  the  vengeance  of 
Him  who  walketh  in  the  midst  of  the  golden 
candlesticks  may  be  justly  apprehended. 

That  baptism  is  a  "term  of  communion," 
is  manifest  from  the  design  and  order  of 
that  ordinance,  as  well  as  from  the  uniform 
practice  of  the  apostles. 

It  is  the  design  of  baptism,  among  other 
important  particulars,  to  exhibit  the  exist- 
ence of  a  new  relationship,  and  to  declare 
to  all  around,  the  interesting  fact  that  the 
individual  baptized  has  come  out  from 
the  world  and  enlisted  under  the  banner  of 
Christ.  In  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  is  not 
merely  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  to- 
wards God,  but  it  is  also  a  grateful  and 
public  recognition  of  that  grand  line  of  dis- 
tinction which  the  Redeemer  has  establish- 
ed between  the  "  kingdom  of  darkness,"  and 
that  "  kingdom  which  is  not  of  this  world. 
For  as  many  as  have  been  baptized  into 
Christ,  have  put  on  Christ."  Gal.  iii.  27. 
"  Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by  bap- 
tism into  death,  that  like  as  Christ  was  rais- 
ed up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the 
Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in 
newness  of  hfe."  Rom.  vi.  4.  As  it  is  evi- 
dent that  a  man  must  enter  into  the  king- 
dom, before  he  can  be  entitled  to  the  immu- 
nities of  a  subject ;  that  he  must  he  received 
into  the  fellowship  of  a  particular  church, 
before  he  can  enjoy  the  privileges  of  that 
church ;  even  so,  it  is  equally  plain,  that 
baptism,  upon  profession  of  faitli  in  the  Mes- 
siah, must  remain  an  indispensable  term  of 
communion,  until  it  can  be  proved  that  un- 
baptized  persons  were  added  to  the  church- 
es planted  by  the  apostles  in  different  parts 
of  the  world.  And  this  will  appear  yet 
more  abundantly  if  we  consider, 

The  order  which  is  uniformly  observed 
in  the  New  Testament,  with  reference  to 
Baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper.  When  the 
Great  Head  of  the  church  sent  forth  his 
ministering  servants  to  build  up  his  king- 
dom in  our  ruined  world,  he  gave  them  com- 
mission in  the  following  words ;  Go  ye  there- 
fore and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them 
in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost, — teaching  them  to 
observe  all  things  7chaisoever  I  have  com- 
manded, you.  The  language  is  lucid  and 
definite.  It  directed  them^rs^  to  teach,  or, 
as  it  is  elsewere  expressed,  to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature.  When  the  word 
preached  was  accompanied  by  an  unction 
from  the  Holy  One,  men  were  made  wise 
unto  salvation  ;  they  were  effectually  taught; 
they  were  made  disciples ;  and  then,  and 
not  till  then,  were  the  apostles  commanded 


4M 


TERMS    OF    COMMUNION. 


to  baptize  them.  After  this,  they  were  to 
instruct  them  to  observe  all  things  enjoined 
upon  them  by  tlie  Saviour ;  and  among  the 
all  things,  who  dare  deny  to  the  Lord's  sup- 
3ier  a  place  ?  Since  the  Redeemer  has  suf- 
ficient wisdom  to  devise  the  most  suitable 
ordinances,  either  for  the  comfort  of  his 
people,  or  as  a  test  of  tlieir  obedience  ;  and 
since  all  power  is  given  him  to  make  laws 
in  Zion,  and  fix  the  order  of  their  observ- 
ance ;  to  his  authority  all  Christians  should 
certainly  submit.  But  it  is  plain  that  bap- 
tism must  precede  the  communion,  not  on- 
ly because  the  Lord  Christ  hath  so  decreed, 
but  because  this  order  is  necessary  in  the 
very  nature  of  things,  if  there  be  an  adapta- 
tion of  tlie  sign  to  the  thing  signified.  We 
must  first  be  made  alive,  before  we  need 
bread  to  sustain  life ;  and  in  like  manner, 
the  ordinance  which  shadows  forth  the 
washing  of  regeneration  and  the  renewing 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  must  of  necessity,  go 
before  that  which  holds  out  to  us  in  a  figure 
the  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven, 
whereof  if  a  man  eat,  he  shall  live  for  ever. 

That  this  statement  is  correct,  we  most 
assuredly  gather  from  the  unvarying  prac- 
tice of  the  apostles  tliemselves. 

The  preaching  of  Peter,  upon  a  certain 
notable  occasion,  produced  such  an  aston- 
ishing effect  that  thousands  cried  out,  Men 
and  brethren  what  shall  we  do  to  be  saved  ? 
The  preacher  promptly  replies,  Repent  and 
be  baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
for  the  remission  of  sins.  What  follows  ? 
They  that  gladly  receive  the  word  were 
BAPTIZED.  After  baptism  they  were  added 
to  the  church  in  Jerusalem,  and  then,  par- 
ticipated in  the  communion,  or  the  breaking 
of  bread. 

The  conduct  of  Paul  was  precisely  simi- 
lar to  that  of  his  brother  Peter.  He  came 
to  Corinth,  and  taught  the  word  of  God 
among  its  inhabitants.  Many  of  the  Co' 
rinthians  hearing,  believed  and  were  bap- 
tized. These  baptized  believers  were  then 
constituted  into  a  gospel  church,  and  kept 
the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper  as  de- 
livered to  them  by  the  apostle.  Acts  xviii. 
1  Cor.  ii.  2.  If  therefore,  the  uniform  prac- 
tice of  the  apostles  justly  challanges  our 
imitation,  we  must  inviolably  adhere  to  the 
order  which  they  have  established. 

The  last  term  of  church  communion  we 
have  named,  is  a  godly  walk  and  conver- 
sation ;  and  this  position  is  easily  main- 
tained, both  upon  the  principles  of  reason 
and  revelation.  The  children  of  God  are 
holy  brethren  ;  a  royal  priesthood — a  pecu- 
liar people,  zealous  of  good  works.  This 
description  of  them  is  given  by  one  who 
cannot  err  ;  and  it  would  certainly  be  incon- 
gruous and  unnatural  for  such  persons  to 
be  unequally  yoked  together  with  unbeliev- 
ers.    How  can  two  walk  together  except 


they  be  agreed  ?  What  communion  hath 
light  with  darkness  and  what  fellowship 
hatii  Christ  with  Belial  ?  are  questions 
which  need  no  comment; — they  answer 
themselves.  In  extending  tJie  right  hand 
of  fellowship,  therefore,  a  church  must  be 
satisfied  that  the  individual  soliciting  ad- 
mission has  scriptural  views  of  himselT^  and 
of  God,  and  of  the  way  of  salvation  by 
Christ  alone,  and  of  the  work  of  the  Spirit, 
and  of  the  holy  tendency  of  divine  truth ; 
and  hence  we  are  directed  to  mark  and 
avoid  those  whose  erroneous  sentiments 
cause  divisions  and  offences  contrary  to 
the  doctrine  which  we  have  learned.  Rom. 
xvi.  Moreover  the  canditate  for  church 
communion  must  not  only  converse  about 
the  things  of  God  in  a  proper  manner,  but 
his  deportment  must  correspond  with  his  ho- 
ly profession.  If  any  man  that  is  called  a 
brother,  be  a  fornicator,  or  covetous,  or  an 
idolater,  or  a  railer,  or  a  drunkard,  or  an 
extortioner,  we  must  not  keep  company 
with  such  an  one,  no  not  to  eat.  1  Cor.  v. 
11.  and  that  course  of  conduct  which  cuts 
off  from  the  church  one  who  is  already  a 
member,  must  be,  by  parity  of  reasoning, 
an  unsurmountable  obstacle  against  admis- 
sion to  its  privileges. 

Our  sentiments  with  reference  to  the 
terms  of  communion,  have,  in  different  ages 
and  countries,  occasioned  the  opprobrious 
epithets  of  "  bigoted,  uncharitable,  self- 
righteous,"  &c.  to  be  heaped  upon  us  with 
an  unsparing  hand ;  but  these  are  weak 
and  powerless  weapons  when  employed 
against  those  who  are  armed  with  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  in  defence  of  a  divine 
institution.  We  shall  close  this  epistle  by 
replying  briefly  to  some  of  the  most  plausi- 
ble objections  which  are  constantly  urged 
against  the  sentiments  we  have  advanced. 

First  objection.  "  Yoil  lay  too  much 
stress  upon  baptism  by  viaking  it  an  indis- 
pensable  term  of  communion. 

To  this  we  reply ;  We  pay  no  greater 
regard  to  it,  nor  do  we  give  it  a  higher 
place  in  our  system,  than  the  Lord  Christ 
hath  enjoined,  or  the  apostles  and  primitive 
Christians,  by  their  example,  have  war- 
ranted. And  here  we  may  ask,  why  should 
more  stress  be  laid  upon  the  Lord's  supper 
than  upon  baptism  ;  and  why  should  many 
professing  Christians  so  earnesdy  advocate 
the  observance  of  the  former,  while  they 
pervert,  or  entirely  neglect  the  latter  ? 
Were  not  both  ordinances  instituted  by  the 
same  Lord,  and  do  they  not,  therefore, 
come  to  us  clothed  with  the  same  authori- 
ty 1  We  know  that  Panlobaptists  are  in 
the  habit  of  calling  baptism  a  nonessen- 
tial;  an  external  rite;  a  mere  ceremony ; 
&c.  If  this  be  true,  we  would  inquire,  what 
more  is  the  supper  ?  Is  it  a  Saviour  1  But 
if  these  sacred  institutions,  be  indeed  as  we 


TERMS    OP    COMMUNION. 


415 


believe,  signs  of  important  and  essential 
truths,  baptism  is  unquestionably  as  signi- 
ficative as  the  breaking  of  bread,  and  exhib- 
its, emblematically,  a  large  proportion  of 
the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the  gospel. 
Upon  an  investigation  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, we  find  that  baptism,  of  the  two, 
is  much  the  more  frequently  mentioned, 
and  baptized  believers  are  affectionate- 
ly and  repeatedly  exhorted,  so  to  walk  in 
Christ  Jesus  their  Lord,  as  in  that  ordi- 
nance they  have  put  him  on.  Taking  then 
the  Holy  Book  as  our  only  and  all  suffi- 
cient rule  of  faith  and  practice,  we  have 
the  highest  authority  for  saying,  We  give 
to  baptism,  which  Christ  appointed  as  the 
first  gospel  institute,  as  a  test  of  his  child- 
ren's obedience,  and  a  lively  emblem  of 
their  renewal  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  exactly 
the  situation  which  the  master  of  the  house 
has  designated  ;  and  with  a  thus  saith  the 
Lord,  sounding  in  our  ears  and  penetrating 
our  hearts,  it  is  not  possible  that  we  should 
listen  to  the  doctrines  or  commandments  of 
men. 

A  second  objection,  charges  us  with  cau 
sing  a  separation  between  the  children  of 
the  same  Heavenly  Father. 

Suppose  we  grant  that  baptism  is  an  in- 
superable barrier  in  the  way  of  our  com 
muning,  in  church  capacity,  with  unbaptiz 
ed  persons  ;  does  it  necessarily  result  from 
this  concession,  that  the  blame  righteously 
attaches  itself  to  the  skirts  of  our  garment  ? 
Shall  those  who  understand  and  keep  the 
ordinances,  in  their  nature,  order,  and  de 
sign,  as  they  were  originally  delivered  to 
the  churches,  be  condemned'?  and  those 
who  depart  from  them,  and  embrace  a  "  fig- 
ment of  their  own  imagination,"  be  justifi- 
ed 7  God  forbid !  We  hesitate  not  to  say. 
most  implicitly,  that  baptism  is  a  separa- 
ting line,  but  it  is  one  of  the  Lord's  own 
making,  and  we  endeavor  constantly 
both  by  preaching  and  example,  to  en- 
lighten the  minds  of  our  Pagdobaptist 
friends  on  the  subject.  We  warn  them  of 
their  errors  ;  we  hold  up  to  them  the  truth ; 
we  point  them  definitely  to  chapter  and 
verse  ;  and  we  exhort  every  believer 
among  them,  quite  as  often  as  they  wish  to 
hear  us,  to  arise  and  be  baptized  and  wash 
away  their  sins,  (in  a  figure,)  calling  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  We  are  honest  and 
sincere  in  these  declarations,  and  in  making 
them  thus  plainly,  it  must  be  evident  to  the 
candid  and  judicious,  that  we  cannot  have 
any  by-ends,  or  measures  of  mere  expedien 
cy  to  promote.  We  wish  the  truth,  and 
the  truth  alone  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  every  where 
to  prevail ;  and  we  are  grieved  in  heart, 
that  those  whom  we  respect  and  love  on  so 
many  other  accounts,  should,  in  this  partic 
ular,  persist  in  treading  the  patlivvay  of  dis- 
obedience, boldly  rejecting  the  counsel  ol' 
God  in  not  being  baptized  accordijig  to  his 


commandment.  If  our  veracity  and  Chris- 
tian affection,  touching  this  whole  matter, 
be  unjustly  called  in  question,  we  are  per- 
mitted to  adopt  the  language  of  a  Baptist, 
and  say:  Our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  testimo- 
ny of  our  conscience,  that  in  simplicity  and 
godly  sincerity,  not  with  fleshly  wisdom  but 
by  the  grace  of  God,  we  have  had  our  con- 
versation in  the  world,  and  more  abundant- 
ly to  youward.     2  Cor.  i.  12. 

A  third  objection  states,  that  it  is  the 
Lord's  table,  and  therefore  we  have  no  right 
to  hinder  those  who  wish  to  approach  it. 

Tiiat  it  is  the  Lord's  table,  is  the  appro- 
priate and  sufficient  answer  to  this  objec- 
tion. Were  it  ours,  we  might  cheerfully 
admit  to  it  the  objector  and  his  friends ; 
but  since  it  is  confessedly  the  Lord^s  ta- 
ble, we  dare  welcome  to  it  only  such  as  he 
invites.  The  disciples  were  baptized  be- 
fore Christ  instituted  and  administered  to 
them  the  supper.  John  the  Baptist  was 
sent  to  prepare  a  people  for  the  Lord,  and 
the  disciples  were  evidently  among  the 
number  of  those  who  justify  God  ;  and  if  so, 
they  must  have  been  necessarily  baptized 
with  the  baptism  of  John  ;  otherwise  they 
could  not  have  been  obedient  hearers  and 
doers  of  the  word,  and  imitators  of  the  ex- 
ample of  their  Lord  and  master.  Luke  vii. 
29.  Matt.  iii.  23,  17.  1  Peter,  ii.  21.  In 
perfect  conformity  with  this  view.of  the  sub- 
ject, are  the  words  of  Peter :  "  Wherefore 
of  these  men  which  have  compained  with 
us,  all  the  time  that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in 
and  out  among  us,  beginning  from  the 
BAPTISM  OF  John,  unto  that  same  day  that 
he  was  taken  up  from  us,  must  one  be  or- 
dained to  be  a  witness  with  us  of  his  resur- 
rection." Acts  i.  21,  22.  Here  we  learn 
that  Peter  and  his  brethren  began  their 
Christian  profession  at  the  baptism  of  John, 
and  hence  the  inference  is  irresistable,  that 
there  were  none  but  Baptists  with  our  Lord 
when  he  gave  them  the  bread  and  cup,  and 
said.  Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me.  As 
the  sacred  oracles,  therefore,  vmiformly 
teach  that  Christians,  in  the  apostles'  days, 
were  baptized  before  they  came  together  in 
one  place  for  the  breaking  of  bread,  we  are 
confirmed  in  the  sentiment,  that  the  only 
guests  invited  to  partake  of  this  feast  arc 
such  as  have  been,  upon  profession  of  their 
faith,  buried  with  Christ  in  baptism  ;  nor 
can  we  approach  the  table  with  the  unbap- 
tizcd,  without  acting  in  direct  opposition  to 
the  precept  and  example  of  Him,  in  whom 
are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge. 

A  fourth  objection  is  presented  in  this 
shape  :  IVe  comcientiously  believe  ourselves 
to  be  baptized  ;  you  are  not  the  judge  ;  to 
our  own  master  we  stand  or  fall. 

This  objection  brings  us  at  .once  to  the 
question,  What  Is  Christian  Baptism?  Is 
it  sprinkling,  or  is  it  pouring?     With  the 


416 


TERMS    OF    COMMUNION, 


New  Testament  in  our  hands,  we  most  con- 
fidently and  unhesitatingly  answer,  neither. 
It  is  immersion  in  the  name  of  the  Ftxther 
and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And 
here  we  cannot  but  say  to  our  cavelling 
friend,  when  were  you  baptized  ?  "  In  in- 
fancy." Are  unconscious  babes,  or  the  un- 
believing, unprofessing  seed  of  pious  pa- 
rents proper  subjects  of  baptism  ?  Wheth- 
er men  will  hear  or  whether  they  will  for- 
bear, upon  the  testimony  of  God  we  are 
obliged  to  answer,  no.  These  things  were 
not  so  in  the  beginning ;  for  it  is  written, 
"  Then  they  that  gladly  received  the  word 
were  baptized  ;"  Acts  2.  And  the  Jailor 
was  baptized,  he  and  all  his,  straightway, 
and  rejoiced,  believing  in  God  with  all  his 
house.  Acts  xvi.  Consequently  those  who 
beheve  and  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus  are,  ac- 
cording to  the  scriptures,  the  only  persons 
to  whom  we  are  authorized  to  administer 
the  ordinance  of  baptism.  But  we  are  told 
that  whether  Psedobaptists  have  perverted 
Christian  baptism,  both  in  its  design  and 
subjects,  or  not,  we  have  no  right  to  judge. 
This  is  equivalent  to  saying  that  an  indi- 
vidual ought  to  be  admitted  to  church  fel- 
lowship because  he  thinks  himself  entitled 
to  that  privilege,  without  reference  to  the 
opinion  which  the  church  may  entertain  up- 
on the  subject.  It  requires  no  argument  to 
prove  the  obscurity  of  this  position.  To 
adopt  it  would  speedily  ultimate  in  the  dis- 
solution of  any  society.  That  there  must 
be  an  agreement  in  sentiment  between  a 
church  and  a  candidate  for  admission  to  its 
privileges ;  and  that  the  church  must  ne- 
cessarily judge  of  the  candidate's  qualifica' 
'tions,  are  both  self-evident  and  scriptural 
truths.  Since-  Christ  then  has  command- 
ed us  to  hold  fast  till  he  come,  and  to  con- 
tend earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints,  we  are  under  the  most  sacred 
obligations  to  exhort  one  another  daily; 
to  warn  the  unruly,  to  look  diligently  lest 
any  man  fail  of  the  grace  of  God  ;  and  to 
be  very  careful,  not  only  to  venerate  his 
institutions  ourselves,  but  also  that  they  be 
observed  in  their  purity,  by  all  such  as  so- 
licit communion  with  us  at  the  table  of  the 
Lord. 

A  fifth  objection,  viz :  That  the  saints 
will  all  commune  together  in  Heaven,  and 
ought  therefore  to  do  so  on  earth,  is  thought 
to  be  a  very  strong  one,  but  really  we  are 
not  able  to  perceive  its  force.  We  rejoice 
in  the  anticipation  of  that  perfect  union 
and  uninferrupted  lellowship,Avhicli  the  gen- 
eral assembly  and  rhurch  of  the  first  born. 


whose  names  are  written  in  Heaven,  shall, 
to  all  eternity,  enjoy  ;  but  whatever  may  be 
the  terms  of  communion  in  the  world  of  glo- 
ry, we  are  fully  persuaded  that  while  here, 
the  revealed  will  of  Christ,  and  not  what 
shall  take  place  after  death,  should  be  the 
only  man  of  our  counsel,  a  lamp  to  our  feet, 
and  a  light  to  our  path;  and  we  are  equal- 
ly certain,  that  when  we  see  Jesus  as  he  is, 
and  love  him  as  we  ought,  the  least  of  hia 
commandments  will  not  be  esteemed  either 
trifling  or  nonessential. 

The  last  objection  which  our  limits  will 
allow  us  to  notice,  supposes  that  strict  com- 
munion is  inconsistent  with  brotherly  love 
and  Christian  forbearance. 

By  adverting  to  the  distinction  made  in 
the  commencement  of  this  letter,  between 
communion  with  God,  our  fellow-Christians, 
and  a  particular  church,  this  objection  will 
be  stripped  of  all  its  difficulties.  It  will  there 
be  seen  that  real  believers  may  hold  con- 
verse with  the  Deity,  and  love  each  other  as 
brethren  in  the  Lord,  without  walking  to- 
gether in  church  relationship.  The  Bap- 
tists differ  from  all  others  in  their  views  of 
a  Gospel  Church,  and  the  scriptural  quali- 
fications for  admission  to  its  privile§;gs ;  but 
these  views  we  believe  to  be  coincidej^t  with 
the  directions  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  ex- 
ample of  apostles  and  primitive  Christians 
and  having  maintained  them  in  the, 
face  of  persecution,  danger,  and  death, 
from  the  days  of  Paul  to  the  present  mo- 
ment, we  cannot  abandon  them,  until  con- 
vinced that  we  have  hitherto  misapprehend- 
ed altogether  the  language  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Nor  can  this  course  of  conduct  be 
righteously  construed  into  a  breach  of 
brotherly  love  and  Christian  forbearance, 
until  it  can  be  proved  that  we  ought  to  love 
men  more  than  we  love  God,  and  that  the 
charity  which  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but 
rejoiceth  in  the  truth,  requires  us  to  disre- 
gard the  commandments  and  dispense  with 
the  ordinances  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour, 
Jesus  Christ. 

Finally,  brethren.  Farewell !  Adhere 
steadfastly  to  the  doctrines  and  ordinances 
of  Christ,  as  he  hath  delivered  them  to  us  ; 
and  as  there  is  one  body  and  one  spirt,  even 
as  ye  are  called  in  one  hope  of  your  calling ; 
one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  so  ice  be- 
seech you,  thai  ye  walk  worthy  of  the  voca- 
iion  wherewith  ye  are  called,  with  all  lowli- 
ness and  meekness,  with  long  suffering,  for- 
bearing one  another  in  love  ;  ejuleavoring 
to  keep  the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace.     The  Lord  be  with  you  all,  Amen. 


\» 


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OREGON 
RULE 
CO. 


1 


U.SJ. 


3 


5 


Section. 


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MEMOEIAL 


SEMI-CENTENNIAL  ANNIVEESAET 


AMERICAN  Colonization  Society, 


CELEBRATED  AT  WASHINGTON, 


JANUARY    16,    1867. 


WITH     DOCUMENTS     CONCERNING     LIBERIA. 


WASHINGTON: 

COLONIZATION   SOCIETY   BUILDING. 

MDCCCLXVII. 


PUBLISHED  BY  ORDER  OF  THE   BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 


BOSTON  : 
COKXHILL   PRESS.      CEO.   C.   RAND  &   AVERT. 


PEE  FACE. 


The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  American  Colonization  So 
ciety,  at  their  meeting  holden  at  Washington,  Jan.  17,  1866 
appointed  William  V.  Pettit,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  the  Hon 
D.  S.  Gregory,  of  New  Jersey,  the  Rev.  John  Orcutt,  D.D. 
one  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Society,  and  William  Tracy 
Esq.,  of  New  York,  "  to  act  in  co-operation  with  the  Execu 
tive  Committee,  in  making  arrangements  for  the  semi-centen 
nial  anniversary  of  the  Society."  In  consultation  with  them 
the  Executive  Committee  made  the  arrangements  according 
to  which  the  exercises  of  the  Fiftieth  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
Society,  Jan.  15,  1867,  were  conducted. 

At  their  meeting  the  next  day,  Jan.  16,  1867,  the  Board  of 
Directors  adopted  resolutions,  tendering  their  thanks  to  the 
several  speakers  who  had  addressed  the  Society  the  previous 
evening,  and  requesting  copies  of  their  addresses  for  publi- 
cation ;  tendering  thanks  to  the  authors  of  the  communica- 
tions received  from  Liberia ;  directing  that  the  proceedings 
of  that  evening  be  published  in  a  volume,  in  suitable  style, 
as  a  memorial  of  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Society  ; 
and  requesting  the  Rev.  Joseph  Tracy,  D.D.,  to  take  charge 
of  and  superintend  the  publication. 


IV  TKEFACE. 

For  the  satisfaction  of  those  who  would  understand  Liberian 
mind  and  character,  the  editor  has  subjoined,  in  an  appendix, 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  Constitution  of  the  Re- 
public of  Liberia,  the  Address  of  the  Convention  that  formed 
the  Constitution,  the  first  Inaugural  Address  of  its  first  Presi- 
dent, and  the  last  Annual  Message  of  President  Warner.  The 
reader  will  readily  perceive,  in  these  documents,  the  results 
of  much  careful  and  successful  study,  but  no  servile  imitation, 
of  American  State  Papers  of  similar  character.  No  candid 
man,  after  reading  them,  can  doubt  the  capacity  of  colored 
men,  with  suitable  training  and  experience,  for  the  manage- 
ment of  public  affairs.  The  reader  will  notice  with  interest 
the  difference  in  style,  as  the  different  occasions  required, 
between  President  Warner's  Address  at  the  Annual  Meeting 
and  his  Annual  Message.  That  Address  is  printed  from  the 
author's  elegant  manuscript,  with  no  correction  except  two  or 
three  evident  slips  of  the  pen.  The  others  are  reprints  from 
Liberian  printed  copies. 

There  is  also  appended  a  list,  complete  so  far  as  is  known, 
of  the  names  of  all  persons  who  have  been  authorized  to  act  as 
chief  magistrates  in  any  of  the  colonies  which  now  constitute 
the  Republic  of  Liberia.  Their  dates  have  been  given,  so  far 
as  they  could  be  ascertained.  In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  en- 
terprise, changes  and  vacancies  from  death,  disease,  and  other 
causes,  were  frequent ;  communications  were  infrequent,  and 
information,  coming  from  agents  worn  down  by  sickness  and 
labor,  often  imperfect  and  indefinite.  Hence,  appointments 
were    sometimes   made    hypothetically,  and  the  time  of  one 


PEEFACE.  V 

agent  is  partially  or  wholly  included  within  that  of  another. 
Agents  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  for  the  care 
of  recaptured  Africans  had  no  authority,  from  that  appoint- 
ment, to  act  as  agents  of  the  Society,  or  magistrates  of  the 
Colony.  Yet,  by  a  mutual  understanding,  the  agents  of  the 
Government  and  the  Society  appear  to  have  performed  each 
other's  duties  when  necessary,  and  often  the  same  person  was 
appointed  to  both  offices.  The  names  of  the  Government's 
agents  are  therefore  included  in  the  list,  but  are  distinguished 
by  a  different  type.  For  similar  reasons,  the  names  of  most 
of  the  physicians  appointed  and  sent  out  in  the  earlier  years 
of  the  Colony  have  been  included. 

And,  finally,  there  is  appended  a  table  of  emigrants  settled 
in  Liberia  by  the  Society,  with  the  year,  month,  and  name  of 
the  vessel  in  which  they  sailed,  and  the  State  from  which 
they  emigrated.  Were  it  desirable,  this  table  might  be  en- 
larged, by  giving  the  name,  age,  occupation,  previous  condi- 
tion as  bond  or  free,  education,  and  religious  profession,  if 
any,  of  every  emigrant ;  but  the  particulars  given  seem  to  be 
enough. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  table  does  not  include  Afri- 
cans recaptured  from  slave-traders  and  sent  to  Liberia  at  the 
expense  of  the  United  States,  though  many  of  them  were 
delivered  into  the  care  of  the  Society  in  American  ports,  and 
conveyed  to  Liberia  in  the  Society's  vessels. 

In  a  work  like  this,  a  complete  account,  historical  and  statis- 
tical, of  the  Society  and  its  Colony,  could  not  be  given.  It  is 
hoped,  however,  that  the  selection  and  treatment  of  topics  is 


VI  PREFACE. 

such,  that  the  careful  and  friendly  reader  will  be  able  to  un- 
derstand and  appreciate  the  general  character  of  the  enter- 
prise in  which  the  Society  is  engaged. 

Thanks  are  due,  and  are  cordially  tendered,  to  the  Hon.  J. 
H.  B.  Latrobe,  President  of  the  Society,  and  to  the  Hon.  G. 
Washington  Warren,  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  for  valuable 
suggestions  and  advice,  and  to  William  Coppinger,  Esq., 
Corresponding  and  Recording  Secretary,  for  facts  ascertained 
by  careful  and  laborious  researches  among  ancient  records 
and  correspondence. 


CONTENTS. 


Minutes  of  the  Fiftieth  Annual  Meeting 
Address  of  President  Latrobe  . 
Selections  from  the  Annual  Report 
Address  of  President  Warner  . 
Dr.  Tracy's  Historical  Discourse 
Address  of  Bishop  Clark     .... 


PAGE. 

11 
15 
21 
37 
61 
.     105 


appp:ndix. 


Declaration  of  Independence     . 
Constitution  of  Liberia        .... 
Inaugural  Address  of  President  Roberts 
Annual  Message  of  President  Warner    . 


129 
133 
149 
162 


CONTENTS.  Vlll 

PAGE. 

Chief  Magistrates  of  Liberia 177 

Table  of  Emigrants 182 

Cost  of  Colonization 191 

Original  Members  of  the  Society 192 


MEMO  RIAL 


Ol"    THE 


SEMI-CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY 


American  Colonization  Society. 


MEMORIAL. 


The  Fiftieth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Coloni- 
zation Society  was  holden  in  Trinity  Church,  Washing- 
ton, D.C.,  on  Tuesday,  January  15,  1867. 

The  Hon.  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe,  of  Maryland,  President, 
called  the  meeting  to  order  at  thirty  minutes  past  sev- 
en o'clock,  P.M.  At  his  request,  the  Eev.  R.  R  Gurley, 
Honorary  Secretary,  invoked  the  divine  blessing. 

The  President,  after  a  brief  address,  called  for  the 
Annual  Report. 

The  Corresponding  Secretary,  William  Coppinger, 
Esq.,  read  portions  of  the  Annual  Report.  He  then 
presented  an  address,  prepared  for  the  occasion  by  His 
Excellency,  Daniel  B.  Warner,  President  of  the  Repub- 
lic of  Liberia,  and  "  Reflections  on  the  Return  of  the 
Anniversary  of  the  American  Colonization  Society,"  by 
Henry  W.  Johnson,  Attorney  and  Counsellor  at  Law  in 
that  republic.  These  could  not  be  read  for  want  of 
time. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Tracy,  D.D.,  of  Massachusetts,  pre- 


12  AMERIC^VN    COLONIZATION    SOCIETY. 

sented  and  read  portions  of  a  Historical  Discourse 
on  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Society. 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  M.  Clark,  D.D.,  of  Rhode  Island, 
delivered  the  Semi-centennial  Address. 

The  Rev.  John  Maclean,  D.D.,  of  New  Jersey,  then 
pronounced  the  benediction,  and  the  Society  adjourned. 

The  addresses  at  the  Annual  Meeting  are  given  in 
their  order  on  the  subsequent  pages. 


ADDRESS 


HON.  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE. 


ADDRESS  OF  HON.  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE, 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 


Members  of  the^  American  Colonization  Society, 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen : 

In  calling  the  meeting  to  order,  the  Chair  has  not  for- 
gotten that  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  American 
Colonization  Society  has  been  reached. 

The  Fiftieth  Anniversary !  Half  a  century  of  existr 
ence !  And  yet  it  seems  but  a  few  years  since  the 
speaker,  then  a  mere  schoolboy,  attracted  by  the  lights 
of  a  church  in  Georgetown,  peered  at  nightfall  upon  a 
meeting  which  Francis  S.  Key  was  addressing,  and 
where,  in  all  probability,  Mercer  and  Clay  and  Ran- 
dolph and  Harper  and  Caldwell  and  Worthington 
were  present.  Dim  candles,  it  is  recollected,  in  tin 
sconces,  lighted  up  the  assembly.  To  the  schoolboy's 
intelligence,  the  only  interest  of  the  scene  was  in  the 
familiar  voice  and  the  gathered  crowd.  Of  the  subject 
of  discussion,  nothing  was  understood,  save,  as  re- 
ported at  home,  that  Mr.  Key,  a  well-known  friend,  was 
talking  about  Africa.     Circumstances  fix  this  incident 


IG  AMEBTCAN   COLONIZATION    SOCIETY. 

in  1816*  half  a  century  ago.  How  idly  would  the 
schoolboy  not  have  regarded  any  promise  then  made 
to  him,  that  he  would  live  to  preside  at  the  semi-cen- 
tennial anniversary  of  the  Society  whose  feeble  be- 
ginnings he  had  just  witnessed  without  comprehending 
them !  And  now,  how  profoundly  grateful  should  not 
the  recipient  of  so  high  an  honor  be,  not  only  to  those 
whose  choice  gave  him  the  seat  which  he  occupies  to- 
night, but  most  especially  to  Him  by  whose  mercy, 
while  others  younger  and  better  have  fallen,  he  has 
been  spared  to  witness  the  seed,  planted  in  1816,  ger- 
minate, and  send  forth  a  tree,  which,  through  winters  of 
discouragement  and  summers  of  prosperity,  has  grown 
until  it  has  attracted  the  attention  of  the  nations,  and 
has  a  nation  sheltered  beneath  its  branches ! 

Fifty  years !  And  such  years !  Of  what  other  fifty 
years  has  history  told  the  same  wondrous  tale  ?  They 
commenced  while  the  thunder  of  European  wars  and  of 
our  second  contest  with  Great  Britain  still  echoed 
in  our  ears.  Wearied  with  the  march  of  battle,  the 
world  was  resting  and  gaining  strength  for  a  yet 
grander  march,  —  the  march  of  progress.  How  aston- 
ishing the  facts  of  these  fifty  years !  How  extraordinary 
their  developments ! 

In  1816,  there  were  but  three  steamboats  on  the 
Hudson,  and  but  three  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  In 
1867,  where  are  they  not?  In  1816,  the  postage  of  a 
letter  from  Washington  to  Baltimore  was  ten  cents ;  to 
Philadelphia,  twelve ;  to  New  York,  eighteen ;  and  to 


ADDRESS    OF   HON.    JOHN  H.    B.    LATROBE.  17 

New  Orleans,  twenty-five.  Now  the  postage  to  San 
Francisco  is  but  three  cents;  and  the  telegraph  has 
made  communication  with  these  places  as  instantaneous 
as  the  thoughts  to  be  communicated. 

In  1816,  if  the  winds  favored,  a  letter  from  America 
reached  Europe  in  three  weeks;  if  adverse,  in  six. 
Now,  the  Secretary  of  State  sends  to  our  minister  in 
Paris  what  the  Emperor  of  the  French  receives  within 
the  hour  that  saw  it  written  in  Washington.  In  1816, 
it  was  the  labor  of  days  to  travel  from  the  capital  to 
New  York.  Impatient  at  the  nine  hours  now  occupied, 
the  public  desire  a  still  more  rapid  transit.  Railroads 
cover  the  land  as  with  a  net,  and  are  already  penetrat- 
ing the  wilderness  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  of  construc- 
tion daily,  on  their  route  to  the  Pacific.  In  1816,  we 
were  staggering  under  a  war-debt  of  but  a  few  mil- 
lions. Now  we  are  paying  off  a  war-debt  of  more  than 
two  thousand  millions,  at  the  rate  of  two  hundred  mil- 
lions annually. 

If  to  these  comparisons  were  to  be  added  the  im- 
provements in  science  and  the  arts,  hours  would  be  re- 
quired for  the  enumeration. 

Progress  in  science,  progress  in  art,  progress  in  all 
the  appliances  of  human  comfort,  have  signalized  the 
half  century  whose  close  we  this  night  commemorate. 

But,  of  all  that  has  been  referred  to,  nothing  has 
been  more  grand  in  conception,  more  wonderful  in  exe- 
cution, or  of  more  promising  results,  than  African  colo- 
nization.    Grand   in    conception,  because  it  solves    the 


18  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

problem  presented  by  the  presence  in  the  same  land  of 
two  races,  both  free,  that  cannot  amalgamate  by  inter- 
marriage. Wonderful  in  execution,  because  with  the 
humblest  means,  without  the  patronage  of  Government, 
and  with  few  better  materials  than  ignorant  free  ne- 
groes and  emancipated  slaves,  it  has  built  up  a  republic 
holding  an  honorable  rank  in  the  family  of  nations, 
with  churches  and  schools,  with  free  institutions  mod- 
elled after  our  own,  and  already  attracting  to  it  the  de- 
scendants of  those  who,  brought  naked  and  helpless 
from  Africa,  acquired  here  the  religion  and  civilization 
with  which  their  children  are  returning,  clothed  as  with 
bright  raiment,  to  their  ancestral  home.  More  promis- 
ing of  results,  because  its  agencies  are  at  work,  not 
for  the  welfare  of  one  people  only,  but  for  two  quar- 
ters of  the  globe  itself,  benefiting  America,  blessing  Af- 
frica ;  obviating;  in  the  one  an  otherwise  inevitable 
strife,  securing  in  the  other  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy ; 
illuminating  the  latter,  without  diminishing  the  lustre  of 
the  former ;  blessed  of  the  Almighty  in  its  progress, 
and  finding,  in  an  almost  miraculous  success,  encourage- 
ment in  the  belief  that  his  hand  will  support  it  to  the 
end. 


PORTIONS 


FIFTIETH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


PORTIONS  OF  THE  FIFTIETH  ANNUAL  EEPOET, 


READ  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING. 


The  American  Colonization  Society  commemorates 
the  Semi-Centennial  Anniversary  of  its  formation. 
Profound  thanks  are  offered  to  God  for  marked  pro- 
gress in  its  noble  work,  and  for  the  wider  field  of  activi- 
ty opened,  and  that  its  labors  during  the  year  just 
closed  have  been  more  extended  and  beneficial  than  for 
many  years  past. 

Since  the  last  meeting,  seven  more  of  the  Vice-Presi- 
dents of  the  Society  have  been  removed.  The  first  who 
was  called  away  was  James  Boorman,  Esq.,  of  New  York, 
a  liberal  giver  to  promote  the  benevolent  enterprises 
of  the  times,  and  a  model  of  Christian  integrity  and 
judgment.  Following  him,  in  rapid  succession,  were 
Lieut.-Gen.  Winfield  Scott,  whose  goodness  of  heart 
and  humanity  shone  not  less  brightly  than  his  military 
genius  and  love  of  country  ;  Dr.  Thomas  Hodgkin,  of 
London,  who  spent  his  life  in  the  service  of  his  fellow- 
creatures  of  all  races,  and  was  universally  esteemed  for 
his  consistency  of  character  and  the   utter  unselfishness 


22  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION    SOCIETY. 

of  his  devotion  to  this  and  every  good  cause ;  William 
W.  Seaton,  Esq.,  long  an  active  and  highly-prized  mem- 
ber of  the  Executive  Committee  of  this  Society,'  and  its 
public  advocate  and  defender,  who  has  left  behind  him  a 
bright  example  of  disinterested  benevolence  ;  Gen.  John 
H.  Cocke,  of  Virginia,  for  many  years  spared  as  the 
senior  Vice-President  of  the  Society,  and  who  had  fer- 
vently labored  for  his  servants  by  furnishing  the  facili- 
ties for  their  spiritual  improvement,  and  the  settlement 
of  some,  and  the  preparation  of  others  to  enjoy  their 
freedom  in  Liberia ;  Daniel  Chandler,  Esq.,  of  Alabama, 
justly  held  in  high  esteem  for  his  piety  and  philan- 
thropic character ;  and  Commodore  Robert  F.  Stock- 
ton, of  New  Jersey,  eminent  for  civic  acquirements  and 
naval  renown,  and  for  intrepidity  in  meeting  and  suc- 
cessfully surmounting  the  bitter  opposition  of  the  na- 
tives, and  in  securing  the  territory  upon  which  has 
arisen  Monrovia,  the  capital  city  of  the  Liberian  Re- 
public. 

It  is  fitting  here  to  notice  the  great  loss  sustained  by 
the  Society  in  the  decease  of  John  P.  Crozer,  Esq.,  of 
Pennsylvania,  a  man  of  rare  generous  sympathies  and 
abounding  liberality,  long  identified  with  the  religious 
and  charitable  institutions  of  the  country.  Bound  to 
our  cause  by  the  heroic  dedication  and  sacrifice  of  a 
younger  brother,  —  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Crozer,  who  was  the 
first  agent  and  physician  appointed  by  the  Society,  and 
who  sailed  with  the  first  company  of  emigrants  de- 
spatched to  Western   Africa,  —  he   was   always   much 


FIFTIETH   ANNUAL    REPORT.  23 

interested  in  our  labors  and  progress,  and  frequently 
attended  and  participated  in  the  deliberations  of  the 
Board  of  Directors,  where  he  was  distinguished  by  a 
sound  judgment,  catholic  disposition,  uniform  courtesy, 
and  genuine  kindness.  By  his  will,  he  made  provision 
for  the  promotion  of  the  purposes  of  our  organization 
to  the  extent  of  five  thousand  dollars. 

Death  has  also  removed  from  the  ranks  of  the  pai^ 
rons  and  efficient  friends  of  the  Society,  Francis  Hall, 
Esq.,  of  New  York  ;  William  Crane,  Esq.,  of  Baltimore  ; 
and  Hon.  Abraham  Hanson,  the  first  Commissioner  and 
Consul-General  of  the  United  States  to  Liberia,  whose 
address  at  our  last  annual  meeting  was  full  of  interest 
and  encourao-ement. 

In  the  departure  of  these  constant  and  able  advo- 
cates of  the  cause  of  African  colonization,  the  members 
and  friends  of  the  Society  are  admonished  of  the  uncer- 
tainty of  all  human  supports,  and  of  the  necessity  of 
arousing  themselves  to  higher  efforts  in  the  light  of  the 
ever-shining  glory  of  these  excellent  and  lamented 
men. 

To  accommodate  the  numerous  applicants  for  passage 
and  settlement  in  Liberia,  and  in  view  of  the  great 
economy  and  pressing  necessity  of  having  a  vessel  of 
our  own,  adapted  to  our  wants,  it  was  determined  to 
purchase,  in  September  last,  the  ship  "  Golconda,"  1016 
tons,  or  303  tons  larger  than  the  packet  "  Mary  Caro- 


24  AMERICAN  COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

line  Stevens,"  whose  place  she  takes  in  the  service  of  the 
Society  between  this  country  and  Liberia. 

The  purchase  was  not  effected  until  after  a  thorough 
examination  of  the  markets  for  vessels  on  charter  or  for 
sale.  She  was  secured  at  a  very  reasonable  price  for 
cash.  To  Dr.  James  Hall  is  the  Society  indebted  for  the 
selection,  purchase,  and  fitting  out  of  this  ship. 

The  "Golconda"  was  purchased  and  provisioned  at 
Boston,  and  sailed  thence,  on  Saturday,  Oct.  20,  for 
Charleston,  S.C.,  as  the  nearest  and  most  convenient 
port  for  the  embarkation  of  the  expected  emigrants. 
On  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  Nov.  21,  being  the 
first  day  of  high  water  on  the  bar  after  her  arrival  at 
Charleston,  she  was  towed  safely  out  to  sea  and  set  sail 
for  Liberia. 

She  started  with  exactly  six  hundred  emigrants  on 
board,  of  whom  194  were  from  Macon,  Ga. ;  167  from 
Newberry,  S.C. ;  144  from  Knoxville,  Tenn. ;  52  from 
Charleston,  S.C. ;  and  43  from  Columbia,  S.C.  Of  these, 
206  are  to  settle  at  Sinou,  181  at  Carysburg,  155  at 
Cape  Mount,  and  58  at  Cape  Palmas. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  emigrants  are  professors  of 
religion ;  of  whom  it  is  known  that  70  are  Methodists, 
56  are  Baptists,  13  are  Presbyterians,  and  2  are  Epis- 
copalians. Among  them  is  a  regularly  organized 
church,  —  "  The  Macon  Baptist  Church  of  Smou  County, 
Liberia,"  —  consisting  of  pastor,  two  deacons,  and  twen- 
ty-six members. 

A  high  degree  of  intelligence  is  shown,  in  that  77  can 


FIFTIETH  ANNUAL   REPORT.  25 

read,  20  can  both  read  and  write,  and  2  have  had  the 
advantao;es  of  a  collegiate  education. 

The  trades  or  occupations  are  represented  by  78 
farmers,  33  laborers,  15  carpenters,  13  shoemakers,  9 
bricklayers,  9  blacksmiths,  4  wheelwrights,  3  coopers,  3 
tailors,  2  millers,  2  cooks,  1  iron-moulder,  1  silversmith, 
1  ginmaker,  1  waterman,  1  gunsmith,  1  engineer,  1 
goldsmith,  1  dentist,  and  1  photographer. 

The  "  Golconda  "  had  five  cabin  passengers,  among 
whom  are  the  venerable  Rev.  John  Seys,  for  the  past 
thirty  years  identified  with  the  interests  of  Liberia  and 
of  the  cause  of  African  colonization,  now  returning  as 
Minister-Resident  and  Consul-General  of  the  United 
States  to  that  Republic ;  and  Rev.  H.  W.  Erskine,  son 
of  one  of  the  most  estimable  colored  ministers  who  ever 
went  to  the  African  coast,  who  was  educated  in  Liberia, 
entered  the  ministry,  and  is  now  Attorney-General  of 
that  rising  State.  This  was  his  first  visit  to  the  land  of 
his  birth,  made  in  part  to  take  with  him  an  aged  sister 
and  her  husband,  with  their  children,  grandchildren,  and 
great-grandchildren  lately  made  free,  and  now  joyfully 
accompanying  him. 

Since  the  departure  of  the  "  Golconda  "  from  Boston, 
applications  have  been  received  with  the  names  of  78 
persons  at  Winnesboro',  S.C. ;  25  at  Lagrange,  Ga. ; 
78  at  Columbus,  Ga. ;  178  at  Newberry,  S.C. ;  and 
291  at  Mullins  Depot,  S.C:  in  all,  642  for  passage  to 
Liberia.  Companies  are  known  to  be  forming,  each 
promising  to  be  at  least  150   strong,  at  Macon,  Ga. ;  at 


26  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 

Florence,  S.C. ;  at  Apalacliicola,  Fla. ;  and  at  Newbern, 
N.C. ;  while  smaller  parties  have  applied  from  other 
places,  among  which  may  be  named  Edenton,  N.C,  and 
Albemarle  County,  Ya.,  all  hoping  to  set  sail  the  com- 
ing spring  for  "  Fatherland." 

Inquiries  for  information  about  Liberia,  and  how  to 
get  there,  continue  to  reach  the  office  of  the  Society, 
showing  that  multitudes  are  using  the  means,  which 
they  never  had  before,  of  learning  the  actual  condition 
and  real  promise  of  a  country  which  appeals  to  them 
with  its  ancestral  claims,  and  offers  them  such  advan- 
tages as  they  can  hope  to  obtain  nowhere  else  on  the 
face  of  the  earth. 

It  is  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  each  and  all  of 
the  movements  which  resulted  in  the  unusually  large 
emigration  by  the  "  Golconda,"  and  those  just  referred  to, 
were,  and  are,  purely  local  and  spontaneous.  The  peo- 
ple sought  the  Society  in  each  and  every  instance. 

Ought  not  these  people  also  to  be  helped  ?  Shall 
we  close  our  hands  against  those  who  prefer  a  home  in 
Liberia,  and  seek  of  us  the  needful  aid  ?  If  they  desire 
and  choose  to  go  to  Africa,  is  it  not  our  duty  to  aid 
and  encourage  them  to  do  so  ?  Can  we,  in  any  better 
way,  repay  them  for  their  services,  or  make  amends  for 
the  past,  than  by  restoring  them  to  their  long-lost  her- 
itage in  their  fatherland  ?  And  shall  w^e  fail  to  supply 
Africa  with  intelligent  Christian  industry  in  the  persons 
of  her  own  offspring  ? 


FIFTIETH  ANNUAL   REPORT.  27 

'"As  teachers,  missionaries,  and  colonies,  they  will  go  self-moved ; 
and  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic,  that  heard  the  wail  and  the  groans 
from  the  hold  of  the  slave-shij^,  will  yet  resound  with  the  song, 
the  psalm,  and  the  prayer,  from  the  lips  of  colored  people  re- 
turning to  found  empire  and  Christian  civilization  in  Africa.  How 
vast,  then,  are  the  results  of  the  problem  of  the  colored  people  in 
America!  They  involve  all  sections  and  populations  here,  and  ex- 
tend their  influence  over  two  continents.  Such  a  problem  may 
well  claim  the  sympathy  and  thought  of  the  nation." 

In  his  last  annual  message,  President  Warner  thus 
dwells  upon  the  advantages  which  Liberia  is  offering  to 
the  people  of  color :  — 

"  On  the  subject  of  immigration,  we  cannot  but  feel  a  deep  inter- 
est. Our  need  of  population  is  immediate  and  urgent.  Our  im- 
mense resources  cannot  be  developed ;  the  fruits  of  the  earth, 
spontaneously  produced,  cannot  be  gathered  ;  the  fat  of  the  land 
cannot  be  made  available,  —  simply  for  the  want  of  minds  and  hands 
to  engage  in  the  necessary  operations.  Surely,  with  the  vast  la- 
tent capabilities  of  this  country,  we  have  the  ability  to  become  a 
power  by  no  means  to  be  despised  in  the  agricultural  and  com- 
mercial world. 

"We  have  again  and  again  invited  our  friends  in  the  United 
States  to  come  over  and  help  us  to  fill  up  the  vast  solitudes,  which 
for  centuries  have  remained  uninhabited;  while  they,  in  exile  in 
the  Western  Hemisphere,  are  jostled  and  elbowed  and  trampled 
upon  by  an  oppressive  race.  But  my  hopes  are  as  strong  as  ever, 
and  my  confidence  remains  unshaken  in  the  destiny  of  Liberia. 
She  is  yet  to  be  the  asylum  for  the  oppressed  American  negro,  and 
a  beacon  for  the  guidance  of  the  benighted  tribes  of  this  continent. 
I  may  not  be  able  to  predict  the  methods  by  which  Africa's  exiled 
sons  are  to  be  restored  to  her  bosom ;  but  I  feel  certain  such  an 
occurrence  will  in  some  way  or  other  take  ])lace." 


28  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

Rev.  Edward  W.  Blyden,  lately  Secretary  of  State  of 
Liberia,  and  now  Fulton  Professor  of  Languages  in  Li- 
beria College,  on  a  recent  occasion  said  :  — 

"  Any  one  who  has  travelled  at  all  in  Western  Africa,  especially 
in  the  interior  of  Liberia,  and  has  seen  how  extensive  and  beauti- 
ful a  country,  marvellously  fertile,  lies  uninhabited,  with  its  at- 
tractive and  perennial  verdure  overspreading  the  hills  and  val- 
leys, cannot  but  come  to  the  conclusion  that  this  beauteous  do- 
main is  in  reserve  for  a  people  who  are  to  come  and  cultivate  it ; 
and  we  can  see  no  people  so  well  {irepared  and  adapted  for  this 
work  as  the  negroes  of  the  United  States. 

"  Afi-ica  will,  without  doubt,  be  the  final  home  and  field  of  opera- 
tion for  thousands  if  not  millions  of  them.  And  the  powerful 
agency  that  will  thus  be  brought  into  that  land,  —  of  fimily  influ- 
ences, and  the  diversified  appliances  of  civilized  life  in  the  various 
mechanical,  agricultural,  commercial,  and  civil  operations,  will  rap- 
idly renovate  the  spirit  and  character  of  the  Afiican  communities; 
and  whole  tribes,  brought  under  the  pervading  influence  of  Chris- 
tian principles,  will  be  incoi-porated  among  us.  And  then  Anglo- 
American  Christianity,  liberty,  and  law,  under  the  j^rotection  of 
the  Liberian  flag,  will  have  nothing  to  impede  their  indefinite 
spread  over  that  immense  continent." 

Liberia  is  gradually  growing  in  the  elements  of  nation- 
al stability.  The  natural  riches  of  that  region  are  enor- 
mous, and  are  such  as,  sooner  or  later,  will  support  a 
commerce  to  which  that  at  present  existing  on  the 
coast  is  merely  fractional.  The  Liberians  own  and  run 
a  fleet  of  "coasters,"  collecting  palm-oil,  cam -wood, 
ivory,  gold-dust,   and   other   commodities.     A   schooner 


FIFTIETH   ANNUAL    REPORT.  29 

of  eighty  tons  was  built,  costing  $11,000,  and  loaded 
last  fall  at  New  York,  from  money  and  the  proceeds  of 
African  produce  sent  for  that  purpose  by  an  enterpris- 
ing merchant  of  Grand  Bassa  County.  A  firm  at  Mon- 
rovia are  having  a  vessel  built  in  one  of  the  ship-yards 
of  New  York,  to  cost  $15,000,  which  it  is  expected  will 
be  ready  to  sail  about  the  middle  of  February  next. 

Bishop  Payne,  for  the  past  thirty  years  connected 
with  the  Episcopal  Mission  on  the  West  Coast  of  Afri- 
ca, and  now  temporarily  in  this  country,  thus  describes 
what  he  witnessed  at  Monrovia  on  his  recent  homeward 
voyage : — 

"  We  enter  Monrovia  Roads,  and  find  two  vessels  at  anchor. 
One,  a  brigantine  of  137  tons,  English  built,  is  owned  by  Dr.  S.  F. 
McGill  and  bi'others.  She  is  commanded  by  Captain  Kelly,  Li- 
berian,  and  a  navigator.  The  other  is  a  regular  English  brig,  just 
out,  consigned  to  the  firm  just  named,  with  a  full  cargo,  and  to  be 
loaded  entirely  by  them.  Boats  are  passing  rapidly  to  and  from 
the  shore,  loaded  with  palm-oil  and  sugar.  Her  "  lay  days,"  or 
days  for  loading,  are  forty,  but  she  will  be  freighted  in  thirty  days. 
Dr.  McGill  ships  on  board  of  her  thirty  thousand  gallons  palm-oil 
and  twenty-five  thousand  pounds  of  sugar,  from  the  St.  Paul's 
River. 

"  Just  as  we  come  to  anchor,  several  boats  come  alongside  the 
bark  '  Thomas  Pope,'  loaded  with  sugar.  It  is  freight  from  Mr. 
Jesse  Sharp,  one  of  the  prosperous  sugar-planters  on  the  St.  Paul's. 
Mr.  Sharp  judiciously  purchased  a  small  steam  sugar-mill  for 
$2,500,  and  paid  for  it  the  first  year.  For  fourteen  days  we  are 
receiving  cargo,  all  from  Monrovia.  We  ship  thirty-six  thousand 
gallons  palm-oil,  sixty-two  tliousand  pounds  of  sugar,  near  four- 
teen thousand  pounds  of  coifee,  seven  hundred  pounds  of  ivory, 
besides  sundry  smaller  amounts  of  freight." 


30  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

The  same  devoted  laborer  for  the  redemption  of  Af- 
rica affords  the  following  cheering  account  of  what  he 
saw  of  the  thrift,  comfort,  and  progress  along  the  St. 
Paid's  River,  during  a  trip  made  Friday,  April  20, 
186G:  — 

"Emerging  from  Stockton  Creek,  avc  feel  Ave  are  in  a  civilized 
country.  On  the  riglit,  in  Lower  Caldwell,  is  the  neat  establish- 
ment of  Mr.  Powers.  Here,  too,  is  a  modest  frame  building,  with 
quite  as  modest  a  congregation,  called  St.  Peter's  Episcopal 
Church.  Proceeding  up  the  river,  we  saw  two  Baptist  and  Meth- 
odist churches,  each  of  brick,  on  either  side  of  the  river.  Just  op- 
posite to  Mr.  Powers's,  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  river,  is  the  neat, 
home-like  residence  of  Rev.  John  W.  Roberts,  Bishop  of  the  Li- 
beria Methodist  Church.  The  settlement  of  Virginia  here  ex- 
tends back  three  or  four  miles  from  the  river.  Above  Mr.  Rob- 
erts's, we  soon  see  the  fine  brick  houses  of  Mr.  William  Black- 
ledge  and  Rev.  A.  F.  Russell.  .  Presently  we  come  to  Clay- 
Ashland,  where,  besides  Grace  (Episcopal)  Church,  are  three  others. 
Here  are  many  fine  brick  houses,  the  township  of  Clay-Ashland 
extending  back  four  or  five  miles;  and  now  we  never  lose  sight 
again  of  cultivated  fields  and  comfortable  brick  houses.  Best 
amongst  these  are  those  of  the  Messrs.  Cooper,  DeCoursey,  An- 
derson, Howland,  and  Washington,  sugar-planters.  By  the  time 
we  reach  the  Gaudilla  farm,  we  have  passed  four  steam-mills,  all 
hard  at  work.  There  are  many  wooden  mills,  besides  those  pro- 
pelled by  steam.  An  intelligent  friend  has  given  us  the  following, 
as  an  approximate  estimate  of  the  sugar  crop  on  the  St.  Paul's,  in 
1866:  Sharp,  120,000  lbs.;  Cooper,  30,000  lbs.;  Anderson, 
35,000  lbs.;  Howland,  40,000  lbs.;  Roe,  30,000  lbs.;  sundry  small- 
er farmers,  150,000 ;  total,  575,000  lbs.  The  coffee  crop  also  is 
considerable,  though  we  are  not  able  to  state  how  much." 


FIFTIETH  ANNUAL  REPORT.  31 

Several  of  the  leading  powers  of  the  world  have  re- 
cently given  evidence  of  their  regard  for  Liberia.  By 
order  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  a  first-class  Russian 
frigate  made  a  complimentary  visit  in  January  to  Mon- 
rovia. Sweden  and  Norway  also  sent  a  national  vessel 
on  a  similar  errand,  —  the  first  arrivals  of  the  armed 
representatives  of  these  two  northern  European  nations 
in  the  waters  of  the  African  Republic.  The  celebrated 
ship  "  Kearsarge  "  lately  called  on  her  way  home  from 
the  Mediterranean,  —  the  first  American  cruiser  ordered 
there  since  the  beginning  of  the  war.  The  highest 
diplomatic  representative  accredited  to  Liberia  is  from 
the  United  States,  —  the  title  being  lately  changed  to 
that  of  Minister-Resident  and  Consul-General.  Hol- 
land, and  Sweden  and  Norway,  have  created  consulate 
officers  to  reside  at  Monrovia ;  and  it  is  expected  that  a 
treaty  of  amity  and  commerce  will  soon  be  concluded 
between  Russia  and  Liberia. 

As  we  close  this  annual  record,  we  turn  our  eyes  to 
survey  the  way  in  which  the  Lord  hath  led  us  this  fifty 
years. 

The  American  Colonization  Society  was  founded  in 
Washington,  D.C.,  Dec.  21,  1816,  by  eminent  individu- 
als from  the  several  States,  memorably  prominent 
among  whom  was  the  Rev.  Robert  Finley,  D.D.  A 
Constitution  was  adopted  at  an  adjourned  meeting  held 
in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the 
"  following  Saturday,"  Dec.  28,  and  officers  elected  Jan. 
1,  1817.     Not  one,  it  is  believed,  of  those  who  took  part 


32  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

in  these  proceedings,  or  of  the  officers  chosen  at  the 
first  meeting,  is  living  to  witness  its  Semi-Centennial 
Anniversary ! 

The  Society  has  had  five  Presidents,  viz. :  — 

Jan.  1,  1817,  Hon.  Bushrod  Washington. 

Jan.  18,  1830,  Hon.  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton. 

Jan.  20, 1833,  Ex-President  James  Madison. 

Dec.  15,  1836,  Hon.  Henry  Clay. 

Jan.  19,  1853,  Hon.  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe. 

The  whole  amount  of  its  receipts  during  the  fifty 
years  has  been  $2,141,50777;  and  the  State  Coloniza- 
tion Societies  received,  while  acting  in  an  independent 
capacity,  as  nearly  as  we  can  arrive  at  it,  $417,399.33; 
making  a  grand  total  of  $2,558,907.10. 

The  Society  has  given  passage  to  11,909  persons  of 
color,  sent  in  147  vessels  or  voyages ;  and,  what  is  a  re- 
markable providence,  not  one  of  the  vessels  with  emi- 
grants on  board  has  been  permitted  to  bew  recked  or 
lost !  Of  these  people,  4,541  were  born  free,  344  pur- 
chased their  freedom,  5,957  were  emancipated  for  the 
purpose  of  going  to  Liberia,  the  status  of  68  is  un- 
known, 346  were  sent,  in  1865,  from  Barbadoes,  W.I., 
and  753  of  the  class  popularly  known  as"freedmen" 
have  left  this  country  since  the  termination  of  the  war. 
Besides  these,  1,227  have  been  settled  at  "Maryland  in 
Liberia,"  by  the  Maryland  State  Colonization  Society. 
The  total  emigration,  therefore,  under  colonization  au- 
spices and  expense,  has  been  13,136. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  has  made  the 


FIFTIETH  ANNUAL  REPORT.  33 

settlements  founded  by  the  Society  the  asylum  of  5,722 
recaptured  Africans,  mostly  taken  on  the  high  seas  by 
its  men-of-war. 

The  Society  has  strictly  confined  its  labors  to  the 
"  colonizing,  with  their  own  consent,  the  free  people  of 
color  residing  in  our  country,  in  Africa." 

Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills  and  Rev.  Ebenezer  Burgess 
went  on  board  the  "  Electra,"  at  Philadelphia,  for  Lon- 
don, Nov.  16,  1817.  They  set  sail  in  the  "Mary,"  from 
London,  Feb.  3,  1818,  and  arrived  at  Sierra  Leone 
March  22,  following.  They  selected  Sherbro  Island, 
about  120  miles  from  that  celebrated  British  colony, 
and  left  thence  for  the  United  States  May  22,  having 
passed  just  two  months  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa. 
Mr.  Mills  died  on  the  homeward  voyage.  His  worthy 
colleague  still  lives  in  a  good  old  age. 

The  ship  "  Elizabeth,"  the  "  Mayflower  "  of  Liberia, 
sailed  from  New  York  Feb.  6,  1820,  with  86  emi- 
grants, and  arrived  at  Sierra  Leone  March  9.  These 
pioneers  were  landed  at  Campelar,  Sherbro  Island, 
March  20,  1820.  This  place  was  soon  abandoned,  and 
the  survivors  removed  to  Fourah  Bay. 

A  treaty  was  signed  at  and  for  Mesurado  Dec. 
15,  1821,  the  colonists  removed,  and  the  American  flag 
raised  there,  April  25,  1822. 

The  several  settlements,  with  one  exception,  were 
formed  into  a  Commonwealth,  the  Legislature  of  which 
began  its  first  session  Aug.  30,  1839. 

The  people,  in  Convention  assembled,  July  26,  1847, 


34  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

constituted  and  declared  themselves  a  "  free,  sovereign, 
and  independent  State,  by  the  name  and  title  of  the 
Republic  of  Liberia." 

The  flag  of  the  new  Republic  was  raised  Aug.  24, 
1847,  with  demonstrations  of  joy  and  gratitude. 

The  territory  owned  by  the  Liberian  Government  ex- 
tends some  six  hundred  miles  along  the  West-African 
coast,  and  reaches  back  indefinitely  toward  the  interior, 
the  native  title  to  which  has  been  fairly  purchased. 

It  has  brought  within  its  elevating  influence  at  least 
200,000  of  the  native  inhabitants,  who  are  gradually  ac- 
quiring the  arts,  comforts,  and  conveniences  of  civilized 
life.  It  has  a  regularly  organized  government,  mod- 
elled after  our  own,  with  all  the  departments  in  suc- 
cessful operation.  Schools,  seminaries,  a  college,  and 
some  fifty  churches,  belonging  to  seven  different  denom- 
inations, are  in  a  hopeful  condition.  Towns  and  cities 
are  being;  built  wdiere  once  the  slave-trade  flourished 
with  all  its  untold  cruelty,  bloodshed,  and  carnage.  Ag- 
riculture is  extending,  and  commerce  is  increasing. 

Liberia  has  exercised,  for  nigh  twenty  years,  all  the 
powers  and  attributes  of  an  independent  Government, 
and  has  been  recognized  as  such  by  the  leading  powers 
of  the  world. 


ADDRESS 


HIS  EXCELLENCY  D.  B.  WARNER, 


PRESIDENT    OF    LIBERIA. 


ADDRESS    OF    PRESIDENT    WARNER. 


Mr.   President^  and    Gentlemen    of   the  American    Colonization 
Society/  : 

Doubtless  the  occasion  on  which  you  have  come 
together  to-day  is  one  of  thrilling  interest  to  every 
philanthropist  present.  It  dates  the  semi-centennial 
existence  of  an  institution,  which,  fifty  years  ago,  entered 
upon  the  prosecution  of  an  enterprise  which  has  already 
achieved  much,  and  is  destined  to  revolutionize  for  good 
an  entire  continent.  A  period  of  fifty  years  in  the  age 
of  a  nation  just  beginning  its  career  is  short,  when 
compared  with  the  object  it  has  in  view  and  the  length 
of  time  such  an  organization  is  expected  to  exist;  but 
when  viewed  in  connection  with  a  private  association, 
such  as  your  Society  is,  it  occupies  in  the  catalogue  of 
dates  a  high  and  prominent  place. 

Among  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  founding 
of  your  Society,  there  may  be  enumerated  the  frightful 
proportions  to  which  slavery  had  grown  in  the  United 
States  of  America ;  the  deep  moral  and  physical  degra- 
dation and  immense  suffering  of  its  victims  ;  the  wide- 
spreading  demoralizing  effects  it  was  producing  upon 


00  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION    SOCIETY. 

the  morality,  civilization,  and  Christianity  of  the  country  ; 
and  the  awful  sense  of  the  great  guilt  and  immeasurable 
responsibilities  the  country  was  incurring  by  allowing 
an  institution  so  reproachful  to  continue  in  it  and  to 
receive  aid  and  comfort  under  its  flag.  The  former  of 
these  circumstances  had  produced  in  some  of  the  States 
very  distressing  alarm,  causing  them  to  give  the  question 
of  slavery  a  serious  consideration ;  and  the  sufferings  of 
the  slave  had  appealed  with  powerful  effect  to  the  jus- 
tice, humanity,  and  benevolence  of  all  the  States. 

Respecting  the  first  and  chief  object  of  the  Society  at 
its  founding,  there  have  been  made  various  statements  ; 
some  of  which,  if  true,  attribute  to  it  a  selfishness  which 
finds  a  parallel  only  in  that  which  clinches  the  hands 
and  petrifies  the  heart  of  the  most  detested  and  aban- 
doned miser.     But  such   a  selfishness  as  that  could  not, 

1  think,  have  continued  so  long,  and  been  productive  of 
such  great  and  good  results  as  we  see  flowing  from 
the  operations  of  the  scheme  of  African  colonization. 
But  whether  it  was  self-interest,  or  any  thing  akin  thereto, 
which  prompted  the  founding  of  the  institution,  and  has 
ever  since  been  the  mainspring  of  all  its  operations,  the 
signs  of  the  times  seem  to  favor  the  opinion  of  many, 
that  an  enterprise  was  set  on  foot,  which,  in  process  of 
time,  will  become  a  standing  wonder  of  the  world ;  and, 
in  eternity,  millions  will  remember  it  as  the  door  through 
which  they  entered  the  church  militant,  and  thence  the 
church  triumphant. 

Perhaps  the  pages  of  modern  history  contain  a  record 


ADDRESS    OF    PRESIDENT    WARNER.  39 

of  no  beginnings  so  small,  instruments  so  weak,  and 
wielded  by  a  power  so  feeble,  that  have,  in  the  same 
time,  accomplished  more  than  the  Society  has  through 
its  African  colonization  scheme.  This  remark  should  be 
regarded  as  neither  boastful  and  extravagant  on  the  part 
of  Liberia,  nor  enthusiastic  and  exaggerative  in  favor  of 
the  Society.  It  is  rather  an  expression  given  to  convic- 
tions which  are  daily  being  strengthened  and  confirmed 
by  the  progressive  movements,  both  of  the  Society  and 
of  Liberia,  and  in  which  the  world  itself  will  concur, 
when  the  objects  and  operations,  achievements  and  pros- 
pects of  both  shall  have  been  thoroughly  understood 
by  it. 

The  Society  was  no  sooner  formed,  than  its  object  and 
operations  became  an  offence  to  the  hardened  slave- 
holder. By  him  they  were  said  to  be  in  antagonism  to 
his  interest,  and  the  interest  of  those  he  held  in  bondage. 
He,  therefore,  hurled  against  them  all  the  formidable 
weapons  he  could  command ;  calling,  at  the  same  time, 
for  the  curse  of  Heaven  to  fall  upon  them,  and  blast  them 
forever. 

There  seems,  however,  to  have  been,  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  slavery  in  the  United  States,  some  little  just 
and  humane  consideration  for  the  slave  and  man  of 
color ;  but,  when  this  feeling  assumed  the  form  of  pro- 
tection and  stern  justice,  the  creed  of  the  pro-slavery 
man  was  made  to  run  thus  :  "  Go,  therefore,  now,  and 
work,  for  there  shall  no  straw  be  given  you,  yet  ye  shall 
deliver  the  tale  of  bricks." 


40  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

As  friends  to  the  Society  and  African  colonization 
multiplied,  the  opposition  of  the  pro-slavery  men  grew 
stronger,  seconded  even  by  some  of  those  for  whose 
especial  benefit  the  association  was  founded.  It  was 
fierce  and  malicious  and  formidable  enough  to  discourage 
and  even  check  a  movement  much  more  popular  than 
African  colonization. 

That  there  may  be  brought  under  view  something 
more  of  the  greatness  of  the  task  which  the  Society 
imposed  upon  itself,  —  or  will  it  be  as  correct  to  say,  that 
was  imposed  upon  the  Society  ?  —  when  it  assumed  to 
found  a  colony  of  the  American  blacks  on  the  West 
Coast  of  Africa, —  this  dreaded  land,  —  we  must  take  into 
the  account  the  very  limited  geographical  knowledge  it 
possessed  of  the  country  about  to  be  occupied,  of  the 
character  of  the  people  inhabiting  it,  the  distance  of 
three  thousand  miles  emigrants  would  have  to  be  trans- 
ported who  were  to  be  the  colonists,  and  the  protection 
which  would  have  to  be  afforded  these  from  the  violence 
and  depredations  of  the  natives  in  the  country.  Here, 
too,  in  active  operation,  was  a  powerful  branch  of  that 
great  laboratory —  the  slave-trade  —  that  was  furnishing 
the  Western  World  with  its  victims  of  cruelty,  suffering, 
and  death.  It  was  being  carried  on  by  civilized  and 
Christian  governments,  who  made  their  navies  sentinels 
to  watch  and  repel  the  approaches  of  any  one  that 
would  have  the  temerity  to  come  to  molest  them  in 
their  infamous  work  of   blood.     Long  had   the  horrid 


ADDRESS   OF   PRESIDENT   WARNER.  41 

flag  of  this  nefarious  traffic  waved  over  the  land,  sup- 
ported and  worshipped  bj  its  kings  and  its  princes. 

Against  this  array  of  might  and  power,  a  handful  of 
men,  comprising  the  American  Colonization  Society, — 
an  association  of  very  limited  means,  and  equally  so  in 
point  of  skill  in  the  management  of  African  affairs,  —  set 
out  to  contend,  relying  for  success  upon  the  pureness  of 
their  intention,  the  justice  of  their  cause,  and  the  hope 
of  receiving  aid  from  Him  by  whom  "kings  reign  and 
princes  decree  righteousness ; "  and  who  had  said, 
"  Ethiopia  shall  stretch  forth  her  hand  unto  God."  How 
they  began  and  succeeded,  we  will  narrate  presently. 

For  more  than  three  centuries  previous  to  the  found- 
ing of  your  Society,  the  African  slave-trade  had  been 
crossing  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the  Western  Hemisphere. 
Annually,  it  had  torn  away  from  their  native  homes  and 
beloved  country,  thousands  and  thousands  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Africa,  burying  thousands  of  them  in  the  sea,  as 
they  expired  in  the  middle  passage,  and  transporting  the 
remainder  of  them,  sick,  feeble,  and  distressed,  to  foreign 
countries ;  there  subjecting  them  to  a  servitude  and  to 
brutalities  to  which  a  speedy  and  violent  death  is  pref- 
erable. For  years  this  wicked  and  unjust  traffic  had 
been  passing  from  East  to  West,  attended  with  sufferings, 
cruelties,  and  barbarities,  which  torture  the  mind  to 
reflect  upon.  The  Western  World  had  been  made  black 
with  the  shrivelled  forms  of  its  victims,  and  their 
oppressors  drunk  with  their  blood. 

But,  from  the  beginning  of  the  foul  monster's  career, 

6 


42  AMKKKAN   COLOXIZATION   SOCIETY. 

there  was  an  eye,  which  never  sleeps,  looking  on  upon 
his  work.  It  took  cognizance  of  all  his  deeds ;  of  each 
of  his  victims  that  fell  in  the  middle  passage,  and  now 
lies  on  the  bed  of  ocean ;  of  all  that  breathed  out 
their  souls  on  the  bloody  plantation,  whose  bones  have 
no  resting  place  but  in  the  open  air,  exposed  to  the  foot 
of  the  impious  and  the  ravages  of  the  night  beasts. 

True,  the  American  people,  as  a  nation,  retired  from 
the  trade,  declaring  it  piracy,  and  those  of  themselves  en- 
gaged in  it  worthy  of  death  ;  but  this  declaration  was,  in 
effect,  like  the  decrees  of  King  Ahasuerus,  and  its  hy- 
pocrisy has  received  a  terrible  reward.  But  the  time 
in  the  purpose  of  this  All-seeing  One  having  come, 
when  a  counter  current  should  set  in, —  when  there 
should  be,  at  least,  a  beginning  of  a  returning  to  their 
father-land  of  the  suffering  African  captives,  a  star 
appeared  to  guide  them  to  the  spot : — 

''  It  was  their  guide,  their  light,  their  all  ; 
It  bade  their  dark  forebodings  cease  ; 
And  through  the  storm,  and  danger's  thrall. 
It  led  them  to  the  port  of  peace." 

Purposely  inspired,  as  I  very  believe  they  were,  by 
Omnipotence,  with  his  will  to  that  end,  a  few  philan- 
thropic individuals  banded  themselves  together,  and,  in 
the  year  1816,  founded  the  American  Colonization 
Society.  This  is  the  star  which  appeared  to  shed  light 
on  the  surrounding  darkness  of  American  slavery,  and 


ADDRESS    OF   PRESIDENT   WARNER.  43 

to  point  out  to  the  bondmen  the  way  from  the  "  House 
of  Bondage  "  to  the  "  Land  of  Promise."  This  was  the 
more  earnest  beginning  by  those  devoted  philanthro- 
pists, to  do  that  2viU  of  Heaven  with  which  they  had 
been  so  impressively  inspired. 

Still  pressing  towards  their  object,  the  Society,  in 
1818,  employed,  commissioned,  and  sent  to  the  coast  of 
Africa,  two  commissioners.  The  honored  forerunners  of 
the  heaven-blessed  scheme,  and  bearers  of  credentials 
sealed  with  an  impress  deeper  and  broader  than  that 
which  mortals  use,  were  Messrs.  Samuel  J.  Mills  and 
Ebenezer  Burgess,  —  names  honored  in  Liberia  by  all 
who  hear  them.  Theirs  was  the  duty  to  "  spy  out  the 
land,"  and  to  select  and  purchase  a  suitable  site  for  the 
location  of  a  colony.  This  was  to  be  an  asylum,  —  a 
peaceful  retreat  from  slavery  and  oppression  —  for  as 
many  of  the  African  exiles  in  America  as  could  and 
would  avail  themselves  of  the  provisions  made  by  the 
Society  for  reaching  it.  It  was  to  be  the  foundation  of 
a  Christian  negro  nationality,  and  a  beacon  to  the  countr 
less  thousands  and  millions  of  Africa's  sons  who  are 
sitting  in  darkness  and  in  the  region  and  shadow  of 
death. 

Promptly  did  those  agents  fulfil  their  mission,  the 
many  obstacles  which  lay  in  their  way  notwithstanding. 
In  treating  with  the  owners  of  the  land  selected,  they 
were  brought  in  contact  with  all  that  duplicity  and 
treachery  for  which  the  natives  connected  with  the 
slave-trade  are  so  signally  famous.     This  rendered  their 


44  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION    SOCIETY. 

negotiations  both  irksome  and  perplexing.  But  all 
these  difficulties  were  heroically  encountered  and  over- 
come ;  and  then  the  commissioners  turned  their  faces 
homeward. 

On  the  return  of  Mr.  Burgess  to  America  (Mr.  Mills, 
his  co-adjutor,  having  resigned  his  gentle  spirit  to  Him 
who  gave  it,  while  on  his  way  to  those  who  had  sent 
him),  and  the  communication  to  the  Society  of  his  re- 
port, the  Society  determined  at  once  to  give  their  novel 
enterprise  a  thorough  and  practical  trial,  so  soon  as 
circumstances  would  allow  it  to  do  so.  After  the  lapse 
of  two  years,  matters  being  favorable,  the  undertaking 
was  resumed ;  when  in  February,  1820,  the  ship  "  Eliza- 
beth "  was  chartered,  and  sent  to  the  Sherbro  Island  with 
a  company  of  eighty-eight  emigrants,  under  the  care 
and  superintendence  of  the  Society's  new  agent.  Dr. 
S.  A.  Crozer.  This  was  the  forming  germ  of  a  subse- 
quent growth  ;  and  who  at  that  time,  judging  from  its 
formation  and  tenderness,  could  determine  the  size  of 
the  tree  it  would  produce  ?  Who  could  estimate  the 
number  of  other  happy  events  depending  upon  its  suc- 
cess? Or  who,  even  now,  at  its  advanced  age  and 
growth  of  only  forty-six  years,  will  undertake  to  figure 
up  the  good  which  has  already  accrued  from  it  to  civil- 
ization and  Christianity  ?  And  what  circle  less  than  that 
which  bounds  eternity  will  be  sufficiently  great  to 
enclose  the  influence  it  is  now  exerting  upon  the  world  ? 
Had  the  opportunity  afforded  the  Society  at  that  time 


ADDRESS    OF  PRESIDENT   WARNER.  45 

for  planting  a  settlement  in  Africa  been  lost,  a  second 
one  would  probably  have  never  occurred. 

The  location  selected  for  the  colony  being,  as  it  sub- 
sequently and  sadly  proved  to  be,  one  of  extreme 
unhealthiness,  the  emigrants  were  early  stricken  down 
by  its  pestilential  fevers.  Great  suffering  followed ;  and 
death  did  his  work  so  fast  and  terribly,  that  it  was 
found  necessary  to  abandon  the  island,  and  remove  the 
surviving  colonists  to  the  colony  of  Sierra-Leone.  Here 
they  remained  until  they  were  re-enforced  by  a  company 
by  the  brig  "Nautilus;"  and  here  both  companies 
located  until  a  second  and  permanent  jolace  was  found 
for  them  in  1821,  at  Cape  Mesurado.  At  this  place  the 
care-worn  wanderers  utterly  demolished  the  tent,  substi- 
tuting it  with  the  more  substantial  and  firmly-fixed 
lodge,  composed  of  brick,  wood,  and  the  durable  granite. 
Here  a  remnant  of  that  pioneer  band  and  their  offspring 
are  resting,  having  stood  the  shock  of  war,  endured 
intense  suffering,  and  undergone  and  lived  through  most 
of  the  trials  and  vicissitudes  peculiar  to  newly-founded 
countries.  And  here  are  thousands  of  others  who  have 
come  after  them,  enjoying,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the 
word,  "  liberty  and  equality."  Here  no  "  public  senti- 
ment frowns  them  down,"  so  long  as  they  obey  their 
country's  laws. 

It  was  to  be  out  of  the  "  house  of  bondage,"  that 
those  way-faring  and  self-sacrificing  men,  stooping  under 
the  weight  of  weary  years  of  slavery,  launched  upon 
the  tumultuous  ocean,  crossed  it,  and  became  the  sub- 


46  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

jeets  of  suffering"  and  privation  which  put  to  the  test  all 
of  human  and  divine  virtues  they  possessed.  And  the 
fortitude  and  heroism  displayed  by  those  founders  of 
Liberia,  during  their  day  of  trial,  were  indeed  worthy 
the  cause  calling  them  into  action ;  and  the  names  of 
the  veterans  themselves,  with  that  of  the  illustrious 
Ashmun,  and  those  of  your  numerous  other  self-sacrifi- 
cing agents,  and  that  of  the  Gordons  who  fell  in  the 
cause  of  African  colonization,  —  died  here  that  Liberia 
might  live,  —  will  descend  in  radiance  of  glory,  gather- 
ing brightness  as  years  roll  on,  to  generations  yet 
unborn. 

All  this  was  done  to  reclaim  from  slavery,  superstition, 
and  idolatry,  and  to  prepare  and  garnish  the  home  of 
the  millions  of  Africa's  descendants  in  America,  and  to 
bring  within  the  range  of  morality,  civilization,  and 
Christianity,  the  untold  millions  of  her  sons  and  daugh- 
ters dwelling  in  darkness  on  her  soil,  and  in  gross  dark- 
ness which  can  be  felt. 

What  a  fabric  of  "  civil  and  religious  liberty "  w\as 
begun  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Colony 
of  Liberia !  What  a  monument  of  God's  favor  and 
loving-kindness  to  the  sons  of  Ham  was  then  being 
created  !  What  an  achievement  was  being  effected  in 
favor  of  the  gospel  of  peace  !  And  what  tongue  will 
refuse  to  speak  His  glories  forth,  who  put  it  into  the 
hearts  of  those  who  undertook  the  work,  and,  until 
tlieir  death,  devoted  themselves  to  its  execution,  to  go 


ADDRESS    OF   PRESIDENT   WARNER.  •  47 

forth  and  build  up  the  waste  places  in  Africa  which  sin 
had  made ! 

Thus  far  I  have  attempted  very  little  in  detail.  I 
have  already  passed  over,  unnoticed,  hundreds  of  inci- 
dents which  occurred  between  the  arrival  at  Sherbro  of 
the  ship  "  Elizabeth  "  with  the  first  emigrants,  and  the  for- 
mal occupation  by  the  colonists  of  Cape  Mesurado  ;  and 
there  are  hundreds  of  others  strewed  between  that 
period  and  the  time  I  am  occupying  in  addressing  you. 

Some  of  those  incidents  were  truly  afflicting  and  dis- 
tressing; and  a  recollection  of  them,  even  at  this  distant 
period  of  time,  produces  in  the  mind  very  sad  and  pain- 
ful reflections.  Others  were  cheering  and  gratifying, 
and  in  their  more  happy  effects  are  still  looming  up 
before  us  in  the  most  flattering  prospects  of  success, 
both  to  the  Society  and  to  the  Republic  of  Liberia. 

In  my  last  inaugural  address,  I  have  already  noticed 
what  I  think  should  be  regarded  by  us  all  as  very  re- 
markable in  the  enterprise  of  your  Society,  viz. :  the 
exemption  from  those  more  sad  and  distressing  casual- 
ties or  disasters,  so  common  to  the  maritime  world,  of 
all  its  vessels  but  one,  I  think,  transporting  emigrants 
to  Liberia.*  Are  not  such  remarkable  instances  of  the 
preservation  of  ships  very  rare  ?  And  have  we  another 
such  instance  given,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Society,  in 
which  a  company  has  sent  its  vessels  across  the  ocean 
for  forty-six  years,  consecutively,  and  has  lost  but  one 
of  them  ?     Were  I  certain  that  the  case  of  the  Society 

*  In  that  single  instance  of  wreck,  no  emigrant  was  lost.  —  [Ed.] 


48  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

furnished  the  only  instance  of  the  kind,  I  would  seize 
upon  it  with  the  greater  tenacity,  as  an  incontrovertible 
proof  of  God's  special  favor  towards  the  returning 
bondmen  of  America,  and  of  his  pre-determined  pur- 
pose that  they  should  once  more  visit,  and  permanently 
settle  in,  their  country,  —  long  lost  and  disgraced  though 
it  may  have  been,  —  driving  out  tlie  Canaanite,  and 
breaking  down  and  trampling  under  foot  the  power  of 
the  slaver. 

Granting  that  some  vessel  and  her  company  of  emi- 
grants shall  be  lost,  —  sunk  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  — 
will  that  be  sufficient  to  break  down  the  opinion,  that  the 
Supreme  Being  has  willed  and  fore-ordained  that  there 
shall  be  an  exodus  of  the  colored  population  of  America 
to  their  own  land  ?  No  more  so,  I  think,  than  the  fall- 
ing in  the  wilderness  of  all  the  Jews,  except  two,  over 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  that  left  Egypt  for  Canaan, 
before  they  reached  that  place,  was  sufficient  to  prove 
that  it  had  not  been  pre-ordained  that  they  should  leave 
Egyptj  and  go  into  Canaan.  If  any  of  the  descendants 
of  Africa  in  America  start  hither,  despising  the  country 
—  their  sacredly  reserved  inheritance  —  to  which  they 
are  coming,  should  it  be  thought  strange  if  they  do  not 
reach  it  ? 

The  late  war  in  America,  —  that  terrible  "  uprising  of 
a  great  people," —  if  it  could  be  viewed  in  all  its  phases 
and  connections,  would  probably  furnish  an  exact  key 
to  the  question,  "  Shall  the  people  go  to  their  own 
place  ? "     The  very  watch-word  of  that  war  was,  "  Let 


ADDRESS   OF   PRESIDENT   WARNER.  49 

my  people  go,  that  they  may  serve  me  in  the  wilder- 
ness." The  burden  of  President  Lincoln's  administration 
was,  Loose  the  shackles,  and  let  the  oppressed  go  free ! 
And  President  Johnson,  extending  the  order,  says  to 
the  people,  "  Go  to  Liberia." 

All  the  propositions,  from  1777  to  the  present  time, 
made  by  various  Governments,  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  of  America  not  excepted,  for  the  settle- 
ment of  the  people  elsewhere  than  their  own  country, 
have  failed,  —  failed,  may  we  not  say,  like  the  building 
of  Babel,  because  they  were  in  direct  opposition  to  that 
plan  for  settling  them,  designed  by  Him  who  is  the  Great 
Designer  of  the  universe  itself  He  saith,  "  Surely,  as  I 
have  thought,  so  shall  it  come  to  pass ;  and  as  I  have 
purposed,  so  shall  it  stand."  * 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  it  is  no  wilderness  in  Mis- 
sissippi, in  any  of  the  north-western  Territories,  nor  in 
Central  America,  to  which  the  people  should  remove  or 
be  removed,  but  to  the  wilderness  of  Western  and  of 
Central  Africa.  These,  doubtless,  are  the  localities 
ordained  of  old  to  be  the  future  dwelling-places  of  the 
returning  captives  of  Africa,  and  the  deep  solitudes 
requiring  the  melody  of  their  songs,  that  the  solitary 
places  may  be  glad  ;  and  the  people  themselves  should  be 
constantly  pleading,  "  Send  me  away,  that  I  may  go 
unto  mine  own  place." 

On  being  invited  to  come   to  Liberia,  the    colored 

*  Isaiah  xiv.  24 


60  AMERICAN    COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

people  of  America  should  not  regard  the  invitation  in 
the  light  of  a  request  made  of  them  to  surrender  their 
own  country,  and  come  to  one  belonging  to  others. 
The  contrary  is  the  true  state  of  the  case.  Africa,  and 
not  America,  is  their  country.    It  was  made  theirs  when 

"  God  (irave  asunder,  and  assigned  their  lot 
To,  all  the  nations." 

It  has  been  for  centuries,  and  is  still  being,  kept  in 
sacred  reserve  for  them,  and  none  shall  inherit  their 
portion  until  they  come.  And  they  ought  to  come ;  and 
come  they  will,  when  it  shall  be  said  to  them,  —  and  it 
will  be  said  to  them  in  a  manner  they  shall  not  be  able 
to  resist,  —  "  Get  thee  out  from  this  land,  and  return  to 
the  land  of  thy  kindred." 

Here  is  ample  room  to  receive  them,  bread  enough  to 
feed  them,  wealth  to  enrich  them,  and  a  way  open 
before  them  to  the  object  of  their  highest  aspirations. 

"  Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  or  the  leopard 
his  spots  ?"  So  neither  can  finite  minds  change  or  frus- 
trate the  mind  and  purposes  of  the  Infinite.  "  For  the 
Lord  of  hosts  hath  purposed,  and  who  shall  disannul  it  ? 
His  hand  is  stretched  out,  and  who  shall  turn  it  back  ?  " 

But,  you  ask  me,  What  is  that  purpose  ?  The  sum 
total  of  the  answer  is  with  Him  whose  "  thoughts  are  not 
as  our  thoughts  ; "  but  the  opinion  entertained  by  many 
respecting  it  is,  that,  in  the  course  of  time,  the  two  races 
—  the  black  and  white  races  —  must  separate ;  and  the 


ADDRESS    OF   PRESIDENT   WARNER.  51 

deep  blue  Atlantic  Ocean  will  be  the  dividing  —  the 
Mason  and  Dixon  —  line  between  them.  Besides  this, 
there  seems  yet  to  be  solved  but  one  other  question 
remaining ;  viz.,  Can  the  blacks  be  absorbed  by  the 
whites  ?  That  is,  can  there  or  will  there  be,  through 
the  means  of  a  spontaneous  amalgamation,  a  gradual 
passing  away  of  the  former  into  mulattoes,  and  these 
again  into  the  dominant  race,  so  that,  in  a  few  centuries, 
the  whole  of  the  present  negro  population  of  America 
will  have  been  chang-ed  into  the  white  element?     This 

O 

is  not  probable  ;  neither  should  it  be  thought  desirable. 
It  will  be  but  increasing  the  difficulty  (perhaps  I  am 
too  dogmatical  in  my  opinion  on  this,  and  some  of  the 
foregoing  subjects),  the  settling  of  the  people  by  them- 
selves in  any  part  of  America,  where  they  and  the 
whites  can  have  easy  and  frequent  intercourse  with  each 
other.  This  opinion  is  based  on  the  probability,  that, 
under  such  circumstances,  one  or  the  other  people  will 
invade  the  rights  of  his  neighbor.  This  will  gender  into 
an  unpleasant  altercation  between  them ;  and,  if  the 
cause  of  offence  proceed  from  the  side  of  the  blacks,  will 
there  not  always  be  found  among  the  whites  those  who 
will  shoot  down  a  score  of  blacks  for  an  injury  done,  nay, 
even  for  an  insult  offered,  to  one  of  the  whites  ?  If  such 
an  occurrence  were  to  take  place  near  or  at  the  allotted 
home  of  the  four  millions  of  blacks,  would  it  not  be 
resented  ?  And,  if  resented,  the  consequences  would 
probably  be  such  as  I  need  not,  if  1  could,  describe. 
If  it  was  not  resented,  I  can  think  of  but  two  things  to 


52  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 

which  such  an  enlightened  and  successful  restraint  upon 
depraved  human  nature  would  be  attributable.  First, 
that  the  blacks,  in  separating  from  the  whites,  solemnly 
vowed  never  to  quarrel  with  them  (the  whites),  except 
in  a  legal  way,  under  any  circumstance  whatever  ;  and, 
secondly,  that  they  felt  themselves  numerically  too  weak 
to  contend  successfully  with  their  white  neighbors  in  a 
quarrel  in  which  deadly  weapons  would  be  used.  If  the 
latter  conclusion  should  be  the  barrier  to  their  protect- 
ing and  defending  themselves  when  they  should  do  so, 
then  the  blacks  would  not  be  living  in  the  enjoyment  of 
that  social  and  political  ease  and  equality  for  which  they 
are,  but  vainly,  contending  in  America. 

But  to  return.  If  I  could  be  less  commendatory  in 
my  remarks  while  I  address  you,  I  would  prefer  it ;  but 
I  cannot  well  be  so,  and  give  utterance  to  what  I  feel  to 
be  genuine  convictions  relative  to  yovvc  Society  and  the 
Republic  of  Liberia.  The  life-long  interests  of  millions 
of  the  African  race  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  are  in- 
volved in  the  question.  Shall  those  millions  remain 
where  they  are,  and  let  Africa  go  down,  and  sink  yet 
lower ;  or  should  they  return  to  their  fatherland,  and 
redeem  it  from  the  stigma  and  reproach  which  have 
rested  upon  it  for  ages,  dishonoring  its  name,  and  throw- 
ing a  darker  shade  over  its  ancient  glory  ?  The  salva- 
tion of  an  entire  continent  of  many  millions  of  inhabi- 
tants is  at  stake ;  and  it  is  but  just,  that  every  laudable 
means  should  be  called  into  requisition  to  secure  it ; 
and  that  those  means  should  be  regarded  with  a  proper 


ADDRESS   OF  PllESIDENT  WARNER.  53 

appreciation,  and  their  operations  promoted  ;  and  every 
thing  ought  to  be  said  and  done  that  will  have,  upon 
the  whole  subject,  a  wholesome  and  profitable  bearing. 

But  for  the  inauguration  of  your  Society,  and  the 
subsequent  founding  of  Liberia,  and  the  emigrating  to 
it  from  American  slavery  of  a  few  of  the  civilized  de- 
scendants of  Africa,  what  a  fund  of  native,  but  rare  and 
brilliant,  talent  would  have  lain  hidden  in  the  minds  of 
thousands  who  are  now  employing  it  in  diffusing  useful 
and  saving  knowledge  among  thousands  of  thousands, 
who,  but  for  receiving  it  through  this  channel,  would 
have  gone  without  it  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave ! 

History,  in  all  probability,  never  would  have  had  im- 
pressed on  its  pages,  as  men  of  great  common  sense, 
unflagging  fortitude,  and  dauntless  courage,  the  names 
of  Elijah  Johnson,  Lot  Gary,  Daniel  Hawkins,  Allen 
James,  Richmond  Sampson,  Thomas  Spencer,  John 
Lawrence,  and  the  names  of  numbers  of  others  who 
emigrated  to  Liberia  in  the  darkness  of  the  night  of 
African  slavery,  fought  here,  and  died  in  the  work  of 
laying  the  foundation  of  a  negro  Christian  empire,  and 
erecting  the  standard  of  freedom  and  of  the  cross  of 
the  Saviour.  They  toiled  hard  and  long  at  this,  pray- 
ing, at  the  same  time,  that  the  sun  of  righteousness 
would  shine  on  this  benighted  land,  and  chase  hence, 
forever,  the  thick  darkness  in  which  it  has  been  envel- 
oped for  thousands  of  years. 

The  oratorial  powers  of  the  lamented  Hilary  Teage, 
the  diplomatic  abilities  of  Joseph  J.  Roberts,  the  states- 


54  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION     SOCIETY. 

raanship  of  the  late  President  Benson,  the  legal  abilities 
of  Chief- Justice  John  Day,  and  the  ecclesiastic  endow- 
ments of  James  S.  Payne,  and  the  admirable  acquire- 
ments and  abilities  of  many  others  in  Liberia,  would 
have  been  so  many  gifts  vainly  bestowed,  but  for  a 
place  for  their  display,  and  opportunities  for  their  im- 
provement ;  and  these  places  and  opportunities  were 
not  to  be  found  in  a  land  of  slavery  and  proscription. 

The  banks  of  the  St.  Paul's,  St.  John's,  Sinoe,  and  Far- 
mington  River,  and  of  the  River  Cavalla,  now  teeming 
with  civilized  life  and  industry,  presenting  to  view  com- 
fortable Christian  homes,  inviting  school-houses  and 
imposing  church  edifices,  but  for  the  founding  of  Liberia 
would  have  remained  until  this  day  studded  with  slave 
barracoons,  the  theatres  of  indescribable  sufferings,  wick- 
edness, and  shocking  deaths.  And  what  is  to  be  said  of 
the  site  on  which  is  erected  Liberia  College  ?  And 
have  we,  in  truth,  lived  to  see  a  college  in  Liberia  ?  Its 
site  is  now  no  more  a  place  of  concealment  for  the  sub- 
tile and  sinewy  boar,  and  the  stealthy  leopard.  Its 
former  forest  echoes  no  longer  the  horrifying  yell  of 
the  perfidious  and  murderous  Dey,  invading  Monrovia ; 
it  is  no  longer  made  vocal  with  the  doleful  noise  of  the 
night-bird.  An  edifice,  dedicated  to  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences, stands  there  ;  and  its  halls  are  thronged  with 
Liberia's  youthful  aspirants,  preparing  themselves  to 
assert  the  rights  of  Africa,  and  to  redeem  her  from  her 
present  thraldom. 

And  what  can  I  say  more  !     From  every  stand-point 


ADDRESS    OF   PHESTDENT   WARNER.  55 

I  heave  yet  been  able  to  occupy,  I  can  see  nothing  in 
the  founding  of  the  American  Colonization  Society,  and 
its  subsequent  operations,  but  a  lofty  philanthropy  en- 
gaged in  the  prosecution  of  a  purpose  which  can  be 
appreciated  justly  only  by  the  mind  that  can  grasp 
eternity.  And  yet  we  have  the  mortification  to  hear 
the  Society  pronounced  a  cheat ;  its  agents,  knaves ; 
emigration,  a  gross  injustice  ;  the  Republic  of  Liberia,  a 
sham  and  a  grave-yard ;  and  the  whole  enterprise  a  de- 
ception !  But  all  these  pitiful  indulgences  and  unjust 
criminations  fail  most  shamefully  to  disprove  the  fact, 
that  this  day  the  sun,  in  the  brightness  of  his  glory, 
shines  most  majestically  upon  a  palpable  contradiction 
of  all  of  them,  in  the  real  form  of  the  highly  respected 
and  extensively  recognized  Republic  of  Liberia.  Let 
its  traducers  come  and  see  it.  While  they,  on  their 
side  of  the  wall,  are  pouring  water  on  the  flame  to  ex- 
tinguish it,  on  the  opposite  side  there  is  a  Hand,  se- 
cretly, and  as  constantly,  keeping  it  alive  by  feeding  it 
with  grateful  oil. 

With  all  her  faults  and  failings,  her  poverty  and 
weakness,  Liberia  is  endeavoring  to  prove  herself 
grateful  to  those  who  founded  her,  and  have  watched 
over  her,  cared  for  and  fostered  her  for  forty-six  years, 
and  so  render  herself  worthy  of  the  relations  she  sus- 
tains to  Africa,  and  to  the  civilized  nations  with  whom 
she  has  treaties. 

Your  offspring,  Mr.  President,  and  gentlemen  of  the 
society,  is  yet  existing,  and,  withal,  is  growing,  —  grow- 


66  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

ing  in  that  which  is  of  "  good  report."  Her  growth  may 
be  tardy ;  so  may  it  be  of  long  continuance.  But,  if  our 
colored  brethren  would  come  over  and  help  us,  we 
should  get  on  faster,  and  our  prosperity  would  be  much 
more  abundant.  They  have  been  so  frequently  invited 
to  come,  and  the  advantages  they  would  have  in  this 
countiy  have  been  so  clearly  and  repeatedly  set  before 
them,  that  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  say  any  thing  fur- 
ther to  encourage  them  to  come  than  I  have  already 
said.  If  they  will  persist  in  building  Babels  in  the  land 
of  Shinar,  and  pyramids  in  Egypt,  which  will  eventually 
be  to  them  only  so  many  eye-sores  whenever  they  look 
at  them  from  this  side  of  the  waters,  we  have  only  to 
say  to  them,  build  on. 

Since  your  founding,  you  have  been  called  to  lament 
the  death  of  many  of  your  once  active  and  efficient 
members,  whose  presence  in  your  meetings  was  so  ani- 
mating and  cheering.  In  the  far-off  land  of  Africa,  re- 
pose the  dust  of  some  of  them.  But  there  are  yet  re- 
maining among  you  flices  that  have  been  familiar  with 
each  other,  perhaps  for  fifty  years.  Doubtless  there  is 
among  you  your  venerable  and  superannuated  corre- 
sponding secretary,  whom  you  sent  to  Liberia  in  1824, 
to  rconnoitre  the  colony,  and  to  inspect  the  Agency  of 
the  great  Ashmun,  your  then  Colonial  Agent,  whose  in- 
trinsic worth,  as  a  person  for  the  times,  the  Society  did 
not  at  that  time  know.  There  are  also  yet  in  Liberia, 
among  the  living,  a  few  of  the  Crozer  band,  and  a  rem- 
nant of  the  Ashmun  contemporaries.     But  Liberia,  as 


ADDRESS   OF  PRESIDENT   WARNER.  57 

well  as  the  Society,  has  had  her  bereavements.  Her 
great  men  passed  away  just  at  the  time,  in  human  cal- 
culations,  when  their  services  were  most  wanted.  They 
are  gone  from  their  labor  and  toil,  and  their  works  fol- 
low them. 

Notwithstanding  many  evil  reports  have  gone  abroad 
against  our  "land  of  promise,"  deterring  many  in 
America,  and  perhaps  elsewhere,  from  coming  to  help 
us  possess  it  —  and  there  are  yet  being  uttered  predic- 
tions that  we  must  "  eventually  fail  and  come  to  naught," 
—  yet  both  you  and  we  have  abundant  reasons  to  re- 
joice, and  to  believe  that  He  who  has  begun  the  work 
of  Africa's  redemption  will  carry  it  on  to  a  glorious 
completion.  That  great  Architect  of  the  universe  has 
given  us  already  too  many  assurances  of  his  good  will 
towards  us  —  and  he  is  able  to  make  that  good  will 
abundantly  effectual  —  to  allow  us  to  doubt  one  mo- 
ment his  faithfulness  in  all  things  pertaining  to  his 
creatures,  or  to  believe  he  will  abandon  us  while  we 
are  yet  trusting  in  him.  The  sure  and  immutable  word 
is,  "  Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation  ;  but  sin  is  a  re- 
proach to  any  people."  By  securing  the  first,  the  sec- 
ond may  be  avoided. 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen,  I  have 
only  to  remark,  that,  thus  far,  through  the  vicissitudes 
of  fifty  years,  amidst  the  sneers  and  scoffs  of  those 
who  would  scoff  and  sneer  at  your  undertaking,  against 
the  spiteful  and  virulent  opposition  of  anti-colonization- 
ists,  with  a  determination  of  purpose,  having  a  sanctified 


58  AMERICAN  COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 

reference  to  the  glory  of  God,  you  have  steadily  held 
on  your  way,  using  your  best  endeavors  for  the  re- 
demption of  Africa,  and  the  salvation  of  her  millions  of 
souls.  Were  I  permitted  to  speak  a  word  in  behalf  of 
myself,  in  your  presence,  I  would  say,  I  shall  never  be 
able  to  command  language  to  express  my  gratitude 
to  God  for  guiding  my  infant  feet  to  the  Colony  of 
Liberia.  My  time  in  Liberia  is  almost  coeval  with  the 
existence  of  the  place,  and  I  have  yet  to  feel  the  slight- 
est regret  at  my  being  here. 

And  now,  to  Him  who  hath  sustained  you,  and  given 
you  of  his  free  Spirit  to  guide  you  in  all  your  acts  and 
deliberations,  be  ascribed  might,  majesty,  and  dominion, 
now  and  forever. 


HISTORICAL   DISCOURSE. 


HISTOEICAL    DISCOUESE. 


Mr.  President : 

A  PUBLIC  notice  has  promised  "  An  Historical  Discourse 
on  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Society  "  which  now 
celebrates  its  fiftieth  anniversary.  The  treatment  of 
the  first  topic  —  the  Rise  —  may,  perhaps,  be  aided  by 
an  illustration.  It  shall  be  drawn  from  the  practice  of 
the  ancients,  mentioned  by  Seneca,  of  building  altars  and 
offering  worship  at  the  sources  of  rivers.  Remains  of 
such  temples,  evidently  Grecian,  are  still  seen  at  the  two 
sources  of  the  Jordan  ;  and  substructions,  older  than 
Grecian,  at  that  of  the  Chrysorrhoas,  esteemed  by  the 
people  of  Damascus  "better  than  all  the  waters  of 
Israel."  In  both  these  instances,  however,  the  water 
from  these  sources  soon  unites  with  less  pretentious 
streams,  coming  from  a  much  greater  distance.  But 
what  if  there  be  no  vast  flood  bursting  forth  at  any  one 
point  ?  What  if  we  find  onl}^  here  the  bubbling  fount- 
ain, at  which  the  wild  bird  scarce  slakes  her  thirst ; 
there,  the  drops  trickling  from  the  fjxce  of  a  cliff;  yon- 
der, the  superfluous  moistiu'e  escaping  from  a  bed  of 
moss ;    and  moisture  from  a  thousand  other  places,  in 


62  AMERICAN    COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

varied  forms,  all  collected  by  the  slopes  and  channels 
which  the  Great  Creator  has  provided  for  that  pur- 
pose, into  one  vast  Father  of  Waters,  fertilizing  the 
plains  and  bearing  the  commerce  of  half  a  continent  ? 
Plainly,  you  can  erect  your  altar  in  no  one  place.  You 
can  worship  only  the  Beneficent  Wisdom  which  is  every- 
where, and  which  has  so  made  the  world  that  kindred 
good  influences  naturally  flow  together,  and  combiaie 
into  broad  streams  of  blessing  to  mankind. 

So  of  the  origin  of  our  Society,  and  of  our  work.  The 
sentiment  out  of  which  it  grew,  more  or  less  definitely 
formed  into  specific  plans,  was  everywhere,  tending  to 
realize  itself  in  beneficent  action  for  the  colored  race. 
This  sentiment  gushed  forth  at  many  points;  so  that 
many  persons  have  been  named  as  the  originators  of 
our  enterprise.  And  there  is  some  ground  for  each  of 
these  claims,  and,  doubtless,  for  many  others  that  might 
have  been  advanced.  They  were  originators,  as  truly  as 
if  there  had  been  no  others.  Their  relative  merits  can- 
not be  settled  by  chronology,  for  the  thought  was  often 
as  fresh  and  original  in  the  later  projector  as  in  any  that 
had  preceded  him. 

The  earliest  movement  known  to  have  any  historical 
connection  with  our  Society  was  the  visit  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Hopkins  of  Newport,  RI.  to  his  neighbor,  the 
Rev.  Ezra  Stiles,  April  7,  1773.  The  diary '^of  Dr. 
Stiles  has  preserved  the  record.  Dr.  Hopkins  pro- 
posed to  educate  two  pious  negro  youths  for  the  ministry, 
and  send  them  to  Africa  as  missionaries ;  hoping,  cvident- 

:  Veto  y«r)/L     ''fo/,     V.  X.   ri  .'^"^  ff- 


HISTORICAL   DISCOURSE.  63 

ly,  to  send  more  in  time.  He  needed  assistance  to  meet 
the  expense.  The  more  practical  mind  of  Dr.  Stiles 
suggested  that  the  enterprise  would  not  succeed  in  that 
form  ;  that  thirty  or  forty  suitable  persons  must  be  sent 
out,  and  the  whole  conducted  hy  a  society  formed  for 
the  purpose.  This  idea  of  a  purely  missionary  settle- 
ment grew,  in  a  few  years,  into  a  definite  plan  for  a 
colony,  with  its  agricultural,  mechanical,  and  commercial 
interests.  Aug.  31, 1773,  Drs.  Stiles  and  Hopkins  issued 
a  circular,  inviting  contributions  to  their  enterprise. 
Feb.  7,  1774,  a  society  of  ladies  in  New23ort  had  just 
made  their  first  contribution  ;  and  aid  had  been  received 
from  several  parts  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut. 
Nov.  2r,''two  of  the  young  men  sailed  for  New  York,  on 
their  way  to  Princeton,  N.J.  to  be  educated  under 
Dr.  Witherspoon,  president  of  the  college.  Three  days"^ 
later,  bills  w^ere  drawn  on  London  for  amounts  col- 
lected in  aid  of  their  enterprise  in  England  and  in 
Scotland.  April  10,  1776,  another  circular  was  issued. 
They  then  thought  their  colony  would  be  on  the  Gold 
Coast,  near  Annamaboe,  where  one  of  their  young  men 
had  influential  relatives,  who  w^ere  anxious  for  his  re- 
turn, as  had  been  learned  by  letters  from  Africa,  confirm- 
ing his  own  account. 

The  WHY  of  Independence  suspended  these  labors ; 
but  the  plan  and  the  purpose  survived  it.  In  1784,  and 
again  in  1787,  Dr.  Hopkins  endeavored  to  induce  mer- 
chants to  send  out  a  vessel  with  a  few  emigrants,  to 
procure  lands  and  make  a  beginning,  and  with  goods, 


^i'i 


64  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

the  profits  on  which  would,  of  course,  duninish  the 
expense.  In  March,  1789^.  he  hud  consultations  with 
Dr.  William  Thornton,  "a  young  man  from  the  West 
Indies,"  who  proposed  to  take  out  a  company  of  free 
blacks,  and  found  a  colony  in  Africa.  A  number  volun- 
teered to  go  with  him,  but  the  enterprise  failed  for 
want  of  funds.  Dr.  Thornton  was  afterwards  a  member 
of  the  first  Board  of  Managers  of  the  American  Coloni- 
zation Society. 

A  month  later,  Granville  Sharpe  and  others  sent  the 
first  colonists  from  London  to  Sierra  Leone.  This  design 
was  already  known  to  Hopkins.  Perhaps,  too,  Sharpe 
had  heard  of  the  plans  of  Hopkins,  as  tlie}^  had  been  well 
known  in  England  for  some  years  ;  but  they  had  no 
direct  intercourse  with  each  other  till  Hopkins  wrote  to 
Sharpe,  Jan.  15,  1789,  inquiring  whether,  and  on  what 
terms,  and  wdth  what  prospects,  blacks  from  America 
could  join  the  colony.  There  were  then  "  Christian 
Blacks"  desirous  to  emigrate,  enough  to  form  a  church  ; 
and  one  of  them  was  fit  to  be  its  pastor. 

Unsuccessful  in  this,  he  continued  his  labors.  In  1791, 
he  wished  the  Connecticut  Emancipation  Society  to  be 
incorporated,  with  power  to  act  as  an  education  and 
colonization  society.  In  1793,  he  preached  a  sermon 
before  a  kindred  society  at  Providence,  which  was  pub- 
liished  with  an  appendix,  in  which  he  advocated  almost 
the  exact  course  of  action  afterward  adopted  by  this 
Societ}',  and  urged  its  execution  by  the  United-States 


HISTORICAL   DISCOURSE.  65 

Government,  the  several  State  Governments,  and  by 
voluntary  societies. 

Hopkins  died  Dec.  20,  1803 ;  but  the  influence  of 
these  labors  still  lived.  They  must  have  been  well 
known  to  Capt.  Paul  Cuffee  of  New  Bedford,  and  the 
thirty  emigrants  whom  he  took  to  Sierra  Leone  in  his 
own  vessel,  early  in  1815 ;  and  in  1826,  two  of  his 
"  hopeful  young  men,"  Newport  Gardner,  aged  seventy- 
five,  and  John  Nubia,*  aged  seventy,  hoping  to  move 
their  brethren  by  their  example,  sailed  from  Boston  in 
the  brig  "  Vine,"  the  eighth  vessel  sent  out  by  this 
Society. 

The  next  movement  having  any  historical  result  was 
in  Virginia.  Dec.  31,  1800,  the  Legislature,  in  secret 
session, — 

'■'■  Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be  requested  to  correspond  with 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  on  the  subject  of  j^urchasing 
lands  without  the  limits  of  this  State,  whither  persons  obnoxious 
to  the  laws  or  dangei'ous  to  the  peace  of  society  may  be  removed." 

The  Governor,  Monroe,  in  communicating  this  Reso- 
lution to  the  President,  stated  that  it  was  passed  in  con- 
sequence of  a  conspiracy  of  slaves  in  and  around  Rich- 
mond, for  which  the  conspirators,  under  existing  laws, 
miii-ht  be  doomed  to  death.  It  was  deemed  more  hu- 
mane,  and  it  was  hoped  not  less  expedient,  to  transport 

*  Known  in  Hopkins's  correspondence  as  Salmur  Nubia,  and  familiarly  in 
Newport  as  Jack  Mason. 


66  AMEIIICAN    COLONIZATION    SOCIETY. 

such  offenders  bevond  the  limits  of  the  State.  President 
Jefferson  favored  the  idea,  discussed  the  objections  to 
several  locations,  said  that"  Africa  would  offer  a  last  and 
undoubted  resort,"  and  promised  his  assistance.  The 
Legislature,  Jan.  16,  1802,  directed  a  continuance  of 
the  corresjiondence,  "for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a 
place  without  the  limits  of  "  the  United  States,  "  to  which 
free  negroes  or  mulattoes,  and  such  negroes  or  mulattoes 
as  may  be  emancipated,  may  be  sent  or  choose  to  re- 
move as  a  place  of  asylum ; "  requesting  the  President 
"  to  prefer  Africa,  or  any  of  the  Spanish  or  Portuguese 
settlements  in  South  America."  This  resolution  differs 
from  the  former,  in  that  it  does  not  contemplate  a 
penal  colony,  and  does  contemplate  increased  facilities 
for  emancipation,  in  a  mode  which  the  State  did  not 
esteem  dangerous.  The  President  corresponded  with  the 
British  Government  concerning  Sierra  Leone,  and  with 
the  Portuguese  concerning  their  possessions  in  South 
America,  but  without  success.  In  1805,  Jan.  22,  a  reso- 
lution was  passed,  instructing  the  senators  and  request- 
ing the  representatves  from  that  State  to  endeavor  to 
procure  a  suitable  territory  in  Louisiana.  No  action 
followed,  and  the  matter  slept  ten  years.  Yet  the  pro- 
position of  Ann  Mifflin,  and  the  correspondence  of  John 
Lynd  with  Thomas  Jefierson  in  1811,  showed  that  the 
idea  was  still  alive  and  at  work. 

Another  of  these  numerous  origins  must  be  noticed. 
In  the  spring  of  1808,  a  few  undergraduates  of  Williams 
College,  Mass.,  formed  themselves  into  a  society,  whose 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.  67 

object  was,  "  to  effect,  in  the  persons  of  its  members,  a 
mission  or  missions  to  the  heathen."  In  about  two 
years,  this  society  was  transferred  to  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Andover,  of  which  most  of  them  had  become 
members.  Here  they  procured  the  formation  of  a  "  So- 
ciety of  Inquiry  respecting  Missions ; "  and  there  was 
thenceforth  the  chief  seat  of  their  labors.  With  becoming 
modesty,  they  regarded  themselves  as  little  else  than 
mere  school-boys,  competent,  indeed,  to  make  inquiries, 
collect  information,  and  discover  wants  that  ought  to  be 
supplied,  but  needing  the  guidance  of  older  and  w^iser 
men  to  mature  judicious  plans  and  execute  them  suc- 
cessfully. The  proposal  of  four  of  them  to  go  on  a  mis- 
sion to  the  heathen  in  foreign  lands,  led  directlj^  to  the 
formation  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions.  Suggestions  from  these  young  men, 
or  some  of  them,  also  led  to  the  formation  of  the 
American  Bible  Society,  and,  though  in  some  cases  less 
directly,  several  other  kindred  institutions,  for  which  the 
state  of  feeling  in  the  religious  world  was  prepared. 

Samuel  J.  Mills  has  been  commonly  regarded  as  the 
leader  of  these  inquirers.  With  a  companion,  he  made  a 
journey  of  inquiry  through  large  parts  of  the  new  settle- 
ments in  the  United  States,  especially  the  south-western 
part.  He  came  back  with  the  knowledge  of  many  wants 
to  be  supplied,  and  fully  convinced,  that,  to  use  his  own 
w^ords,  "  We  must  save  the  negroes,  or  the  negroes  will 
ruin  us;"  and  that  there  was  so  much  at  the  South  of  right 
feeling  towards  the  negroes,  that  something  might  be 


68  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

done  towards  saving  them.  The  matter  was  abundant- 
ly discussed.  A  colony  was  proposed,  somewhere  in  the 
vast  wilderness  between  the  Ohio  and  the  great  lakes. 
But  one  of  them  at  length  objected  to  that  location. 
"  Whether  any  of  us  live  to  see  it  or  not,"  said  he,  "  the 
time  will  come  when  white  men  will  want  all  that  region, 
and  will  have  it,  and  our  colony  will  be  overwhelmed 
by  them."  So  they  concluded  that  the  colony  must  be 
in  Africa. 

Mills  went  to  New  Jersey,  to  study  theology  with  Dr. 
Griffin  at  Newark,  and  still  more,  as  Dr.  Griffin  soon 
thouo;ht,  to  eno:ao;e  him  and  other  leading;  men  in  that 
region  in  considering  wdiether  certain  good  objects  could 
be  accomplished,  and  how.  While  there,  he  originated 
the  school  for  the  education  of  pious  blacks  at  Parsip- 
pany,  some  thirty  miles  from  Princeton.  It  was  placed 
under  the  care  and  patronage  of  the  Synod  of  New 
Jersey  ;  and  thus  the  Presbyterian  clergy  of  that  State 
were  brought  into  active  connection  with  Mills,  and  his 
idea  of  saving  the  negro.  His  project  of  a  colony  north 
of  the  Ohio,  or  somewhere  else,  was  well  known  to  Dr. 
Alexander  of  Princeton,  and  doubtless  to  others. 

Among  the  most  eminent  of  that  clergy  was  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Robert  Finley.  No  record  has  been  found  of  any  di- 
rect intercourse  between  him  and  Mills  ;  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  suspect  that  Mills  furnished  him  with  a  plan 
of  a  society,  to  be  formed  at  Washington,  for  colonizing 
free  l)lacks  in  Africa.  That  plan  seems  to  have  developed 
itself  in  his  own  mind,  while  contemplating  that  class  of 


HISTOEICAL  DISCOURSE.  69 

facts  to  which  Mills  was  so  busily  calling  attention  ;  and 
it  is  certain  that  he  had  it  under  consideration  as  early 
as  February,  1815.  From  about  that  time,  he  was  in- 
dustrious in  recommending  it  to  his  friends ;  but  they, 
while  admitting  that  its  object  was  good,  generally  dis- 
trusted its  success.  After  probably  nearly  two  years  of 
such  labor,  he  called  a  public  meeting  at  Princeton,  to 
consider  the  subject ;  but  few  besides  the  Faculties  of  the 
College  and  the  Theological  Seminary  attended,  and 
only  Dr.  Alexander  appears  to  have  aided  him  in  com- 
mending it.  Still  he  persevered ;  and  when  Congress  as- 
sembled, early  in  December,  1816,  repaired  to  Washing- 
ton, to  attempt  the  formation  of  his  proposed  society. 
On  his  arrival;  he  went  at  once  to  his  brother-in-law, 
Elias  B.  Caldwell.  That  these  brothers  had  previously 
corresponded  on  the  subject,  is  a  probable  conjecture,  but 
not  a  known  fact.  Yet  the  idea  of  colonization  was  not 
then  new  to  Mr.  Cakhvell.  It  had  already  been  sug- 
gested from  another  source. 

Late  inFebruary,  1816,  the  Virginia  secret  resolutions 
and  correspondence  of  1801-05  first  became  known  to 
Charles  Fenton  Mercer,  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of 
that  State.  Not  being  under  the  obligation  of  secrecy,  he 
at  once  made  them  known  extensively  in  the  State,  and 
pledged  himself  to  renew  them  at  the  next  session  of  the 
Legislature.  Being  at  Washington,  —  it  must  have  been 
in  March  or  April,  —  he  made  known  the  facts  and  his 
intentions  to  two  friends.  One  was  his  old  schoolmate 
at  Princeton,  Elias  B.  Caldwell,  who  approved  his  object, 


70  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

and  promised  to  use  his  influence  with  his  Presbyterian 
friends  in  New  Jersey  in  favor  of  it.  The  other  was 
Francis  S.  Key,  who  w^ould  attempt  a  similar  movement 
in  Marj'land.  Gen.  Mercer  redeemed  his  pledge.  His 
proposed  resolution  passed  the  House  of  Delegates,  Dec. 
14,  by  a  vote  of  132  to  14,  and  the  Senate,  Dec.  23, 
wath  one  dissenting  vote.  This  was  done  without  any 
knowledge  of  the  plans  and  movements  of  Dr.  Finley  for 
forming  a  society,  and  indeed  without  any  expectation 
that  a  society  would  be  formed.  His  idea  was,  that 
colonization  would  be  carried  by  the  State  Govern- 
Inents,  under  the  sanction  and  protection  of  the  National 
Government.  Still,  this  expression  of  Virginia's  mind 
rendered  important  and  perhaps  indispensable  aid  to 
the  formation  and  success  of  the  Society ;  for  the  action 
of  the  House  of  Delegates  was  known  in  Washington 
before  Gen.  Mercer's  resolution  had  passed  the  Senate, 
and  before  any  public  meeting  was  holden  to  form  a 
society. 

To  arrange  that  meeting,  and  secure  attendance  upon 
it,  cost  Dr.  Finley  no  slight  labor.  The  goodness  of  the 
object  was  generally  admitted  ;  but,  at  the  preliminary 
consultations,  those  invited  and  expected  were  generally 
absent.  Charles  Marsh,  member  of  Conii-ress  from  Yer- 
mont,  noticed  this  disposition  of  almost  everybody  to 
leave  this  good  w^ork  to  others;  and,  as  this  was  the 
only  project  that  he  had  ever  heard  of,  promising  great 
good  to  the  black  race,  he  determined  that  it  should  not 
be  allowed  to  die  in  that  way.     Pie  decided  that  those 


HISTORICAL   DISCOURSE.  71 

who  knew  the  plan  to  be  a  good  one  should  attend  the 
meetings.  Of  course,  as  all  who  ever  knew  his  inex- 
haustible adroitness  and  persistency  will  easily  under- 
stand, "  a  very  respectable  mumber "  of  them  at- 
tended the  first  public  meeting,  Dec.  21,  1816.  Henry 
Clay,  in  the  necessary  absence  of  Judge  Washington, 
was  called  to  the  chair.  Elias  B.  Caldwell,  the  brother- 
in-law  of  Dr.  Finley  and  the  schoolmate  and  friend  of 
Gen.  Mercer,  perfectly  informed  of  the  plans  and  move- 
ments of  both,  made  the  leading  argument  in  favor  of 
forming  a  society.  He  stated  that  public  attention  had 
been  called  to  the  subject  in  New  Jersey,  New  York, 
Indiana,  Tennessee,  Virginia,  and  perhaps  other  places. 
He  was  supported  by  remarks  from  John  Randolph  of 
Virginia,  and  Robert  Wright  of  Maryland.  A  committee 
was  appointed  to  prepare  a  constitution,  and  the  meet- 
ing adjourned  for  one  week. 

At  the  adjourned  meeting,  Dec.  28,  the  committee 
reported  a  constitution,  which  was  adopted.  Fifty 
gentlemen  affixed  their  names  to  it  as  members.  The 
twenty-third  name  on  the  list  is  Samuel  J.  Mills.  What 
brought  him  there  at  that  time,  and  what  he  was  about 
while  there,  we  can  only  infer  from  other  parts  of  his 
history. 

Jan.  1,  1817,  the  day  fixed  by  the  Constitution,  the 
Society  met  for  the  election  of  officers.  Hon.  Bushrod 
Washington,  of  Virginia,  was  chosen  President,  with 
twelve  Vice-Presidents,  from  nine  States,  including 
Georgia,  Kentucky  and  Massachusetts,  and  one  from 


72  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

the  District  of  Columbia.  Dr.  William  Thornton,  whose 
visit  to  Dr.  Hopkins  in  1787  has  already  been  men- 
tioned, was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Managers. 

Thus  the  Society  was  formed  and  organized,  not  by 
the  labors  of  any  one  projector,  or  by  the  inliuence  of 
a  movement  in  any  one  part  of  the  country,  but  by  the 
union  of  the  tendencies  which,  remote  from  each  other 
and  independent  of  each  other,  had  been  working 
towards  that  result  for  more  than  forty  years.  That 
the  Virginia  movement,  or  the  New-Jersey  movement, 
or  the  New-Eno-land  movements,  would  have  accom- 
plished  any  thing  without  the  union  of  all,  some  may 
perhaps  believe,  but  facts  have  not  proved.  Its  true 
origin  was,  in  the  desire  of  good  men  everywhere  to 
do  the  best  thing  then  practicable  for  the  black  race,  in 
this  country  and  in  Africa ;  that  desire  prompting  all 
these  movements,  and  sustaining  them  when  providenti- 
ally united  in  one. 

Gen.  Mercer  was  not  present  at  the  formation  of  the 
Society.  His  plan  was,  colonization  by  the  National  and 
State  Governments;  and,  late  in  life,  he  expressed  a 
doubt  whether  more  good  would  not  have  been  done 
by  such  action,  if  no  Society  had  been  formed  ;  as  the 
movement  would  then  have  had  the  united  support  of 
the  South,  which  was  lost  by  bringing  Northern  men 
into  the  movement,  and  thus  throwing  important  South- 
ern interests  "  open  to  the  public  discussions  and  acts  of 
a  Society  spread  through  the  United  States,  and  to  the 
interference  of  other  counsellors  and  agents  than  their 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.  73 

own  Government."  At  the  time,  however,  he  made  no 
such  objection.  His  confidential  friends  took  a  leading 
part  in  the  formation  of  the  Society,  and  he  himself  be- 
came one  of  its  most  active  and  efficient  supporters. 
In  a  few  weeks,  he  procured  the  formation  of  several 
auxiliaries  in  Virginia.  He  procured,  by  personal  solici- 
tation, large  donations  to  its  funds.  He  wrote  several 
of  its  earlier  Reports.  He  rendered  various  services, 
without  which  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  the  Society 
could  ever  have  become  active. 

The  first  step  towards  planting  a  colony  in  Africa 
was,  to  find  and  procure  a  location  where  it  might  be 
planted  and  prosper.  For  this  purpose,  Africa  must  be 
visited,  and  preliminary  arrangements  made.  Samuel  J. 
Mills  offered  himself  for  that  service,  was  accepted,  and 
authorized  to  select  his  companion.  He  selected  his 
friend,  Ebenezer  Burgess,  now  Rev.  Dr.  Burgess,  of 
Dedham,  Mass.,  the  man  who,  years  before,  had  opposed 
the  plan  for  colonizing  north  the  Ohio,  because  white 
men  would  want  that  country,  and  argued  that  the 
colony  must  be  in  Africa.  Their  letter  of  instructions 
was  dated  Nov.  6,  1817.  Money  to  repay  the  expense 
of  the  expedition  was  borrowed,  and  the  loan  repaid 
from  funds  raised  by  Gen.  Mercer  and  Rev.  William 
Meade,  afterwards  Bishop  Meade  of  Virginia. 

They  sailed  Nov.  16 ;  Mills  remarking  to  one  of  his 
associates  in  these  movements,  as  he  was  about  to  em- 
bark, "  This  is  the  most  important  enterprise  in  which 
I  have  ever  been  engaged."     Arriving  in  England  in 

10 


/4  AMERICAN    COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

December,  they  were  courteously  received  by  His  RoA'al 
Highness  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  Patron  and  Presi- 
dent, and  by  the  other  officers  of  the  African  Institution. 
Mr.  Wilberforce  introduced  them  to  Lord  13athurst, 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  who  gave  them 
letters  to  the  Governor  and  other  officers  at  Sierra 
Leone,  directing  them  to  aid  the  explorers  in  their  ex- 
plorations. Having  touched  at  the  Gambia,  they  arrived 
at  Sierra  Leone,  March  22,  1818.  The  Governor  and 
other  officers  received  them  with  great  personal  kind- 
ness, and  very  literally  obeyed  the  instructions  of  the 
Home  Government,  as  to  furnishing  facilities  for  inquiry, 
but  did  not  conceal  their  unwillingness  that  an  Ameri- 
can Colony  should  be  established  in  their  vicinity.  The 
principal  merchants  felt  the  same  unwillingness. 

They  were  more  cordiall}^  received  by  the  members 
of  the  "  Friendly  Society,"  instituted  among  the  colo- 
nists at  the  suggestion  of  Paul  Cuffee  in  1811.  Its 
President,  John  Kizell,  who  had  been  a  slave  in  the 
West  Indies  and  the  United  States,  entered  heartily  into 
their  plans,  accompanied  them  on  some  of  their  explo- 
rations, and  introduced  them  to  native  chiefs  over  w4iom 
he  possessed  much  influence.  They  examined  the  coast 
as  far  as  Sherbro,  obtained  promises,  that,  on  the  arrival 
of  colonists,  suitable  land  should  be  furnished  for  their 
settlement,  and  being  unable,  for  want  of  time  and  funds, 
to  visit  the  Bassa  Country,  Cape  Palmas,  Accra,  and  the 
Bight  of  Benin,  as  they   desired,  returned    to    Sierra 


HISTOKICAL   DISCOURSE.  75 

Leone,  and,  May  22,  embarked  for  England  on  their 
homeward  voyage. 

When  they  left  home,  Mills  was  suffering  from  a  pul- 
monary disease.  The  climate  of  England  aggravated 
it.  That  of  Africa  suspended  its  operation,  as  it  often 
does.  A  few  days  after  leaving  Sierra  Leone  it  re- 
turned, aided  by  a  severe  cold;  and  on  the  16th 
of  June,  he  gently  expired,  and  at  sunset  his  body  was 
committed  to  the  ocean.  Nearly  thirty  years  ago,  I 
wrote,  "  It  was  fitting  that  the  remains  of  such  a  man, 
whose  character  no  monument  could  suitably  represent, 
should  rest  where  none  could  be  attempted."  Now,  it 
has  been  made  my  duty  to  say,  that,  if  the  Society  will 
cause  a  monument  to  his  memory  to  be  erected  in  Libe- 
ria, the  funds  are  ready  to  defray  the  expense.  Liberia 
has  recorded  her  debt  to  both  explorers,  by  uniting  their 
names  in  the  name  of  Millsburgh,  which,  as  the  record 
states,  was  devised  for  that  purpose. 

Their  report  established  the  fact,  that  territory  might 
be  procured  and  a  colony  planted.  But  how  was  the 
Society  to  plant  a  colony,  with  less  than  three  thousand 
dollars  in  its  treasury,  and  its  receipts  less  than  one 
hundred  dollars  a  month  ?  "A  great  political  necessity  " 
furnished  the  means. 

The  Act  of  Congress  of  March  2,  1807,  had  prohib- 
ited the  importation  of  slaves  after  the  end  of  that 
year,  and  provided  for  punishing  the  importer ;  but  the 
slave  so  imported  became  subject,  like  all  other  persons, 
to  the  laws  of  the  State  in  whicli  he  was  found.     In 


76  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

several  of  the  States,  laws  were  enacted  and  legal  pro- 
ceedings devised,  under  which  it  was  still  found  profita- 
ble to  import  slaves,  and  incur  the  penalty,  if  it  could 
not  be  evaded,  as  it  often  was.  The  first  attempt  to 
interfere  with  this  policy  of  the  slave-traders  was  made 
by  the  legislature  of  Georgia.  That  legislature  enacted, 
Dec.  19,  1817,  that  the  Governor  should  take  all  such 
imported  slaves  out  of  the  hands  of  private  speculators 
into  his  own  custody,  and  sell  them  at  auction  for  the 
benefit  of  the  State  treasury ;  provided,  however,  that 
if  the  Colonization  Society  would  undertake  to  trans- 
port them  to  Africa,  and  would  pay  all  expenses  in- 
curred by  the  State,  the  Governor  was  requested  to  aid 
the  Society  as  he  might  deem  expedient.  This  was  the 
first  official  movement,  if  not  the  first  suggestion,  for 
the  return  of  recaptured  slaves  to  Africa. 

The  Act  of  Congress  of  April  20,  1818,  increased  the 
penalties  of  importation,  but  still  left  the  slaves  im- 
ported subject  to  the  laws  of  the  several  States,  and  the 
work  still  went  on. 

While  Gen.  Mercer  was  preparing  the  Second  Annual 
Report,  to  be  presented  in  January,  1819,  his  attention 
was  drawn  to  these  laws,  and  the  practice  under  them. 
The  Report  discussed  the  subject,  and  about  forty  pages 
of  its  appendix  were  filled  with  documents  showing  the 
facts.  In  Congress,  Gen.  Mercer  procured  the  drafting 
of  a  bill  to  remedy  the  evil,  which  passed  both  Houses, 
and  was  approved  by  the  President,  Monroe,  March  3, 
1810.     By  this  Act,  all  slaves  illegally  imported,  or  taken 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.  77 

at  sea,  were  to  be  kept  in  the  custody  of  the  United- 
States  Government  till  removed  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  the  President  was  to  appoint  an 
agent  or  agents  on  the  coast  of  Africa  to  receive  them, 
and  the  sura  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  was 
appropriated  to  meet  the  expense. 

About  six  weeks  after  this  Act  was  passed,  the  Hon. 
W.  H.  Crawford  of  Georgia,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
found,  in  a  Georgia  newspaper,  an  advertisement  of 
illegally  imported  slaves,  to  be  sold  at  auction  under  the 
State  law  of  1817.  He  immediately  informed  the  Soci- 
ety ;  and  the  Rev,  William  Meade  was  sent  to  Georgia 
as  its  agent,  to  receive  them  in  behalf  of  the  Society. 
Litigation  with  Spanish  claimants  prevented  immediate 
success;  but, some  years  afterwards,  they  were  delivered 
to  the  Society,  and  sent  to  Africa.  There  was  then 
about  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  the  State  treasury,  as 
the  proceeds  of  such  sales.  This  the  Society  hoped  to 
obtain ;  but  there  was  no  law  authorizing  the  Governor 
to  pay  it  over,  and  it  was  not  done. 

President  Monroe,  as  appears  by  his  Message  of  Dec. 
17,  1819,  understood  the  law  of  March  3  to  mean,  that 
a  suitable  residence  must  be  provided,  on  the  coast  of 
Africa,  for  the  agents  and  those  intrusted  to  their  care. 
For  this  purpose  he  determined  to  send  a  ship  to  the 
coast,  with  two  agents,  and  the  necessary  men  and 
means  to  procure  a  place  and  make  it  habitable. 

Evidently,  this  work  of  the  Government  and  the  en- 
terprise  of  the  Society  might  best  be  prosecuted  by 


78  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 

their  united  action  in  establishing  one  settlement,  where 
the  agents  of  both  should  reside,  and  to  which  emigrants 
and  recaptured  slaves  should  be  sent.  The  Government 
appointed  the  Rev.  Samuel  Bacon,  already  in  the  service 
of  the  Society,  as  its  agent,  Avith  whom  Mr.  John  P. 
Bankson  was  afterwards  associated.  The  Society  ap- 
pointed Dr.  Samuel  A.  Crozer  its  sole  agent.  The  Gov- 
ernment chartered  the  ship  "  Elizabeth,"  of  three  hun- 
dred tons,  and  "  agreed  to  receive  on  board  such  free 
blacks,  recommended  by  the  Society,  as  might  be  required 
for  the  purposes  of  the  agency."  Dr.  Crozer  took  out 
goods  and  stores  for  the  purchase  of  land  and  the  use  of 
the  emigrants.  The  emigrants  were  all  considered  as 
attached  to  this  joint  agency  of  the  Government,  and 
were  to  be  entirely  subjected  to  its  control  till  regularly 
discharged.  They  were  to  erect  cottages  for  at  least 
three  hundred  recaptured  Africans,  and  cultivate  land 
for  their  own  subsistence.  For  the  expenses  of  the 
expedition,  the  Government  placed  more  than  thirty 
thousand  dollars  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Bacon,  and  sent  a 
ship  of  war  to  co-operate.  Thus  provided,  the  "  Eliza- 
beth" sailed  from  New  York,  Feb.  6,  1820,  with  eighty- 
eight  emigrants  from  Virginia,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania, 
and  New  York. 

And  in  this  co-operation,  to  which  the  Government 
found  itself  forced  by  its  own  necessities,  the  Society 
first  found  the  power  to  go  forward  and  accomplish  its 
work.  And  if  the  ancients  were  right  in  considering 
the  immense  fountain  which  bursts  forth  by  the  side  of 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.  79 

a  streamlet  and  transforms  it  into  a  river,  the  true 
source  of  the  river,  to  be  honored  by  altars  and  worship, 
with  equal  propriety  may  your  monuments  distinguish 
this  point  in  the  stream  of  your  history. 

President  Monroe  appears  to  have  been  a  constant 
friend  of  colonization  ever  since  1801,  when,  as  Governor 
of  Virginia,  he  corresponded  with  Jefferson  on  the  sub- 
ject. He  gave  an  attentive  ear  to  the  Annual  Reports 
of  the  Society,  showing  the  condition  of  the  slave-trade, 
and  the  need  of  action  for  its  suppression.  His  known 
sentiments  encouraged  Gen.  Mercer  to  prepare  and  pro- 
cure the  enactment  of  the  law  of  1819.  His  interpreta- 
tion and  execution  of  that  law  furnished  the  means  by 
which  the  work  was  begun.  And  the  then  youthful  and 
ardent  friend,  whose  presence  forbids  fit  eulogy  now, 
was  right,  when  he  first  suggested  that  the  metropolis 
of  the  nascent  State  should,  by  its  name,  commemorate 
his  merits. 

The  first  emigrants  were  to  erect  houses  for  three 
hundred  recaptured  slaves.  The  whole  number  of  such, 
for  whom  the  Government  has  found  it  necessary  to 
provide  through  the  Society,  has  been  five  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  twenty-two.  The  resident  agency 
of  the  United  States  for  recaptured  Africans  continued, 
though  occasionally  vacant,  till  the  declaration  of  Libe- 
rian  independence.  All  this  could  not  have  been  done, 
and  well  done,  without  a  colony  large  and  strong  enough 
to  live  by  its  own  vitality  ;  and,  therefore,  the  substan- 
tial success  of  our  enterprise  was  a  national  necessity. 


80  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

Such,  as  we  have  seen,  were  the  forces  which  caused 
this  Society  to  be  formed ;  such  the  process  of  its  for- 
mation ;  such  the  national  need  of  its  aid,  which  pro- 
cured for  it  the  means  of  successful  activity.  Having 
seen  these,  let  us  pass  rapidly  over  events,  the  exciting 
and  tragic  interest  of  which  have  caused  them  to  be 
abundantly  recorded  elsewhere,  —  the  arrival  of  the 
"  Elizabeth  "  at  Sierra  Leone ;  the  cordial  reception  of 
the  emigrants  by  Kizell,  at  Campelar,  his  own  place  on 
Sherbro  Island ;  the  discouraging  attempts  to  purchase 
land  for  a  permanent  settlement,  defeated,  —  not  by  the 
treachery  of  Kizell,  for  he  was  no  traitor,  —  but  by 
secret  influences  from  those  at  Sierra  Leone,  who  wished 
the  colony  all  success,  but  at  a  much  greater  distance 
from  themselves;  the  hardships,  sickness,  and  deaths 
heroically  endured ;  the  removal  from  Campelar  to 
Fourah  Bay ;  the  purchase  of  Cape  Mesurado  by  Capt. 
Stockton  and  Dr.  Ayres,  at  the  risk  of  their  lives ;  the 
arrival  of  the  colonists,  and  their  lodgment  on  an  island, 
Jan.  7, 1822  ;  the  occupation  of  the  Cape,  April  25 ;  the 
return  of  the  agents,  and  the  proposal  that  the  emi- 
grants also  should  return,  and  the  enterprise  be  aban- 
doned ;  the  heroic  reply  of  Elijah  Johnson,  "  No :  I 
have  been  two  years  searching  for  a  home  in  Africa, 
and  I  have  found  it;  and  I  shall  stay  here;"  the  heroic 
determinatiom  of  the  others  to  remain  with  him ;  his  ap- 
pointment as  sole  agent ;  the  troubles  and  dangers  from 
the  first,  and  then,  and  afterwards,  from  a  host  of  native 
kings,  who  regretted  the  sale  of  the  Cape,  and  determined 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.  81 

to  expel  or  exterminate  the  colony,  lest  it  should  inter- 
fere with  the  slave-trade  ;  the  offer  of  a  force  of  marines 
from  a  British  man-of-war,  if  Johnson  would  only  cede 
a  few  feet  of  ground  on  which  to  erect  a  British  flag  ; 
his  prompt  reply,  "  We  want  no  flag-staff  put  up  here, 
that  will  cost  more  to  get  it  down  again  than  it  will  to 
whip  the  natives ; "  the  arrival  of  Ashmun,  and  his 
assumption  of  the  agency,  Aug.  9, 1822  ;  his  energetic 
labors,  both  diplomatic  and  military,  for  the  protection 
of  the  colony  ;  the  assault  on  the  settlement  on  the 
morning-  of  Nov.  11,  by  about  eight  hundred  natives, 
and  their  repulse  by  the  thirty-five  colonists,  capable 
of  bearing  arms ;  the  second  assault,  by  perhaps  twice 
their  former  number,  Dec.  2,  and  their  final  defeat. 
Passing  by  all  these,  let  us  examine  a  crisis  in  the  affairs 
of  the  colony,  involving  and  elucidating  a  principle,  and 
itself  needing  elucidation. 

There  had  been  complaints  against  the  colonists  of 
turbulence  and  insubordination.  They,  in  turn,  accused 
the  Agents  of  oppression  and  other  offences.  The  trouble 
grew  into  what  was  called  "  mutiny  "  and  "  sedition." 
Numbers  utterly  refused  obedience  to  the  Agent,  and 
proceeded  to  take  forcibly  their  supply  of  food  from  the 
public  store.  How  can  we  account  for  the  fact,  that  such 
men  as  Lot  Gary,  and  others,  were  betrayed  into  such 
conduct  ?  True,  there  had  been  complaints  about  the 
distribution  of  lands,  and  other  acts  of  the  several  Agents, 
and  representations  had  been  sent  to  the  Society ;  but 
these  are  insufficient  to  explain  it. 


11 


82  AMERICAN  COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 

The  explanation  must  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  the 
colony  had  really  no  civil  government.  What  occupied 
the  place  of  a  civil  government  was  a  pure  despotism 
of  an  agent,  resting  on  no  legal  basis,  and  possessing 
no  physical  force  with  which  to  compel  obedience.  Of 
course,  the  colonists,  though  they  appear  to  have  been 
far  from  comprehending  the  difficulty,  felt  that  some- 
thing was  wanting,  something  out  of  order,  something 
wrong;  and  were  "  insubordinate." 

That  such  an  assertion  may  be  received,  it  needs  to 
be  proved.  Consider,  then,  that  the  "  Elizabeth  "  and 
her  company  were  sent  out  by  the  United  States,  and  not 
by  the  Society.  Ship,  money,  and  men  were  under  the 
direction  of  the  government's  agents,  with  instructions 
to  build  houses  for  three  hundred  recaptured  slaves. 
Their  instructions  said,  "  You  are  not  to  exercise  any 
power  or  authority  founded  on  the  principles  of  coloni- 
zation, but  to  confine  yourselves  to  that  of  performing 
the  benevolent  intentions  of  the  Act  of  Congress  of 
March  3,  1819."  And  the  President,  in  his  message  of 
Dec.  20,  1819,  said  that  they  would  receive  "an  ex- 
press injunction  to  exercise  no  power  founded  on  the 
principle  of  colonization,  or  other  power  than  that  of 
performing  the  benevolent  offices  above  recited,  by  the 
permission  and  sanction  of  the  existing  government 
under  which  they  may  establish  themselves."  There  is 
not  only  no  authority  given  to  the  agents  to  establish  a 
government,  but  an  express  assumption  that  the  place 
selected  would  be  under  a  government  existing   inde- 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.  83 

pendently  of  them,  "  by  the  permission  and  sanction  " 
of  which  they  would  act.  Evidently  the  colonists  had 
no  civil  government  derived  from  this  source. 

Does  the  deed  of  cession  by  which  the  territory 
was  holden  throw  any  light  on  the  subject  ?  That 
deed 

"  Witnesseth,  That  whereas  certain  persons,  citizens  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  are  desirous  to  establish  themselves  on 
the  western  coast  of  Africa,  and  have  invested  Capt.  Robert  F. 
Stockton  and  Eli  Ayres  with  full  j^owers  to  treat  with  and  purchase 
from  lis,  the  said  kings,  princes  and  headmen,  certain  lands 
[which  are  described],  we  do  hereby,  in  consideration  of  [certain 
specified  articles  of  merchandise],  forever  cede  and  relinquish  the 
above-described  lands  to  Capt.  Robert  F.  Stockton  and  Eli 
Ayres,  To  Have  and  To  Hold  the  said  premises  for  the  use  of 
these  said  citizens  of  America." 


We  must  carefully  observe  that  Capt.  Stockton  and 
Dr.  Ayres  do  not  appear  in  this  transaction  as  agents  of 
the  United  States,  or  of  the  Colonization  Society,  but 
as  agents  of  "  certain  persons  "  who  were  "  desirous  of 
establishing  themselves  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa," 
that  is,  of  the  colonists.  The  colonists,  the  deed  says, 
had  invested  them  with  full  powers  to  treat  with  kings 
for  the  cession  of  territory.  Certainly,  land  bought  by 
their  authorized  agents  for  their  use,  and  ceded  for  their 
use  "  forever,"  was  their  land.  It  never  became  the 
property  of  the  United  States,  or  of  the  Society.  The 
next  paragraph  confirms  this  view  :  — 


84  AMERICAN  COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 

"The  contracting  parties  pledge  themselves  to  live  in  peace  and 
fi-iendship  forever ;  and  do  further  contract  not  to  make  war,  or 
otherwise  molest  or  disturb  each  other." 

The  "  contracting  parties  "  who  thus  mutually  pledge 
themselves  are  evidently  the  kings,  princes  and  head- 
men, on  the  one  part,  and  the  colonists  on  the  other. 

With  the  right  of  soil,  the  right  of  jurisdiction  passed 
from  the  kings  to  the  other  contracting  party,  —  the 
colonists.  They  were  the  supreme  lords  of  the  soil,  and 
had  a  natural  right  to  organize  and  establish  a  govern- 
ment for  it.  But  they  had  not  exercised  that  right. 
There  was  no  existing  civil  government  resting  on  that 
basis. 

The  Society  had  acted  on  this  subject  seasonably.  Its 
Board  of  Managers,  June  26,  1820,  while  the  emigrants 
were  still  at  Campelar,  adopted  a  "  Constitution  for  the 

Government  of   the  African  Settlement  at ."     Of 

course,  it  could  not  go  into  operation  as  a  civil  gov- 
ernment  "  at ,"  or  at    all,  while  they  were  living 

within  the  jurisdiction  of  some  other  government 
already  established.  Its  first  article,  as  amended  Dec. 
20,  was,  — 

"All  persons  born  within  the  limits  of  the  territory  held  by  the 

American  Colonization    Society   in    ,  or  remaining  there  to 

reside,  shall  be  free,  and  entitled  to  all  such  rights  and  privileges 
as  are  enjoyed  by  the  citizens  of  the  United  States." 

By  its  own  terms,  it  applied  only  to  territory  held  by 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.  85 

the  Society ;  and  Cape  Mesurado,  as  has  been  shown, 
was  not  held  by  the  Society,  but  by  Capt.  Stockton  and 
Dr.  Ayres,  as  agents  of  the  emigrants ;  that  is,  by  the 
emigrants  themselves.  What  authority  had  a  consti- 
tution, formed  by  an  unincorporated  association  of 
private  individuals  in  another  country,  three  thousand 
miles  off,  over  a  territory  which  was  not  their  property, 
but  the  property  of  its  inhabitants,  who,  acting  as  a 
sovereign  people,  had  procured  it  by  a  treaty  of  cession 
and  peace  with  sovereign  princes  ?  The  seventh  arti- 
cle however,  provides  that  "  every  settler  coining  to  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  those  now  of  age,  shall 
take  an  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  the  constitution." 
Mr.  Ashmun,  in  his  address  to  the  colonists,  March  22, 
1824,  reminded  them  that  they  had  taken  that  oath.  By 
that  oath,  the  individuals  who  took  it  certainly  placed 
themselves  under  a  moral  obligation  to  obey  the  consti- 
tution thus  made  for  them  by  others,  though  they  had 
never  adopted  it,  as  a  body,  by  any  public  act.  Let  us 
look,  then,  at  its  provisions. 

The  first  article,  as  we  have  seen,  provides  that  all 
the  colonists  should  be  entitled  to  "  all  such  rights  and 
privileges  as  are  enjoyed  by  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States."  The  word  "  citizens,"  having  been  substituted 
by  amendment  for  "free  people,"  must  be  taken  to 
secure  all  the  rights  and  privileges  by  which  citizens  are 
distinguished  from  "  people  "  merely  "  free."  The  oath 
bound  them  to  support  this  article  as  much  as  any 
other. 


86  AMERICAN  COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 

"  Art.  2.  —  The  Colonization  Society  slinll,  from  time  to  time, 
make  all  such  rules  as  they  may  think  fit  for  the  government  of 
the  settlement,  until  they  shall  withdraw  their  agents,  and  leave 
the  settlers  to  govern  themselves." 

This  expressly  takes  from  these  "  citizens  "  the  "  right 
and  privilege  "  of  making  any  law  or  "  rule  "  for  their 
own  government,  and  subjects  them  to  whatever  rules 
the  Society  shall  "  see  fit "  to  make  for  them  ;  and,  taken 
in  connection  with  the  tenth  article,  restrains  them  from 
the  "'  right  and  privilege  "  of  altering  or  amending  their 
own  constitution,  and  confers  that  right  on  the  Man- 
agers of  the  Society.  The  eighth  article  confers  unlim- 
ited legislative  power  on  the  Society's  resident  Agents, 
subject  only  to  repeal  by  the  Board  of  Managers. 

The  third  article  invests  the  Agents  with  all  judicial 
power,  except  such  as  they  should  delegate  to  Justices 
of  the  Peace  of  their  own  appointment,  if  they  should 
choose  to  appoint  any. 

The  fourth  article  gives  the  Agents  the  appointment 
of  all  officers  not  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Managers, 
and  of  judging  for  themselves  what  officers  are  needed. 

The  "settlers"  being  thus  deprived  of  all  voice  in 
their  own  government,  either  in  the  making  of  laws  or 
the  choice  of  officers  to  administer  them,  it  is  not  easy 
to  see  wdiat  rights  and  privileges  enjoyed  by  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  in  distinction  from  people  merely 
free,  were  left  to  them. 

It  does  not  appear  from  any  published  record,  that 
the  colonists  understood  those  legal  difficulties ;  but  it 


HISTOKICAL  DISCOUKSE.  87 

is  evident  from  their  conduct  that  they  did  not  feel  that 
reverence  for  laws  thus  made  for  them,  which  American 
"  citizens  "  usually  feel  for  laws  in  the  making  of  which 
they  have  borne  their  part.  There  was  "  insubordina- 
tion." Ashmun,  faithful  to  the  Society  and  to  his  own 
convictions,  did  his  best  to  repress  it,  but  in  vain.  Com- 
plaints were  sent  to  the  Society  against  his  administra- 
tion ;  and  the  evil  increased,  till,  in  utter  discouragement, 
he  put  the  government  into  the  hands  of  Elijah  John- 
son, and  embarked  for  the  Cape  Verde  Islands.  He  had 
already  informed  the  Board  of  Managers,  that,  in  his 
opinion,  "  the  evil  was  incurable  by  any  means  which 
fall  within  their  existing  provisions." 

In  this  emergency,  the  Government,  on  representa- 
tions of  the  Society,  sent  out  the  armed  schooner  "  Por- 
poise," with  Ralph  Randolph  Gurley,  a  young  man  then 
unknown  to  fame,  duly  commissioned  and  empowered 
by  the  Government  and  the  Society  to  ascertain  the 
condition  of  affairs,  and  "  to  make  such  temporary  ar- 
rangements for  the  security  of  the  public  interests  and 
the  government  of  the  establishment,  as,  upon  proper 
consideration,  circumstances  might,  in  his  judgment, 
require."  Touching  at  Porto  Praya,  he  unexpectedly 
met  Mr.  Ashmun,  who  returned  with  him  to  Cape 
Mesurado,  where  they  arrived  Aug.  13,  1824. 

On  their  voyage  of  three  weeks  to  the  Cape,  they 
carefully  discussed  these  troubles,  their  causes,  and  their 
remedy.  After  their  arrival,  the  colonists  were  heard 
and   consulted,   misapprehensions   were    dispelled,   and 


88  AISIERICAN  COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 

specific  grievances  received  satisfactory  attention.  But 
the  chief  attention  was  given  to  establishing  "  an  effi- 
cient government,  founded  in  the  approbation  of  the 
people,  and  adaptable  not  only  to  their  present  but 
future  necessities."  The  probable  necessity  of  such  a 
work  had  occurred  to  Mr.  Gurley  on  his  voyage  from 
the  Cape  Verdes,  if  not  before ;  and  facts  ascertained 
after  his  arrival  fully  proved  it. 

In  the  end,  a  "Plan  for  the  Civil  Government  of 
Liberia"  was  adopted,  according  to  which  there  was  to 
be  a  Vice-agent,  appointed  by  the  Agent  from  three 
nominated  by  the  people,  unless  he  saw  fit  to  disapprove 
the  choice  and  order  a  new  election.  He  was  to  advise 
and  assist  the  Agent,  and  perform  his  duties  in  case  of 
absence  or  disability.  Two  Councillors,  to  be  associated 
with  the  Vice-agent  as  a  council  on  all  public  affiiirs,  and 
several  important  committees,  were  to  be  appointed  in 
like  manner.  There  was  to  be  a  judiciary,  consisting  of 
the  Agent  and  two  Justices  of  the  Peace  appointed  by 
him;  and  he  was  to  appoint  the  necessary  executive 
officers.  The  supremacy  of  the  Society,  in  cases  of  last 
resort,  was  retained  and  established. 

The  colonists,  now  increased  to  a  hundred,  were  con- 
vened "  beneath  the  thatched  roof  of  the  first  rude 
house  for  divine  worship  ever  erected  in  the  colony." 
The  Plan  of  Government  was  read  and  explained  to 
them,  and  received  their  unanimous  approval,  and  sol- 
emn pledge  "to  maintain  it  as  the  constitution  of  their 
choice."     Receiving  also  the  assent  of  the  special  Agent 


HISTORICAL   DISCOURSE.  89 

of  the  Society  and  the  United  States,  sent  out  with  full 
power  on  their  part  "  to  establish  a  government,"  no  one 
could  deny  that  it  was,  from  that  hour,  in  force  on  a 
legitimate  basis;  and,  with  amendments  and  changes 
regularly  made  as  occasions  have  required,  it  is  in  force 
still. 

True,  the  Society  had  still  the  ultimate  decision  of  all 
questions  of  government;  but  it  henceforth  held  this 
power,  not  by  its  own  assumption,  but  by  the  vote  of 
the  people,  who,  by  their  own  act,  made  the  Society  a 
department  of  their  own  government. 

This  change  was  not  the  work  of  Mr.  Ashmun.  He 
distrusted  the  fitness  of  the  colonists  to  take  any  part 
in  the  government,  and  only  consented  to  it  as  an  ex- 
periment, because  some  change  must  be  made.  He  was 
even  alarmed  at  its  ready  and  unanimous  acceptance  by 
the  people,  fearing  that  they  did  not  understand  it,  or 
reserved  the  expression  of  their  dissent  for  a  more 
favorable  opportunity. 

Neither  was  it  the  work  of  the  Board  of  Managers. 
When  reported  to  them,  they  resolved,  Dec.  29,  ]  824, 
that  "  such  parts  as  could  not  well  be  dispensed  with 
might  be  tried  as  an  experiment  of  the  Agent,"  but 
gave  it  no  further  sanction  ;  and  in  their  Annual  Report 
in  January,  without  publishing  it,  plainly  intimated 
their  dissent. 

The  whole  responsibility,  therefore,  for  this  Plan  of 
Government,  rested  on  him  who  proposed  it  and  those 
who  adopted  it.     Events  soon  justified  their  action,  even 

12 


90  AMERICAN    COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

in  the  judgment  of  those   who  at  first  condemned  it. 
At  a  meeting  held  May  18,  1825,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  tlie  Board  of  Managers,  considering  the  satis- 
factory information  afforded  by  recent  accounts  from  the  colony 
of  the  successful  operation  of  the  plan  for  the  civil  government 
thereof,  as  established  by  their  Agents  in  August  last,  and  seeing 
therein  reasons  to  reconsider  their  instructions  to  the  Agent  of  the 
29th  of  December,  1824,  now  approve  the  principles  in  that  form 
of  government,  and  give  their  sanction  to  the  same." 

And  in  their  next  Annual  Report,  January,  1826,  they 

say,— 

"  The  new  system  of  government  organized  in  the  colony  im- 
mediately after  the  return  of  the  present  Agent,  Mr.  Ashmun,  from 
the  Cape  de  Verdes,  has  resulted  in  the  most  beneficial  effects. 
It  was  deemed  important  to  render,  as  far  as  practicable,  all  the 
political  arrangements  of  the  colony,  so  many  preparatory  meas- 
ures to  its  independence ;  and  to  this  end  is  the  government  which 
has  been  established  believed  to  be  pai'ticularly  adapted.  The 
whole  system  went  into  operation  with  the  full  sanction  of  the 
people.  The  spirit  of  restlessness  and  insubordination  ceased  from 
the  first  day  of  its  operation ;  indolence,  despondency,  and  distrust 
were  succeeded  by  industry,  enterprise,  and  confidence ;  and  the 
experience  of  more  than  a  year  has  confirmed  the  hope,  that  it 
will,  at  least  for  a  considerable  time,  fulfil  all  the  purposes  of  its 
institution." 

Mr.  Ashmun's  distrust,  also,  soon  disappeared.  His 
despatches  authorized  and  compelled  the  change  of  opin- 
ion in  the  Board  of  Managers.     He  soon  disbanded,  as 


HISTORICAL   DISCOURSE.  91 

useless,  the  military  guard  of  twelve  men,  which  he  at 
first  thought  necessary  for  his  own  protection  amidst 
the  dangers  of  the  experiment.  And,  early  in  1828,  the 
Board  received  from  him  a  plan  of  government,  the 
same  in  principle,  and  to  some  extent  in  language ;  but 
drawn  out  in  much  greater  detail,  and  placing  a  much 
greater  amount  of  power  directly  in  the  hands  of  the 
people ;  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  Managers,  Oct.  22, 
1828,  it  was  adopted  by  them  as  the  Constitution  of  Li- 
beria. 

The  modesty  of  the  principal  actor,  and  his  delicate 
regard  for  the  feelings  of  others,  in  his  Life  of  Ashmun 
and  in  the  Annual  Reports  prepared  by  him,  have  made 
the  part  he  acted  less  prominent  than  its  merits  deserve. 
He  has  even  left  it  doubtful  how  far  he  saw  the  defects 
and  inconsistencies  of  the  original  constitution.  But  it 
is  enough  for  his  glory,  that  he  alone  among  white  men 
saw  the  safety  of  trusting  a  negro  people  with  some 
part  in  the  management  of  their  own  concerns;  and 
that,  by  boldly  acting  on  his  belief,  he  placed  his  name 
on  the  not  long  list  of  legislators  whose  wisdom  organ- 
ized States  on  principles  that  secured  peace,  permanen- 
cy, coherence,  and  a  healthy  growth. 

The  second  decade,  and  the  first  half  of  the  third, — 
from  1830  to  1845, — were  distinguished  by  the  inde- 
pendent action  of  State  societies  ;  of  Maryland  first, 
purchasing  and  settling  Cape  Palmas ;  then  of  New 
York ;  then  of  Pennsylvania ;  then  of  Pennsylvania 
and  New  York  united,  and   the  planting  of  the  settle- 


92  AMERICAN    COLONJZATIOM    SOCIETY. 

ments  on  the  St,  John's  River  by  their  united  action ; 
the  settmg  apart,  by  the  parent  Society,  of  lands  for 
the  Kentucky,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana  Societies,  on 
which,  however,  separate  colonies  were  never  organized  ; 
the  plan  for  uniting  all  these  colonies,  planted  and  pro- 
jected, in  one  federal  republic ;  all  these  things  leading 
naturally  to  changes  in  the  constitution  of  the  Parent 
Society,  making  its  supreme  Board  of  Directors  mainly 
a  Board  of  Delegates  from  the  State  Societies.  A  prop- 
er discussion  of  this  period  would  require  a  laborious 
examination  of  the  published  and  unpublished  docu- 
ments of  the  Parent  and  the  several  State  Societies, 
and  of  the  often  conflicting  recollections  and  opinions 
of  living  witnesses.  Its  discussion  is  the  less  impor- 
tant, because  those  arrangements,  however  expedient 
or  even  necessary  they  may  have  been  or  appeared  to 
be  at  the  time,  have  passed  away.  Those  colonies  are 
now  only  parts  of  a  single  republic,  "  one  and  indivisi- 
ble ; "  and  though  most  of  the  State  Societies  still  retain 
the  power  of  separate  action,  they  find  little  occasion 
to  use  it.  Let  us,  therefore,  pass  on  to  the  next  topic 
involving  a  crisis. 

January,  1845,  the  Legislature  of  Liberia  was  in  ses- 
sion ;  for,  by  successive  amendments  of  her  constitution, 
she  now  had  a  legislature,  with  power  to  make  all  neces- 
sary laws,  subject,  however,  to  the  veto  of  the  Society. 
She  had  a  governor,  —  Joseph  J.  Roberts,  —  first  elected 
lieutenant-governor  by  the  people,  and  appointed  gov- 
ernor by  the  Society  after  the  death  of  Governor  Bu- 


HISTOKICAL  DISCOURSE.  93 

chanan,  in  1841.  Her  government  was  authorized  to 
make  treaties  with  the  neighboring  tribes ;  but  these, 
also,  were  subject  to  the  veto  of  the  Society.  For  sev- 
eral years,  however,  the  Society  had  found  no  occasion 
demanding  the  exercise  of  its  veto  power.  By  treaties 
with  the  native  powers,  several  valuable  tracts  of  terri- 
tory had  been  acquired,  including  some  important  points 
for  trade ;  and  settlements  had  been  made  upon  them, 
and  regular  government  established.  Laws  had  been 
enacted,  regulating  commerce,  and  imposing  duties  on 
imported  goods. 

For  several  centuries,  British  subjects  had  been  ac- 
customed to  trade  on  this  coast  for  slaves  and  other 
African  commodities.  Even  after  the  act  of  Parliament 
of  1807  prohibiting  the  slave-trade,  they  continued  the 
traffic  as  they  could.  Some  of  them  dealt  in  slaves,  at 
least  till  June,  1813,  when  His  Majesty's  ship  "  Thais  " 
landed  forty  men  at  Cape  Mesurado,  and  after  a  battle, 
in  which  they  lost  one  man  killed,  stormed  the  barra- 
coons  of  Bostock  and  McQuinn,  British  subjects,  and 
captured  their  owners.  When  direct  participation  in 
the  slave-trade  had  become  too  dangerous  to  be  con- 
tinued, they  still  carried  on  a  lucrative  commerce  with 
the  natives,  and  with  slave-traders  of  other  nations,  who 
were  glad  to  find  on  the  coast  a  supply  of  such  English 
goods  as  were  necessary  for  their  business.  Very  natu- 
rally, such  men  were  unwilling  that  a  regular  govern- 
ment, with  law,  civihzation,  and  Christianity,  should  take 
possession  of  their  old  haunts  of  trade.     They  refused 


94  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

to  obey  the  laws.  They  landed  goods  without  paying 
duties ;  and  when  the  goods  were  seized  by  the  col- 
lector, and  sold  according  to  law,  they  applied  to  the 
British  Government  for  redress. 

That  Government  seems  to  have  been,  at  first,  some- 
what embarrassed.  It  opened  a  correspondence  with 
ours,  to  ascertain  whether  Liberia  was  a  colony  of  the 
United  States.  Our  government  replied,  through  Mr. 
Everett  at  London  and  Mr.  Upshur  at  Washington,  that 
Liberia  was  not  a  colony  of  the  United  States,  but  "  an 
independent  political  community,"  founded  for  benevo- 
lent purposes,  in  which  all  nations  ought  to  desire  its 
success ;  and  that,  as  such,  it  needed  and  had  a  right  to 
acquire  territory  and  govern  it,  which  right  all  nations 
ought  to  respect. 

Having  ascertained  this,  the  British  Government  at 
once  proceeded  to  sustain  the  claims  of  the  British 
traders,  denying  the  right  of  the  Liberians  to  acquire 
territory  by  treaty,  or  to  govern  that  lately  acquired ; 
though,  for  more  than  twenty  years,  they  had  been 
allowed,  without  objection,  to  acquire  and  govern  Cape 
Mesurado  and  other  important  places  ;  and  they  were 
made  to  understand  that  the  British  navy  would  enforce 
this  decision  of  the  British  Government. 

These  difficulties  were  now  before  the  legislature. 
What  could  be  done?  A  treaty  must  be  negotiated 
with  Great  Britain.  The  Liberian  Constitution  made 
no  provision  for  negotiating  treaties,  except  with  the 
neighboring  tribes,  and  those  subject  to  the  veto  of  the 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.  95 

Society,  The  Society  was  not  a  sovereign  power,  with 
whom  Great  Britain  could  negotiate ;  nor  had  it,  under 
its  own  constitution  or  that  of  Liberia,  any  power  con- 
cerning treaties,  except  that  of  veto.  A  crisis  had  come, 
to  which  the  structure  of  the  Liberian  Government  was 
not  adapted.  The  legislature  informed  the  Society  of 
the  difficulties  and  dangers  growing  out  of  their  al- 
leged want  of  national  sovereignty,  and  requested  its 
consideration  and  advice. 

When  the  Directors  of  the  Society  met  in  January, 
1846,  these  matters  had  been  before  their  minds  for 
months,  and  they  were  prepared  to  act.  The  constitu- 
tion of  the  Society  was  amended  in  several  respects,  and 
especially  by  striking  out  whatever  related  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  colonies.     It  was  then 

Hesolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  tliis  Board,  the  time  has 
arrived  when  it  is  expedient  for  the  people  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  Liberia  to  take  into  their  own  hands  the  whole  work  of 
self-government,  including  the  management  of  all  their  foreign 
relations ;  and  that  this  Society  should  cease  to  exercise  any  part  of 
the  same. 

Hesolved,  That  we  recommend  to  them  so  to  amend  their 
constitution,  as  is  necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  object. 

Hesolved,  That  we  recommend  to  them  to  publish  to  the  world 
a  declaration  of  their  true  character,  as  a  sovereign  and  independ- 
ent State. 

The  resolutions  took  this  shape  for  the  sake  of  avoid- 
ing all  appearance  of  conferring  rights  of  sovereignty  on 
the  people  of  Liberia.    Those  rights  were  theirs  already, 


96  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION    SOCIETY. 

and  had  been  ever  since  they  were  a  people.  They  were 
advised,  not  to  make  themselves  into  a  new  sovereign 
State  not  before  existing,  but  to  publish  a  declaration  of 
their  true  character,  as  being  one  already.  It  was  not 
for  the  Society  to  give  them  a  new  constitution.  It  was 
their  right  and  their  duty,  as  a  sovereign  people,  to 
make  one  for  themselves.  The  Society  did  not  relin- 
quish to  them  its  power  in  their  government.  What  it 
had,  they  had  conferred  upon  it  by  their  constitution, 
and  they  were  advised  to  take  it  away. 

On  the  reception  of  this  advice  in  Liberia,  the  legisla- 
ture, at  a  special  session,  instructed  the  governor  to 
submit  the  question  to  the  people  in  their  primary 
assemblies.  The  people  voted,  Oct.  27,  1846,  in  favor 
of  assuming  the  entire  responsibility  of  their  govern- 
ment. The  legislature,  at  its  next  session,  ordered  a 
convention  of  deleo;ates  to  form  a  new  constitution. 
The  convention  assembled,  and,  after  twenty-one  days 
of  deliberation,  adopted,  on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of 
July,  1847,  their  new  Constitution  and  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence. In  September,  the  Constitution  was  ratified 
by  the  almost  unanimous  vote  of  the  people  in  their 
primary  assemblies.  The  Governor,  Joseph  J.  Roberts, 
was  elected  President.  On  the  third  day  of  January, 
1848,  he  delivered  his  inaugural  address  ;  and  the  new 
government  went  into  operation.  In  the  course  of  that 
year,  the  independence  of  the  Republic  was  formally 
acknowledged  by  the  governments  of  Great  Britain  and 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.  97 

France.      It    has  since  been  acknowledged    by  nearly 
all  the  leading  States  of  Europe  and  America. 

Nor  is  the  young  Republic  without  influence  in  the 
family  of  nations.  In  1853,  agents  of  the  British  Gov- 
ernment were  endeavoring  to  prosecute  the  coolie-trade 
in  the  vicinity,  and  even  within  the  legal  jurisdiction, 
of  the  Republic.  The  vigorous  and  decided  measures  of 
President  Roberts  checked  it;  and,  after  a  few  words  in 
Parliament,  the  attempt  was  abandoned.  A  few  years 
afterwards,  agents  of  the  French  Government  engaged 
in  a  similar  attempt  so  pertinaciously,  that  President 
Benson  was  obliged  to  send  his  predecessor  as  ambassa- 
dor to  Paris  on  the  subject.  The  result  was  the  entire 
abolition  of  that  traffic  on  the  whole  coast  of  Africa,  east 
as  well  as  west. 

It  was  a  remark  of  one  of  the  wisest  men  who  ever 
acted  as  agent  for  a  colonization  society,  that  Divine^ 
Providence  intends  Liberia  as  a  proof  to  all  nations,  that 
free  institutions  are  adapted  to  the  wants  and  capacities 
of  every  race  of  men.  To  prove  it,  God  has  taken  a 
portion  of  the  race  that  the  wisdom  of  this  world  would 
pronounce  —  indeed,  had  pronounced  —  the  most  inca- 
pable of  successful  self-government,  and  has  placed  the 
duty  and  burden  of  self-government  upon  them;  and  they 
have  borne  it,  and  they  are  bearing  it,  with  complete 
success.  The  whole  history  of  Liberia  corroborates  this 
remark,  —  from  the  first  years  of  Ashmun,  when  affairs 
went  badly  for  want  of  self-government ;  from  Gurley's 
first    visit,    when    the    introduction    of  the    principle, 

13 


98  AMEIUCAN   COLONIZATION    SOCIETY. 

and  a  little  of  the  practice,  gave  peace  and  pros- 
perity ;  down  to  the  present  time,  when  that  little 
young  republic  is  not  only  recognized  as  one  in  the 
family  of  nations,  but  commands  a  degree  of  respect, 
and  exerts  an  amount  of  influence,  among  the  nations, 
altogether  out  of  proportion  to  her  population  or  her 
resources. 

The  principles  and  designs  from  which  she  originat- 
ed, and  the  whole  course  of  her  history,  and  of  God's 
dealings  with  her,  authorize  us  to  offer  with  confidence 
the  prayer  for  her  perpetuity,  Esto  perpetua. 

A  few  words  are  demanded  by  a  topic  which  could 
not  be  introduced  in  its  chronological  place  without  dis- 
turbing the  continuity  of  the  narrative. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  when  Di-.  Hopkins  visited 
Dr.  Stiles,  in  1773,  it  was  to  consult  about  educating 
two  young  men  as  missionaries  to  Africa,  and  their  plan 
for  a  colony  grew  out  of  their  conviction  of  the  neces- 
sity of  such  a  basis  for  missionary  labors ;  and  that,  of 
the  young  men  educated  through  their  exertions,  two, 
in  1826,  when  they  were  old,  actually  sailed  to  Liberia, 
not  expecting  to  live  and  labor,  but  to  set  an  example 
of  Christian  enterprise  for  the  land  of  their  fathers. 
The  missionary  element,  it  is  well  known,  was  strong  in 
the  minds  of  Mills  and  his  associates  at  Andover,  and 
of  Finley  and  his  brethren  in  New  Jersey.  However 
strong  it  may  have  been  in  the  minds  of  individuals  in 
Virginia,  it  could  not  well  show  itself  in  their  legislative 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.  99 

action,  and  does  not,  therefore,  appear  on  the  record. 
But  it  was  actively  alive  among  the  colored  people  in 
that  State.  They,  even  as  early  as  1815,  before  our 
Society  was  formed,  organized  an  African  Missionary 
Society  in  Richmond,  which  contributed  from  a  hun- 
dred to  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  annually.  This 
might  be,  and  probably  was,  expended  in  the  support 
of  English  missions  at  or  near  Sierra  Leone.  In  1818, 
a  similar  society  was  formed  in  Petersburg,  which,  in 
April,  1819,  proposed  to  our  Society  that  some  of  its 
members  should  be  sent  out  as  colonists  for  missionary 
purposes.  The  Richmond  Society  sent  out  its  most  able 
and  zealous  member,  the  Rev.  Lot  Gary,  who  went  out  in 
our  second  company,  by  the  "Nautilus,"  arriving  at  Sierra 
Leone  in  March,  1821,  and  was  among  the  first  who 
took  possession  of  Cape  Mesurado.  The  Richmond  So- 
ciety is  understood  to  have  made  remittances  to  him 
for  several  years,  and  perhaps  to  the  close  of  his  life,  in 
1828.  Besides  his  labors  at  and  near  his  home,  he  com- 
menced a  mission,  fifty  miles  distant,  among  the  Vey 
people  at  Cape  Mount ;  employing  John  Revey,  after- 
wards Secretary  of  the  Maryland  Colony  at  Cape  Pal- 
mas,  as  a  schoolmaster.  It  was  of  short  continuance ; 
but  its  influence  on  the  mind  of  one  of  the  pupils  led  to 
the  invention,  years  afterwards,  of  the  syllabic  alphabet 
for  the  Vey  language,  the  discovery  of  which  by  a  Ger- 
man missionary,  after  it  had  been  long  in  use,  excited 
much  interest  in  the  literary  world. 

This   opening    for   missions    attracted    attention   in 


100  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

Europe.  In  October,  1825,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bliimhardt, 
Principal  of  the  Missionary  College  at  Basle  in  Switzer- 
land, wrote  to  Mr.  Ashmun,  requesting  information  on 
the  subject.  Mr.  Ashmun  replied  favorably  the  next 
April.  Four  young  men  were  sent  out  as  missionaries. 
The  climate  did  not  allow  this  mission  to  be  permanent. 
Some  died,  and  the  health  of  others  failed  :  but,  before 
its  dispersion,  it  exerted  a  beneficial  influence,  especially 
on  the  minds  of  some  young  Liberians,  which  is  felt  to 
this  day. 

The  first  white  missionary  from  the  United  States 
appears  to  have  been  the  Rev.  Calvin  Holton,  a  Baptist, 
who  sailed  from  Boston  in  the  "Vine,"  in  1826.  "He 
was  not  suffered  to  continue,  by  reason  of  death."  He 
was  followed  by  a  noble  army  of  martyrs,  Baptist,  Meth- 
odist, Presbyterian,  and  Episcopalian ;  but  their  use- 
fulness has  consisted  mostly  in  the  support  and  direction 
given  to  pious  Liberians  who  have  labored  under  them 
or  with  them,  and  who  often  well  supplied  their  places 
when  vacant.  As  a  result,  nearly  all  the  churches  in 
the  Republic  contain  native  communicants,  who  are  con- 
verts from  heathenism. 

In  February,  March,  and  April,  1819,  two  missionary 
explorers  from  Sierra  Leone,  with  an  interpreter,  care- 
fully examined  the  whole  coast  from  Sherbro  to  the  St. 
John's  River.  They  suffered  repeatedly  from  theft,  de- 
tected and  defeated  two  conspiracies  to  rob  and  murder 
them,  and  returned,  having  found  no  place  where  a 
mission  could  be  hopefully  attempted.  Our  first  emi- 
grants sailed  in  February,  1820. 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE.  101 

Now,  that  whole  line  of  coast,  with  as  much  more  be- 
yond it  to  the  south  and  east,  some  five  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  in  all,  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Chris- 
tian State,  with  Christian  laws  and  institutions;  with 
its  common  schools,  high  schools,  and  college  ;  with  a 
nominally  Christian  population  of  some  fifteen  to  twen- 
ty thousand,  and  a  native  population  of  some  hundreds 
of  thousands,  among  whom  heathenism  has  lost  much 
of  its  power,  and  is  fast  losing  the  remainder ;  among 
whom  missionary  stations  are  numerous,  both  on  the 
coast  and  in  the  interior;  the  line  of  apparent  danger, 
or  even  difficulty,  silently  and  quietly  receding  before 
them  as  they  advance.  And  Liberian  Christians  are 
planning  and  acting  very  intelHgently  for  their  advance- 
ment. 

Attorney-General  Erskine,  of  Liberia,  emigrated  from 
East  Tennessee  with  his  father  in  his  boyhood.  He  has 
been,  for  many  years,  one  of  the  most  able  and  influen- 
tial Presbyterian  missionaries  there.  If  our  ship,  the 
"  Golconda,"  has  made  a  successful  voyage,  she  has  just 
landed  at  Cape  Mount  a  hundred  and  forty-four  emi- 
grants, selected  by  him  in  his  native  region,  to  strength- 
en the  settlement  at  Cape  Mount,  so  as  make  it  a  better 
base  for  missionary  operations  among  the  Veys. 

The  Vey  people  are  intimately  connected  with  the 
Mandingoes,  the  great  trading-people  of  Western  Africa, 
who  read,  write,  and  keep  accounts  in  the  Arabic 
language,  and  whose  commercial  intercourse  extends 
to  the  comparatively  civilized  nations  of  Central  Africa, 


102  AMERICAN   COLONIZATION   SOCIETY. 

where  the  Arabic  is  vernacular.  To  those  nations, 
European  missionary  societies  have  been  in  vain  seek- 
ing access  through  Egypt  and  Abessinia  for  half  a  cen- 
tury, Liberia  College  has  already  begun  to  distribute 
Arabic  books,  from  the  press  of  the  American  mission  at 
Beirut  in  Syria,  among  the  Man  dingoes ;  and  that 
mission  has  furnished  books  for  further  distribution,  con- 
tainino;  a  Circular  Letter  "from  the  learned  men  of 
Mount  Lebanon  to  the  learned  men  of  Moghreb,"  that 
is,  of  the  West,  inviting  correspondence,  and  offering  a 
supply  of  books  through  Liberia  College,  the  geogra- 
phical position  of  which,  and  its  objects,  are  described. 
As  things  move  slowly  in  Africa,  the  desired  result, 
though  confidently  expected,  must  be  distant.  But  the 
planting  of  those  hundred  and  forty-four  missionary 
colonists  at  Cape  Mount  is  exactly  the  right  thing, 
at  the  right  place,  to  hasten  it ;  and  it  is  only  one  of 
many  instances  showing  the  care  and  thought  of  Li- 
berian  Christians  for  their  brethren  still  in  the  darkness 
of  heathenism. 

Thus  the  early  missionary  plans  of  Hopkins  and 
Stiles,  of  Mills  and  Burgess,  and  Finley  and  Caldwell, 
and  of  Lot  Cary  and  his  society  at  Richmond,  are  more 
than  executed  already ;  and  of  their  ultimate  hope,  the 
Christian  civilization  of  Africa,  the  dawn  distinctly  ap- 
pears. 


ADDRESS 


RT.  REV.  THOMAS  M.  CLARK,  D.D. 


